file which includes the original illustrations4 ,see #cjgeh-;h4htm or #cjgeh-;h4zip3 7https3_/_/www4gutenberg4org_/cache_/epu b_/#cjgeh_/pg#cjgeh-;images4html7 or 7https3_/_/www4gutenberg4org_/files_/#cj geh_/cjgeh-;h4zip7 ,,communism ,,and ,,christianism 99 99 99 99 99 99 ,,to ,,the ,,purchaser3 ,lying ,supernaturalism is going2 robbing ,capitalism is falling2 saving ,laborism is rising1 and leveling ,unionism is coming4 ,this booklet1 ,communism and ,christianism1 is a contribution by ,bishop and ,mrs4 ,wm4 ,m4 ,brown1 of ,galion1 ,ohio1 towards the furtherance of these downward1 upward and forward movements1 the most fortunate events in the whole history of mankind4 ,we hope that you will read1 mark1 learn and inwardly digest its extremely revolutionary1 comprehensive and salutary teachings concerning both religion and politics with the happy result of becoming an apostle of its illuminating and inspiring interpretation of the scientific gospel of ,marx and ,engels to wage slaves1 the only gospel which points the way to redemption from their body and soul destroying slavery4 ,you may become a missionary of this gospel in your neighborhood1 and as such do more good than all its orthodox preachers1 teachers1 editors and politicians together at no financial cost to yourself by ordering booklets at our special rates3 six copies1 #a4jj2 twenty-five copies1 #c4jj1 prepaid1 and selling them to workers at our retail price1 #be cents for one copy4 ,as we make no profit and do no bookkeeping1 cash should accompany all orders4 ,to organizations working for bail1 defense1 liberation or unemployment funds1 ,bishop and ,mrs4 ,brown donate twenty-five copies for each twenty-five ordered with remittance4 ,the ,bradford-,brown ,educational ,company1 ,inc4 ,publishers--,galion1 ,ohio ,editions and ,their ,dates4 ,first ,edition1 #aj1jjj copies1 ,october #aath1 #aibj4 ,second ,edition1 #aj1jjj copies1 revised and enlarged from #ahd to #bjd pages1 ,february #aeth1 #aiba4 ,third ,edition1 #aj1jjj copies1 ,march #bnd1 #aiba4 ,fourth ,edition1 #aj1jjj copies 7#b1jjj in cloth binding71 revised and enlarged from #bjd to #bbd pages1 ,april #i1 #aiba4 ,illustration3 ,rt4 ,rev4 ,william ,montgomery ,brown1 ,d4 ,d4 ,fifth ,bishop of ,arkansas1 ,resigned2 ,member ,house of ,bishops ,protestant ,episcopal ,church2 ,sometime ,archdeacon of ,ohio and ,special ,lecturer at ,bexley ,hall1 the ,theological ,seminary of ,kenyon ,college4 ,now ,episcopos in partibus ,bolshevikium et ,infidelium4 99 99 99 99 99 99 ,,communism ,,and ,,christianism ,analyzed and ,contrasted from the ,marxian and ,darwinian ,points of ,view by ,,william ,,montgomery ,,brown ,banish the ,gods from the ,skies and ,capitalists from the ,earth and make the world safe for ,industrial ,communism4 ,the ,bradford-,brown ,educational ,company1 ,inc4 ,publishers 444 ,galion1 ,ohio ,fortieth ,thousand ,,dedication ,this booklet is gratefully dedicated to the ,proletariat from whom ,bishop and ,mrs4 ,brown are sprung1 and to whose unrequited labors 7not to the good providence of a divinity7 they owe their wealth1 leisure and opportunities4 ,,prolegomena,a ,religion is the opium of the people4 ,the suppression of religion as the happiness of the people is the revindication of its real happiness4 ,the invitation to abandon illusions regarding its situation is an invitation to abandon a situation which has need of illusions4 ,criticism of religion is therefore the germ of a criticism of the vale of tears1 of which religion is the holy aspect4 --,marx4 ,not only1 indeed1 is the struggle against religion intellectually useful1 but it cannot conscientiously be avoided1 for religion is used against the ,socialist movement by the possessing class in every country4 ,but to abolish religion is not to abolish exploitation1 because only one of the enemy's guns will have been silenced4 ,the workers have1 above all1 to dislodge the capitalist class from power4 ,the religious question1 and indeed all else1 is secondary to this4 ,the test of admission to a ,socialist ,party must be neither more nor less than acceptance of the following seven working principles and the policy of ,socialism as a class movement3 #a4 ,society as at present constituted is based upon the ownership of the means of living 7i4 e41 land1 factories1 railways1 etc47 by the capitalist or master class1 and the consequent enslavement of the working class1 by whose labor alone wealth is produced4 #b4 ,in society1 therefore1 there is an antagonism of interests1 manifesting itself as a class struggle1 between those who possess but do not produce and those who produce but do not possess4 #c4 ,this antagonism can be abolished only by the emancipation of the working class from the domination of the master class by the conversion into the common property of society of the means of production and distribution1 and their democratic control by the whole people4 #d4 ,as in the order of social evolution the working class is the last to achieve its freedom1 the emancipation of the working class will involve the emancipation of all mankind without distinction of race or sex4 #e4 ,this emancipation must be the work of the working class itself4 #f4 ,as the machinery of capitalist government1 including the armed forces of the nation1 conserves the monopoly by the capitalist class of the wealth taken from the workers1 the working class must organize consciously and politically for acquiring the powers of government1 national and local1 in order that this machinery1 including these forces1 may be converted from an instrument of oppression into the agent of emancipation and the overthrow of privilege1 aristocratic and plutocratic4,b #g4 ,as all political parties are but the expression of class interests1 and as the interest of the working class is diametrically opposed to the interests of all sections of the master-class1 the party seeking working-class emancipation must be hostile to every other party4 ,if a man supports the church1 or in any respect allows religious ideas to stand in the way of the foregoing seven essential principles of socialism or the activity of a ,party1 he proves thereby that he does not accept ,socialism as fundamentally true and of the first importance1 and his place is outside4 ,no man can be consistently both a ,socialist and a ,christian4 ,it must be either the socialist or the religious principle that is supreme1 for the attempt to couple them equally betrays charlatanism or lack of thought4 ,there is1 therefore1 no need for a specifically anti-religious test4 ,so surely does the acceptance of ,socialism lead to the exclusion of the supernatural1 that the ,socialist has little need for such terms as ,atheist1 ,free-thinker1 or even ,materialist2 for the word ,socialist1 rightly understood1 implies one who1 on all such questions1 takes his stand on positive science1 explaining all things by purely natural causation1 ,socialism being not merely a politico-economic creed1 but also an integral part of a consistent world philosophy4 ,so long as the anarchy of modern competitive society exists1 the accompanying obscurity and confusion in social life will continue to shelter superstition4 ,this point is illustrated in the following reference by ,marx to the ,united ,states3 ,when we see in the very country of complete political emancipation not only that religion exists1 but retains its vigour1 there is no need1 ,i hope1 for other proofs in order to show that the existence of religion is not incompatible with the full political maturity of the ,state4 ,but if religion exists it is because of a defective social organization1 of which it is necessary to seek the cause in the very essence of the ,state4 ,class domination is the essence of the modern ,state4 ,it is based on competitive anarchy and parasitism--the evidences of a defective social organization4 ,it still leaves room for religion1 because it maintains ignorance and confusion by its structure and contradictions1 and because religion is fostered as a handmaiden of class rule4 ,nevertheless1 the growth of the social forces of production within modern society1 and the better knowledge the workers obtain of their true relations to each other and to ,nature1 loosen the chains of ghost worship and mysticism from their limbs and lessen the power of religion as a political weapon in the hands of the ruling class1 while they form1 at the same time1 the material and intellectual preparation for an intelligently organized society4 ,the matter has been put in a nutshell by ,marx in the chapter on ,commodities in ,capital1 volume ,i4 ,the religious reflex of the real world can1 in any case1 only then finally vanish1 when the practical relations of every-day life offer to man none but perfectly intelligible and reasonable relations with regard to his fellow men and to nature4 ,the life process of society1 which is based on the process of material production1 does not strip off its mystical veil until it is treated as production by freely associated men1 and is consciously regulated by them in accordance with a settled plan4 ,this1 however1 demands for society a certain material groundwork or set of conditions of existence which in their turn are the spontaneous product of a long and painful process of development4 ,it is1 therefore1 a profound truth that ,socialism is the natural enemy of religion4 ,through ,socialism alone will the relations between men in society1 and their relations to ,nature1 become reasonable1 orderly1 and completely intelligible1 leaving no nook or cranny for superstition4 ,the entry of ,socialism is1 consequently1 the exodus of religion4 ,,footnotes3 ,a ,from the ,official ,manifesto by the ,socialist ,party of ,great ,britain1 showing the ,antagonism between ,socialism and ,religion4 ,b ,this section has been slightly changed to make sure of guarding against the advocacy of armed insurrection4 ,socialists throughout the world want a peaceful evolution from capitalism into socialism2 but whether or not it will be so in the case of any country is1 as ,lenin prophesies1 to be determined by the dealings of its capitalists with its laborers4 ,in reply to an inquiry on this vexed subject by an ,english author1 ,lenin said1 in effect1 that in ,england1 as elsewhere1 the tactics of the capitalist class will determine the program of the labor class4 ,,the ,,international ,,party4 ,arise1 ye prisoners of starvation6 ,arise1 ye wretched of the earth1 ,for justice thunders condemnation1 ,a better world's in birth4 ,no more tradition's chains shall bind us1 ,arise1 ye slaves6 no more in thrall6 ,the earth shall rise on new foundations1 ,we have been naught1 we shall be all4 ,we want no condescending saviors4 ,to rule us from a judgment hall4 ,we workers ask not for their favors1 ,let us consult for all4 ,to make the thief disgorge his booty1 ,to free the spirit from its cell1 ,we must ourselves decide our duty1 ,we must decide and do it well4 ,the law oppresses us and tricks us1 ,taxation drains the victim's blood2 ,the rich are free from obligations1 ,the laws the poor delude4 ,too long we've languished in subjection1 ,equality has other laws3 ,no rights1 says she1 without their duties4 ,no claims on equals without cause4 ,toilers from shops and fields united1 ,the party we of all who work2 ,the earth belongs to us1 the people1 ,no room here for the shirk4 ,how many on our flesh have fattened6 ,but if the noisome birds of prey ,shall vanish from the sky some morning1 ,the blessed sunlight still will stay4 ,,contents ,page ,,prolegomena #e ,,part ,i4 ,,communism3 ,,the ,,naturalistic ,,this-,,worldly ,,gospel ,,for ,,the ,,coming ,,age ,,of ,,classless ,,equality ,,and ,,economic ,,freedom #ac ,,part ,,ii4 ,,christianism3 ,a ,,supernaturalistic ,,other-,,worldly ,,gospel ,,for ,,the ,,passing ,,age ,,of ,,class ,,inequality ,,and ,,economic ,,slavery #he ,,appendix #aeg ,hitherto1 every form of society has been based on the antagonism of oppressing and oppressed classes4 ,but in order to oppress a class1 certain conditions must be assured to it under which it can1 at least1 continue its slavish existence4 ,the serf1 in the period of serfdom1 raised himself to membership in the commune1 just as the petty bourgeois1 under the yoke of feudal absolutism1 managed to develop into a bourgeois4 ,the modern laborer1 on the contrary1 instead of rising with the progress of industry1 sinks deeper and deeper below the conditions of existence of his own class4 ,he becomes a pauper1 and pauperism develops more rapidly than population and wealth4 ,and here it becomes evident that the bourgeoisie is unfit any longer to be the ruling class in society1 and to impose its conditions of existence upon society as an over-riding law4 ,it is unfit to rule1 because it is incompetent to assure an existence to its slave within his slavery1 because it cannot help letting him sink into such a state that it has to feed him1 instead of being fed by him4 ,society can no longer live under this bourgeoisie1 in other words1 its existence is no longer compatible with society4--,marx and ,engels4 ,,communism ,,and ,,christianism ,,analyzed ,,and ,,contrasted ,,from ,,the ,,marxian ,,and ,,darwinian ,,points ,,of ,,view ,,part ,i4 ,communism3 ,the ,naturalistic ,this-worldly ,gospel for the ,coming ,age of ,classless ,equality and ,economic ,freedom--,an ,open ,letter to a ,brother ,bishop and a ,christian ,socialist ,comrade4 ,come over and help us4 ,abandon ,christian ,socialism for ,marxian ,communism4 ,,foreword,c ,the concept of ,god1 as an explanation of the ,universe1 is becoming entirely untenable in this age of scientific inquiry4 ,the laws of the persistence of force and the indestructibility of matter1 and the unending interplay of cause and effect1 make the attempt to trace the origin of things to an anthropomorphic ,god who had no cause1 as futile as is the ,oriental cosmology which holds that the world rests on an elephant1 and1 as an afterthought1 that the elephant stands on a tortoise4 ,the inflexible laws of the known universe cannot logically be held to cease where our immediate experience ends1 to make way for an unscientific concept of an uncaused and creating being4 ,the ,creation idea is unsupported by evidence1 and is in conflict with every scientific law4 ,socialism is consistent only with that monistic view which regards all phenomena as expressions of the underlying matter-force reality and as parts of the unity of ,nature which interact according to inviolable laws4 ,socialism is the application of science1 the archenemy of religion1 to human social relationships2 and just as the basic principle of the philosophy of ,socialism finds itself in conflict with religion1 so does it1 as a propagandist movement1 find religion acting against it4 ,,footnotes3 ,c ,from the ,official ,manifesto by the ,socialist ,party of ,great ,britain1 showing the ,antagonism between ,socialism and ,religion4 ,,communism3 ,,the ,,naturalistic ,,this-,,worldly ,,gospel ,,for ,,the ,,coming ,,age ,,of ,,classless ,,equality ,,and ,,economic ,,freedom4 ,make the ,world safe for ,industrialism by turning it upside down with ,workers above and ,owners below4 ,my dear ,brother and ,comrade3 ,your letter of ,june #acth,d relative to the meeting called for the #bgth1 in the interest of a more radical socialist movement in our church1 came duly to hand1 and its invitation to attend1 or at least write1 was highly appreciated4 ,my days for attending things are1 ,i fear1 past4 ,i did not feel able to go to the ,annual ,convention of the ,socialist ,party of ,ohio1 which met much nearer here on the same date1 ,june #bgth1 and ended on the #bith with a great picnic--a communion1 as real and holy1 as was ever celebrated4 ,i cannot even be sure of being with you in the ,house of ,bishops during the meeting of the ,general ,convention in ,october4 ,however1 ,i intended you to have a letter and set the #bfth aside for the writing of it1 but ,i work slowly now and its hours slipped away while ,i was making notes until only one was left4 ,it was spent in trying to condense all ,i wanted to say in the letter into a telegram4 ,what ,i regard as the best of these efforts was taken to the office at seven p4 m4 on that day3 ,make world safe for democracy by banishing ,gods from sky1 and capitalists from earth4 ,here are four of the many other efforts3 7#a7 ,come over and help us4 ,abandon ,christian ,socialism for ,marxian ,communism2 7#b7 ,make world safe for democracy by turning it upside down with workers above and owners below2 7#c7 ,revolutionize capitalism out of state and orthodoxy out of church2 7#d7 ,come over and help us4 ,abandon reformatory for revolutionary socialism4 ,what ,i wanted you to understand is that1 in my judgment1 there can be no deliverance for the world from the troubles by which it is overwhelmed so long as theism holds the religious field and capitalism the political field4 ,i4 ,religion and politics are the two halves of the sphere in which humanity lives1 moves and has its social being4 ,religion is the ideal and politics the practical half of this sphere4 ,both halves naturally exist as the result of the same natural law of necessity3 the matter-force law which makes it necessary for a man to feed1 clothe and shelter his body in order to preserve it and its life4 ,marxian socialism is at once this religion and politics1 all there is of both of them which is for the good of the world as a whole4 ,marxian socialism is a revolutionary movement towards doing away with the existing competitive system for producing and distributing the basic necessities of life 7foods1 clothes and houses7 for the profit of a few parasites1 and substituting a system for making and distributing them for the use of all workers4 ,so far some competing1 lying1 robbing1 enslaving system for the production and distribution of these necessities has been the basis of every religion and politics--of none more than the ,christian and ,american1 and they with the rest have been tried in the balance of experience and found utterly wanting4 ,indeed1 they are making a hell1 not a heaven1 of the earth in general and of our country in particular4 ,christianism as a religion has collapsed4 ,it promised to secure to the world peace and good will1 but it has never had more of strife and hate4 ,the tremendous ,english-,german 7or if you prefer ,german-,english7 war was a conflict at arms between the most outstanding among ,christian nations and it was solemnly alleged to have been fought for the high purpose of ending such conflicts2 but in reality it scattered the hot coals of war throughout the world1 several of which were fanned into blazing by its so-called peace conference and others are ominously smouldering4 ,americanism as a politics has collapsed4 ,it promised a classless government of all the people1 by all the people1 for all the people1 but has instead given a government of a class1 by a class1 for a class4 ,this class1 comprising not more than one out of every ten of the population1 is the capitalist class1 which owns the means and machines for the production of the necessities of life and for their distribution1 a class which1 as such1 though bearing no necessary relationship to either one of the branches of this business1 yet realizes enormous profits from both1 profits which are wholly at the expense of the large class1 at least nine out of every ten1 which does all the work connected with the making of the machines and the operating of them4 ,this government was to make the country safe for democracy by securing to it the privilege of free speech and free assemblage1 the existence of an independent press and the right of appeal for the redress of grievances2 but our fathers did not have any too much of these liberties1 we have had less and1 if the competitive system for the production and distribution of commodities for the profit of the small owning class is to continue1 our children are to have none4 ,indeed1 this is already true of the overwhelming majority1 the working class4 ,its representatives have little if any real part in the government4 ,they are completely subjected to the rule of the owning class4 ,there never has been a body1 mind and soul destroying slavery which equaled theirs1 either as to the number of men1 women and children involved in it1 or as to the degrees of misery to which it doomed its victims4 ,nor is the end yet4 ,the world war certainly has taken ,american slavery out of the frying pan into the fire rather than into the water4 ,american slaves appeal to their government as ,jewish slaves appealed to one of their kings for relief and receive the same answer1 not in words but in deeds which speak louder3 ,thy father made our yoke grievous2 now therefore make thou the grievous service of thy father1 and his heavy yoke which he put upon us1 lighter1 and we will serve thee4 ,and he said unto them1 ,depart yet for three days1 then come again to me4 ,and the people departed4 ,so all the people came the third day as the king had appointed and the king answered them roughly1 saying3 ,my father made your yoke heavy1 and ,i will add to your yoke3 ,my father also chastised you with whips1 but ,i will chastise you with scorpions4 ,so when all ,israel saw that the king harkened not unto them1 the people answered the king1 saying1 ,what portion have we in ,david8 ,as to details history does not exactly repeat itself and1 therefore1 ,i do not believe that the other planets of the universe1 of which no doubt there are many billions1 are inhabited by human beings of the same type as those of the earth1 nor that its men1 women and children are to have their bodies reconstructed and resurrected1 after they have been disintegrated by death4 ,such beings on other planets and such reconstructions on this planet would in every case involve a detailed repetition of infinitely numerous processes of evolution which had extended through an eternal past4 ,yet in every part of the universe and throughout all eternity1 like causes ever have produced and ever shall produce like effect4 ,if1 therefore1 the course of the ,judean masters towards their slaves led to a successful revolt of ten out of twelve tribes1 there is every reason for believing that the parallel course which the ,american masters are pursuing against their slaves will sooner or later issue in a revolution--a revolution which shall do away with both masters and slaves1 leaving us with a classless ,america and a government concerned with the making of provisions for enabling all the people who are able and willing to work to supply themselves in abundance with the necessities of life and with the most desirable among the luxuries1 rather than a government which provides that they who produce nothing shall have the cream and top milk of every necessity and the whole bottle of every luxury1 leaving of the necessities only the blue milk for the producers of them and of the luxuries1 not even the dregs4 ,under this government those who can but will not work will be allowed to starve themselves into a better mind and out of their laziness4 ,the young and the old1 the sick and crippled will have their rightful maintenance from the state and out of the best of everything4 ,the deliverance of the world from commercial imperialism and the making of it safe for industrial democracy would prevent most of its unnecessary suffering and this great salvation is above all else dependent upon a knowledge of the truth4 ,ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free--free from all the avoidable ills of life1 among them the diabolical trinity of evils1 war1 poverty and slavery4 ,the happiness of the world will be promoted in extent and degree in proportion as the knowledge of the truth is disseminated by a twofold revelation3 7#a7 the truth as it is revealed by history according to the ,marxian interpretation thereof1 a revelation of the truth which is saving the world from the robbing impositions of the capitalistic interpretation of politics1 and 7#b7 the truth as it is revealed by nature1 according to the ,darwinian interpretation thereof1 a revelation which is saving the world from the robbing impositions of the supernaturalistic interpretations of religion4 ,man has always had as a basis for his thought1 belief and action1 a system for the production and distribution of the necessities of life4 ,this is the discovery of ,karl ,marx which is known as the scientific or materialistic interpretation of history4 ,according to the scientific interpretation of history which is taught by naturalistic socialism1 man is what he is1 and his institutions are what they are1 because he has fed1 clothed and housed himself as he has4 ,according to the traditional interpretation of history1 which is taught by supernaturalistic ,christianism1 man is what he is because of his thinking1 believing and acting with reference to a revelation of a god1 as it has been interpreted by his inspired representatives1 the great prophets and statesmen1 like ,isaiah and ,luther1 ,moses and ,washington4 ,perhaps the best proof of the correctness of the scientific or naturalistic explanation of the career of man and of the incorrectness of the traditional or supernaturalistic one is afforded by the history of morals1 the soul of both religion and politics1 without which neither could have any existence4 ,before the discovery of the art of agriculture1 man was dependent for his food upon fruits and nuts1 game and fish4 ,when these sources of sustenance failed1 the tribes living in the same neighborhood fought with each other in order that the victorious might eat the vanquished4 ,during this period cannibalism was morally right1 and it probably extended through at least two hundred thousand years1 even into the ,old ,testament times4 ,so righteous and holy was it that1 in the course of time1 the victims were recognized as saviour gods and the drinking of their blood and eating of their flesh constituted a ,lord's ,supper in which the god was eaten4 ,cannibalism is the basis of our sacrament of the holy communion of bread and wine4 ,as a connecting link between these extremes there was the form of communion which consisted in the eating of animal sacrifices4 ,by a sacrament with such an origin1 you and ,i render our highest act of worship1 though yours is still directed towards one among the supernaturalistic divinities and mine is now directed towards humanity4 ,you say of a divinity3 ,thou1 ,lord1 hast made me after thine own image and my heart cannot be at rest until ,i find rest in thee4 ,i say of humanity3 ,thou1 ,lord1 hast made me after thine own image and my heart cannot be at rest until it find rest in thee4 ,within the social realm humanity is my new divinity1 and your divinity 7my old one7 is a symbol of it1 or else1 so ,i think1 he is at best a fiction and at worst a superstition4 ,you will be surprised1 and ,i do not expect you to understand me1 when ,i tell you that by translating the services and hymns from the language of my old literalism into that of my new symbolism1 ,i am getting as much good out of them as ever and indeed more4 ,i love the services1 especially that great one1 the ,holy ,communion1 and the hymns1 especially those great ones1 ,guide ,me ,o ,thou ,great ,jehovah2 ,lead1 ,kindly ,light2 ,abide ,with ,me2 and ,jesus1 ,lover of ,my ,soul4 ,my experience has convinced me that the sentimental and poetical elements in religion1 to which ,i attach as much importance as ever1 are as readily excited and securely sustained by fixing thought and sympathy upon the martyred human savior1 the working class1 as upon a crucified divine saviour1 who after all1 as the suffering son of ,god1 is but a symbol of the suffering sons and daughters of man1 the workers1 from whom all good things come4 ,if grace at dinner means anything1 it is addressed to a god who is the symbol of the many workers who did the innumerable things necessary to the producing and serving of it1 without whom there would be nothing of all the good things on the table4 ,in the representation about my pleasure in the services of the church and their value to me1 and in many representations scattered throughout this letter1 ,i have in mind the question of an unanswered letter of yours1 bearing date1 ,february #beth1 #aiai1 the one in which you ask1 in effect1 by what right a man can remain in an institution after he has1 as ,i have1 abandoned its chief doctrines and aims as they are authoritatively interpreted4 ,the right of revolution is the one by which ,i justify my course1 and surely no consistent ,protestant ,christian or ,american citizen will doubt the solidity of this ground2 for ,protestantism and ,americanism had their origin in revolutions4 ,our national declaration of independence contains this famous justification of political revolutions1 and it is equally applicable to religious ones1 for religion and politics are but the ideal and practical halves of the same social reality3 ,we hold these truths to be self-evident1 that all men are created equal2 that they are endowed by their ,creator with certain inalienable rights2 that among these1 are life1 liberty1 and the pursuit of happiness4 ,that to secure these rights1 governments are instituted among men1 deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed3 that1 whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends1 it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it1 and to institute a new government1 laying its foundation on such principles1 and organizing its powers in such form1 as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness4 ,prudence1 indeed1 will dictate that governments long established1 should not be changed for light and transient causes2 and1 accordingly1 all experience hath shown1 that mankind are more disposed to suffer1 while evils are sufferable1 than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed4 ,but1 when a long train of abuses and usurpations1 pursuing invariably the same object1 evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism1 it is their right--and it is their duty--to throw off such government1 and to provide new guards for their security4 ,jesus was nothing if he was not a revolutionist4 ,anyhow1 his alleged mother is authoritatively represented as believing him to have been foreordained as one1 for this song is put into her mouth3 ,he hath showed strength with his arm3 he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts4 ,he hath put down the mighty from their seat3 and hath exalted the humble and meek4 ,he hath filled the hungry with good things3 and the rich he hath sent empty away4 ,this ,christian socialism1 like ,bolshevik socialism1 turns the idle rich empty away2 but1 whereas the ,christian gives them no chance to get anything to eat1 the ,bolshevik allows them to have as much as the poor1 if they will work as hard4 ,assuming for the sake of argument1 that there may have been an historical ,jesus who taught some of the doctrines1 in accordance with the representations of the gospel1 which are attributed to him1 ,i am nevertheless justified in claiming that he was quite as heretical touching the faith of orthodox ,judaism as ,i am touching that of orthodox ,christianism4 ,as to the ,jewish faith he said1 in effect1 of himself what ,i say of myself3 ,i have all of the potentialities of my own life within myself4 ,i and my god are one4 ,he dwells in me and ,i in him1 and we are on the earth1 not in the sky4 ,as to the ,jewish church and state1 ,jesus taught that they had become utterly antiquated and that it was the mission of himself and disciples to establish a new heaven1 that is to remodel the church2 and a new earth1 that is1 to remodel the state2 both remodelings being with reference to the service of humanity by enlightening its darkness and alleviating its misery here and now1 rather than teaching it to look for light and happiness elsewhere and elsewhen4,e ,as for the faith and church of orthodox ,christianism there is no reason for believing that he would be any more loyal to either than am ,i4 ,his loyalty was to the truth and to the proletarian1 and they 7this faith and church7 are disloyal to both1 being ever on the side of tradition against science1 and on the side of the owner against the worker4 ,jesus remained in the ,jewish church1 in spite of his many and great heresies1 until he was put out by death4 ,my contention is that in view of this example1 whether it be1 as you think1 of an historical or1 as ,i think1 of a dramatic character1 there is no reason why ,i should voluntarily go out of the ,christian church4 ,religion in general and ,christianity in particular are nothing unless they are embodiments of morality1 and morality does not consist in professions of belief in a god and his revelations as they are recorded in a bible and condensed in a creed1 but in a desire and effort to acquire a knowledge of the laws of nature in order that1 by conformity to them1 life may be made longer and happier4 ,when this desire exists and this effort is made with reference to one's own self1 they constitute morality2 when with reference to one's own family and associates1 they constitute religion1 and when with reference to all others of contemporary and future generations1 they constitute ,christianity4 ,but in making such distinctions the fact should not be lost sight of that at bottom there is no difference between morality1 religion and ,christianity4 ,they are synonyms for the same virtues1 the desire and effort to know and live the truth as it is revealed in the doings of nature4 ,there are no other revelations of the truth1 nor is there any other morality1 religion or ,christianity4 ,socialism is for me the one comprehensive term which is a synonym at once of morality1 religion and ,christianity4 ,marxian and ,bolshevikian socialism are two halves of one thing1 the theoretical half and the practical half4 ,marxism is socialism in theory4 ,bolshevism is 7perhaps imperfectly as yet7 socialism in practice4 ,as long as gods dominate the sky and capitalists prevail upon the earth1 the world will be safe for commercial imperialism1 having a small heaven for the few rich masters and a large hell for the many poor slaves4 ,come over and help us make the world safe for industrial democracy by banishing the personal1 conscious gods from the sky and the lying1 robbing capitalists from the earth4 ,but in coming there is no need for leaving your church any more than there is for leaving your state4 ,during the short time which is for me1 before the night cometh in which no man can work1 ,i shall remain in both as long as the powers that be allow it1 and do what little ,i can to revolutionize them--revolutionize the church into a school for the teaching of truth instead of lies1 and revolutionize the state into a hive for the making of commodities for the use of all instead of for the profit of a few4 ,in doing this ,i shall be following in the very footsteps of the human ,jesus4 ,after it was discovered that the ground1 by planting and cultivating1 would produce the necessities of life1 when a tribe found that it had too little of it for its growing population1 it would go to war with the weaker among adjacent tribes for the purpose of securing its territory2 but from this on the vanquished were not eaten1 and it was morally wrong to eat them4 ,they were kept alive and put to work at raising harvests for their conquerors1 hence arose the institution of slavery1 and hence its moral rightness even in this country of the free1 down to the beginning of the generation to which ,i belong4 ,however1 human slavery has never ended1 nor will it ever end while the competitive system for the production of the necessities of life for profit rather than use continues4 ,human slavery is1 so to speak1 the basic ingredient of this system4 ,speaking broadly1 there have been three forms of human slavery--the chattel1 feudal and wage slaveries--the third much worse than the first1 and the second intermediary between them4 ,the chattel slave1 as the adjective signifies1 was the property of his master1 as much so as were the horse or the mule with which he worked1 and he was cared for in much the same way and for about the same reason4 ,the feudal slave was as really a chattel as was his predecessor1 only he had to look out for himself to a greater extent2 and1 more was expected from him of accomplishment for the opulence and glory of the master1 especially insofar as these depended upon the success of his wars4 ,the wage slave is1 likewise1 as really owned by his master as was the chattel or the feudal slave2 but1 if the master has no need for his service1 he is altogether down and out1 as the feudal slave was not and still less the chattel1 and he has accomplished at least ten times more for his master than did either of his predecessors4 ,so far man has produced and distributed the necessities of life by a competitive system4 ,the existing form of this competition is known as capitalism4 ,it has supplanted1 or at least overshadowed1 every other form and is1 so to speak1 monarch of all it surveys4 ,the system as it now stands divides the world into two spheres--a small one1 in which a few live surfeitingly by owning1 and a large one1 in which the many live starvingly by working2 and1 yet1 ultimately1 absolutely everything for both depends upon the worker and nothing at all on the owner4 ,yes1 the worker is indispensable to the owner1 as much so as 7to use the classical illustration7 the dog to the flea2 but the owner is no more indispensable to the worker than a flea to a dog4 ,as dogs would be much better off without fleas1 so would workers without owners4 ,the discovery that the itch is caused by a parasite was of an epoch making character because it led to the discovery that many1 if not most of the diseases by which mankind and also animal kind are afflicted are of a parasitical character4 ,this is as true of the social organism as of the physical4 ,capitalism is the tape worm of society4 ,the existence of the master and slave classes inevitably gives rise to four struggles3 7#a7 the struggle of the slaves with the master for better conditions1 issuing in rebellions2 7#b7 the struggle between masters for advantages in markets1 issuing in wars2 7#c7 the struggle between the slaves for jobs1 issuing in a body and soul destroying poverty2 and 7#d7 the struggle of the slaves with the master for a reversal of conditions1 issuing in revolutions4 ,all this struggling between the classes and within them tends towards two results with both classes4 ,in the case of the master class1 these results are the making of the rich fewer and the remaining few richer4 ,in the case of the slave class1 these results are the making of the miserable poor more numerous and all less happy4 ,while capitalism stands1 all talk about peace on earth and good will among men will be so much hypocrisy2 for1 until it falls1 the world will be divided into the slave and master classes and these four contentions with these results will continue to fill it with hatred and strife4 ,,ii4 ,the overthrow of capitalism in ,russia is the greatest event in the history of the world and it has converted ,international ,socialism 7the ,marxian revolutionary kind7 from a theory into a condition4 ,theories come and go4 ,conditions remain and work4 ,from this on revolutionary socialism will be working1 night and day1 with might and main1 here and there1 everywhen and everywhere1 and its three herculean tasks are3 7#a7 to dethrone the great imperialist1 competitive capitalism2 7#b7 to enthrone the great democrat1 co-operative industrialism2 and 7#c7 to make the world safe for an industrial classless democracy4 ,in less than three years revolutionary socialism in ,russia has accomplished more of these three tasks for the world1 than all the states and all the churches with all their wars have done in the whole course of man's career1 extending through at least two hundred thousand years4 ,indeed they never did anything to these ends4 ,on the contrary1 what progress has been made towards them was made in spite of their strenuous opposition at every step4 ,revolutionary socialism is a world movement towards the deliverance of the producing slave from the non-producing master who has robbed him of the fruits of his toil and left him half dead on the wayside--the only effective movement to this humanitarian end4 ,revolutionary socialism is the ,good ,samaritan of the despoiled and wounded laborer4 ,the reformatory kinds of socialism are so many priests and ,levites who pass by on the other side4 ,of no reformatory socialism is this more true than of the ,christian kind4 ,christian socialism is absolutely worthless1 and its utter worthlessness is due to the essentially parasitic character of supernaturalistic or orthodox ,christianity4 ,until the reformation1 ,christianity was dominated by monks--parasites who lived by begging1 lying1 and persecuting2 and since then by capitalists--parasites who live by robbing1 lying and warring4 ,monks and capitalists have this in common1 that they are natives of the realm of parasitism4 ,we shall never have peace on earth and good will among men until we have a parasiteless humanity1 and we must wait for this until we have a classless world4 ,parasitism is a boon companion of classism4 ,nor can the earth ever be rid of its parasites until the celestial world is rid of the class gods which capitalists have made in their own image and likeness1 nor until the terrestrial world is rid of the class states and codes1 churches and gospels which their respective class kings or presidents and their class priests or preachers have had the gods of their making impose upon this world1 in accordance with their interests and in the furtherance of their lying1 robbing1 warring schemes for the promotion of them4 ,neither capitalism nor ,christianism is anything except insofar as it is a system of parasitism and as parasitic systems they have striking resemblances1 nearly as many and close as indistinguishable twins4 ,both have gods1 churches and priesthoods and these are in each case nothing but symbols4 ,however1 the god of capitalism1 though only a symbol1 is nevertheless real gold1 below a real vault1 and nearly all the world sincerely worships it4 ,but the god of ,christianism1 though none the less symbolic1 but rather more so1 is an unreal imaginary spirit1 a magnified man without a body1 above an imaginary vault1 and only a very small part of the world sincerely worships him4 ,international socialism of the ,marxian or ,russian type1 is for those who starvingly live by working1 the most uplifting thing in the world1 and for those who surfeitingly live by owning1 it is the most depressing thing in the world4 ,wise people consider theories without losing too much1 if any1 sleep on their account1 but they study conditions and lie awake nights over them4 ,millions of wise ,americans have1 in the past1 been studying socialism as a theory but1 in the future1 they will study it as a condition1 in the only way by which it can rightly and adequately be studied--the way of reading its official documents1 accredited periodicals and books4 ,of all such1 the most notable is the ,communist ,manifesto by ,marx and ,engels4 ,this ,manifesto is the ,marxian gospel4 ,i read two pages in it every day as faithfully as ever ,i read a chapter in the ,jesuine gospel1 and with much greater profit2 for1 whereas the gospel of ,marx is exclusively concerned with this terrestrial world1 about which ,i know much and for which ,i can do a little1 the gospel of ,jesus is as exclusively concerned with a celestial world1 about which ,i know nothing and for which ,i cannot do the least4 ,here1 as a sample of this gospel1 ,i give half of yesterday's reading and most of today's3 ,the immediate aim of the ,communists 7,socialists7 is the same as that of all the other proletarian parties2 formation of the proletariat into a class1 overthrow of the bourgeois supremacy1 conquest of political power by the proletariat4 ,the theoretical conclusions of the ,communists are in no way based on ideas or principles that have been invented1 or discovered1 by this or that would-be universal reformer4 ,they merely express1 in general terms1 actual relations springing from an existing class struggle1 from a historical movement going on under our very eyes4 ,the abolition of existing property relations is not at all a distinctive feature of ,communism4 ,all property relations in the past have continually been subject to historical change consequent upon the change in historical conditions4 ,the ,french ,revolution1 for example1 abolished feudal property in favor of bourgeois property4 ,the distinguishing feature of ,communism is not the abolition of property generally1 but the abolition of bourgeois property4 ,but modern bourgeois private property is the final and most complete expression of the system of producing and appropriating products1 that is based on class antagonism1 on the exploitation of the many by the few4 ,in this sense1 the theory of the ,communists may be summed up in the single sentence3 ,abolition of private property4 ,we ,communists have been reproached with the desire of abolishing the right of personally acquiring property as the fruit of a man's own labor1 which property is alleged to be the groundwork of all personal freedom1 activity and independence4 ,hard-won1 self-acquired1 self-earned property6 ,do you mean the property of the petty artisan and of the small peasant1 a form of property that preceded the bourgeois form8 ,there is no need to abolish that2 the development of industry has1 to a great extent1 already destroyed it1 and is still destroying it daily4 ,or do you mean modern bourgeois private property8 ,but does wage-labor create any property for the laborer8 ,not a bit4 ,it creates capital1 i4 e41 that kind of property which exploits wage-labor1 and which cannot increase except upon condition of getting a new supply of wage-labor for fresh exploitation4 ,property1 in its present form1 is based on the antagonism of capital and wage-labor4 ,let us examine both sides of this antagonism4 ,to be a capitalist1 is to have not only a purely personal1 but a social status in production4 ,capital is a collective product1 and only by the united action of many members1 nay1 in the last resort1 only by the united action of all members of society1 can it be set in motion4 ,capital is therefore not a personal1 it is a social power4 ,when1 therefore1 capital is converted into common property1 into the property of all members of society1 personal property is not thereby transformed into social property4 ,it is only the social character of the property that is changed4 ,it loses its class-character4 ,let us now take wage-labor3 ,the average price of wage-labor is the minimum wage1 i4 e41 that quantum of the means of subsistence1 which is absolutely requisite to keep the laborer in bare existence1 as his labor merely suffices to prolong and reproduce a bare existence4 ,we by no means intend to abolish this personal appropriation of the products of labor1 an appropriation that is made for the maintenance and reproduction of human life1 and that leaves no surplus wherewith to command the labor of others4 ,all that we want to do away with is the miserable character of this appropriation1 under which the laborer lives merely to increase capital1 and is allowed to live only insofar as the interest of the ruling class requires it4 ,in bourgeois society1 living labor is but a means to increase accumulated labor4 ,in ,communist society1 accumulated labor is but a means to widen1 to enrich1 to promote the existence of the laborer4 ,in bourgeois society1 therefore1 the past dominates the present2 in ,communist society1 the present dominates the past4 ,in bourgeois society capital is independent and has individuality1 while the living person is dependent and has no individuality4 ,and the abolition of this state of things is called by the bourgeois1 abolition of individuality and freedom6 ,and rightly so4 ,the abolition of bourgeois individuality1 bourgeois independence1 and bourgeois freedom is undoubtedly aimed at4 ,the version of the ,marxian gospel which we have in the ,manifesto is among the first of its versions4 ,it was published about the middle of the last century4 ,within the short period which has intervened1 it has changed nearly all of the ideas of a large and rapidly growing part of every nation about almost everything social2 and before the middle of the present century1 it will revolutionize all nations as it has ,russia4 ,ludendorff1 the greatest among the military authorities in ,germany1 saw and terribly feared this1 and called ,europe to arms to prevent it4 ,in his almost frantic appeal he said3 ,bolshevism is advancing now and in a gradual progress from east to west and is crushing everything between the midland sea and the ,atlantic ocean4 ,it was easy to foresee that the ,bolshevist armies would attack toward the middle of ,may and defeat the ,poles1 as they have now done4 ,the world at large must1 therefore1 figure with a ,bolshevist advance in ,poland toward ,berlin and ,prague4 ,poland's fall will entail the fall of ,germany and ,czecho-,slovakia4 ,their neighbors to the north and south will follow4 ,fate steps along with elementary force4 ,let no one believe it will come to a stand without enveloping ,italy1 ,france and ,england4 ,not even the ,seven ,seas can stop it4 ,under the capitalist system most people are and must continue to be slaves4 ,if you are a slave 7all wage earners1 as such1 are slaves7 the socialist literature1 the greatest of all literatures1 will thrill you with the hope of liberty4 ,read1 note and inwardly digest it4 ,no wage earner who does this will ever again vote either the ,democratic or the ,republican ticket4 ,as a whole this literature is a brilliantly illuminating and almost resistlessly persuasive explanation of the most sane1 the most salutary and withal the most promising movement towards the freeing of all toiling men1 women and children 7nine of every ten7 from their body and soul destroying slavery4 ,both ,socrates and ,jesus are recorded as teaching that the saviour of the world is truth4 ,among saving truths 7there is no truth without some saving efficacy7 the greatest is the one which was discovered and formulated concurrently by ,karl ,marx and ,frederick ,engels and it is in substance this3 all which makes for the good of mankind ultimately depends wholly upon the laborious constructors and operators of the machines for the cultivation1 production and distribution of the necessities of life1 not at all upon the owners of these machines1 who at best are idlers and at worst schemers1 and in any case parasites4 ,in the beginning was ,work4 ,all things were made by it2 and without it was not anything made that was made4 ,in it was life2 and the life was the light of men4 ,the opening verses of the gospel according to ,john have been thus interpreted4 ,the commentator acknowledges that they do not read so now1 but contends for good and sufficient reasons1 that1 if there ever was any truth in them1 something to this effect must have been their original reading4 ,certainly there is no truth in them as they have come down to us4 ,this representation to the effect that productive labor is the saviour of the world1 its real god1 the divinity in which we live1 move and have our being1 is the great truth1 the gospel of ,international ,socialism1 the greatest of all movements1 the movement which carries the only rational hope for the freeing of mankind from all its unnecessary suffering--and the most poignant sufferings1 those imposed by the great trinity of evils3 7war1 poverty and slavery7 are not necessary4 ,capitalism and ,christianism are alike not only in having gods which are symbols1 but also in having great buildings set apart for the worshipping of them4 ,the representatives of the god below the vault worship him in banks under the leadership of a threefold ministry3 presidents1 cashiers and bookkeepers4 ,the representatives of the god above the vault worship him in churches under the leadership of a threefold ministry3 bishops1 priests and deacons4 ,speaking particularly of ,christianity and ,america the trouble is not at all with our ,brother ,jesus and ,uncle ,sam divinities1 but wholly with what they symbolize1 capitalism--the god of liars1 robbers and warriors4 ,what our ,brother ,jesus and ,uncle ,sam should alike symbolize are the classless divinities3 7#a7 law1 the king of the physical realm1 and 7#b7 truth1 the queen of the moral realm4 ,law is what nature does4 ,there is no other law1 and this law is the god of the physical realm4 ,the gods of the supernaturalistic interpretations of religion 7,jesus1 ,jehovah1 ,allah1 ,buddha1 and all the rest7 are personifications1 or symbols1 of this god1 or else they are superstitions4 ,this representation is proved in practice to be true1 on the one hand1 by the fact that no one needs to live with reference to any among those gods1 not even the god1 ,jesus2 and1 on the other hand1 by the fact that none who fail to live with reference to this god1 law1 lives at all4 ,every act of nature1 that is1 every physical and psychical phenomenon which enters into the constitution of the universe1 is a word of the revelation of this god1 and there is no other revelation4 ,all men must constantly live with reference to it or else immediately die4 ,truth is the interpretation of this law in the light of human experience1 reason and investigation with the view of making human life1 that of self and of all who come or can be brought within the range of one's influence1 as long and happy as possible4 ,any one who desires and endeavors rightly to learn1 interpret and live this law to these ends is moral4 ,in everything is he wholly good and in nothing at all bad4 ,religion is not anything good1 except only as it is a synonym of such morality1 and this is equally true of politics4 ,war shortens much life and fills more with misery1 hence it is utterly immoral1 and this is equally true of poverty and slavery4 ,in what ,i say here and in some other places about war being essentially evil1 the wars referred to are those by which the world has been cursed through all the ages--wars between different groups of owners with conflicting interests1 not the war between owners and workers which is now on4 ,this war will bless1 not curse1 the world1 because it is for the emancipation of the slave class1 not for the enrichment of one group of the masters at the expense of another group1 at the cost of increased misery to all the slaves on both sides4 ,if there is any truth in the representation that real religion and real politics alike consist in desiring and endeavoring to make terrestrial life 7there is no celestial life of which aught is known7 long and happy1 the advocate of war is the worst of heretics against ,christianism and the worst of traitors against ,americanism4 ,war is a necessary characteristic of vegetables and animals1 because they cannot make and operate machines for the supplying of their needs4 ,peace is the necessary characteristic of humans1 because they can make and operate machines for the supplying of their needs4 ,wars between capitalists are inevitabilities1 as much so as the wars between two hungry dogs1 when one has a bone upon which the lives of both depend4 ,the only difference between capitalists and dogs is1 that dogs do their own fighting1 whereas capitalists first rob the laborers who produce their commodities1 and then persuade or compel them to fight their battles with fellow capitalists in their competitive efforts to distribute them4 ,on the one hand it is true that a few capitalists do lose money in wars1 and still fewer their lives1 but on the other hand it is equally true that the majority of them are made richer and that producing and distributing laborers ultimately bear every cent of the enormous financial burden1 and that for every machine owning master who is killed or wounded there are a hundred wage earning slaves4 ,yet neither the making nor operating of machines constitutes a man a human4 ,it is co-operation which does this4 ,nor will co-operation in itself suffice4 ,bees and ants co-operate and even capitalists do so1 yet with all their co-operating bees and ants remain animals and so do capitalists4 ,the co-operation which converts animals into humans is the one which is purposely inaugurated and sustained with the view of securing to each one the fruits of his labor while at the same time increasing them for all--that deliberate co-operation which consists in conscious living1 letting live and helping to live4 ,it is this co-operation which constitutes the most essential difference between the animal and the human4 ,only animalism can exist and flourish on a competitive basis1 yet this is the basis upon which men who falsely claim to be humans are living4 ,until mankind begins the construction of a civilization on a foundation of co-operation in the production and distribution of the necessities of life1 it should not set up a claim to humanism for itself1 because meantime it cannot sustain such a claim4 ,it is perfectly natural and absolutely necessary for dogs to have belligerent contentions for bones1 because they cannot peacefully co-operate in the making of them2 and yet men who can do this are more fierce by far in their competitive struggles for the bones which are necessities to their lives4 ,revolutionary socialists of the ,marxian or ,bolshevikian type offer the only solution of the two great questions of the world at this time3 7#a7 how to save it from its intermittent and lesser hell of suffering by the bloody wars between rival sets of capitalists1 and 7#b7 how to save it from its perpetual and greater hell of suffering by the bloodless wars between the machine owning masters and the machine operating slaves1 which wars1 if less excruciating1 are yet more destructive of both life and happiness4 #a4 ,as to the bloody wars1 a league of nations could prevent them only while the dogs are sleeping off their exhaustion4 ,nor could government ownership be depended upon for protection4 ,it would increase the armies and navies1 making it next to impossible that more than a decade or two should pass before our children must suffer as much as1 or more than1 we have by the recent war between the bull dog and the blood hound4 ,we are not at all indebted to the victory of the bull dog 7,england7 over the blood hound 7,germany7 for what we have in the way of a guarantee against future wars1 but wholly to the presumption of the ,newfoundland dog 7,russia7 which has quietly walked off with the bone of contention while the belligerents were scrapping over it4 ,notwithstanding all appearances and impressions to the contrary1 this bone never was really ,paris or ,berlin1 but first one and then another country--the ,balkan ,states1 ,mexico1 ,persia1 ,morocco and ,russia4 ,of late ,russia has been the chief bone of contention4 ,hence all the snarling against ,russian ,bolshevism1 one of a large litter of puppies born to the ,newfoundland since the beginning of the war1 representatives of which have already made their way to several countries of ,europe1 and the prospects are that they or their offspring will soon be in evidence everywhere throughout the world4 ,when all these ,bolsheviki are grown-ups1 they will make the world safe for democracy sure enough--not the competitive democracy of the bull dogs and blood hounds1 but the co-operative democracy of the ,newfoundland dog4 ,then1 and not before1 will the world be safe against war4 ,since the beginning of the armistice there has been1 every now and then1 a widespread fear that it might not be permanent1 because of a successful effort on the part of the bull dog to put over another war on account of the ,russian bone2 but for many this fear has now been almost quieted by the total collapse of the ,kolchak1 ,denikin1 ,yudenich and ,wrangel uprisings from within1 which were strongly supported by the ,allies2 and by the repulsion of the ,polish invasion which had ,england1 ,france and the ,united ,states behind it4 ,an astonishing illustration of the truth of the ,marxian theory concerning the materialistic or economic determination of history1 is furnished by the melancholy fact that the representatives of big business in the allied countries would gladly respond to ,gen4 ,ludendorff's call to join the junkers1 against whom they so recently fought1 in a war against ,russia1 of which war ,germany would be the battle field4 ,a concerted effort was made to organize such a war1 but the wisdom learned in the school of the world war by the working-men of all the countries to which the call was made and their consequent opposition to the effort caused it to fail4 #b4 ,but great as the suffering of the world is on account of the bloody wars of capitalists with each other1 it is but a drop in the bucket of sorrow as compared with its suffering on account of the bloodless wars between masters and slaves--between the machine owners and operators4 ,when this bloodless war ceases1 as it will with the triumph of international socialism1 the bloody wars will cease and not until then4 ,under the capitalist system every institution 7state1 church1 school1 legislature1 court1 business1 yes1 even charity7 is necessarily a robbing instrumentality by which a small class of non-producers1 fat masters1 rob a large class of producers1 lean slaves1 and rob them twice1 each time thrice3 #a4 ,the master non-producers rob the slave producers of the three great necessities of physical 7body7 life--food1 clothing and houses4 ,even in the ,united ,states of ,america1 the land of plenty1 at this time and at all times1 seventy-five out of every one hundred are insufficiently fed1 clothed and housed4 #b4 ,the master non-producers rob the slave producers of the necessities of psychical 7soul7 life--the liberty to learn the facts of nature1 the liberty to humanly interpret and live them and the liberty to teach their discoveries and interpretations4 ,even in the ,united ,states of ,america1 the home of political and religious freedom1 there is not one who can learn1 live and teach the truth without danger of being put out of a synagogue and into a penitentiary2 and this will continue until imperialistic capitalism and supernaturalistic ,christianism1 the father and mother of the whole brood of robbers1 liars1 persecutors and warriors1 have been dethroned4 ,the gods of the capitalistic interpretations of politics and the gods of the supernaturalistic interpretations of religion1 symbolize the same reality1 parasitic robbery4 ,yet within the religious realm the trouble is not with the ,jehovahs any more than within the political realm it is with the ,sams1 but only with what they symbolize4 ,for one ,i should feel that both the religious and political realms1 which are but halves of the same realm--religion the ideal half1 and politics the practical half--would be poorer without their respective ,jehovahs and ,sams1 even as the realm of childhood would be without its ,santa ,claus4 ,if symbols are not absolute necessities to the religious and political realms1 nevertheless they always have been1 now are and probably ever shall be ornaments of them2 ,i hope for their continuance1 but as subjectivities1 not objectivities4 ,all the imperialistic interpretations of politics and all the supernaturalistic interpretations of religion must be overthrown1 else the world will be lost4 ,the omnipotent1 omnipresent saviour who can and will deliver us from them is already in the world4 ,his name is ,international ,communism1 the greatest and holiest name which has ever been framed and pronounced2 and the gospel of this saviour as it is translated by ,thomas ,carlyle is written on every wall so that it may be read by all3 ,understand that well1 it is the deep commandment1 dimmer or clearer1 of our whole being1 to be freed4 ,freedom is the one purpose1 wisely aimed at1 or unwisely1 of all man's struggles1 toilings1 and sufferings1 on this earth4 ,morality is the greatest thing in the world because without it human life would not be worth the living1 or even possible2 but1 paradoxical as the assertion may seem1 freedom or liberty is greater because without it morality would be an impossibility4 ,one can attain to the very highest standard of morality1 religion and sainthood without the least necessity of the slightest reference to what the gods of the supernaturalistic religions said or did1 and this is quite as true of ,jesus as of any other among such gods1 but no man can reach even the lowest standard of morality1 and so of course not of religion or sainthood1 without constant reference to the god of truth4 ,yet there is a difference between a law and a truth4 ,the law is a doing or act of nature1 and as such it is a fact or revelation4 ,there are no other facts or revelations4 ,according to the traditional superstitious conception1 a truth is the revelation of the will of a god1 involving a service to be rendered directly or indirectly to him1 and morality consists in a fulfillment of it4 ,according to the modern scientific conception1 a truth is the interpretation of a fact involving a service to be rendered to men4 ,on the scientific theory each man must have what truth he has1 either by his own interpretation or by the adoption for himself of another's interpretation4 ,no man can live the moral part of his psychical 7soul7 life on the truth of another any more than he can live his physical 7body7 life on the meals of another4 ,every one must have his own truths1 even as he must have his own meals4 ,hence the necessity of freedom to morality4 ,hence1 too1 the impossibility of the moral life under restraint1 such as is imposed by orthodox churches in their official dogmas1 and such as is imposed by belligerent states in their espionage laws4 ,capitalism is essentially competitive and therefore necessarily belligerent in character3 hence a complete1 an ideal moral life is an utter impossibility under it1 but even the little of moral life which otherwise might be possible is lessened to one-half by official dogmas and espionage laws2 if1 then1 the governments of churches and nations have any regard for the morality of their memberships and citizenships they will at once repeal them1 and never enact others4 ,the democracy which means freedom to learn the laws of the physical realm of nature and to interpret them into laws for the regulation of human life 7a democracy which will secure to each one the longest and happiest life which1 under the most favorable of conditions1 would be within the range of possibilities for him7 must wait until the competitive system of capitalism for the production and distribution of the necessities has been universally and completely supplanted by the co-operative system of socialism4 ,the conclusion of the whole matter1 as it is well put by an able contributor to the excellent ,proletarian1 is this3 ,what is needed is a complete revolution of the economic system4 ,private ownership of the tools of wealth production stands in the way of further peaceful social development and private ownership must be eliminated4 ,the capitalists themselves will not eliminate it4 ,that is certain4 ,it remains for the working class to do so4 ,in order to accomplish this task it will be necessary for the workers to take control of the institution by which the capitalists maintain their ownership of the tools of production--the political state4 ,that is the historic mission of the working class4 ,the mission of the ,socialist is to organize and train the workers for this conquest of political power4 ,among the signs of the times which unmistakably point to the great day of the happy consummation of the movement towards the proletarian revolution1 and the glorious sky is full of them1 is the fact that the world has recently learned from the great war that man must work out his own salvation without the least help from the gods of the supernaturalistic interpretations of religion3 ,and that inverted ,bowl they call the ,sky1 ,whereunder crawling coop'd we live and die1 ,lift not your hands to ,it for help--for ,it ,as impotently moves as you or ,i4 --,omar4 ,yes1 and a god moves more impotently than a man2 for1 whereas the god is driven hither and thither by the laws of matter and force1 according to which they co-exist and co-operate through evolutionary processes to the making of the universe what it is1 and the god cannot help himself by making it or conditioning himself otherwise1 the man1 if only he will learn those laws1 may combine1 guide and ride them to almost any predetermined destination1 even out of the class hell of competitive capitalism to the classless heaven of co-operative socialism4 ,,iii4 ,the salvation of the world from its unnecessary sufferings is dependent upon such an equitable sharing of the labor involved in the making and operating of the machines of production and distribution1 and upon such an equitable sharing of the products as shall issue in a classless mankind by doing away1 through a revolution1 with the class which lives by owning the means and machines of production and distribution4 ,it is this advocacy of classless levelism which constitutes the theoretical core of revolutionary socialism4 ,those who oppose this socialism proceed upon the assumption of the permanency of existing religious and political institutions1 the most ruinous of all heresies4 ,what this heresy is and the fatal policy to which it gives rise has its classic expression1 so far as religion is concerned1 in the exhortation--earnestly contend for the faith once for all delivered to the saints--and1 so far as politics is concerned1 in the representation--the laws of the ,medes and ,persians which altereth not4 ,there is no such faith in religion1 and cannot be1 for as a creed becomes stereotyped it loses the religious character and degenerates into superstition4 ,there are no such laws in politics1 and cannot be1 for as a law becomes stereotyped it loses the political character and degenerates into tyranny4 ,religion1 which is the ideal half1 and politics1 which is the practical half1 of the same reality1 human socialism1 are like all else in the universe1 constantly changing1 and necessarily so1 because life and progress are dependent upon change4 ,orthodoxy in religion and politics is the blight of the ages1 because of its assumption that the great institutions1 the family1 state and church with their customs1 laws and doctrines1 as they exist for the time being1 constitute the foundation of society1 without which it could not exist2 that these institutions are almost if not altogether what they should be1 and that1 therefore1 the welfare of society1 if not indeed its existence1 is dependent upon their continuance with but little if any change4 ,but the foundation of society always has been a system for the production and distribution of the necessities of life1 and hence social institutions1 customs1 laws and creeds are what they are at any time because an economic system is what it is4 ,if we compare an economic system for the production of the primary necessities of life 7foods1 clothes and houses7 to a king or bishop 7we may well do so1 for in all ages such systems have been the power behind every regal and episcopal throne7 we shall see that states1 with their rulers1 codes and police1 armies and jails2 and churches1 with their gods1 revelations1 heavens and hells1 are but so many expediencies for the protection of the system from change4 ,what is true in this respect of the state and church is equally so of the family1 the school1 the press1 the lodge1 the club1 the library1 the theater1 the chautauqua and1 in short1 every institution4 ,why all these age-long safeguards against change8 ,because1 so far1 every economic system has divided society into two classes1 a comparatively small class who own things and a large one who make things1 and if the few honest owners are to hold their own as divinely favored grab-it-alls1 they must be protected at every point against the many dishonest makers who are diabolically tempted to be keep-somes6 ,these rounded out children of god have nothing in common with these caved in imps of the devil1 no more than the flea and the dog1 or the tapeworm and the man4 ,david hastily said3 ,all men are liars4 ,he might leisurely have said this of every representative of any religious or political orthodoxy1 for they insist that their religion and politics are the permanent elements in social truth which remain unchanged from generation to generation through all ages1 whereas no religion or politics continues the same during one decade1 nor even a single year4 ,orthodox ,christians say that ,jesus founded their sectarian churches1 though each sect insists that he had to do with only one church1 theirs4 ,i doubt that he lived4 ,in any case1 ,i am certain that if he did live and founded a church in the first century and were to come to earth again in this twentieth century1 he could not if he would and would not if he could become a member of it1 because of its changes4 ,our own country is different by the width of the whole space of the heavens from what it was before the war1 and it is destined to a much wider change4 ,so far are churches with their doctrines1 and states with their laws from being changeless1 that they are more or less modified by every development in the economic system to which they owe their existence and of which they are servants4 ,in the case of every nation its king1 the economic system1 has always been a robber and enslaver of the overwhelming majority of the people1 and the church and state have been the hands by which he accomplished the robbing and enslaving4 ,insofar as they differ1 ,roman orthodoxy is what it is because of its starting out as the religious product of the feudal system of economics2 and ,protestant orthodoxy is what it is because of its starting out as the religious product of the capitalistic system of economics4 ,protestantism is preferred before ,romanism by most of the leading people in the financial world1 because it is the child of capitalism1 their sister1 so to speak1 whereas its rival is only a cousin4 ,as to the ,roman and ,protestant orthodoxies they are on the same footing4 ,i would not turn my hand over for the difference between them4 ,if literally interpreted in the light of modern science1 both are utterly antiquated and irrational4 ,orthodox ,romanists and ,protestants have essentially the same bible and creed4 ,in my opinion1 as in that of all ,marxian and ,darwinian socialists1 every supernaturalistic representation in both must be regarded as having either a figurative or a superstitious character1 for there is not one among them which can endure a scientific and rational analysis2 yet1 this is an age of science and reason4 ,the difference between ,romanism and ,protestantism is not at all a question of relative supernaturalism1 nor of rightness and wrongness1 but wholly one of the difference between the systems of economics which gave them birth4 ,if you ask1 is not this difference at least partly a question of the age in which they took their rise1 ,i reply1 yes2 but the age itself depends upon the system4 ,however1 it is a fact that while an economic system does constitute the foundation of every religious and political superstructure1 yet below the foundation itself there is always a bed rock upon which it ultimately rests1 and this is a question of machinery by which the necessities of life are produced and distributed4 ,the age of feudalism was essentially traditional or theoretical in its character4 ,the age of capitalism is essentially scientific or experimental in its character4 ,this difference between these ages is due to the fact that during the earlier age things were made with hand tools1 and during the later one with machine tools4 ,machinery in a theoretical or traditional age would be an anachronism4 ,it must have an experimental or scientific age for its development1 and1 paradoxical as it may seem1 this the machinery must make for itself4 ,every period in human history has had its determining character from the tools which brought it into being4 ,supernaturalism has no place in the observations1 investigations or experimentations which are necessary to the invention1 construction and operation of a great machine and1 hence1 the machines have banished the gods from the roof of the earth and the devils from its cellar1 leaving it to us to make of it what we please1 a heaven or a hell without reference to them4 ,in his brilliant work entitled ,social and ,philosophical ,studies1 translated by ,charles ,h4 ,kerr1 ,paul ,lafargue writes3 ,the labour of the mechanical factory puts the wage-worker in touch with terrible natural forces unknown to the peasant1 but instead of being mastered by them he controls them4 ,the gigantic mechanism of iron and steel which fills the factory1 which makes him move like an automaton1 which sometimes clutches him1 bruises him1 mutilates him1 does not engender in him a superstitious terror as the thunder does in the peasant1 but leaves him unmoved1 for he knows that the limbs of the mechanical monster were fashioned and mounted by his comrades1 and that he has but to push a lever to set it in motion or stop it4 ,the machine1 in spite of its miraculous power and productiveness1 has no mystery for him4 ,the labourer in the electrical works1 who has but to turn a crank on a dial to send miles of motive power to tramways1 or light the lamps of a city1 has but to say1 like the ,god of ,genesis1 let there be light1 and there is light4 ,never sorcery more fantastic was imagined1 yet for him this sorcery is a simple and natural thing4 ,he would be greatly surprised if one were to come and tell him that a certain god might1 if he chose1 stop the machines and extinguish the lights when the electricity had been turned on2 he would reply that this anarchistic god would be simply a misplaced gearing or a broken wire1 and that it would be easy for him to seek and find this disturbing god4 ,the practice of the modern factory teaches scientific determinism to the wage-worker1 without it being necessary for him to pass through the theoretic study of the sciences4 ,earth must be a hell as long as we allow the capitalist system to continue on it and to enslave the vast majority of its inhabitants4 ,marxian socialism will ring out the old era with its hell of human slavery and ring in the new era with its heaven of machine slavery4 ,one point must be grasped and held by all who would understand the changes which take place within the social realm and it is this3 they are due to the differences in the instrumentalities or machines by which the necessities of life are produced4 ,man has risen above the lower animals which have common ancestors with his own1 because of the superiority of the hand by which he does things to the hands by which they do things4 ,if a man's body in general and hand in particular were not a great improvement over the bodies and hands of the apes1 his mind and morality would differ but little from theirs4 ,the superiority of the civilization of this age over its predecessors is a question of instrumentalities by which the efficiency of the hand is increased4 ,if all the modern machinery were taken from this generation and replaced by the implements of the stone age the civilization of the next generation would begin to sink1 and within a century it would reach the ancient level4 ,strong expression is also given to the great truth upon which we are here dwelling by the ,socialist ,party of ,great ,britain in its noteworthy ,manifesto3 ,obviously1 in order that there may be ideas and human history1 two material things must first be present3 human beings1 and food and shelter for them4 ,and the fundamental fact that is so seldom realized is1 that where1 by what means1 and how much1 food and shelter can be obtained1 determines if1 where1 and how1 man shall live1 and the forms his social institutions and ideas shall take4 ,it is1 indeed1 the very basis of ,socialist philosophy that1 in the words of ,frederick ,engels3 ,in every historical epoch the prevailing mode of economic production and exchange1 and the social organization necessarily following from it1 form the basis upon which is built up1 and from which1 alone can be explained1 the political and intellectual history of that epoch4 ,this materialist concept is the ,socialist key to history4 ,it is the first principle of a science of society1 and1 being directly antagonistic to all religious philosophy1 it is destined to drive this philosophy and all its superstitions from their last ditch4 ,civilization will not die with the death of the capitalist system of production any more than it did with the feudal system4 ,it improved under capitalism1 because of the improvement in the machinery of production1 and it is destined to continue its progress so long as new and better machines are made and this will be to the end4 ,marxian socialism is a machine optimism4 ,under this socialism the number and efficiency of machines would increase more rapidly than they have under capitalism and feudalism1 because its aim will be the production of commodities for use within the shortest time by the least exertion at the slightest risk of injury4 ,up to the point of over production1 that is1 of glutting the markets1 it is to the interest of capitalism to encourage improvements in machinery1 but the ability to do this has been reached1 as is evident from what we hear at increasingly frequent intervals about an over production of commodities4 ,what machinery we now have renders it possible to produce more commodities than can be sold without employing all the labor power4 ,but the idle1 starving slave is a danger to the idle1 surfeiting master4 ,hence1 under capitalism there can be no further development of machinery1 at least not on a large scale4 ,an industrial government would have for its aim to produce enough of everything for all with the least expenditure of energy and time4 ,hence1 the greatest benefactors and heroes under socialism would be the inventors of labor saving1 leisure giving machinery4 ,we hear much about the mental superiority of the representatives of the master class over those of the slave class1 but there is little or no truth in it4 ,on the contrary1 it can be shown that the invention of a great labor saving1 rapid-producing machine is1 upon the whole1 the greatest triumph of the human mind and that nearly all among such machines are invented1 made1 operated1 kept in order and improved by the laborer4 ,masters may be more cunning than slaves1 but cunningness is not an evidence of a high order of intellectual power4 ,many of the lower animals are quite the equals1 if not indeed the superiors1 of capitalists in this quality1 but no animal is the equal of any man1 not to speak of the exceptionally skilled laborer1 in the power to produce efficient machines for the production and distribution of the necessities of life4 ,romanism began its career as a child of the feudal system for the production and distribution of commodities for the profit of the owners of the land and the means for its cultivation4 ,the mission to which it was born was the assistance of its father1 feudalism1 in robbing and enslaving the workers who tilled the soil1 and never did a servant more faithfully or efficiently perform a task during a longer period4 ,protestantism began its career as a child of the capitalistic system for the production and distribution of commodities for the profit of the owners of the means and machines for their manufacturing4 ,the mission to which it was born was the assistance of its father1 capitalism1 in robbing and enslaving the workers1 who make and operate the machines1 and never did a servant more faithfully and efficiently perform a task in a larger or more fruitful field4 ,hitherto all systems of economics have had the same soul1 competition2 and1 because of it1 every one among them has been a diabolical trinity of which lying is the father2 robbing is the son1 who proceeds from the father2 and murder is the spirit1 who proceeds from the father and the son4 ,labor1 the certain man of every nation1 is half dead lying in the ditch by the wayside1 despoiled and wounded1 the victim of capitalism1 the greatest liar1 robber and murderer of all the ages4 ,the church is the archangel or prime minister through which this ,beelzebub1 capitalism1 has done most of his lying1 though within the last hundred years the business has become so great that the office of coadjutor to this archangel was created1 and the press appointed to it4 ,the state is the archangel or prime minister through which this prince of devils1 capitalism1 has done most of his robbing and killing1 though the church has often taken a helpful hand in these departments of the devil's work1 the great work of converting earth into a hell4 ,nearly all of the backwardness of the world and more than half of its unnecessary sufferings have been due to efforts to prevent changes in religion and politics4 ,our nation is passing through the darkest period of its history because of such efforts on the part of the powers which be in the state1 and they are supported by those in the church4 ,speaking of the change with which we are here especially concerned1 the one involved in the supplanting of an old economic system by a new1 there have been several revolutions due to such changes1 and another is inevitable and imminent4 ,when an economic system fails1 as the capitalistic one is failing1 to feed1 clothe and house the workers of the world who produce all foods1 clothes and houses1 the time when it must give place to another is manifestly near at hand4 ,capitalism is failing in this1 the only legitimate mission of an economic system4 ,it has indeed over-supplied the needs of about one in ten1 but in doing this it has shown partiality1 for the remaining nine are left more or less foodless1 clotheless and houseless1 and this notwithstanding they have done all the feeding1 clothing and housing4 ,those favored by the system will not be able to prevent its overthrow by those who are wronged4 ,with our materials1 factories1 railroads and skill1 all should have enough and to spare of every necessity1 but so far is this from being the case that millions are insufficiently fed1 clothed1 housed and warmed1 and are doomed to a perpetual and exhaustive drudgery which leaves neither leisure nor energy for the cultivation of their soul life4 ,the economical and statistical experts of our government's ,department of ,labor represent that the bare necessities of a comfortable and efficient life for a family of five require an annual income of #a1ejj1 and that the simple luxuries1 which are next to being indispensable1 require an additional #a1jjj1 in all #b1ejj1 per year4 ,how many ,american families of five have even the smaller of these sums at their disposal8 ,the overwhelming majority have less than #a1jjj4 ,let us be honest with the peoples of other nations by ceasing to speak of our country as the land of plenty and the home of the free1 until there is a great change for the better4 ,wage slavery may be prolonged by a military coercion but it cannot have a successor in any other form of human slavery4 ,military coercion prolonged chattel slavery1 and by so doing brought what is known as the dark ages upon the world4 ,if wage slavery is to be prolonged by military coercion the world must pass through a second dark age4 ,the league of nations is fixing for this2 but let us hope that this coalition will not stand and that wage slavery will soon be followed by machine slavery1 the form of slavery which will end human slavery2 not until then shall we have peace on earth and good will among men4 ,then they shall beat their swords into plowshares1 and their spears into pruning hooks3 nation shall not lift up sword against nation1 neither shall they learn war any more4 ,do you not now see with me that the christ of the world is not a conscious1 personal god1 but an unconscious1 impersonal machine8 ,it is the machine of man1 not a lamb of god1 to which we may hopefully look for the taking away of the sins of the world4 ,ignorance is the great misfortune of the world1 its devil1 and slavery is his hell4 ,the machine is the redeemer who shall save man from this devil and hell4 ,yes1 strange1 even blasphemous1 as the representation may seem1 it is nevertheless true1 the machine is the only name given under heaven whereby the world can be saved4 ,civilization is salvation4 ,the civilization which is salvation depends on leisure and it on slavery1 but so long as leisure is dependent upon the slavery of man1 civilization must be limited to a diminishing few4 ,marxian socialism is a movement towards the equalization and universalization of leisure by doing away with the master and slave classes1 through transference of slavery from man to machine4 ,if there is any truth in my naturalistic representation about the dependence of morality upon a system for the production of the necessities of life1 there is none in the supernaturalistic one1 which makes it dependent on any among the gods2 and1 what is true of the realm of morality is equally so of the realm of history1 and this whether it be the history of the universe in general or man in particular4 ,lavoisier and ,mayer showed that no god 7,jesus1 ,jehovah1 ,allah1 ,buddha7 created the universe out of nothing1 for the matter and force which enter into its constitution are eternalities and universalities4 ,kant and ,laplace showed that the earth and the heavenly bodies were not created by any god at all1 but evolved from gaseous nebulae4 ,kepler and ,newton showed that these bodies were not governed in their motions by a god but by the law of gravitation4 ,darwin and ,wallace showed that the species of animal and vegetable life were not created by any among the gods1 but evolved from a common protoplasm4 ,marx and ,engels showed that man's career has not been determined by any among the gods1 but by his systems for producing and distributing the necessities of life4 ,these ten men are the greatest teachers the world has had1 and this is the sum of all their great teachings3 ,the universe is self-existing1 self-sustaining and self-governing1 having all the potentialities of its own life within itself1 and what is true of it in general is equally so of all the phenomena which enter into its constitution1 including man2 who1 though he is the highest among them1 is only a phenomenon1 on a level with all the rest1 not excepting the lowest4 ,a microbe and a man are on the same footing1 both as to their origin and destiny1 and as to their having within themselves all power which is available for making the most of their respective lives4 ,we are part ,of every rock and bird and beast and hill1 ,one with the things that prey on us1 ,and one with what we kill4 ,darwinism and ,marxism constitute one gospel1 the only true1 comprehensive and sufficient gospel which the world has ever had or can have1 and there is no hope for the future of mankind except in it4 ,if it fails the world is lost1 but it shall not and indeed cannot fail1 for its words are so many acts or facts of nature4 ,there is no fact which is not such an act1 and every such fact is a part of the one only law upon the knowing and doing of which terrestrial life and its happiness are wholly and solely dependent4 ,yes1 life1 long life1 happy life1 all there is of such human life1 or divine life1 7if there be any71 depends entirely upon a knowledge of and conformity to this law which is the doing of nature1 and not at all upon any law which is the willing of a god1 if indeed there is such a law4 ,neither the religion nor the politics which enters into the constitution of ,marxian or proletarian socialism is at all concerned about the heaven above or the hell below the earth1 if there are such places3 but the concern of both is wholly to ring out a hell from the earth and to ring in a heaven upon it4 ,nor have the religion and politics which constitute this socialism the least concern about the service of a celestial divinity 7,jesus1 ,jehovah1 ,allah1 ,buddha or any other7 by doing his will2 but both are much concerned with the service of humanity1 which consists in rightly learning1 interpreting and using the laws of nature1 wholly for the purpose of making the terrestrial lives of men1 women and children as long and happy as possible1 and with absolutely no reference to any celestial life which may be either above or below the earth4 ,religion and politics are the complementary and inseparable halves of the social sphere1 religion being its idealism and politics its practicalism4 ,religious idealism is a social soul of which the church should be the embodiment4 ,political practicalism is a social soul of which the state should be the embodiment4 ,contrary to the representations of orthodox ,christianism it is impossible for any soul to exist without an embodiment4 ,in truth the body produces the soul1 not the soul the body4 ,we must have the church and state in order that we may have their souls1 idealism and practicalism4 ,why1 if the ,soul can fling the ,dust aside ,and naked on the ,air of ,heaven ride1 ,were't not a ,shame--were't not a ,shame for him ,in this clay carcass crippled to abide8 --,omar4 ,,iv4 ,the church and the state are on the same level as to their origin and importance4 ,both are human institutions and each is indispensable to the other4 ,it is not at all desirable or possible to rid the world of either1 but it is absolutely necessary that both should be revolutionized1 the church by having its bible and creed rewritten or at least reinterpreted1 on the basis of truth as it is revealed by nature1 and the state by having its institutions reorganized on the basis of service to all instead of only to those of a small class1 the owner or master class4 ,all the idealistic aims of churches and all the practical undertakings of states should be directly concerned with the answer to three questions3 7#a7 the question as to how to reach the goal where terrestrial life shall in the case of each man1 woman and child be as long and happy as it is within the range of possibilities to make it1 by the fullest of attainable knowledge concerning the laws of nature2 7#b7 the question as to how to make the most successful endeavor universally to disseminate such knowledge1 and 7#c7 the question as to how resistlessly to persuade to the living of it4 ,these are the only concerns and aims of ,marxian socialism and they cannot be promoted or even avowed by ,christian socialists4 ,the great crime of the ages is the robbing of the producer of the basic necessities of human life by the non-producer4 ,capitalism is the robber1 and the politics and religion of the old states and churches are the right and left hands by which he has been and is doing the robbing4 ,marxian socialism is an undertaking which has for its task the overthrow of the system which makes it possible for those who produce nothing to live surfeitingly1 and renders it necessary for those who produce everything to live starvingly4 ,poverty is a disease caused by the unjust wage system of competitive capitalism for producing and distributing the necessities of life 7food1 clothing and shelter7 for the profit of capitalists1 the few who live by owning the materials and machines of production and distribution2 and this blighting malady cannot be cured by charity1 but it will spread until this system is supplanted by the just one of co-operative industrialism1 a system by which these necessities shall be produced and distributed for the use of laborers1 those who live by making and operating the machines4 ,every gift to charity by a rich man is a robbery of a poor man4 ,you will not see this at once1 if ever1 and ,i shall not blame you for the failure to do so4 ,it was not seen by me until ,i was much older than you2 but ,i am now seeing it as clearly as ,i ever saw the sun on a cloudless noonday1 and this is true of rapidly growing millions who are resolutely resolved to do away with the prevailing conception of charity1 according to which capitalists may rob laborers of the fruit of their toil1 giving them of it barely enough to keep body and soul together and to raise up children who are doomed to follow in their footsteps2 and then1 when the strength of their victim fails1 to make amends for the robberies1 by giving the most highly favored among them beds in hospitals1 poor-houses in which to die prematurely1 and nameless graves in potter's fields in which to await hopefully a resurrection and ascension to an inheritance of happiness in a sky1 which was denied them on the earth4 ,the time is at hand when everywhere the unemployed and the underpaid shall begin a resistless march towards the goal of economic levelism under a banner containing this slogan3 ,we want no charity but the right to work and the fruits of our labors that we and our helpless dependents may have every necessity to the fullest life for body and soul4 ,during more than a whole generation ,mrs4 ,brown and ,i have not produced a spoonful of any food1 a thread of any garment or a shingle of any house2 and yet we have had foods1 garments and houses in abundance with some to spare1 while their producers have had them in scarcity with much to want4 ,while the world war was on1 an ill wind for the producers blew a thousand dollars to us and an ill wind for us blew it into the hands of a committee1 ostensibly for investment on behalf of a hospital of which we approved1 but really for the purchase of a bond in the interest of a war of which we disapproved4 ,the fathers of the present generation of producers and distributors of the necessities of life were robbed in order that we might inherit the property from which our income is derived2 the sons and daughters are being robbed over and over again and again1 year after year1 in order that the property may continue to yield this income to us4 ,we therefore paid nothing of our own for this bond4 ,what we gave for it was of the spoils which the great robber1 capitalism1 has bestowed upon us1 its favorite children1 from what it has taken from its unfortunate victims4 ,the same persons or their children and successors were or shall be robbed first to create our property1 then to pay the income of it1 next to buy the bond1 and now they are being robbed to meet the interest on it and finally they will be robbed to pay its face value4 ,if capitalism stands1 of course the victims of the last of these robberies will belong1 probably1 to a remote generation2 but this delay is a misfortune in store for many of all intervening generations4 ,if the robbery connected with this bond were limited to its original cost1 one thousand dollars1 and to its accruing interest1 which is likely in time to aggregate several thousand dollars1 it would indeed be bad enough1 yet not nearly as much so as it is under the melancholy circumstances2 for the money paid on account of the bond goes towards killing or wrecking its producers1 if not those who produced this particular thousand dollars1 yet others of their class to whom the world owes all of its wealth2 therefore the thousand dollars which went into this bond has been devoted to the robbery of those who were robbed of it and of the most precious of all things3 life and limb4 ,you will ask3 how can you and ,mrs ,brown1 in the face of your theory1 according to which all who live by owning are robbers of those who live by working1 consistently receive and expend the income of your inheritance8 ,the answer was given to a friend who asked us why we did not follow the heroic example of a young ,american who had recently renounced what had been inherited by him1 and this is1 in effect1 what we said3 ,as we look at the question1 our course is more rational than his1 because the wealth which he renounces may go to some one who is without his sympathy for the proletariat4 ,we prefer to receive our inheritance and use it to overthrow the economic system which makes it possible for us to do nothing and have everything1 and for those who do everything to have nothing4 ,capitalists1 as such1 people who live by the owning of the machines of production and distribution1 instead of by the making and operating of them1 have much to say against the alleged anarchism of socialists and yet they are necessarily what they accuse anarchism of being1 robbers and murderers4 ,every cent of profit1 interest and rent is so much robbing1 and all wars are so many conflicts between the capitalistic bandits or robbers in the countries involved1 and the peace conferences1 which follow them1 are so many attempts of the bandits on the successful side to have the spoils as large as possible1 and to satisfactorily divide them4 ,it is ,holy ,week #aiba4 ,the week in which during all the years of many and long ages benighted people sacrificed their ,christs to ,shylock gods4 ,if ,jesus lived and was a ,christ1 unhappily ,he was neither the first nor the last1 for there were many both before and after ,him4 ,were they who superstitiously led these victims to their ,golgothas greater sinners against humanity than those who did avariciously during the war drive large armies of young men to the terrible trenches1 a wholesale sacrifice of the lords of power and wealth and who do now drive the vast majority of the nations involved in that war to a terrible body and soul destroying poverty and slavery8 ,no4 ,the modern robbers even more than the ancient ones are in need of the prayer3 ,forgive them for they know not what they do4 ,communism and ,christianism have1 indeed1 this in common1 that their object is to promote life1 long life1 and happy life1 both lives in a large and full measure1 pressed down1 shaken together and running over4 ,yet1 with this sameness in the gospels of ,communism and ,christianism there is this difference in the aims of the christs who preached them1 which separate them as widely as the east is from the west1 leaving a great and impassable gulf between them4 ,marx1 the christ of the ,communist gospel1 said3 ,i am come that the world might have terrestrial life for body1 mind and soul1 and have it for each in the fullest of possible measures by co-operation with each other in the discovery of the laws of nature and in making them serve men1 women and children by securing for them food1 clothing1 shelter1 health and comfort for the body1 and leisure for the mind to think and for the soul to grow4 ,jesus1 the christ of the ,christian gospel1 according to orthodoxy1 said3 ,i am come that ye might have celestial life for mind1 body and soul and have it for each in the largest and fullest possible measure by co-operation in persuading each other in particular and the world in general to receive a revelation of the will of a conscious1 personal ,god1 made through prophets1 preserved in the bible and interpreted by the church4 ,with me it is a melancholy but resistless and deepening conviction1 that1 if orthodox ,christianism should become associated with ,marxian socialism1 as ,kingsley and you would associate them1 we should soon have a glaring illustration of the truth of two proverbs3 a house divided against itself cannot stand2 and no man can serve two masters4 ,moreover1 ,i believe that if ,christian socialism were to become a door to ,marxian socialism1 through which orthodox ,christianism could enter and make itself at home1 the revolutionary aims of the slave class would be thwarted and the world would enter upon a new dark age1 as it did when ,constantine was converted to ,christianity and ,christians became the most loyal citizens and valiant soldiers of the ,empire4 ,at that time chattel slavery had run its course as wage slavery has now2 and1 if it had not been prolonged by a military despotism1 as ,i fear this may be1 the world would have had something of the feudal slavery1 but nothing of the dark age4 ,this age was the baneful fruit of ,christianism4 ,christianity has held the world back from civilization instead of advancing it towards civilization4 ,the ,christianization of ,marxian communism1 in accordance with the program of ,kingsley and our ,church ,socialist ,league1 would spell another military despotism for the prolongation of a second system of slavery1 which has run its course and is in a fair way of being overthrown2 but if the revolutionists fail1 as the result of being trampled under the iron heel1 we are at the threshold of a second dark age and shall soon be passing through all the miseries of it4 ,my interest in the movement within our church looking towards a ,christian socialism of a more radical and revolutionary type would be great1 if only ,i could feel as ,i should so much like1 that the ,christian socialism to which you have consecrated the whole prime of your life1 and the ,marxian socialism1 to which ,i have consecrated all of the little that remains of mine1 the fag-end1 are not utter incompatibilities1 so much so that it is absolutely impossible that they can co-exist and co-operate to any good purpose4 ,the irreconcilable incompatibility of ,christian socialism and ,marxian socialism is due to the fact that1 whereas the ,christian is essentially imperialistic in its character1 the ,marxian is as essentially democratic4 ,the reason for this fundamental and ineradicable difference1 and the consequent incompatibleness1 is the fact that orthodoxism1 whether ,christian1 ,jewish1 ,mohammedan or ,buddhistic1 is nothing unless it is supernaturalistic and traditional2 and ,marxism is nothing unless it is naturalistic and scientific1 as much so as is ,darwinism4 ,in order that you may see the reason1 as ,i understand it1 for this wide1 deep and bridgeless difference1 ,i draw the following contrasts between the essential beliefs of ,marxian socialists and orthodox ,christians3 #a4 ,marxian socialism is essentially naturalistic4 ,orthodox ,christianism is essentially supernaturalistic4 ,the consistent socialist says3 ,i have all the potentialities of my own life within myself4 ,the consistent ,christian says3 ,my strength is from ,god4 #b4 ,marxian socialism is essentially classless4 ,orthodox ,christianism is essentially a class system by which the world is divided into two classes1 saints and sinners4 ,the consistent socialist says3 ,every man is my brother4 ,the consistent ,christian 7like the theist of every name--,jew1 ,mohammedan1 ,buddhist and the rest7 says3 ,every true believer is my brother1 but those who are not are only potential brethren4 #c4 ,marxian socialism is essentially terrestrial4 ,orthodox ,christianism is essentially celestial4 ,the consistent socialist says3 ,earth is my home4 ,the consistent ,christian says3 ,heaven is my home4 #d4 ,marxian socialism is essentially materialistic4 ,orthodox ,christianism is essentially spiritualistic4 ,the consistent socialist says3 ,the basic necessities of life1 and therefore its first concern1 are foods1 raiments1 shelters1 comfort and leisure4 ,the consistent ,christian says3 ,take no primary thought for these1 but only for faith in and obedience to ,god1 regarding all else of secondary importance4 #e4 ,marxian socialism is essentially proletarian4 ,orthodox ,christianism is essentially bourgeois4 ,the consistent socialist says3 ,i am1 by reason of my antecedents1 a man1 a woman1 a child of nature on an essential level as to my origin and destiny with every other representative of humanity and indeed animality4 ,the consistent ,christian1 like the theist of every name1 says3 ,i am 7by reason of my faith1 baptism or conversion7 a prince or princess1 the son or daughter of a king1 ,god4 #f4 ,marxian socialism is essentially democratic4 ,orthodox ,christianism is essentially imperialistic4 ,the consistent socialist says3 ,i live with reference to the will of the majority4 ,the consistent ,christian says3 ,i live with reference to the will of a ,god4 #g4 ,marxian socialism is essentially pacific4,f ,orthodox ,christianism is essentially belligerent4 ,the consistent socialist says3 ,since you are a man1 ,i co-operate with you4 ,the consistent ,christian says3 ,since you are not a believer1 ,i contend with you4 #h4 ,marxian socialism is essentially non-sectarian4 ,the consistent socialist says3 ,all the world is my home and the desire and effort to render service to men1 women and children is my religion4 ,the consistent ,christian says3 ,only ,christendom is my home and the desire and effort to serve a ,god is my religion4 #i4 ,marxian socialism is1 as to the source of knowledge and the means of attaining it1 essentially scientific4 ,orthodox ,christianism is essentially traditional4 ,the consistent socialist says3 ,the salvation of the world is dependent upon what is learned by natural experience1 observation and investigation about the doings of a matter-force-law1 nature4 ,the consistent ,christian says3 ,this salvation depends upon what is learned by revelation1 tradition and inspiration about the willings of a father-son-spirit1 ,god4 #aj4 ,marxian socialism explains the history of mankind on the naturalistic theory that it has been determined during every period by the existing system for supplying the materialistic necessities of life4 ,orthodox ,christianism explains this history on the supernaturalistic theory that it is determined by the providential directions of a triune divinity4 ,the consistent socialist says3 ,if you will tell me of the economic system by which a people have fed1 clothed and housed themselves1 ,i will tell you1 at least in general outline1 what has been their history4 ,the consistent ,christian says3 ,if you will tell me what the providences of my ,god have been towards a people1 ,i will tell you their history4 #aa4 ,marxian socialism has inscribed on one of its banners3 ,liberty4 ,orthodox ,christianism has this inscription on its corresponding banner3 ,obedience4 ,the consistent socialist says3 ,this ,liberty-banner is the symbol of my freedom as a son of man to be progressively learning1 living and teaching the unfolding revelations of nature--to know and to live which is to have life1 terrestrial life in an ever increasing measure1 all the life there is here and now or elsewhere and elsewhen1 if there is to be a conscious1 personal life anywhere or anywhen else4 ,the consistent ,christian says3 ,this ,obedience-banner is a symbol of my slavery as a son of ,god by which ,i am bound to receive1 live and teach the faith once for all delivered to the saints in the ,old and ,new ,testaments or else lose the permanent life in the sky which is to follow this temporary one on the earth4 #ab4 ,marxian socialism has inscribed on another of its banners3 ,justice to ,man4 ,orthodox ,christianism has on its corresponding banner3 ,love to ,god4 ,the consistent socialist says3 ,it is my aim to do unto others as ,i would have them do unto me if our circumstances were reversed4 ,the consistent ,christian says3 ,it is my aim to love ,god with all my heart1 mind and soul4 ,and if there be any further contrast between this ,christianism and ,socialism1 it is briefly comprehended in these three statements1--in themselves sufficient to show how absolutely impossible it is for a consistent ,jesuine ,christian to be a consistent ,marxian ,socialist3 #a4 ,marx seeks to save by doing away with both the master and slave classes--,jesus by exalting the slave class above the master class4 #b4 ,marx exhorts the slave class to look to itself for deliverance--,jesus taught it to look to a ,god for this4 #c4 ,marx promises salvation for this world here and now1 a world about which everybody knows much--,jesus promised it for another world elsewhere and elsewhen1 a world about which nobody knows anything4 ,the world has never had a gospel which is at all comparable in its excellency to that of ,marxian ,socialism4 ,the gospel of ,jesuine ,christianism1 according to the orthodox interpretation of it1 is no exception2 for1 granting it to be superior to the ,mosaic1 ,buddhistic1 ,mohammedan and other gospels1 it is1 nevertheless1 almost infinitely inferior to the ,marxian gospel4 ,gospels are for the purpose of saving the world from its suffering4 ,the ,jesuine and ,marxian gospels are alike in having for their object the salvation of the proletarian world4 ,v4 ,about three years ago ,i discovered that ,i had spent a long1 strenuous and open-handed ministry in preaching lies to the permanent ruin of my health and the temporary embarrassment of my purse2 therefore ,i had the unhappy experience of being forced to see that all this part of my life1 its prime1 had been mostly1 if not wholly wasted and worse4 ,what was to be done8 ,my friends told me as plainly as they could1 and some succeeded in making it brutally plain1 that in losing my faith in the supernaturalistic dogmas of traditional ,christianism1 as they are literally interpreted in the doctrinal standards of the orthodox churches1 ,i had lost the pearl of great price4 ,my soul told me that ,i had never possessed this jewel1 but that1 even with the little time and enfeebled strength that remained to me1 ,i might yet find it1 if only ,i should cease looking for it in the field of supernaturalism1 under the direction of divine authority1 and begin looking for it in the field of naturalism1 under the direction of human reason4 ,happily1 where faith went out courage came in1 and it increased with my desperation until 7though standing on the shore of death where the deep and unknown stream lies darkly between the present and future7 ,i could and ,i did undertake the supreme task of my life--the breaking of the chains by which ,i was bound as a slave to the degrading superstition that ,i was1 both by an inherited and cultivated disposition1 a doomed man1 and by an inherent weakness1 a helpless one with no power to emancipate myself4 ,of such enslaving chains ,i mention three among the strongest1 the severed parts of which1 with those of all the rest1 now lie scattered about me3 7#a7 the chain of the fear of ,god2 7#b7 the chain of the fear of the devil1 and 7#c7 the chain of the fear of man4 ,hitherto ,i had been a child1 thinking as a child1 understanding as a child and speaking as a child4 ,henceforth ,i was to be a man1 the greatest1 conscious1 personal being who has anything to do with this world2 and as a man1 ,i put away the things of a child1 especially the most childish of all things1 fear1 the fear of ,god1 the fear of devil and the fear of man4 ,preachers of the supernaturalistic interpretations of religion say that the fear of ,god is salvation4 ,it is damnation4 ,no one who has fear of any conscious1 personal master whomsoever or wheresoever1 ,god in heaven1 devil in hell or man on earth1 is free or other than a slave4 ,nor has any such attained to the full stature of manhood4 ,there is only one fear which saves and that is the fear of ignorance4 ,the world's destroyer-god is ignorance4 ,there is no other devil on earth or in hell below it1 and this one lives1 moves and has his being in the fear of knowledge4 ,the world's saviour-god is knowledge4 ,there is no other ,christ on earth or in any heaven above it1 and this one lives1 moves and has his being in the fear of ignorance4 ,happily1 ,i listened to my soul and ,i have found the pearl of great price1 yes1 a whole bed of them1 so that ,i am now in position to substitute in my preaching a truth for every lie ,i used to preach1 and thus save myself2 but woe unto me unless ,i make the substitution by ringing out the lie and ringing in the truth4 ,within the last three years ,i have learned that1 as ,i have not been1 since the beginning of my ,christian ministry1 more than a generation ago1 a producer1 ,i have nothing of my own to give to charity1 and what is true of me is true of ,mrs4 ,brown4 ,no one is a producer who does not grow things on the farm1 make things in a shop1 discover things in a laboratory or render some necessary or helpful service to those who do such things4 ,i have done nothing of the kind4 ,if ,i had been preaching truths ,i might have rendered such service1 but ,i preached lies4 ,every possession rightfully belongs to the productive worker and nothing to the unproductive idler4 ,this is one of the two greatest and most salutary among all the truths known to mankind4 ,recently ,i made acknowledgment of it on the pledges to a good cause1 that of the ,red ,cross1 by writing on their upper left hand corners3 ,the gift of ,unknown ,laborers through ,bishop and ,mrs4 ,brown1 whose possessions are the fruits of their enforced toil and sacrifices4 ,by this acknowledgment ,i rang out a great lie--the lie which makes the salvation of the world depend upon the capitalists with their servants1 the preachers on the right and the politicians on the left hand4 ,salvation or1 what is the same reality1 civilization1 always has been and always will be dependent upon the producer4 ,it will never be attained until the laboring class has done away with the capitalist class4 ,the ideal civilization 7which is the salvation of the world from its unnecessary sufferings1 especially the overwhelming ones due to the great trinity of evils1 war1 poverty and slavery7 is in the very nature of things an impossibility on the basis of class sectarianism1 such as we have even in our ,anglo-,american ,christianity1 the best interpretation of traditional religion1 and in our ,american democracy1 the best interpretation of traditional politics4 ,among the pathetic things about war1 there is this1 the laboring class makes by far the greater sacrifices1 not only of life and limb1 but also of money4 ,quite contrary to the general impression1 capitalists1 as such1 pay no part of the enormous and ruinous pecuniary cost of war4 ,when ,mr4 ,rockefeller pays out three million dollars in war taxes he is disposing of what rightfully belongs to laborers1 because they1 not he1 earned it4 ,capitalists1 as such1 neither earn nor pay anything1 in time of either war or peace4 ,so much for one of the two great truths4 ,the other1 which is the greater because it includes its companion1 is this3 ,man has within himself all the potentialities of his own life4 ,this is true of the universe as a whole1 and1 therefore1 necessarily so of all that therein is4 ,the sum of both truths is that the salvation of the world is wholly dependent upon productive laborers and that they must look individually only to the exertion of their own mental and physical powers and collectively to co-operation with each other for the accomplishment of their mission4 ,through the whole of my past ministry in the field ,i rang out these great truths and rang a great lie in by representing that the salvation of the world depends upon a potentiality which is in the sky and not in man1 that heaven is above the earth and hell below it1 not on it4 ,when ,i commenced my present ministry in the study1 ,i sent my ,soul through the ,invisible1 ,some letter of that ,after-life to spell2 ,and by and by my ,soul return'd to me1 ,and answer'd ',i ,myself am ,heaven and ,hell6' ,omar1 the poetic astronomer1 might have added a stanza which would have closed4 ,i myself am ,god4 ,this is1 in effect1 what ,jesus did say3 ,i and my ,father are one4 ,this is as true of you and me and of every man1 woman and child as it was of ,jesus4 ,and ,jesus represented that ,god1 both as ,father and ,son1 dwells in the hearts of believers4 ,but every relevant fact which has been scientifically established as such 7and there is a whole mountain of such facts7 points to the conclusion that ,christians are no more divine than other people1 and that1 as to his essential nature1 no man would be less divine than he is if ,jesus had never been born4 ,gods in the skies 7,jesus1 ,jehovah1 ,allah1 ,buddha7 are all right as subjective symbols of human potentialities and attributes and of natural laws1 even as the ,stars and ,stripes on a pole1 ,uncle ,sam in the capitol and ,santa ,claus in a sleigh are all right as such symbols2 but such gods are all wrong1 if regarded as objective realities existing independently of those who created them as divinities and placed them in celestial habitations4 ,what is true of the gods is equally so of all the supernaturalistic dogmas of the several traditional interpretations of religion4 ,insofar as they are not pure superstitions they are symbols of imaginary events which people think should or must have occurred in the past or should or must occur in the future2 not statements of historical events which have occurred or are to occur4 ,so far ,i have not found it necessary to renounce the ,christian ,god or any of the things which go with him and ,i have no idea of doing this1 any more than ,i have of renouncing the ,american ,uncle ,sam and the things which go with him1 but ,i place the ,brother ,jesus of the ,christian religion and the ,uncle ,sam of the ,american politics on the same footing with each other and with others of their kind as subjective realities4 ,i could be a ,jew and an ,englishman as conscientiously as a ,christian and an ,american4 ,many of the early ,christians were also ,pagans1 worshippers of other ,gods than ,jesus4 ,nor is this all or even much more than half of my religious and political levelism4 ,on the one hand as a religionist ,i can be any and everything but an orthodox sectarian4 ,this orthodoxy is a libel against humanity4 ,the world owes to it a great part of all its unnecessary troubles--those which are brought about by the triune devil of persecution1 ignorance and superstition4 ,on the other hand as a politician ,i can be any and everything but a nationalistic sectarian4 ,this nationalism is a libel against humanity4 ,the world owes to it a great part of all its unnecessary troubles--those which are brought upon it by the triune devil of war1 poverty and slavery4 ,hoping that you will abandon ,jesuine socialism for ,marxian communism and join me in an effort to banish the fictitious1 superstitious gods from the skies and the lying1 robbing capitalists from the earth1 ,i am with every good wish1 ,very cordially yours1 ,,wm4 ,m4 ,,brown4 ,brownella ,cottage1 ,galion1 ,ohio4 ,,footnotes3 ,d ,this letter was written in ,july1 #aiai1 and sent to the press in ,september1 #aibj4 ,in the interim several of its representations and arguments were made more complete3 therefore1 some among the additions bear the marks of dates belonging to later months4 ,e ,according to the showing of the science of biblical criticism there is more than one ,jesus of whom we have an account in the ,new ,testament3 7#a7 a naturalistic1 this-worldly1 pacific1 human ,jesus1 and 7#b7 a supernaturalistic1 other-worldly1 belligerent1 divine ,jesus1 the ,jesus of orthodox ,christians4 ,f ,this shall be true of ,marxian socialism when it is triumphant1 but it will not be so while it is persecuted4 ,socialist ,russia has asked for peace after every war which the capitalist nations 7,england1 ,france1 ,italy and ,america7 have waged against her1 not because she could no longer defend herself1 but for the reason that her socialism1 being co-operative in its character1 necessarily imposes humaneness2 yet they could not grant it1 because their capitalism1 being competitive in its character1 as necessarily imposes inhumaneness4 ,the hand of the capitalist world is aggressively against socialist ,russia1 and must be1 because the life of capitalism depends upon her death3 and her hand is defensively against all the capitalist nations4 ,capitalism and socialism cannot occupy the earth together4 ,either the one or the other must have all of it4 ,mankind in general is illustrating the truth of the proverb which has been illustrated by so many families in particular--a house divided against itself cannot stand4 ,,the ,,grand ,,march ,by ,helen ,keller ,the hour has struck for the ,grand ,march6 ,onward1 ,comrades1 all together6 ,fall in line6 ,start the ,new ,year with a cheer6 ,let us join the world's procession marching toward a glad tomorrow4 ,strong of hope and brave in heart the ,west shall meet the ,east6 ,march with us1 brothers every one6 ,march with us to all things new6 ,climb with us the hills of ,god to a wider1 holier life4 ,onward1 ,comrades1 all together1 onward to meet the ,dawn6 ,leave behind you doubts and fears6 ,what need have we for ifs and buts8 ,away with parties1 schools and leagues6 ,get together1 keep in step1 shoulder to shoulder1 hearts throbbing as one6 ,face the future1 out-daring all you have dared6 ,march on1 ,o ,comrades1 strong and free1 out of darkness1 out of silence1 out of hate and custom's deadening sway6 ,onward1 ,comrades1 all together1 onward to the wind-blown ,dawn6 ,with us shall go the ,new ,day1 shining behind the dark4 ,with us shall go ,power1 ,knowledge1 ,justice1 ,truth4 ,the time is full6 ,a new world awaits us4 ,its fruits1 its joys1 its opportunities are ours for the taking6 ,fear not the hardships of the road--the storm1 the parching heat or winter's cold1 hunger or thirst or ambushed foe6 ,there are bright lights ahead of us1 leave the shadows behind6 ,in the ,east a new star is risen6 ,with pain and anguish the ,old ,order has given birth to the ,new1 and behold1 in the ,east a man-child is born6 ,onward1 ,comrades1 all together6 ,onward to the camp-fires of ,russia6 ,onward to the coming ,dawn6 ,through the night of our despair rings the keen call of the ,new ,day4 ,all the powers of darkness could not still that shout of joy in far-away ,moscow6 ,meteor-like through the heavens flashed the golden words of light1 ,soviet ,republic of ,russia4 ,words sun-like piercing the dark1 joyous radiant love-words banishing hate1 bidding the teeming world of men to wake and live6 ,onward1 ,comrades1 all together1 onward to the bright1 redeeming ,dawn6 ,with peace and brotherhood make sweet the bitter way of men6 ,today1 and all the days to come1 repeat the ,word of ,him who said1 ,thou shall not kill4 ,send on psalming winds the angel-chorus1 ,peace on earth1 good-will to men4 ,onward march1 and keep on marching until ,his ,will on earth is done6 ,onward1 ,comrades1 all together1 onward to the life-giving fountain of ,dawn6 ,all along the road beside us throng the peoples sad and broken1 weeping women1 children hungry1 homeless like little birds cast out of their nest4 ,with their hearts aflame1 untamed1 glorying in martyrdom they hail us passing quickly1 ,halt not1 ,o ,comrades1 yonder glimmers the star of our hope1 the red-centered dawn in the ,east6 ,halt not1 lest you perish ere you reach the ,land of ,promise4 ,onward1 ,comrades1 all together1 onward to the sun-red ,dawn6 ,illustration3 ,,karl ,,marx ,illustration3 ,,charles ,,darwin ,,communism ,,and ,,christianism ,,analyzed ,,and ,,contrasted ,,from ,,the ,,marxian ,,and ,,darwinian ,,points ,,of ,,view ,,part ,,ii4 ,christianism3 ,a ,supernaturalistic ,other-worldly ,gospel for the ,passing ,age of ,class ,inequality and ,economic ,slavery--,an ,open ,letter to a ,christian ,theologian and ,brother ,churchman4 ,revolutionize capitalism out of state and orthodoxy out of church4 ,,foreword,g ,the contradiction in terms known as the ,christian ,socialist is inevitably antagonistic to working-class interests and the waging of the class struggle4 ,his policy 7that of the ,christian ,socialist7 is the conciliation of classes1 the fraternity of robber and robbed1 not the end of classes4 ,his avowed object1 indeed1 is usually to purge the ,socialist movement of its materialism1 and this means to purge it of its ,socialism and to divert it from its material aims to the fruitless chasing of spiritual will-o'-the-wisps4 ,a ,christian ,socialist is1 in fact1 an anti-,socialist4 ,clearly1 then1 the basis of ,socialist philosophy is utterly incompatible with religious ideas2 indeed1 the latter have been reduced to their logical absurdity in what is called ,christian ,science4 ,moreover1 the consistent ,christian1 if such exists1 could look upon the existing world only as an essential part of ,god's plan1 to be accounted for only through ,god1 and modified at ,god's pleasure4 ,he could regard those who sought the explanation of social conditions in purely natural causes1 and who also sought to take advantage of economic development in order to turn this vale of tears into a pleasant garden1 only as men who denied by their acts the very basis of his faith4 ,,footnotes3 ,g ,from the ,official ,manifesto by the ,socialist ,party of ,great ,britain1 showing the ,antagonism between ,socialism and ,religion4 ,,christianism3 ,a ,,supernaturalistic ,,other-,,worldly ,,gospel ,,for ,,the ,,passing ,,age ,,of ,,class ,,inequality ,,and ,,economic ,,slavery4 ,come over and help us4 ,abandon ,reformatory for ,revolutionary ,socialism4 ,my ,dear ,brother3 ,your letter 7,april #ast1 #aibj7 enclosing an essay1 entitled1 ,is ,there a ,god1 came duly to hand and ,i thank you warmly for it4 ,the essay is a masterpiece and ,i hope you can let me keep this copy1 or make another for myself1 for reference when ,i am writing or conversing on its lines1 as is frequently the case4 ,i4 ,in the dispute between yourself and friend of which you speak1 you are altogether right and he is entirely wrong4 ,in the last analysis it is a disputation as to whether or not the ,jewish-,christian bible contains an infallible revelation from an omniscient being1 a triune god1 ,father1 ,son and ,spirit4 ,it does not4 ,as an objectivity there is no such divinity4 ,he is a subjectivity existing in the imagination of orthodox ,christians4 ,you do not agree with me in this1 but every day of thought and study deepens the conviction that it is true4 ,none among the gods of the supernaturalistic interpretations of religion are objectivities4 ,the lesser ones are generally ghosts of dead men1 and the greater ones are as generally versions of the sun-myth4 ,the one god of the ,jews and the triune god of the ,christians1 if taken seriously1 are superstitions2 and the bible revelations of their willings and records of their doings1 if taken literally1 are lies4 ,both the ,old and ,new ,testaments are utterly worthless as history4 ,the twelve patriarchs of the ,jewish ,god1 ,jehovah1 are not historical personages1 but myths1 and this is true of the twelve apostles of the ,christian ,god1 ,jesus4 ,yes1 the ,old ,testament is the ,jewish version of the immemorial and universal sun-myth1 rewritten several times for the purpose1 not of telling any truth1 but of imposing the fiction that ,jehovah and his people constitute the greatest procession that ever came down the pike of supernaturalism4 ,the ,new ,testament is the ,christian version of the same myth1 only with the view of showing that ,jehovah and the ,jews were not1 but ,jesus and ,christians are1 this procession4 ,in itself1 the sun-myth1 as symbolism1 is not only poetically beautiful1 but also scientifically true2 yet1 as literalism1 it is in the case of the ignorant1 superstition1 and in the case of the educated1 self-deception4 ,the sun is1 in a very literal and real sense1 the creator-god in whom this world lives1 moves and has its being2 and he is the saviour-god who was born of a virgin nebula1 and every winter descends into hell and rises from the dead 7the southern solstice7 by a new birth and ascends into heaven to be seated at the right hand of the father 7the sky7 at the northern solstice1 and finally he is the illuminator god who lighteth every man that cometh into the world4 ,and the apostles who preached the gospel of the redemption of the world are the twelve signs of the zodiac through which the sun apparently passes in its annual ascension to the summer solstice and descension to the winter solstice4 ,nor is this all3 the ,lamb of ,god that taketh away the sins of the world is the sign of the zodiac1 ,aries 7sheep1 ram7 through which the sun passes towards the end of ,march1 when all the saviour-gods annually died and rose again4 ,the rising symbolizes the return of the sun towards the northern solstice from the southern one1 upon which return seed-time and harvest are dependent1 without which the world would perish1 not indeed by sin but by starvation4 ,jehovah is the sun-myth rewritten to fit in with the ideals and hopes of the owning1 master class of the ,jews4 ,jesus is the sun-myth rewritten to fit in with the ideals and hopes of the owning master class of the ,christians4 ,the ,christian god1 ,jesus1 is an improvement upon the ,jewish god1 ,jehovah1 because of the division of labor4 ,the task of the owning master class is a twofold one1 the robbing of the weak owners by the strong ones in wars1 and the robbing of the slaves by the masters which under the capitalist system is done in surplus profits4 ,jehovah serves ,christians as the god of war4 ,in his name they wage wars1 either as groups within a nation having different commercial interests1 as in the case of the ,civil ,war of the ,united ,states1 or as nations against nations with different commercial interests1 as in the case of the ,revolutionary war of the ,colonies with ,england1 or the ,world ,war of the ,allied countries with the ,central ones4 ,jesus serves ,christians as the god of slavery4 ,when they have successfully waged a war of conquest1 as the ,pilgrim ,fathers did against the ,indians of ,america1 or when they have appropriated all the means and machines of production1 as the capitalists have everywhere1 they reconcile the propertyless to a terrestrial hell of toil1 want1 sorrow and slavery by preaching the ,jesuine gospel of hope for a celestial heaven of eternal rest1 joy1 plenty and freedom4 ,some for the ,glories of ,this ,world2 and some ,sigh for the ,prophet's ,paradise to come2 ,ah1 take the ,cash1 and let the ,credit go1 ,nor heed the rumble of a distant ,drum4 ,in remaking the ,jewish god to suit their purposes of robbing and enslaving1 the ,christian owning master class provided for a further division of his work by creating the ,holy ,ghost1 who devotes himself to the giving of new revelations of the will of ,jehovah and interpreting the earlier ones as they are recorded in the bible4 ,it is generally supposed that the masters are the strong people of the world1 but they are not4 ,labor is really the giant1 the ,samson1 and it would be impossible for the pigmy1 capital1 to rob him1 but for his lack of knowledge4 ,the ,holy ,ghost sees to it that the slave class is kept in ignorance4 ,the ,english-,german1 or if you prefer1 the ,german-,english war has been an eye-opener to the giant1 labor1 and capital is ruined unless he can get him to sleep again4 ,capital knows that ,marx was right in characterizing the orthodox interpretations of religion1 including the ,christian one1 and especially it1 as a sleeping potion4 ,the churches were the dormitories in which the slaves slept through the night of the dark ages of traditionalism1 but the light of the age of scientism is breaking upon the world and most of the slaves have left the churches and are now beyond the reach of their care-takers1 the preachers4 ,when ,i wrote the ,level ,plan for ,church ,union1 ,i believed that the coming together of the churches would prove to be a blessing to the world1 but ,i am now persuaded that it would be a curse1 because the league of churches would co-operate with the league of nations in its robbing and enslaving schemes1 the churches doing the lying and the nations the coercing4 ,we are living in the age of scientism and1 in the case of its true sons and daughters1 only scientifically demonstrated facts count in any argumentation4 ,from the scientific point of view it is seen that there is but one universal ,kingdom of ,life1 ,nature4 ,this kingdom may be divided into three1 perhaps four1 states constituting the ,united ,states of ,life3 the mineral1 the vegetable1 the animal and the human4 ,beginning with the highest1 each of these states1 except the lowest1 is dependent upon the next lower4 ,the only independent autonomous state in the kingdom is the mineral4 ,this is the greatest both as to its extent and importance4 ,it is the common source of every supply of all the states of life1 and the seat of each of their governments4 ,all theologians and some metaphysicians postulate a fifth state of life1 the divine1 placing it above the rest as their source4 ,comte1 who preceded ,marx as a social philosopher1 and who is the founder of modern socialism of the reformatory type1 as ,marx is of the revolutionary one1 had this to say about the theologians1 metaphysicians and scientists1 and he was right3 ,from the study of the development of human intelligence1 in all directions1 and through all times1 the discovery arises of a great fundamental law1 to which it is necessarily subject1 and which has a solid foundation of proof1 both in the facts of our organization and in our historical experience4 ,this law is this3 that each of our leading conceptions--each branch of our knowledge--passes successively through three different theoretical conditions3 the theological1 or fictitious2 the metaphysical1 or abstract2 and the scientific1 or positive4 ,in other words1 the human mind1 by its nature1 employs in its progress three methods of philosophizing1 the character of which is essentially different and radically opposed3 viz41 the theological method1 the metaphysical and the positive4 ,hence arise three philosophies1 or general systems of conceptions on the aggregate of phenomena1 each of which excludes the others4 ,the first is the necessary point of departure of the human understanding2 the third is its fixed and definite state4 ,the second is merely a state of transition4 ,in order for a man who has reached the scientific stage in his intellectual development to make anything out of the reasonings of those who are still in the stage of theological childhood or in that of metaphysical adolescence1 it is necessary for him to use their insubstantialities as symbols of his substantialities4 ,the only difference that ,i can see between a theologian and a metaphysician is that1 whereas the former personifies a generality which is the creation of his imagination1 calling it a god1 the latter objectifies a particularity which is the creation of his imagination calling it an entity2 but all such personifications and objectifications 7gods1 things-in-themselves1 vital entities1 souls7 are alike fictitious1 because the childish theologians and metaphysicians proceed on the basis of philosophically assumed realities1 not on scientifically established facts which pave the way on which an adult proceeds4 ,comte analyzes the difference between the intellectuality of theological children1 metaphysical youths and scientific adults as follows3 ,in the theological state1 the human mind1 seeking the essential nature of beings1 the first and final causes 7the origin and purpose7 of all effects--in short1 absolute knowledge--supposes all phenomena to be produced by the immediate action of supernatural beings4 ,in the metaphysical state1 which is only a modification of the first1 the mind supposes1 instead of supernatural beings1 abstract forces1 veritable entities 7that is1 personified abstractions7 inherent in all beings1 and capable of producing all phenomena4 ,what is called the explanation of phenomena is1 in this stage1 a mere reference of each to its proper entity4 ,in the final1 the positive state1 the mind has given over the vain search after absolute notions1 the origin and destination of the universe1 and the causes of phenomena1 and applies itself to the study of their laws--that is1 their invariable relations of succession and resemblance4 ,reasoning and observation1 duly combined1 are the means of this knowledge4 ,what is now understood when we speak of an explanation of facts is simply the establishment of a connection between single phenomena and some general facts the number of which continually diminishes with the progress of science4 ,there is no science which1 having attained the positive stage1 does not bear the marks of having passed through the others4 ,some time since it was 7whatever it might be now7 composed1 as we can now perceive1 of metaphysical abstractions3 and1 further back in the course of time1 it took its form from theological conceptions4 ,our most advanced sciences still bear very evident marks of the two earlier periods through which they passed4 ,the progress of the individual mind is not only an illustration1 but an indirect evidence of that of the general mind4 ,the point of departure of the individual and the race being the same1 the phases of the mind of men correspond to the epochs of the mind of the race4 ,how each of us is aware1 if he looks back upon his own history1 that he was a theologian in his childhood1 a metaphysician in his youth and a natural philosopher in his manhood4 ,all men who are up to their age can verify this for themselves4 ,according to the scientific classification1 there are only three kingdoms or states of life1 the mineral1 the vegetable and the animal4 ,the life of the vegetable kingdom has arisen out of the life of the mineral kingdom and is sustained by it4 ,the distinguished scientist1 ,professor ,lowell1 says1 there is now no more reason to doubt that plants grew out of chemical affinity than to doubt that stones did1 and nearly all outstanding zoologists would say as much of animals4 ,sir ,j4 ,burdon ,sanderson1 one of the most eminent among biologists1 insists that in physiology the word life is understood to mean the chemical and physical activities of the parts of which the organism consists4 ,the renowned ,sir ,ray ,lankester strenuously holds that zoology is the science which seeks to arrange and discuss the phenomena of animal life and form1 as the outcome of the operation of the laws of physics and chemistry1 and goes so far as to say that he knows of no leading biologist who is of a different opinion4 ,the prince of biologists1 the late ,professor ,haeckel1 occupied this position and impregnably fortified it in several great books1 especially in his ,riddle of the ,universe4 ,there is no force that is not life1 nor life which is not force2 and there is no life or force1 about which we know anything1 without a body or chemical laboratory4 ,so far as is known1 there is only one life--force4 ,the difference between lives is a question of the organism1 the laboratory1 which gives embodiment to force4 ,the life that enables the wheels of a locomotive to go1 the sap of a tree to flow1 the heart of an animal to beat and the brain of a man to think is the same chemical potentiality differently organized4 ,during all historical time and over all the earth1 under one name or another1 the whole world has kept days of rejoicing for life1 especially ,thanksgiving1 ,christmas1 ,new ,year and ,easter4 ,nothing is so wonderful as life and perhaps the greatest of its wonders is that all of it is of the same kind4 ,everything and every being is alive with the same life4 ,the ,thanksgiving day sheaf of wheat1 the ,christmas day ,son of ,man and the ,easter day ,son of ,god 7if there are conscious1 personal gods and they have sons7 are alive and their life is the same1 the difference being wholly in the form and degree1 not at all in kind4 ,a proof of the oneness and sameness of all life1 notwithstanding its widely different forms and degrees1 is the fact that a bar of iron1 a stick of wood1 a piece of flesh and a section of brain respond alike to the same electrical stimulus1 and all may be poisoned or otherwise killed so that they will make no response to it4 ,perhaps even a more conclusive evidence is that the eggs 7every form of both vegetable and animal life develops from an egg7 of some animals rather high in the one tree of mundane life1 which has a common root and a stump1 but two stems1 the vegetable and the animal1 can be mechanically fertilized by chemical processes4 ,even ,sir ,oliver ,lodge1 the most conspicuous among the comparatively few men of science who hold to the theory that life comes to the earth as vital entities of celestial origin and destination1 makes this fatal admission3 ,there is plenty of physics and chemistry and mechanics about every vital action4 ,on the theory of traditional ,christianity there was no physics1 chemistry or mechanics connected with the vital actions which originally brought the universe and all that therein was1 including the earth with its vegetable1 animal and human kingdoms1 into existence4 ,every representative of each form of life in these kingdoms 7in the vegetable3 a grass blade1 a wheat stalk1 an oak tree2 or in the animal3 an insect1 a horse1 a man7 is a chemical laboratory for the production1 sustentation1 advancement and procreation of a particular type of one universal life4 ,these laboratories have all the potentialities of their respective lives within themselves1--no laboratory1 no chemistry2 no chemistry1 no life4 ,what life is1 both as to its manifestation and character1 is determined by the form of organization through which force1 all there is of life1 becomes a particular and differentiated vital phenomenon4 ,this is as true of states and churches as it is of trees and men1 for a church or a state is a vital phenomenon as really so as a tree or a man4 ,the trouble with every reformatory socialism of modern times is that it undertakes the impossibility of changing the fruit of the capitalistic state into that of the communistic one1 without changing the political organism2 but to do that is as impossible as to gather grapes from thorns or figs from thistles4 ,hence an uprooting and replanting are necessary 7a revolution not a reformation7 which will give the world a new tree of state4 ,capitalism no longer grows the fruits 7foods1 clothes and houses7 which are necessary to the sustenance of the world4 ,hence it encumbers the ground and must be dug up by the roots in order that a tree which is so organized that it will bear these necessities may be planted in its place4 ,the people of ,russia have accomplished this uprooting and replanting 7this revolution7 in the case of their state1 and those of every nation are destined to do the same in one way or another1 each according to its historical and economic development1 some perhaps with violence1 most1 ,i hope1 peaceably4 ,the ,russian ,bolsheviki occupy the highest peak in man's history2 and while they stand1 the world will be safe for industrial democracy4 ,this democracy is the tree of life whose fruits are for the sustenance of the nations and whose very leaves are for their healing4 ,the only lives of which we need know aught are those that we shall live in our bodies by chemical processes and in the race by conscious or unconscious influences2 for1 if there is another1 it will take care of itself1 if we take care of these4 ,since1 therefore1 all life is on a level and since morality1 religion and ,christianity are but manifestations of it1 do you not see how profoundly and incontrovertibly true is my levelism8 ,according to this levelism all interpretations of ,christianity 7protestant and catholic--congregational1 presbyterian1 episcopalian and papal7 and all the interpretations of religion 7,christian1 ,jewish1 ,mohammedan1 ,buddhistic and the rest7 are essentially on the same footing1 the difference between them being wholly a question of natural excellencies1 not at all of supernatural uniqueness4 ,the science of biology establishes my levelism by proving that animal and human life are on a level as to their origin1 character and destiny4 ,the science of sociology establishes my levelism by proving that animal and human institutions are on a level1 and that therefore1 there is nothing more supernatural about a human state or church than about an ant hill or a bee hive4 ,the science of literary criticism establishes my levelism by proving that the bibles of the several interpretations of religion are on a level as to their entirely human origin and authority4 ,the science of the comparative interpretations of religion establishes my levelism by proving that all the conscious1 personal creator-gods1 destroyer-gods1 saviour-gods and illuminator-gods1 with all their angels1 heavens and hells1 are so many myths--creations of the human imagination1 subjective fictions1 not objective realities4 ,until comparatively recent times1 through all the theological history of mankind1 the sun was almost universally regarded as a god4 ,manifestly without it there could be no life on earth1 and its annually recurring motions are such as to give the impression of birth and death--of birth by ascension into the heaven of the summer solstice--of death by descension into the hell or grave of the winter solstice4 ,not only is the sun the giver and sustainer of life1 but it is also the light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world4 ,modern science justifies this ancient conception as to the dependence of the earth1 and all that thereon is1 upon the sun for its being4 ,by a slight adaptation men of science and scientific philosophers could use the very words of the apostle ,john at the opening of his version of the ,christian gospel1 where he says of ,jesus1 what they say of the sun3 ,all things were made by him and without him was not anything made that was made4 ,in him is life2 and the life is the light of men4 ,the birth1 death1 descension1 resurrection and ascension of all the ,saviour-gods1 not excepting ,jesus1 are versions of the sun-myth4 ,yet the naturalness1 the universalness1 the beautifulness and withal the profound truthfulness of this myth are such as to render it almost as undesirable as it is next to impossible to relegate it to the realm of superstition1 to which it should undoubtedly be assigned if a literal interpretation is a necessity4 ,the more science advances1 the more of precious poetry and pathos1 and of deep verity1 too1 is seen in the ,saviour-gods1 who are essentially the same mythical personifications of the glorious sun and of the happy events of its annual career1 because from it the earth with its brother and sister planets had their origin1 and because from it the earth1 not to speak of the other planets1 has the heat1 light and force which make its life a possibility4 ,there is no reason for believing that any one among the gods of the four old supernaturalistic interpretations of religion 7,jehovah1 ,jesus1 ,allah1 ,buddha7 or that either of the gods of the two new interpretations by the renowned physicist1 ,sir ,oliver ,lodge1 and the distinguished sociologist1 ,mr4 ,h4 ,g4 ,wells1 has had more to do in creating1 sustaining and governing this world than another1 that is to say1 there is no ground for believing that the personal1 conscious gods in the skies either individually or collectively have had anything at all to do with it4 ,science1 as it is understood by the great majority of its exponents1 teaches that the earth 7with all things1 physical and psychical1 which contribute to make its world what it has been1 is1 and is to be7 was originally in the sun1 and would quickly disappear into its original1 unorganized elements but for the sun4 ,this is as true of man as of all else4 ,he with his brain and its thought1 with his hand and its skill2 with his homes1 farms1 cities1 mines1 shops1 stores1 trains1 ships1 schools1 hospitals and churches2 with his hate1 bestiality and barbarism1 and with his love1 humaneness and civilization1 was in the sun1 billions of years before his appearance on the earth4 ,speaking of things appertaining to the world war3 there in the sun1 before it had thrown off the earth1 were the kaiser on the throne1 the president in the white house1 the millions of soldiers1 the uniforms1 the rations1 the forts1 the cannons1 guns1 powder and shot1 the trenches1 the barbed wire1 the dreadnoughts1 the submarines1 the aeroplanes1 the wireless telegraph stations1 the wounded1 their sufferings and groans1 the doctors and nurses1 the corpses1 the cripples1 the broken hearts2 yes1 and all the things connected with that terrible war2 the bereaved mothers1 the widowed wives1 the outraged girls1 the ruined country1 the wrecked cities1 were in the sun from its beginning1 indeed while it was yet a nebula1 many thousands of millions of years previous to the birth of the earth4 ,if we except intruders into our solar system1 such as comets and their comparatively inconsiderable effects1 we may say that every physical or psychical reality which at any time has entered into the history of this planet and that of its brothers and sisters was in that vast flowing1 swirling1 revolving globe of gases which is known to have been at one time at least five billion miles in diameter1 or fifteen billions in circumference4 ,of course no phenomenon1 such as ,jesus hanging on the cross1 if ,he lived and was crucified1 was in the sun as an actuality1 but only as a potentiality4 ,nevertheless ,he1 with ,his doctrine and ,his suffering1 was there1 else ,he would never have been anywhere1 not in the realm of history1 not even in the realm of imagination4 ,the universe is ever all that it can be1 and every potentiality which contributes to make it so is within itself4 ,what is true in this respect of the universe as a whole is equally so of every part of it1 including man1 and especially him1 because he is exceptionally capable of controlling his own destiny1 being able not only to preserve life by a discovery of and conformity to the laws upon which it is dependent1 but also to enlarge and enrich its content by making these laws co-operative servants4 ,the time cannot be far off when it will be seen by all educated1 thoughtful men and women that if the traditional1 supernaturalistic interpretation of ,christianity is the only possible one1 its message is not a gospel1 because its teaching touching three fundamentals is1 in each case1 contrary to that of three relevant sciences3 #a4 ,the sciences of astronomy1 geology and biology teach that the representation of traditional supernaturalistic interpretation of ,christianity to the effect that the universe1 including the earth with its physical and psychical life1 was supernaturally created out of nothing by a conscious1 personal god is not true and therefore can be no part of any gospel2 for1 according to the teaching of these three sciences1 the truth is3 the universe with all that therein is1 not excepting mankind and civilization1 was naturally evolved out of a self-existing matter by a self-existing force co-operating in accordance with the necessity of their nature4 #b4 ,the sciences of biology1 physiology and embryology teach that the representation of the traditional1 supernaturalistic interpretation of ,christianity to the effect that man and woman are unique beings1 who have supernaturally derived their physical form1 vital and psychical potentialities directly from a conscious1 personal creator with whom are their natural affiliations1 is not true1 and therefore can be no part of any gospel2 for1 according to the teaching of these three sciences1 the truth is3 man and woman as to their whole beings 7body and mind1 life and soul7 were naturally evolved from pre-existing animal life1 not supernaturally created respectively out of the dust and a rib1 so that they owe their existence to and natural affinities with a terrestrial and bestial parentage1 not a celestial and divine one4 #c4 ,the sciences of anthropology1 sociology and comparative interpretations of religion teach that the representation of the traditional1 supernaturalistic interpretation of ,christianity to the effect that man and woman were supernaturally created in the image and likeness of a conscious1 personal god1 sinless and deathless beings with ideal environments1 but that they fell from this happy estate1 through a serpentine incarnation of a supernatural devil1 and are being restored to it1 through a human incarnation of a supernatural saviour1 is not true1 and therefore can be no part of any gospel2 for1 according to the teaching of these three sciences1 the truth is3 during many ages man and woman1 in both appearance and predilection1 were much more animal than divine and that gradually1 without any supernatural assistance1 they have worked themselves out of a state of bestial barbarism into one of human civilization4 ,it follows therefore that the representations of both the ,old and ,new ,testaments1 concerning the origin and history of man are largely fictitious impositions1 not historical compositions1 so much so1 that no confidence can safely be reposed in any of them4 ,there is no rational doubt about the fictitious character of the divine ,jesus4 ,some think that the human ,jesus may have been an historical personage2 but1 none among outstanding scholars believes that we have a connected account of his life and work1 and most of them insist that we do not certainly know any saying or doing of his4 ,no religious doctrine or institution of which we have an account in the ,new ,testament is peculiar to ,christianity and this is equally true of moral precepts4 ,the gods of all the supernaturalistic interpretations of religion are so many creations of the dominant or master class1 and their revelations were put into their mouths by the makers for the purpose of keeping the slave class ignorant and contented4 ,orthodox ,christians earnestly contend that this naturalistic doctrine makes for immorality4 ,heretical socialists rationally answer that the life which men1 women and children live with reference to their terrestrial influence1 rather than to celestial rewards or punishments1 is the only one which is lived to any moral purpose4 ,according to socialism1 morality1 religion and ,christianity are but synonyms of one and the same reality1 which consists wholly in the desire and effort of a man to learn the laws or doings of nature1 and to conform his thoughts and words to them1 in order to make his present life on earth1 and that of others1 as long and happy as possible1 and not at all in a desire and effort to learn what the will of a conscious1 personal god is and to conform to it1 in order to avoid a hell and gain a heaven for a future life in the sky4 ,o threats of ,hell and ,hopes of ,paradise6 ,one thing at least is certain--,this ,life flies2 ,one thing is certain and the rest is ,lies2 ,the ,flower that once has blown forever dies4 ,if you object that this is a representation of a sceptical poet1 ,i reply that it is in alignment with a representation of a scriptural preacher3 ,for that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts2 ,even one thing befalleth them2 ,as the one dieth1 so dieth the other2 ,yea1 they have all one breath2 ,so that a man hath no pre-eminence above a beast2 ,for all is vanity4 ,all go unto one place2 ,all are of the dust1 ,and all turn to dust again4 ,darwin showed that each man in his physical development from the embryonic cell to birth passes through1 by short cuts1 the different forms of life from say1 the worm1 fish and lemur with all that went before1 intervened between and followed after1 and ,romanes showed that this is as true of the mind as of the body2 that1 in fact1 all the representatives of the animal kingdom are physically and psychically related1 and therefore on the same level as to their origin and destiny4 ,in his illuminating book entitled1 ,the ,universal ,kinship1 ,professor ,moore says3 ,the embryonic development of a human being is no different from the embryonic development of any other animal4 ,every human being at the beginning of his organic existence is a protozoan1 about #a-abe inch in diameter2 at another stage of development he is a tiny sac-shaped mass of cells without blood or nerves1 the gastrula2 at another stage he is a worm1 with a pulsating tube instead of a heart1 and without a head1 neck1 spinal column1 or limbs2 at another stage he has as a backbone1 a rod of cartilage extending along the back1 and a faint nerve cord1 as in the amphioxus1 the lowest of the vertebrates2 at another stage he is a fish with a two-chambered heart1 mesonephric kidneys1 and gill-slits1 with gill arteries leading to them1 just as in fishes2 at another stage he is a reptile with a three-chambered heart1 and voiding his excreta through a cloaca like other reptiles2 and finally1 when he enters upon post-natal sins and actualities1 he is a sprawling1 squalling1 unreasoning quadruped4 ,the human larva from the fifth to the seventh month of development is covered with a thick growth of hair and has a true caudal 7tail7 appendage1 like the monkey4 ,at this stage the embryo has in all thirty-eight vertebrae1 nine of which are caudal1 and the great toe extends at right angles to the other toes1 and is not longer than the other toes1 but shorter1 as in the ape4 ,surely no argument is needed to convince you that ,darwinism corroborates the representation of our ancient heretical poet and scriptural preacher concerning a life beyond the grave rather than the representations of modern orthodox theologians4 ,strange1 is it not8 that of the myriads who ,before us pass'd the door of ,darkness through1 ,not one returns to tell us of the ,road1 ,which to discover we must travel1 too4 --,omar4 ,,ii4 ,in history slavery stands out as a huge mountain range traversing the whole of a continent4 ,during long ages it was supposed that these phenomena of the human and physical worlds were due to the will of a god 7,jesus1 ,jehovah1 ,allah or ,buddha7 but the vanguard of humanity has now reached a viewpoint from which it sees that both are alike due to a law1 that a law is what nature does1 not what a god has willed1 and that a system of slavery and a range of mountains are due to the same law4 ,the matter-force law is everywhere the same1 and it is as omnipotent and immutable in a social order as in a solar system4 ,the very law that moulds a tear1 ,and bids it trickle from its source1 ,that law preserves the earth a sphere1 ,and guides the planets in their course4 ,most of the time1 and especially just now1 our world is very full of tears1 almost as much so as space is full of spheres1 but there would not be half so many tears at any time1 if the laws of states were so many correct interpretations of the laws of nature4 ,in every age1 nearly all the hot tears which deluge the world flow1 like streams of springs1 from their deep sources as the result of unnecessary suffering by grinding poverty1 by hopeless slavery1 by avoidable diseases and by premature deaths2 and by far the most of these and of all sufferings may be traced to man-made laws which not only have no correspondence with those of nature but are contrary to them--laws of which both the civil codes and religious bibles are too full4 ,you will agree with me that society should punish none of its members by the slightest fine or shortest imprisonment1 not to speak of death1 except on the basis of justice4 ,so far1 and it is a long way1 we certainly walk together4 ,we part company1 if at all1 on the question as to the basis of justice1 but come together again in the conclusion that it is right1 not might4 ,what1 then1 is this right8 ,if you answer3 the law of the state as it is interpreted by a competent court1 ,i reply3 no legal enactment1 and so1 of course1 no interpretation of one1 can really constitute a right1 unless it is an embodiment of a truth containing an indispensable stone in the foundation which is necessary to the superstructure of the ideal civilization1 under the roof of which every man1 woman and child shall possess the greatest of possible opportunities to make life for self as long and happy as it can be1 and to help others in an ever widening circle to do this for themselves4 ,laws are not made4 ,all social laws 7domestic1 civil1 commercial1 yes1 even the moral and religious ones7 are matter-force realities1 as much so as is any other among all the physical or psychical realities entering into the constitution of the universe2 which realities are but the expressions of the processes necessarily resulting from the necessary co-existence and co-operation of this matter and force2 therefore1 laws are so many eternal necessities and1 this being the case1 it is not possible that men in states or churches should make them1 no1 not even gods in heavens4 ,man would1 then1 have progressed much further with the superstructure of an ideal civilization1 if only in his efforts to rightly regulate his life1 he had happily searched out the laws of nature as they are revealed through its phenomena and interpreted by experience and reason1 instead of looking for direction to the laws of the gods 7,jehovah1 ,allah1 ,buddha or even ,jesus7 as they are revealed through prophets and interpreted by kings or presidents1 by priests or preachers and by other powers that be of ,god in states and churches--institutions which exist in the interest of the capitalist class and against that of the labor class4 ,the world owes by far the greater part of its most poignant sufferings to this fatal mistake of looking to gods in heavens and their representatives on earth for direction instead of to nature and reason4 ,life in the physical realm is dependent upon living in harmony with the matter-force law4 ,the representative of any form of life 7mineral1 vegetable1 animal1 human7 which either through ignorance1 accident or willfulness does not conform to it1 is destroyed or at least injured4 ,life in the moral part of the psychical realm consists in a disposition and effort to learn the matter-force law1 and to fulfill in thought1 word and deed the individual obligations to self and the social obligations to others imposed by it when it has been humanely interpreted by a man for himself4 ,religion and ,christianity are but wider extensions of one and the same great all-inclusive virtue1 morality1 without which human life would not be worth living1 indeed not even a possibility1 for without morality a man is a beast1 not a human4 ,morality is the greatest thing in the world4 ,yet1 paradoxical as the representation may seem1 there is one greater thing1 freedom--the liberty to think1 speak and act in accordance with one's own convictions as to what is the law and as to what are its requirements4 ,without this liberty there could be no morality1 and therefore1 freedom is greater than the greatest thing in the world1 morality4 ,but liberty1 the greatest and most indispensable necessity to morality1 religion and ,christianity1 indeed1 to the existence of a human being1 is manifestly impossible on the theory that a man must be guided by the will of a conscious1 personal ,god in the sky as it is interpreted by the kings and priests1 presidents and preachers on earth4 ,you will note that ,i am not contending for the liberty to live without reference to an external authority4 ,if this were my contention you would rightly insist 7as some among my friends do7 that ,i am an atheist in religion and an anarchist in politics2 but ,i am neither1 for ,i recognize the fact that ,i must live with reference to the existence of an external authority1 matter-force law1 and there is no other1 upon which anything good in religion or politics is dependent4 ,no one is an atheist in religion1 an anarchist in politics or anything bad1 who1 in the physical realm of life1 tries to live with reference to the law of nature1 and who1 in the moral realm of life1 tries to live with reference to a truth which is that law humanely interpreted by himself in accordance with his own experience1 observation1 investigation and reason4 ,in the nature of things1 the interpretation cannot be by some one else1 because one man cannot live the moral life on another's ideals any more than he can live the physical life on another's meals4 ,since this is the case1 it follows that the whole conception of a law which is willed by a god and revealed or formulated by his representatives 7prophets1 kings1 priests1 legislators7 to which a man must have reference1 if he would live the moral life1 is1 at best1 a harmless fiction and at worst a hurtful superstition4 ,there is no one 7man or god7 with whom people can stand in the moral realm except themselves alone1 and if they are not within this realm they are not men and women4 ,manhood is dependent upon standing alone with matter-force nature and with human reason1 and it is manhood which really counts everywhere in the social realm1 for without manhood one is nothing anywhere in that realm4 ,nature is my ,god4 ,the gods of the several supernaturalistic interpretations of religion 7,jesus1 ,jehovah1 ,allah1 ,buddha7 are so many symbols of this divinity4 ,the words of this ,god are the facts of nature4 ,my religion and politics1 worship and patriotism consist in a desire and effort to discover these facts and to interpret and live them humanely4 ,my ,god1 ,nature1 is a triune divinity--matter being the ,father1 force the ,son1 and law the ,spirit4 ,nature is the sum of the matter-force-law phenomena of which the universe is constituted4 ,man with his barbarism and civilization is but one among such phenomena1 on a level with the rest1 as to his beginning and ending1 and as to the dependence of his life and its fullness upon conformity to the matter-force law1 without necessary or1 indeed1 possible reference to any divine-human system of laws as set forth by a catholic or protestant church or by an imperialistic or democratic state4 ,unless states and churches persuade1 encourage and help man to more fully discover1 more correctly interpret and more perfectly live the matter-force law they are worthless2 and indeed worse1 if in the long run and on the whole they hinder him2 and undoubtedly they have done this in the case of the slave class--a class which1 ever since the rise of private property in the means of producing the necessities of life1 has comprehended the vast majority of the human race4 ,whether then man is barbarous or civilized is really and truly1 wholly and entirely a question of the knowledge of and conformity to the matter-force law1 that is1 of whether or not the articles of his religious creed and political code are so many ideal embodiments and practical interpretations of facts or realities as they are revealed by the doings of my god1 ,nature4 ,there is no other creed1 belief in the articles of which1 and there is no other code1 obedience to the articles of which1 will advance mankind1 individually or collectively1 so much as one step in the long1 rugged and steep way towards the goal of a perfect civilization--a civilization which will secure to every man1 woman and child the greatest of possible opportunities to make the most of life that is within the range of possibilities4 ,my god1 ,nature 7the triune divinity1 matter-force-motion7 the doings of which god are so many words of the only gospel upon which the salvation of the world is to any degree dependent1 is an impersonal1 unconscious1 non-moral being4 ,for me1 this god1 ,nature1 rises into personality1 consciousness and morality in myself1 and in no other does nature do this for me1 though what is true of me is of course equally so of every representative of mankind4 ,jesus 7either as an historical or dramatic personage1 and it does not matter which he was7 said1 ,i and my ,father 7god7 are one1 and in saying this he gave expression in one form to the most revolutionary and salutary of all truths4 ,the other form of the same truth as taught by ,darwin and ,marx is3 man has all the potentialities of his own life within himself4 ,every representative of the human race can and should say with ,jesus1 ,i and my ,father1 ,god1 are one4 ,stop man6 where dost thou run8 ,heav'n lies within thy heart1 ,if thou seek'st ,god elsewhere ,misled1 in truth1 thou art4 --,angelus ,silensius4 ,this truth constitutes the most ennobling and inspiring part of man's knowledge1 and it was naturally discovered by him1 not supernaturally revealed to him4 ,it is the foundation of socialism and the justification of optimism4 ,the universe moves1 with all that therein is4 ,the vanguard of mankind is moving to a viewpoint from which rapidly increasing numbers will see that a revolution which is necessary on the part of a slave to free himself from a master is not only justified but required by the great1 first law of the biological realm1 the law of self-preservation--a nature-made law on behalf of freedom4 ,this nature-made law will ultimately nullify all class laws1 every law which is in favor of the enslaving capitalist class and against the enslaved labor class4 ,every state with its executive1 legislative1 judiciary1 military and educative systems is founded on capitalism4 ,since this is the case and since human nature is what it is1 all political institutions1 the ,american with the rest1 are of the capitalist1 by the capitalist1 for the capitalist1 and each to the end that the capitalist may keep the laborer in poverty and slavery4 ,every modern church with its ministry1 bible1 creed1 heaven and hell is founded on capitalism4 ,since this is the case1 and since human nature is what it is1 all religious institutions1 the ,christian with the rest1 are of the capitalist1 by the capitalist1 for the capitalist and each to the end that the capitalist may keep the laborer in ignorance and slavery4 ,whether ,jesus was an historical or a dramatic person1 the morality involved in his trial1 condemnation and execution is the same4 ,assuming the historicity1 he was put to death by ,pilate because a class of the people said3 ,we have a law and by it1 according to its official interpretation1 he should die4 ,the ,governor1 finding that the legal enactment and the judicial decision were in accordance with the representation of the ,jews1 turned ,jesus over to the executioners for crucifixion1 and the world condemns him because he knew that the law was the embodiment of a fiction instead of a truth1 because he interpreted it in the interest of a sect instead of a people1 and because he basely acted with reference to his own political interests without regard to justice for an heroic but helpless champion of slaves in their struggle against the masters4 ,philosophic anarchy differs by the space of the whole heavens from practical anarchy1 and it is the latter that ,i always have in mind4 ,the great essential of philosophic anarchy is individualistic freedom4 ,the great essential of practical anarchy is imperialistic slavery4 ,capitalism is the outstanding1 overshadowing imperialist1 the father of all the kaisers by which the world has been cursed1 not only of the terrestrial ones such as ,wilhelm ,,ii1 ,nicholas ,,ii1 ,woodrow ,i1 but also of the celestial ones such as ,jehovah1 ,allah1 ,buddha4 ,the occupants of regal thrones have no more responsibility for the existence of imperialism than those of presidential chairs1 nor they any more than ,i1 and ,i have none4 ,the truth is that the responsibility for this blight of all the ages is now at last1 if indeed it has not always been1 wholly with the representatives of the working class4 ,they have the great majority in numbers and all of the revolutionary incentives and power2 therefore they1 and only they can do away with imperialism1 and they can rid themselves of it whenever they choose4 ,prince ,kropotkin1 the philosophic anarchist1 a great soul1 would agree to this representation1 for he says3 ,the working men of the civilized world and their friends in the other classes ought to induce their ,governments entirely to abandon the idea of armed intervention in the affairs of ,russia--whether open or disguised1 whether military or in the shape of subventions to different nations4 ,russia is now living through a revolution of the same depth and the same importance as the ,british nation underwent in #afci-afdh and ,france in #aghi-agid2 and every nation should refuse to play the shameful part that ,great ,britain1 ,prussia1 ,austria and ,russia played during the ,french ,revolution4 ,since death ends all of consciousness1 the most inhuman of all inhumanities and the most immoral of all immoralities is the shortening of human life2 and next to it is the diminishing of its happiness4 ,war shortens many lives and fills more with misery2 hence its essential inhumanity and immorality4 ,a large part of the world has just passed through the furnace of war--a war between the ,german and ,english nations with their respective national allies4 ,all international wars are contests for supremacy in the markets of the world1 or at least for advantage in some among them4 ,this one was no exception4 ,the furnace of this war was seven times larger and seven times hotter than any other has been4 ,according to the latest estimates 7,september1 #aibj7 its fierce flames directly and indirectly killed thirty million young men and wrecked totally twice and partially thrice as many more4 ,yet the fire by which the world upon the whole and in the long run suffers most is not the intermittent1 flaming one of the hell of international war1 which is always kindled and sustained by the capitalists of the belligerent nations for the purpose solely of securing commercial advantages over each other2 but the greater suffering is by the permanent1 smoking fire of the hell of the inter-class war which is always kindled and sustained by the capitalist class in each nation for the purpose solely of robbing the labor class of the fruit of their toil4 ,these national and class wars 7hells1 flaming and smouldering7 are due to the same matter-force law1 the law of self-preservation1 and1 paradoxical as it may seem1 this law is equally operative on both sides in each war4 ,both hells exist as the result of the working out of the same law of animal preservation by competition--the law of capitalism1 and both hells will be done away with as the result of the working out of the same law of human preservation by co-operation--the law of socialism4 ,one proof of the rightness of the co-operative system is the fact that it necessarily operates for the whole people and not for a class1 whereas the competitive system as necessarily operates for a class and not for the whole people4 ,still another proof1 and it is in itself almost if not quite conclusive1 of the rightness of the co-operative system is the fact that its competitive rival breaks down in every great emergency4 ,it broke down completely in all the belligerent countries 7in none more than the ,united ,states7 immediately upon their entrance into the world war4 ,our government was obliged to assume control of the railroads1 coal mines and food products4 ,if a class government1 such as ours is1 can provide during a war by the co-operative system1 and only by it1 for the wants of a country1 and better1 too1 than during the time of peace1 what may we expect in the way of plenty1 comfort and leisure1 when under the classless administration there shall be no more war with its wholesale waste1 and when there shall be one vast army of producers8 ,all the days which the fifty millions of soldiers spent in idleness will then be so many holidays for toilers who are in need of them for rest and self-improvement2 and every dollar which is now wasted will then be two dollars saved1 so that the pecuniary prosperity of war times will be increased1 rather than diminished1 and made continuous4 ,under a classless administration the world would soon become comparatively rich and happy4,h ,representatives of the capitalist class are trying to create the impression that the co-operative system which our government temporarily established as a military necessity is socialism1 and that the labor class should seek no more than its restoration and continuance3 but this system is the same old wolf in sheep's clothing4 ,the rickety house in which we are living is a competitive structure and it cannot be made into a co-operative one1 at least not upon its present foundation1 the sand of capitalistic classism4 ,industrialism must take it down and rebuild it upon the rock of classless labor4 ,neither this demolition nor this reconstruction constitutes any part of the government program4 ,its socialism is a mirage1 not a reality1 and the matter-force law renders it necessarily so4 ,marxian socialism is simplicity itself4 ,it requires only three conditions1 each of which is perfectly intelligible2 but no one of them ever has existed or could exist under any capitalist government1 because all such governments1 not excepting our own1 especially not it1 are organized in the interest of parasitic profiteers1 not productive laborers4 ,the three indispensable yet simple prerequisites to this real socialism or communism are3 ,first1 that the people within a municipality1 either town or city1 own and control the utilities within the area occupied by that municipality1 which have to do with the immediate comfort of the people who live there4 ,second1 that the people in each state own and control the utilities that come in contact with the people on a state-wide scale4 ,third1 that the people within the nation own collectively and control democratically the utilities which affect us on a national scale4 ,should we desire to go into more detail1 we might say that the things necessary to the individual be owned and controlled by the individual1 that the home be controlled by the family1 and so on4 ,to go into the question on an international scale we might also add that utilities mutually necessary to all the nations be owned by the nations1 as the ,panama ,canal1 for instance4--,higgins4 ,prince ,kropotkin1 though not a bolshevik1 says approvingly of the ,russian revolution that it is trying to build up a society where the whole produce of the joint efforts of labor by technical skill and scientific knowledge should go entirely to the commonwealth2 and he declares that for the unavoidable reconstruction of society1 by pacific or any other revolutionary means1 there must be a union of all the trade unions of the world to free the production of the world from its present enslavement to capitalism4 ,higgins and ,kropotkin have here put co-operative socialism or communism in a nutshell both as to its aim and program4 ,the law of self-preservation is ever the same1 but whether its salvation is for a part of the people by competition--capitalist salvation1 or for the whole people by co-operation--socialist salvation1 depends upon whether it rides or is ridden4 ,so long as the law of self-preservation was supposed to be the will of a conscious1 personal god whose earthly representatives were kings and priests or presidents and preachers1 the law did the riding within the large domain of animal competition--the domain of capitalism4 ,war is the normal1 indeed necessary evil of this domain1 and hence the world must have wars so long as it remains within it1 and it will remain there so long as it has celestial divinities with terrestrial representatives in states and churches for its governors4 ,now that the law is known to be a matter-force necessity1 not a divine decree1 the time may rationally be hoped for when the people will do the riding within the small domain of human co-operation--the domain of socialism4 ,peace is the normal1 indeed necessary1 state of this domain1 and hence the world must cease to have war when it enters it1 and is governed by itself instead of by a god and the powers of state and church alleged to have been ordained by him4 ,capital punishment should not be administered1 if at all1 except to a murderer whose guilt has been established to the satisfaction of the great majority of the people in the community to which he belongs1 and never in the case of a suspected murderer of whom this is not true4 ,if ,william ,,ii were really the devil behind the ,european war by which many millions of the young men of the world have lost their lives1 and if ,thomas ,mooney were really the devil behind the ,san ,francisco explosion by which ten citizens of ,california lost their lives1 their punishment by death might be urged with much show of reason as a social necessity4 ,but if both were hung on the same gallows the world would go on suffering by the ever recurring and closely related misfortunes of war and riot as if nothing had happened4 ,the real devil behind all wars and riots is the capitalist system4 ,there will never be an end of wars and riots until this devil is overthrown4 ,the so-called ,kaiser-war and the so-called ,mooney riot are on the same footing1 both having the character of an insurrection and both having the aim of self-preservation4 ,the insurrection of the ,kaiser was a riot on behalf of the capitalist class of ,germany and for the purpose of protecting it against the capitalist class of ,england4 ,the insurrection of ,mooney 7assuming his guilt1 merely for illustration7 was a riot on behalf of the labor class of ,california and for the purpose of protecting it against the capitalist class of that state4 ,incidentally1 both riots have secondary aims of world-wide extent4 ,the ,kaiser had two of these3 to overthrow the commercial supremacy of ,england that ,germany might have it1 and to overthrow industrial republicanism 7socialism7 everywhere4 ,mooney had this3 the overthrow of commercial imperialism 7capitalism7 everywhere4 ,as rioters1 there is this in common between ,kaiser ,william and ,thomas ,mooney1 that though moving in opposite directions1 they are nevertheless carried by the same matter-force law which manifests itself in the same riotous system1 capitalism--a system which1 under one form or another1 has ever produced international wars and class revolutions2 and1 so long as it is allowed to exist1 never will cease the production of them4 ,hence the interests of the world require not that these rioters1 ,kaiser ,william and ,thomas ,mooney1 should be hung1 but that the capitalist system1 which by the operation of the law of self-preservation by animal competitions1 produced both of the riots with which they are respectively credited1 should be overthrown by the labor system1 which1 by the operation of the same law of self-preservation by human co-operation1 will put an end to all bloody conflicts4 ,but taking the popular view concerning the responsibility for this commercial war and labor riot and assuming that they should be charged respectively to ,kaiser ,william and ,thomas ,mooney1 why should the promoter of the little riot die1 or worse1 suffer imprisonment during life1 and the promoter of the big war live8 ,yet1 if the ,kaiser were captured even by ,england there is no probability that he would be turned over to a court constituted of representatives of the allied nations1 tried1 found guilty and put to death4 ,why not8 ,because1 like all wars1 his war1 no matter which side won the victory1 has been upon the whole1 or will be in the long run1 in the interest of the capitalists of every nation on both sides1 at least of the great ones4 ,if ,kaiser ,william would not be sent to the gallows by such a court why should the court which tried ,thomas ,mooney be allowed to send him to it2 and1 especially why1 since ,california is part of a republic1 and the ,kaiser's war was on behalf of imperialism and a small minority1 while ,mooney's riot was on behalf of republicanism and the overwhelming majority8 ,just now the human part of the world is especially afflicted by unnecessary and therefore unjustifiable deaths4 ,the ,governor of ,california has the opportunity to prevent one such death4 ,i say to him1 do it4 ,in the name of ,justice and in the name of ,humanity1 ,i with millions of others solemnly call upon him to save ,mooney1 the revolutionist1 as ,pilate1 the ,governor of ,judea1 according to the verdict of all right-thinking men and women1 should have saved ,jesus1 the revolutionist4 ,,iii4 ,you say in effect that we must postulate a divine consciousness to account for human consciousness2 but1 on your theory1 how could human consciousness come out of a divine consciousness2 and1 anyhow1 contrary to your implication1 we know of no consciousness which has come1 except by inheritance1 from another consciousness1 but only of consciousnesses which have come from unconsciousnesses4 ,your contention1 in this connection1 is to the effect that nothing can come out of nothing1 and this is the core of a book1 ,a ,short ,apology for ,being a ,christian in the ,twentieth ,century1 by the learned ex-president of ,trinity ,college1 ,hartford1 ,dr4 ,williamson ,smith1 with whom you have had1 ,i think1 some correspondence4 ,this ,apology was written against a letter of mine to the ,house of ,bishops1 entitled1 ,a ,natural ,gospel for a ,scientific ,age1 which has never seen the light1 partly because the ex-,president convinced me that if ,i must give up the orthodox conception of ,god1 ,i could not hold to the one which ,i had worked out in the letter4 ,if you have not seen the ex-,president's book1 you will1 ,i am sure1 enjoy it more than ,i did1 but ,i doubt whether you will profit as much by it1 for it verges towards your lines and away from mine2 and so it set me to studying as it will not you1 with the result of rejecting the new conception of ,god which ,i had worked out for myself1 but with it ,i threw over the old one and ceased to believe in the existence of a conscious1 personal divinity4 ,of course1 my faith in the existence of a spiritual world and hope for a future life in it went with the god4 ,dr4 ,williamson ,smith and you are entirely correct in the contention that something cannot come out of nothing3 but ,i no longer pretend that it can and ,i now see that the stones which have been thrown at me by you both and others have come from glass houses2 for this is really the pretension of orthodox theologians4 ,they affirm that the universe was created by ,god out of nothing1 but produce no scrap of evidence for ,his existence1 and even if they could prove that ,he exists1 they would have to admit that ,he came out of nothing1 or at least from something which did so4 ,it is indeed true that ,i am unable to tell what matter1 force and motion came from1 or if ,i agree with most physicists that they arose from ether1 ,i cannot give its derivative2 but1 granting that ,i am as incapable of proving their existence as you are of proving the existence of the ,christian trinity1 nevertheless ,i have this immense advantage over you1 that ,i can prove that everything both physical and psychical 7including man and his civilization7 entering into the constitution of the universe1 lives1 moves and has its being in my divine trinity--matter1 force and motion3 whereas you cannot prove that anything is indebted for what it is to your divine trinity--,father1 ,son and ,spirit3 therefore ,i insist that your trinity is a symbol of mine4 ,what is true of the ,christian trinity is true of all the divinities of the supernaturalistic interpretations of religion4 ,the ,jews live with no reference to the ,christian ,god1 or at least not with any to his second and third persons1 and neither ,christians nor ,jews do so in the case of either the ,mohammedan or ,buddhistic divinity1 and so on1 all around the whole circle of gods4 ,but no representative of any god lives without constant reference to mine1 of which yours and all the others are1 as ,i think1 symbols1 if they are anything better than fetishes4 ,if you and ex-,president ,smith mean by your fundamental thesis1 that a thing which is essentially different from that from which it came is an impossibility1 you are certainly wrong1 for the world is full of such things4 ,in the tree of life there are millions of examples1 since 7using language in its general significance7 everything above the amoeba must be regarded as essentially different from it1 though all1 including man1 came out of it4 ,going back as far as we safely can on solid ground1 we come to the nebulae from which the solar systems of the universe have evolved1 and surely a solar system is as essentially different from the nebula as a man is from an amoeba4 ,coming to our earth when its primeval1 flaming1 swirling gases had been condensed into inorganic matter1 the protoplasm which is organic matter1 arose from it1 and so something which grows from within out1 comes from something which grows from without in4 ,the large hoofed horse came from a small five-toed animal1 not much larger than a rabbit4 ,the piano and the gun are brother and sister1 born of the bow and arrow1 yet how different the children from the parent4 ,an infant is unconscious at birth and what it has of consciousness as a child and an adult is dependent upon the development of its body4 ,moreover1 as the human body is a development through animal bodies1 we may logically conclude that human consciousness is ultimately dependent upon and inherited from animal consciousness rather than a divine one4 ,jesus is represented as saying that ,god is a spirit2 and the fathers of the ,english part of the ,christian reformation said that there is but one living and true ,god without body1 parts or passions4 ,this is their explanation of his conception of ,god4 ,when the ,jesuine definition of ,god and the ,anglican explanation of it were framed1 the ,divine ,spirit was supposed to be an objective personality4 ,modern psychology teaches that no spirit1 divine1 human or otherwise1 is a personality4 ,according to this science1 spirit and soul are synonyms for the subjective content of a conscious life1 which content consists of feelings1 aspirations1 ideals1 convictions and determinations4 ,psychologists know of no spirit or soul without a body constituted of parts any more than physicists know of a force without matter constituted of molecules1 atoms1 electrons and ions4 ,gods represent the religious ideals of people and are symbols of what they think they should be as religionists4 ,they are symbolic1 emblematic1 parabolic1 allegoric devices of the imagination1 and contain nothing but the ideal1 imaginary things which are put into them by people for themselves1 and they do nothing except what the people perform through them in their names for themselves4 ,matter and force constitute a machine1 an automatic one1 which produces things1 everything which enters into the constitution of the cosmos1 by evolutionary processes1 or rather all such things1 and there are no others1 are the result of one universal and eternal process of evolution4 ,what is known as nature is the aggregation of the products of this machine by this process4 ,the machine is unconscious and its workings are mechanical1 yet some of its products rise into self-consciousness with the power of self-determination1 but both the consciousness and the determination are limited4 ,the infinite consciousness1 personality and determination which are postulated of gods are contradictions4 ,of all beings man possesses most of consciousness1 personality and determination4 ,what he has of these is not dependent upon gods1 but all they have of them is dependent upon him4 ,divine beings are1 as to their self-consciousness1 personality and determination1 human beings personified and placed in the sky4 ,man does everything for gods4 ,they do nothing for him4 ,such are the facts and arguments based upon them1 which have forced me step by step over the long way from the position of supernaturalistic traditionalism in its ,christian form1 still occupied by you1 to that of naturalistic scientism in its socialist form which ,i am now occupying1 as tentatively as possible1 pending further study in the light of additional facts1 for which 7some six years ago1 when ,i was desperately battling to prevent the shipwreck of my faith in the god and heaven of orthodox ,christianity7 ,i appealed to about #hjj outstanding theologians1 among them yourself1 representing all parts of christendom and every great church1 including of course all our bishops among the theologians1 and the ,anglican communion among the churches4 ,you may remember how much of correspondence we had at that time1 though neither you nor any one who kindly tried to reach me with the rope of the new scientific apologetics for which ,i appealed1 can realize how eagerly ,i looked for the replies to my questions1 nor the sickness of heart which ,i experienced when ,i saw that1 in spite of every possible effort of my own and help of others1 ,i was slowly but surely drifting towards what ,i then thought to be the fatal whirlpools and rocks1 but what ,i now regard as a sheltered port--the golden gate of that delectable country1 ,marxian socialism1 the only heaven that ,i am now hoping to behold4 ,you earnestly contend that ,i am wrong in representing that the majority of outstanding men of science and scientific philosophers do not believe in the existence of a conscious1 personal divinity1 who created1 sustains and governs the universe1 or in a conscious1 personal life for man beyond the grave1 and that none among such scientists and philosophers are orthodox ,christians4 ,prof4 ,leuba1 the ,bryn ,mawr psychologist1 is one among my authorities for these representations4 ,in his ,belief in ,god and ,immortality 7#aiaf7 he exhibits the results of a recent and thorough-going investigation in a chart from which it appears that1 taking the greater and lesser representatives of the scientists together1 they fall below #ej per cent as to their belief in ,god1 and below #ee per cent in their belief in immortality4,i ,the showing for the scientists who are especially concerned with the origin and destiny of life1 biologists and psychologists1 is much less favorable to you2 for1 taking the greater and lesser together1 only #ca per cent of the biologists believe in ,god and #ce per cent in immortality2 and only #be per cent of the psychologists believe in ,god1 and #bj per cent in immortality4 ,but the worst by far1 is yet to come2 for1 taking the greater biologists and psychologists1 those who count most1 of the former #ah per cent believe in ,god1 and #be per cent in immortality2 and of the latter1 the greatest of all authorities1 only #ac per cent believe in ,god1 and only #h per cent in immortality4 ,the greater psychologists are comparatively consistent in that fewer among them believe in a conscious1 personal life for humanity beyond the grave than in the conscious1 personal life of divinity beyond the clouds4 ,human immortality is an absurdity without divine existence4 ,the overwhelming majority of great psychologists 7the greatest of all authorities1 as to whether or not gods without bodies1 parts or passions can consciously exist in the skies1 and disembodied men1 women and children in celestial paradises7 see this and limit the career of man to earth4 ,in their judgment his heaven and hell are here1 and the gods who make and the devils who unmake civilizations are humans1 not good or bad divinities4 ,this is the conclusion of a rapidly increasing number of educated people4 ,a century ago only a few men of science and scientific philosophers had reached it1 not twenty five per cent1 but now the percentage is nearly ninety and it will soon be ninety-nine4 ,the time is coming1 and in the not distant future1 when no educated man shall look to the god of any supernaturalistic interpretation of religion for light or strength1 and when none shall hope for a heaven above the earth or fear a hell below it4 ,heav'n but the ,vision of fulfill'd ,desire1 ,and ,hell the ,shadow from a ,soul on fire ,cast on the ,darkness into which ,ourselves1 ,so late emerg'd from1 shall so soon expire4 --,omar4 ,joseph ,mc,cabe and ,chapman ,cohen are among the most brilliant of present day writers on scientific and philosophic subjects4 ,they are not socialists1 but both see that modern socialism and orthodox ,christianism are utterly irreconcilable incompatibilities4 ,how is it that on the ,continent democratic bodies are so sceptical1 or sceptical bodies so democratic8 ,precisely because they doubt 7or reject altogether7 the ,christian heaven4 ,they want to make this earth as happy as it can be1 to make sure of happiness somewhere4 ,having taken their eyes from the sky1 they have discovered remarkable possibilities in the earth4 ,having to give less time to ,god1 they have more time to give to man4 ,they think less about their heavenly home1 and more about their earthly home4 ,the earthly home has grown very much brighter for the change4 ,the heavenly home is just where it was4 ,the plain truth is1 of course1 that the sentiment which used to be absorbed in religion is now embodied in humanitarianism4 ,religion is slowly dying everywhere4 ,social idealism is growing everywhere4 ,people who want to persuade us that social idealism depends on religion are puzzled by this4 ,it is only because they are obstinately determined to connect everything with ,christianity1 in spite of its historical record4 ,there is no puzzle4 ,we have transferred our emotions from ,god to man1 from heaven to earth4--,joseph ,mc,cabe4 ,socialists who have one eye on the ballot box may assure these people that ,socialism is not ,atheistic1 but few will be convinced4 ,the statement that ,socialism has nothing to do with religion1 or that many professedly religious people are ,socialist1 is quite futile4 ,a thoughtful religionist would reply that the first point concedes the truth of all that has been said against ,socialism1 while the second evades the question at issue4 ,no one is specially concerned with the mental idiosyncracies of individual ,socialists2 what is at issue is the question whether ,socialism does or does not take an ,atheistic view of life8 ,he might add1 too1 that a ,socialism which leaves out the belief in ,god and a future life1 which does not1 in even the remotest manner1 imply these beliefs1 which does not make their acceptance the condition of holding the meanest office in the ,state1 and1 at most1 will merely allow religious beliefs to exist so long as they do not threaten the well-being of the ,state1 is1 to all intents and purposes1 an ,atheistical system4--,chapman ,cohen4 ,in summing up the results of his investigations ,prof4 ,leuba observes that3 ,in every class of persons investigated1 the number of believers in ,god is less and in most classes very much less than the number of non-believers1 and that the number of believers in immortality is somewhat larger than in a personal ,god2 that among the more distinguished1 unbelief is very much more frequent than among the less distinguished2 and finally that not only the degree of ability1 but also the kind of knowledge possessed1 is significantly related to the rejection of these beliefs4 ,in another connection ,prof4 ,leuba speaking of ,christian dogmatism as a whole says3 ,christianity1 as a system of belief1 has utterly broken down1 and nothing definite1 adequate1 and convincing has taken its place4 ,there is no generally acknowledged authority2 each one believes as he can1 and few seem disturbed at being unable to hold the tenets of the churches4 ,this sense of freedom is the glorious side of an otherwise dangerous situation4 ,your conception of the origin1 sustenance and governance of the universe is burdened1 as are all interpretations of religion which are hinged upon the existence of conscious1 personal divinities1 with two difficulties3 7#a7 its physical impossibility1 and 7#b7 its moral impossibility4 #a4 ,physical ,impossibilities4 ,the atomic and molecular movements required for the thinking of a single man would be beyond the capacity of all the gods of the supernaturalistic interpretations of religion together4 ,some idea of the number of such motions which are taking place in every human brain1 will be derived from the conservative representations of ,hofmeister as exhibited in the following condensed form by ,mc,cabe in his book1 ,the ,evolution of ,mind3 ,we have reason to believe that there are in each molecule of ordinary protoplasm at least #dej atoms of carbon1 #gbj atoms of hydrogen1 #aaf of nitrogen1 #f of sulphur1 and #adj of oxygen4 ,nerve-plasm is still more complex4 ,recent discoveries have only increased the wonder and potentiality of the cortex4 ,each atom has proved to be a remarkable constellation of electrons1 a colossal reservoir of energy4 ,the atom of hydrogen contains about #a1jjj electrons1 the atom of carbon #ab1jjj1 the atom of nitrogen #ad1jjj1 the atom of oxygen #af1jjj1 and the atom of sulphur #cb1jjj4 ,these electrons circulate within the infinitesimal space of the atom at a speed of from #aj1jjj to #ij1jjj miles a second4 ,it would take #cdj1jjj barrels of powder to impart to a bullet the speed with which some of these particles dart out of their groups4 ,a gramme of hydrogen--a very tiny portion of the simplest gas--contains energy enough to lift a million tons more than a hundred yards4 ,of these astounding arsenals of energy1 the atoms1 we have1 on the lowest computation1 at least #fjj million billion in the cortex of the human brain4 ,scientists1 says ,professor ,olerich1 in his book1 ,a ,modern ,look at the ,universe1 estimate that the chemical atom is so infinitesimally small that it requires a group of not less than a billion to make the group barely visible under the most powerful microscope1 and a thousand such groups would have to be put together in order to make it just visible to the naked eye as a mere speck floating in the sunbeam4 ,the microscope reveals innumerable animalcules in the hundredth part of a drop of water4 ,they all eat1 digest1 move and from all appearances of their frolics1 they are endowed with sensation and ability of enjoyment4 ,what then shall we say of the minuteness of the food they eat2 of the blood that surges through their veins2 of their nervous system that thrills and guides them8 ,their minutest organs must be composed of molecules1 atoms1 ions and electrons inconceivably smaller than are the organs themselves4 ,is there any god in a celestial field who could care for the movements which occur in the molecules constituting a hundredth part of a drop of water1 not to speak of those which occur in the bodies of its myriads of inhabitants8 ,and what shall we say of all the inorganic and organic movements in a small cup of whole drops of water1 let alone those of a great ocean of them8 ,but why go further into this subject8 ,is not the utter childishness of the orthodox representative of a supernaturalistic interpretation of religion1 who credits his god with the governance of the motions occurring in the mineral1 vegetable and animal kingdoms of this globe1 leaving out of account those of its solar system1 and of other systems which constitute the universe1 sufficiently manifest8 ,if you say that the motions which issue in the phenomena of the universe are regulated by a law which was once for all willed by the god of the ,christian interpretation of religion1 ,i ask why the law should be credited to the willing of this god rather than to that of the god of ,jewish1 ,mohammedan or ,buddhistic interpretation4 ,newton took the first of the six initiatory steps in the long way which led to the conclusion that the universe is self-existing1 self-sustaining and self-governing1 by showing that all the movements of the solar systems were necessarily what they have been by reason of a matter-force law1 gravitation4 ,this discovery is the most momentous event in the whole history of mankind4 ,laplace took the second step by showing that the cosmic nebulae contain within themselves all the potentialities necessary to the formation of solar systems4 ,lavoisier took the third step by showing that the matter which enters into the constitution of the universe is an eternality4 ,mayer took the fourth step by showing that the force which enters into the constitution of the universe is an eternality4 ,darwin took the fifth step by showing that the protoplasm contains all the potentialities of every form of physical and degree of psychical life from the moneron to man2 that all representatives of both the vegetable and animal kingdoms1 including man1 are related and so on a level as to their origin and destiny1 and that the different species are the natural results of the necessary struggle with rivals and with adverse environments for existence4 ,marx took the sixth step by showing that the essential difference between humans and beasts is primarily a question of the hand and secondarily of the machines by which its efficiency is immeasurably increased2 that slavery has been and must continue to be the means of advancement towards the ideal civilization2 that the kinds of human slavery were what they have been because machines have been what they were1 and that the time is coming when the slaves will no longer be men1 women and children1 but machines which will be exploited for the good of the many1 not the profit of the few--then1 and not until then1 rapid advance shall be made towards the goal where the whole world shall be one great co-operative family1 every member of which shall have the greatest of possible opportunities to make the most of terrestrial life by having it as long and happy as possible4 #b4 ,moral ,impossibilities4 ,the moral impossibility of the assumptions of these apologies is seen by all who have eyes for seeing things as they are in the fact that if ,god is credited with the good ,he must also be debited with the evil4 ,if for example1 ,he endowed the human body with its useful and necessary parts4 ,he also endowed it with its harmful and unnecessary parts4 ,experts in the field of anatomy tell us that there are in our bodies at least #ahj useless parts1 some among which are the occasion of much suffering and many premature deaths1 the vermiform appendix alone causing many thousands of such cases annually4 ,do you not see that these useless structures1 all of which are inherited from the lower animals1 are so many evidences of the truth of ,darwinism and the untruthfulness of ,mosaism8 ,eleven of these wholly useless and more or less harmful inheritances have been of no use to any of our ancestors from the fish up and four are inherited from our reptilian and amphibian forefathers1 but according to ,moses we have no such progenitors4 ,admitting the fact of the existence of evil there is no escaping from the logical conclusions of dear1 old sensible ,epicurus3 ,either ,god is willing to remove evil from this world and cannot1 or he can and is not willing1 or finally he can and is willing4 ,if he is willing and cannot1 it is impotence1 which is contrary to the nature of ,god4 ,if he can and is unwilling1 it is wickedness1 and that is no less contrary to the nature of ,god4 ,if he is not willing and cannot1 there is both wickedness and impotence4 ,if he is willing and can1 which is the only one of these suppositions that can be applied to ,god1 how happens it that there is evil on earth8 ,oh1 if only the world had been influenced by this logic instead of by the metaphysics of the supernaturalistic interpretations of religion1 it would have been so far on the way towards the ideal civilization as to have long since passed the point where it would have been possible to have the world war which has recently deluged the earth with blood and tears1 or to make the ,versailles treaty which is destined to issue in one war after another1 ever filling the world fuller with the tyranny1 poverty1 slavery and misery which are the inevitable concomitants of all wars4 ,in my opinion the fascinating essayist1 ,mallock1 has written the best of all apologies for theism4 ,i cannot imagine a better one4 ,he1 however1 makes no more attempt than ,sir ,oliver ,lodge does to establish ,christianity1 or any other supernaturalistic interpretations of religion4 ,like ,kant and yourself1 ,mallock takes his stand on the ground that a belief in a celestial ,god1 and in the immortality which goes with it1 is necessary to morality1 the basic virtue upon which civilization rests4 ,as ,kant admits that the existence of ,god cannot be inferred from pure reason1 so ,mallock admits and even strongly contends that it cannot be established on scientific grounds4 ,i quote a striking passage3 ,we must divest ourselves of all foregone conclusions1 of all question-begging reverences1 and look the facts of the universe steadily in the face4 ,if theists will but do this1 what they will see will astonish them4 ,they will see that if there is anything at the back of this vast process1 with a consciousness and a purpose in any way resembling our own--a ,being who knows what he wants and is doing his best to get it--he is1 instead of a holy and all-wise ,god1 a scatter-brained1 semi-powerful1 semi-impotent monster4 ,they will recognize as clearly as they ever did the old familiar facts which seemed to them evidences of ,god's wisdom1 love and goodness2 but they will find that these facts1 when taken in connection with the others1 only supply us with a standard in the nature of this being himself by which most of his acts are exhibited to us as those of a criminal madman4 ,if he had been blind1 he had not had sin2 but if we maintain that he can see1 then his sin remains4 ,habitually a bungler as he is1 and callous when not actively cruel1 we are forced to regard him1 when he seems to exhibit benevolence1 as not divinely benevolent1 but merely weak and capricious1 like a boy who fondles a kitten and the next moment sets a dog at it4 ,and not only does his moral character fall from him bit by bit1 but his dignity disappears also4 ,the orderly processes of the stars and the larger phenomena of nature are suggestive of nothing so much as a wearisome court ceremonial surrounding a king who is unable to understand or to break away from it2 whilst the thunder and whirlwind1 which have from time immemorial been accepted as special revelations of his awful power and majesty1 suggest1 if they suggest anything of a personal character at all1 merely some blackguardly larrikin kicking his heels in the clouds1 not perhaps bent on mischief1 but indifferent to the fact that he is causing it4 ,but we need not attempt to fill in the picture further4 ,the truth is1 as we consider the universe as a whole1 it fails to suggest a conscious and purposive ,god at all2 and it fails to do so not because the processes of evolution as such preclude the idea that ,god might have made use of them for a definite purpose1 but because when we come to consider these processes in detail1 and view them in the light of the only purposes they suggest1 we find them to be such that a ,god who could deliberately have been guilty of them would be a ,god too absurd1 too monstrous1 too mad to be credible4 ,the god who had any part in bringing upon the world the ,english-,german war1 the ,versailles peace1 the ,russian blockade1 is for me a devil not a divinity4 ,if you say that the ,christian god had nothing to do with them1 ,i reply that these are among the greatest of all curses wherewith mankind has been afflicted in modern times2 and if he could not or would not prevent them1 what ground is there for looking to him for help in any time of need8 ,how can ,i adequately express my contempt for the assertion that all things occur for the best1 for a wise and beneficent end8 ,it is the most utter falsehood1 and a crime against the human race4444 ,human suffering is so great1 so endless1 so awful1 that ,i can hardly write of it4444 ,the whole and the worst1 the worst pessimist can say is far beneath the least particle of the truth4444 ,anyone who will consider the affairs of the world at large 444 will see that they do not proceed in the manner they would do for our happiness if a man of humane breadth of view were placed at their head with unlimited power4 ,a man of intellect and humanity could cause everything to happen in an infinitely superior manner4 ,but that which is 444 credited to a non-existent intelligence 7or cosmic order1 it is just the same7 should really be claimed and exercised by the human race4 ,we must do for ourselves what superstition has hitherto supposed an intelligence to do for us4--,richard ,jeffries4 ,would but some winged ,angel ere too late ,arrest the yet unfolded ,roll of ,fate1 ,and make the stern ,recorder otherwise ,enregister1 or quite obliterate6 ,ah ,love6 could you and ,i with ,him conspire ,to grasp this sorry ,scheme of ,things entire1 ,would not we shatter it to bits--and then ,remold it nearer to the ,heart's ,desire6 --,omar4 ,you frequently intimate that my doctrine concerning the origin and destiny of the universe with all that therein is1 including man1 is not that of the majority of men of science and scientific philosophers1 but that yours is4 ,it will therefore be of interest to you to know that ,i have submitted the most radical of my materialistic pieces to three men of science1 all great authorities1 one of whom replied1 that he was in substantial agreement with me1 but thought me to be #djj years ahead of our time2 another1 that he found nothing to criticize unless it might be my failure to give greater prominence to the fact that the gods of the redemptive interpretations1 of religion were so many versions of the sun-myth1 and the other1 that the essay would pass any world congress of scientists by a large majority4 ,you think that ,i am wrong in quoting ,newton and ,darwin on my side1 because they believed in the existence of a conscious1 personal god4 ,i am persuaded that such was not the case with ,darwin at his death2 but1 however this may be1 it is in neither of these cases1 nor in that of any other scientist1 a question of what he philosophically believed concerning a god1 but of what he scientifically established as a fact4 ,newton established the fact that the movements of the stars in their courses are naturally regulated by the law of gravitation1 not supernaturally by the will of a god4 ,darwin established the fact that all living species of animal and vegetable life exist as the natural results of evolutionary processes1 not as the supernatural results of creative acts4 ,if ,newton were to stand by his theological writings1 he would fall in your estimation1 for his work on the book of ,daniel would be regarded by you as an absurdity4 ,he considered ,daniel to be the great revelation of a ,god1 ,jehovah1 but you know it to be the purest fiction of a man1 quite as much the work of the imagination of its author as ,don ,quixote is that of ,cervantes4 ,among the many theological authorities whom you quote against me1 the greatest1 in my estimation1 is ,dr4 ,inge1 ,dean of ,st4 ,paul's1 ,london1 whose utterances ,i have been noting with great interest of late2 partly1 no doubt1 because he seems to be giving up your orthodox side and coming over1 slowly but surely1 to my heterodox one4 ,in a ,london paper which has just reached me1 the ,literary ,guide1 this is said of the ,dean3 ,the theological opinions of ,dean ,inge1 one of the official mouthpieces of the ,church of ,england1 and probably the most distinguished spokesman for the more liberally minded of the clergy1 have now reached an interesting stage1 both for those without the ,church as well as for those within it4 ,although he does not feel called upon to state his own private conclusions on such debatable questions1 he no longer regards the doctrines of the ,immaculate ,conception and the ,bodily ,resurrection as essential prerequisites of ,christianity and would consider fit for ordination any candidate who rejected them1 provided such a person still acknowledged the divine nature of ,jesus ,christ--that is1 he would not exclude him from the ,church's ministry4 ,if ,i understand ,dean ,inge as he is reported in the article of which this is the opening paragraph1 he bases his faith in the divinity of ,jesus upon the uniqueness of his character and teachings1 not on the miraculousness of his birth and healings4 ,but ,dean ,inge has no authentic or reliable account of the life and teachings of ,jesus2 and so1 as a theologian1 like all theologians1 he lives1 moves and has his being in the realm of fiction1 the difference between him and yourself being that he is in that part of it where the imagination sits enthroned1 and you in the region where metaphysics is monarch of all it surveys4 ,an outstanding theologian who1 as it seems to me1 overshadows ,dean ,inge1 commenting upon a piece of my writing which is quite as radical as any part of this letter goes even further than he4 ,i have1 he says1 just read the ,chapter of your ,natural ,gospel for a ,scientific ,age1 which you have kindly sent me1 with the greatest interest4 ,indeed ,i have come so heartily to share your point of view that ,i can find no points for criticism2 ,i can only say how grateful ,i am to have had an opportunity of seeing your uncompromising and clear expression of the only kind of ,modernism that has any promise for the future4 ,i am beginning to feel more and more uncomfortable in our ,christian movement because so many of our leaders here are attempting an impossible compromise with dogma4 ,men like ,dr4 ,rashdall have no place in the movement for men who cannot accept their 'fullblooded theism4' ,in fact they are ,harnackians with their one or two unalterably fixed dogmas4 ,,iv4 ,if you ask why ,i continue to be a member of an orthodox church and its ministry1 the answer is1 there is no reason why ,i should not for 7if they may be interpreted by myself1 for myself1 spiritually7 ,i accept every article of the creed of catholic orthodoxy2 but if the articles of this creed must be interpreted literally there is no one in our church 7the ,episcopal7 or in any among the churches1 who believes all of them4 ,for example1 who believes1 that ,god created the heavens and the earth out of nothing in six days1 as he is represented to have done in his alleged revelation of which the creed is a condensation8 ,all in this church1 or at least all the ministers of it1 who have obeyed its requirement respecting the devotion of themselves to study1 as ,i have1 know that the firmament or heaven of which the revelation speaks has no substantial existence1 only an imaginary one4 ,what was supposed to be it1 is but the reflection of light upon the dust of the atmosphere4 ,as for the earth it was not made out of nothing2 and1 indeed1 it was not supernaturally made at all but naturally evolutionized out of matter and force1 and even they were not created by a god1 for they are co-existing eternalities2 nor were their evolutionary processes directed by him1 for they have eternally1 automatically and necessarily co-operated in such processes to the production of every phenomenon which has contributed to make both the physical and psychical parts of the universe what they have been at any time1 including the divine1 diabolical and angelic fictions which men have made and placed above and below the earth4 ,if you ask whether ,i am still a professing ,christian1 ,i will answer3 yes1 yet the ,brother ,jesus of the ,new ,testament1 catholic creed and protestant confessions1 is not for me an historical personage1 but only a symbol of all that is for the good of the world1 even as the ,uncle ,sam of ,american literature is not an historical personage but only a symbol of all which is for the good of the ,united ,states4 ,if you ask whether ,i am a praying ,christian1 ,i shall answer3 yes1 yet when ,i pray1 as ,i do every day1 my prayer is an appeal to a real divinity within my heart1 the better self1 of which self all the unreal divinities in the skies including the ,christian trinity1 ,father1 ,son and ,spirit1 are but poetic symbols1 and ,i no longer expect this ,god to answer otherwise than the symbol of parents1 ,santa ,claus1 answers the prayers of children1 or the symbol of the ,united ,states1 ,uncle ,sam1 answers the prayers of ,americans4 ,if you ask whether ,i am a communing ,christian1 ,i shall answer3 yes1 yet when ,i go to the ,lord's ,supper1 as ,i do every month1 the strength which ,i receive is derived from the feeling that through it ,i place myself in communion with my human brethren on earth1 not with a divine brother in the sky1 particularly with the members of my church and the citizens of my town and its neighborhood1 but generally with all men1 women and children throughout the whole world1 of which real brethren the brother god in the sky1 ,jesus1 is but a poetic symbol2 nor do ,i now regard the communion of this supper as being essentially different from that of any ordinary family-meal1 lodge-banquet1 or socialist-picnic1 with each of which repasts the informal ,lord's ,supper of the apostolic church had much more in common than it has with the formal celebrations of the sacrament in any among the sectarian churches4,j ,many critics represent that1 in view of the changes in my theological opinion1 if ,i am an honest man1 not a hypocrite1 ,i will leave the ministry and communion of the ,episcopal ,church4 ,but why should ,i go while any of my brother clergymen remain8 ,i give a symbolic or allegorical interpretation to every article of the whole system of ,christian supernaturalism and uniqueism2 yet as symbols1 allegories1 parables1 or myths1 ,i do not reject any1 and no member of our ,house of ,bishops literally accepts all4 ,who among influential preachers of any rank in any church believes3 7#a7 that the world was made about six thousand years ago by a personal1 ,creator-,god out of nothing2 or that it was made at any time out of anything8 7#b7 that such a ,god formed ,adam out of dust and ,eve out of a rib2 that they left ,his hands as perfect physical and moral images of ,himself1 and fully civilized representatives of the human race2 or that there was any first man and woman8 7#c7 that ,he planted a ,garden of ,eden and placed them therein under ideal conditions1 and that ,he walked in it and talked with them2 or that there ever was any such garden8 7#d7 that a personal destroyer-,devil1 incarnated in a talking serpent1 tempted them into disobedience2 or that there ever was any such ,devil8 7#e7 that but for this ,devil's influence and their sin1 labor and suffering1 physical death and moral degradation would have been unknown on earth1 and that it would have been the permanent abode of mankind1 as indeed of all sentient creatures2 or that any of the higher forms of life would have been possible without death8 and 7#f7 that to repair the evils accomplished by this ,destroyer-,devil it was necessary for a personal ,restorer-,god to become incarnated in a man1 in order that he might shed this blood as a sufficient sacrifice for the satisfaction of the offended ,creator-,god2 also1 in order that the resurrection of the bodies 7bones1 flesh1 blood and animal organism7 of all deceased men1 women and children and the rehabitation of them by their respective souls could be accomplished1 to the end that a few1 on account of their faith1 might be transferred to a permanent home in a heaven on a firmament above the earth1 and the many1 because of their lack of faith1 to a permanent home in a hell below2 or that there ever was any such incarnation for these purposes2 or that there are any such firmament1 heaven1 and hell1 or that there will be any such resurrection1 ascension or descension8 ,if other bishops1 priests and deacons can1 as they must1 bring in their symbolism or allegorism touching any or all of these six fundamentals1 which constitute the basis of the supernaturalism of traditional ,christianity1 and yet not leave the church1 why may not ,i bring in mine and remain8 ,attention is called by several critics to ,sir ,oliver ,lodge1 as an example of an outstanding man of science who accepts supernaturalism4 ,while ,i was desperately trying to retain my conception of a supernaturalistic ,god and of all the supernaturalism that goes with it 7revelation of truth1 answer to prayer1 guidance by providence1 resurrection of the dead and their ascension1 eternal consciousness and happiness7 ,i at one time centered a great deal of hope in him1 and eagerly studied his works as indeed ,i did those of most apologists for supernaturalism among them the greatest1 ,flammarion1 ,balfour1 ,bergson and ,hudson1 but my careful study of his many writings convinced me that he does not hold any of the supernaturalistic doctrines which are distinctively ,christian4 ,however1 it is my doctrine concerning ,jesus1 rather than that of ,christian traditionalism1 that is in exact alignment with that of this renowned physicist4 ,we agree that ,jesus1 if historical1 was a ,son of ,god and the ,christ to men in no other sense1 and therefore in no higher degree1 than all representatives of the human race may be sons or daughters of ,god1 if there are gods and christs1 to the men1 women and children with whom they come in contact4 ,most critics think that ,i am wrong in representing that the great majority of the leading men of science are naturalistic1 not supernaturalistic1 but ,sir ,oliver ,lodge represents that among such scientists it is generally believed that the universe is self-explained1 self-contained and self-maintained2 and speaking on his own behalf of its creation out of nothing he says3 ,the improbability or absurdity of such a conception1 except in the symbolism of poetry1 is extreme1 and it is unthinkable by any educated person4 ,all these gods were created1 endowed and located by man1 and then he had them make revelations1 create churches1 institute sacraments and appoint priesthoods for his redemption from devils whom he also created1 endowed and located4 ,this is why people of the same country and time have such different gods and revelations4 ,jehovah is the god and the ,old ,testament the revelation of the kings and plutocrats who are responsible for wars2 ,jesus is the god and the ,new ,testament is the revelation of the doctors and nurses who do what they can to alleviate the misery of them4 ,the gods1 not excepting ,jehovah and ,jesus1 are as mythical as ,santa ,claus and answer their suppliants not otherwise than he answers his1 through human representatives4 ,if the suffering1 needy or afflicted do not get help and sympathy from men1 women and children they get none from the gods and angels4 ,while on the one hand the great majority of scientists1 scientific philosophers and educated people generally doubt that any god ever answered a prayer or exercised a providence1 on the other1 no one doubts that men1 women and children answer millions of prayers daily and that every person's career is wholly different from what it would have been but for human providence2 that1 indeed1 life would be impossible without the providence which all people exercise in the hearing and answering of prayers4 ,representatives of many of the interpretations of religion strewed every battle-field of the ,european war4 ,the celestial saviours did not care for one of their devotees4 ,the terrestrial saviours 7doctors and nurses7 did everything for the desperately wounded and saved millions who would have miserably perished but for them4 ,these were the real christs and angels of whom the celestial ones are but symbols4 ,the celestials always have passed by on the other side4 ,the terrestrials are the ,good ,samaritans when there are any4 ,sceptics infer from this negligence that the gods and angels have no real objective existence4 ,believers contend that they really exist objectively and excuse the neglect on account of preoccupation4 ,for example1 the ,god of traditional ,christianity is supposed to spend much time counting hairs on the heads of ,his people and watching sparrows fall to the ground4 ,sceptics are reverently but earnestly asking3 ,why does ,he not keep the sparrows from falling8 ,why does ,he not let the hairs remain unnumbered1 until ,he has put a stop to wars and promoted good will among men to a degree which will render it impossible that the world should any longer be cursed by them8 ,if believers say that we have no knowledge of the ways of ,god1 sceptics reply3 ,since all which is known about any objective reality is concerning the ways thereof1 what the action is under given circumstances1 how do you know that your ,god has anything to do with either sparrows or men1 or even that ,he exists8 ,as to their philosophy concerning the origin1 sustenance and governance of the universe1 socialists of the school of ,marx1 are almost to a man materialists2 but1 as to their philosophy concerning life1 they are as generally idealists4 ,there is1 ,i feel sure1 as much idealism in my thinking and living now as there was in the days of my orthodoxy1 but ,i will let you judge for yourself after reading the following confession of faith3 ,my early life was blighted as the result of the premature death of my father by the ,civil ,war and the consequent breaking up of his family and my bondage to a ,german who made a slave of me1 broke my health by overwork and exposure1 and1 worst of all1 kept me in ignorance1 so that when1 at the age of twenty-one1 ,i began my education1 ,i was assigned to the fourth grade of a public school4 ,the prime of my life has been wasted in preaching as truths the dogmas of the ,christian theology1 the representations of which ,i now believe1 with the overwhelming majority of educated people1 to be at best so many symbols and at worst superstitions4 ,but though ,i do not now and probably never shall again believe in the existence of a conscious1 personal god1 a knowledge of and obedience to whose will is necessary to salvation1 yet an injustice is done me by those who say ,i have abandoned god and religion4 ,every one who desires and endeavors to fulfill the requirements of a law which is independent of his will and beyond his control has a god and a religion4 ,i desire and endeavor this in the case of two such laws and so have two gods and two religions4 ,both of my divinities are trinities4 ,one is in the physical realm and the other in the moral one4 ,in the physical realm my triune god is3 matter1 the father2 force1 the son1 and motion1 the spirit4 ,in the moral realm1 my triune god is3 fact1 the father2 truth1 the son1 and life1 the spirit4 ,for me the triune divinity of ,christianity is a symbol of these trinities and it is my desire and effort to discover and fulfill what they require of me1 in order that ,i may make my own physical1 psychical and moral life as long1 happy and complete as possible and help others in doing this for themselves4 ,this desire and effort is at once my morality and religion1 my politics and patriotism1 and they are spiritual realities4 ,on account of the first of these sets of spiritual virtues 7morality and religion7 ,i claim to be a ,christian of the highest type1 and that any accusation which is raised against me because of alleged disloyalty to any essential of ,christianism is an injustice4 ,on account of the second of these sets of spiritual virtues 7politics and patriotism7 ,i claim to be an ,american of the highest type1 and that any accusation which is raised against me because of alleged disloyalty to an essential of ,americanism is an injustice4 ,from the viewpoint of the self-styled one hundred per cent ,christians1 ,i am a betrayer of ,brother ,jesus because ,i do not believe that he ever had any existence as a god and that1 if he was at any time a man1 the world does not now and never can know of one thing that he did or of one word that he said4 ,from the viewpoint of the self-styled one hundred per cent ,americans1 ,i am a traitor to ,uncle ,sam1 because ,i did oppose his going into the ,english-,german war1 and because ,i do object to the partiality which he shows to his rich nephews and nieces4 ,still ,jesus and ,uncle ,sam are as dear to me as ever and indeed dearer1 yet not as objective1 conscious personalities1 but as symbols1 ideals or patterns4 ,however1 though ,i love my ,brother ,jesus and ,uncle ,sam all the time1 as a child does ,santa ,claus at ,christmas time1 ,i am no longer childish enough at any time to look to either of them to do anything for me1 because ,i know that what is done for me must be done either by myself or by men1 women and children1 and that as objective1 conscious personalities1 my ,brother ,jesus and ,uncle ,sam have had no more to do with my life than the man-in-the-moon4 ,your observation concerning the ,american government as being the standard to which all governments will ultimately conform challenges an earnest word of friendly dissent4 ,our government is what all the governments of the world are 7with the single exception of the ,russian7 a government in the interest of a small class1 the representatives of which own the means and machines of production and distribution and who produce and distribute things for profit1 each for himself4 ,the representatives of one class produce things socially1 and those of another class appropriate them individually4 ,this is capitalistic anarchy1 the worst of possible anarchism1 and it must have an end soon or the world will be lost4 ,robbery is the essence of anarchy and ,marx showed that every cent of profit made under the existing system of economics 7and in the ,united ,states it amounts to several billions of dollars every year7 is so much robbery of the many who make and operate the machines1 because they are paid less in wages than the value of the products made and distributed by them4 ,we are hearing much in these days about the anarchy of those who are dissatisfied with the capitalistic governments1 but the governments themselves and those in whose interests they exist are the real anarchists4 ,the flesh and blood of anarchism are robbery and lying1 and these are the meat and drink of capitalism4 ,the ,english-,german war was the most flagrant act of anarchy in the whole history of mankind4 ,the peace of ,versailles and the blockade of ,russia were outrageous acts of anarchy1 and so also are the terrorism and tyranny of which every capitalistic country is so full1 our own with the rest4 ,morality is the very heart of civilization and of all that really makes for it2 but morality is impossible on a capitalistic basis1 for it is founded on the most immoral things in the world1 robbery1 lying1 murder1 ignorance1 poverty and slavery4 ,if ,i am right in the conviction that the ,united ,states is more wholly given over to capitalism than any other nation1 not excepting even ,england1 it is the greatest robber1 liar and murderer on earth4 ,how then1 can the ,united ,states become the standard for the governments of the nations8 ,if the government of ,russia holds its own1 it1 rather than that of the ,united ,states1 will become the standard to which all governments must measure up or else go down4 ,yes1 not the government of the ,united ,states but that of ,russia is destined to become the standard of all peoples1 for the aim of our government is money1 more money1 and then some1 for the few1 while the infinitely higher aim of theirs is life1 more life1 fuller life for every man1 woman and child4 ,within my generation the vanguard of humanity has passed from the age of traditionalism to that of scientism and this transition is the greatest and most salutary event in the whole history of humanity4 ,it is impossible to exaggerate its importance4 ,it marks the time when man began consciously to realize that he must look to himself rather than to any god for salvation4 ,from time immemorial man has realized that ignorance is his ruin and knowledge his salvation1 but during the too many and too long ages of traditionalism he made the fatal mistake of supposing that he was dependent upon a supernatural revelation by an unconscious1 personal god for the necessary knowledge4 ,but now the leading people of the world1 the shepherds of the sheep1 are seeing with increasing clearness that man has naturally inherited his knowledge and must naturally acquire by his own experience1 reason and investigation every addition to it4 ,the world is indeed passing through a long1 dark night1 but neither the longest nor the darkest1 and since at last a great and rapidly increasing multitude happily realize that humanity must work out its own salvation through the living of its own knowledge by its own inherited and increased strength1 not by a supernatural grace1 we of this generation may rationally hope1 as those of no other did or could1 for the dawning of the longest and brightest of all days4 ,as an old year dies into a new one1 and as flourishing generations die into rising ones1 so the old traditional ages1 when nations and sects looked to their rival gods in the skies for help1 are happily dying into the new scientific age1 when all sensible and good men1 relying upon the strength of a common divinity which is within themselves1 will unite in an all-inclusive brotherhood for the promotion of the ideal civilization1 a universal reign of righteousness4 ,it is night1--midnight4 ,the clock is striking twelve4 ,but this is the very hour and the very minute1 when all the saviours of mankind have always been and ever will be born4 ,then it is that the ,virgin1 ,nature1 comes to this dark world with her new born ,son1 ,truth1 whom to know and follow is morality1 religion1 politics and life4 ,it is then that those who give expression to the highest ideals and deepest longings of mankind1 hear the angels1 ,reason and ,hope1 sing3 ,on earth peace and good will towards men4 ,very cordially and gratefully yours1 ,,wm4 ,m4 ,,brown4 ,brownella ,cottage1 ,galion1 ,ohio4 ,illustration3 ,,frederick ,,engels ,illustration3 ,,nikolai ,,lenin ,,footnotes3 ,h ,the difference between a political republic1 such as ,america has developed1 and an industrial republic1 such as ,russia is developing1 is that the administrators of the former are elected from the geographical divisions and those of the latter from the productive divisions into which the population is divided4 ,if we liken states to fruit trees1 the ,american tree may be said to have been evolutionized for the purpose of producing the fruit of commodities for the profit of the owning class1 and the ,russian1 the fruit of commodities for the use of the working class4 ,i ,see appendix4 ,j ,nevertheless ,i consider church-going to be a bad habit1 and if ,i could live my life over1 ,i would not allow myself to become addicted to it4 ,,communism ,,and ,,christianism ,,analyzed ,,and ,,contrasted ,,from ,,the ,,marxian ,,and ,,darwinian ,,points ,,of ,,view ,appendix4 ,i ,scientific ,socialism4 ,,ii ,god and ,immortality4 ,,iii ,mythical ,character of ,old and ,new ,testament ,personages4 ,,iv ,would ,socialism ,change ,human ,nature8 ,v ,what ,will be the ,form of the ,workers' ,state8 ,,vi ,withdrawal of ,prize ,offer4 ,,vii ,afterword4 ,morality is the greatest thing in the world2 but paradoxical as it may seem1 there is one greater thing1 liberty--the liberty which is freedom to learn1 interpret1 live and teach the truth as it is revealed by the facts or acts of nature4 ,without this freedom there can be no morality1 and of course no true religion1 politics or civilization4 ,,survival ,,of ,,the ,,fittest4 ,in northern climes1 the polar bear ,protects himself with fat and hair1 ,where snow is deep and ice is stark1 ,and half the year is cold and dark2 ,he still survives a clime like that ,by growing fur1 by growing fat4 ,these traits1 ,o bear1 which thou transmittest ,prove the ,survival of the ,fittest4 ,to polar regions waste and wan1 ,comes the encroaching race of man1 ,a puny1 feeble1 little bubber1 ,he has no fur1 he has no blubber4 ,the scornful bear sat down at ease ,to see the stranger starve and freeze2 ,but1 lo6 the stranger slew the bear1 ,and ate his fat and wore his hair2 ,these deeds1 ,o ,man1 which thou committest ,prove the ,survival of the ,fittest4 ,in modern times the millionaire ,protects himself as did the bear3 ,where ,poverty and ,hunger are ,he counts his bullion by the car3 ,where thousands perish still he thrives-- ,the wealth1 ,o ,croesus1 thou transmittest ,proves the ,survival of the ,fittest4 ,but1 lo1 some people odd and funny1 ,some men without a cent of money-- ,the simple common human race ,chose to improve their dwelling place2 ,they had no use for millionaires1 ,they calmly said the world was theirs1 ,they were so wise1 so strong1 so many1 ,the ,millionaires8--there wasn't any4 ,these deeds1 ,o ,man1 which thou committest ,prove the ,survival of the ,fittest4 --,mrs4 ,charlotte ,stetson4 ,i4 ,,scientific ,,socialism4 ,the working class and the employing class have nothing in common4 ,there can be no peace so long as hunger and want are found among millions of working people and the few1 who make up the employing class1 have all the good things of life4 ,between these two classes a struggle must go on until the workers of the world organize as a class1 take possession of the earth and the machinery of production1 and abolish the wage system4 ,we find that the centering of management of the industries into fewer and fewer hands makes the trade unions unable to cope with the ever growing power of the employing class4 ,the trade unions foster a state of affairs which allows one set of workers to be pitted against another set of workers in the same industry1 thereby helping defeat one another in wage wars4 ,moreover1 the trade unions aid the employing class to mislead the workers into the belief that the working class have interests in common with their employers4 ,these conditions can be changed and the interest of the working class upheld only by an organization formed in such a way that all its members in any one industry1 or in all industries if necessary1 cease work whenever a strike or lockout is on in any department thereof1 thus making an injury to one an injury to all4 ,instead of the conservative motto1 ,a fair day's wage for a fair day's work1 we must inscribe on our banner the revolutionary watchword1 ,abolition of the wage system4 ,it is the historic mission of the working class to do away with capitalism4 ,the army of production must be organized1 not only for the every-day struggle with capitalists1 but also to carry on production when capitalism shall have been overthrown4 ,by organizing industrially we are forming the structure of the new society within the shell of the old4--,preamble of the ,industrial ,workers of the ,world4 ,the following ,synopsis of ,scientific ,socialism will serve both as a summary of and supplement to my little book4 ,it is the introductory part of a catechism 7a series of questions and answers7 entitled ,scientific ,socialism ,study ,course published by ,charles ,h4 ,kerr ,company1 #cda ,east ,ohio ,street1 ,chicago1 and is reprinted here by their consent1 with certain changes in the interests of brevity and perspicuity4 ,as a whole this short ,study ,course of only thirty small pages in large type is the greatest piece of catechetical literature of which ,i have any knowledge4 ,even the synopsis as given here contains more of the education which makes for the good of the world than all the catechisms of all the churches4 ,the ,catechism was published in #aiac4 #a4 ,how do you explain the phenomena of ,history8 ,ans43 ,history1 from the capitalist point of view1 is a record of political and intellectual changes and revolutions of so-called great men1 wherein the economic causes for these acts and changes are ignored or concealed2 but1 from the socialist view point1 history reveals a series of class struggles between an exploited wealth-producing class and an exploiting ruling class over the wealth produced4 #b4 ,what effect have great men had on history8 ,ans43 ,great men were simply ideal expressions of the hopes of some class in society that was becoming economically powerful4 ,they formed a nucleus around which a class gathered itself in attaining economic conquests in its own interest1 and in establishing social institutions in harmony with1 and for the perpetuation of1 such class interests4 ,these men had to embody some vital principles from the economic conditions of their time and represent some class interest4 ,the same men with the same ideas would not be great men under a different mode of production when the time for their ideas was not ripe4 #c4 ,what great factor is responsible for the rise of great men8 ,ans43 ,the fact that the ideas of these men coincided with the class interests of some class in society that was becoming economically powerful4 ,therefore economic conditions must exist or be developing which find their highest expression in the ideas of such men4 #d4 ,why do social institutions change and not remain fixed8 ,ans43 ,because the process of economic evolution will not permit them to remain fixed4 ,the development and improvement of the means of production and distribution produce economic changes1 therefore social institutions 7the state1 church1 school and even the family7 are forced to change to conform with changing economic conditions4 ,these are due to evolutionary and revolutionary processes connected with the means of production and distribution4 #e4 ,what is responsible for the birth of new ideas1 and do they occur to some one individual only8 ,ans43 ,new ideas1 theories and discoveries emanate from material conditions1 and such conditions act upon individuals4 ,the same idea or discovery may be brought out by different individuals independently and apart from each other4 ,this proves that it is not great men who are responsible for material conditions1 but that material conditions 7modes of production and distribution7 produce the men best able to marshal the facts and express the idea2 usually in the interest of some class4 #f4 ,what single great idea occurred to both ,darwin and ,wallace independently8 ,ans43 ,the theory of ,natural ,selection which showed that the closely allied ante-type was the parent stock from which the new form had been derived by variation4 #g4 ,what single great idea occurred to both ,marx and ,engels independently8 ,ans43 ,the ,materialistic ,conception of ,history4 #h4 ,name the three great ideas developed by ,marx and ,engels which now form the bed-rock basis for the socialist philosophy4 ,ans43 7#a7 the ,materialistic ,conception of ,history1 or1 the law of economic determinism1 7#b7 the ,law of ,surplus ,value1 and 7#c7 the ,class ,struggle4 #i4 ,explain1 briefly1 the materialistic conception of history4 ,ans43 ,in every historical epoch1 the prevailing mode of economic production and exchange and the social organization necessarily following from it forms the basis upon which is built up and from which alone can be explained1 the political and intellectual history of that epoch4 ,the laws1 customs1 education1 religion1 public opinion and morals are in the long run controlled and shaped by economic conditions2 or1 in other words1 by the dominant ruling class which the economic system of any given period forces to the front4 #aj4 ,what is the most important question in life8 ,ans43 ,the problem of securing food and shelter4 #aa4 ,what bearing does this have on the materialistic conception of history8 ,ans43 ,it gives us the only key by which we can understand the history of the past1 and within limits1 predict the course of future development4 #ab4 ,what effect does the prevailing mode of production and exchange in any particular epoch1 have on the social organization and political and intellectual history of that epoch8 ,ans43 ,anything that goes to the roots of the economic structure and modifies it 7the food and shelter question in life7 will inevitably modify every other branch and department of human life1 political1 ethical1 religious and moral4 ,this makes the social question primarily an economic one and all our thought and effort should be concentrated on it4 #ac4 ,do the ideas of the ruling class1 in any given epoch1 correspond with the prevailing mode of economic production8 ,ans43 ,they correspond exactly1 as all connective institutions1 civil1 religious1 legal1 educational1 political and domestic have been moulded in the interest of the economically dominant class who control these institutions in a manner to uphold their class interests where their ideas find expression4 #ad4 ,what effect do these ideas of the ruling class have on the interests of the subject class8 ,ans43 ,the effect is detrimental to the interests of the subject class as the different class interests conflict4 ,therefore the ruling class finds the institutions mentioned very useful in either persuading or forcing the so-called lower classes to submit to the economic conditions that are absolutely against their interest1 even though they are the wealth producing class4 #ae4 ,distinguish natural environment from man-made environment4 ,ans43 ,natural environment which consisted of the fertility of the soil1 climatic conditions1 abundance of fruits1 nuts1 game and fish was all-important in the early stage of man's development4 ,with the progress of civilization this nature-made environment loses its supreme importance and the man-made economic environment becomes equally important4 #af4 ,explain1 briefly1 the law of ,surplus ,value4 ,ans43 ,it is the difference between what the working class as a whole gets for its labor power at its value in wages1 say an average of five dollars per day1 for producing commodities1 and what the employing class as a whole gets1 say an average of twenty-five dollars1 for the same commodities when sold at their value4 ,according to this conservative estimate capital is upon the whole and in the long run robbing labor of four-fifths of the value of its productive power4 ,capitalism is therefore the great robber1 the ,beelzebub of robbers4 #ag4 ,since the economic factor is the determining factor1 what does the law of ,surplus ,value furnish us8 ,ans43 ,surplus ,value is the key to the whole present economic organization of society4 ,the end and object of capitalist society is the formation and accumulation of surplus value2 or in other words1 the systematic1 legal robbery of the subject working class4 #ah4 ,define value and state how measured4 ,ans43 ,value is the average amount of human labor time socially1 not individually1 necessary under average1 not special1 conditions for the production or reproduction of commodities4 #ai4 ,what determines the value of labor power8 ,ans43 ,it is determined precisely like the value of every other commodity1 i4 e41 by the amount of labor time socially necessary for its production or reproduction by the raising and support of children to succeed their parents as wage-earning slaves4 #bj4 ,since labor power is a commodity1 what condition is it subject to8 ,ans43 ,it is subject to the same conditions that all other commodities are subject to without regard to the fact that it is the source of all social value4 ,the worker in whom the commodity labor power is embodied1 does not get the value of the product of his labor1 but only about one-fifth of it1 enough to keep him in working order and reproduce more labor power in his children4 ,if the worker received the value of the product of his labor he would receive much more than enough to keep him in working order and to raise his family4 ,such an economic condition would abolish all forms of surplus value or profit1 also the wage system1 by substituting economic and social organization in the interest of the working class4 ,no other class could remain in existence and the class struggle would be ended4 #ba4 ,in what economic system1 past or present1 does surplus value appear8 ,ans43 ,it is the root of all social systems since the rise of the institution of private property1 but only under the present system 7capitalism7 has labor power assumed the commodity form4 ,labor power is a commodity with a two fold character3 it has a use and an exchange value4 ,its use value consists in its being capable of producing values over and above its own needs for sustenance and reproduction4 ,its exchange value consists in the amount of socially necessary labor time required for its production and reproduction4 ,the chattel and feudal systems of slavery were not directly concerned with the production of commodities for the profit of the masters1 but rather with the producing of the necessities of life for all1 masters and slaves1 and the luxuries for some1 the masters4 ,that which was not produced for immediate consumption was sold1 if opportunities presented themselves1 and occasionally the professional traders developed1 for example1 the ,phoenicians2 but they were an exception to the rule4 ,the same holds good for feudalism1 except that during the latter stages of that system commercialism arose2 but this commercialism was no feature of feudalism--it was the rising capitalism that began to unfold and assert itself4 #bb4 ,name the three great systems of economic organization upon which the structure of past history and social institutions have their basis4 ,ans43 7#a7 ,chattel slavery1 7#b7 serfdom1 or feudal slavery and 7#c7 wage slavery4 #bc4 ,explain1 briefly1 how the subject class was exploited under each of these economic systems4 ,ans43 #a4 ,under chattel slavery the laborer was a chattel 7possession or property7 the same as a mule or horse1 and only received his keep1 that is1 enough food1 clothing and shelter to keep him in working order and to reproduce labor power by raising children4 ,all he produced 7use values and children7 was taken by his master4 ,the body of the slave was the property of his master4 #b4 ,under serfdom or feudal slavery1 the worker produced what was necessary to keep him in working order and to raise a family of slaves1 and then the balance of his time produced use values for his feudal lord4 ,the body of the slave was his own1 though he could not go about with it from one place to another2 for it was bound to the land of his master4 #c4 ,under the wage slavery1 the worker receives wages which again equals only the amount necessary to keep him in working order and to reproduce more labor power in his children4 ,his entire product belongs to the capitalist1 and out of this resource he pays the wages for the commodity labor1 also for other commodities such as raw materials1 and appropriates all of the balance and converts it into capital with which he not only continues but increases the exploitation of his workers4 ,the body of the capitalist's slave is indeed his own as under the feudal system but with this difference1 that if he does not like his master1 or he is disliked by him1 he can or must go abroad with it from one place to another looking for a job--a liberty or necessity which is to the advantage of the owning class and the disadvantage of the working class4 ,unemployment is necessary to the existence of capitalism1 but this necessity is a danger to the system and will ultimately destroy it in all countries as it has in ,russia4 #bd4 ,define the ,class ,struggle4 ,ans43 ,it is the direct clash between two hostile class interests wherein the employing class makes every effort to appropriate more of the wealth produced by the working class1 and the working class ever struggles to retain more of the wealth which it produces4 ,the capitalist class strives to get more surplus value and the working class strives to get more wages4 ,the class consciousness of those who live by working has found one of its best expressions in the following paragraphs3 ,the world stands upon the threshold of a new social order4 ,the capitalist system of production and distribution is doomed2 capitalist appropriation of labor's product forces the bulk of mankind into wage slavery1 throws society into the convulsions of the class struggle1 and momentarily threatens to engulf humanity in chaos and disaster4 ,since the advent of civilization human society has been divided into classes4 ,each new form of society has come into being with a definite purpose to fulfill in the progress of the human race4 ,each has been born1 has grown1 developed1 prospered1 become old1 outworn1 and1 has finally been overthrown4 ,each society has developed within itself the germs of its own destruction as well as the germs which went to make up the society of the future4 ,the capitalist system rose during the seventeenth1 eighteenth and nineteenth centuries by the overthrow of feudalism4 ,its great and all-important mission in the development of man was to improve1 develop1 and concentrate the means of production and distribution1 thus creating a system of co-operative production4 ,this work was completed in advanced capitalist countries about the beginning of the #bjth century4 ,that moment capitalism had fulfilled its historic mission1 and from that moment the capitalist class became a class of parasites4 ,in the course of human progress mankind has passed 7through class rule1 private property1 and individualism in production and exchange7 from the enforced and inevitable want1 misery1 poverty1 and ignorance of savagery and barbarism to the affluence and high productive capacity of civilization4 ,for all practical purposes1 co-operative production has now superseded individual production4 ,capitalism no longer promotes the greatest good of the greatest number1 ,it no longer spells progress1 but reaction4 ,private production carries with it private ownership of the products4 ,production is carried on1 not to supply the needs of humanity1 but for the profit of the individual owner1 the company1 or the trust4 ,the worker1 not receiving the full product of his labor1 can not buy back all he produces4 ,the capitalist wastes part in riotous living2 the rest must find a foreign market4 ,by the opening of the twentieth century the capitalist world--,england1 ,america1 ,germany1 ,france1 ,japan1 ,china1 etc4--was producing at a mad rate for the world market4 ,a capitalist deadlock of markets brought on in #aiad the capitalist collapse popularly known as the ,world ,war4 ,the capitalist world can not extricate itself out of the debris4 ,america today is choking under the weight of her own gold and products4 ,this situation has brought on the present stage of human misery--starvation1 want1 cold1 disease1 pestilence1 and war4 ,this state is brought about in the midst of plenty1 when the earth can be made to yield a hundredfold1 when the machinery of production is made to multiply human energy and ingenuity by the hundreds4 ,the present state of misery exists solely because the mode of production rebels against the mode of exchange4 ,private property in the means of life has become a social crime4 ,the land was made by no man2 the modern machines are the result of the combined ingenuity of the human race from time immemorial2 the land can be made to yield and the machines can be set in motion only by the collective effort of the workers4 ,progress demands the collective ownership of the land on and the tools with which to produce the necessities of life4 ,the owner of the means of life today partakes of the nature of a highwayman2 he stands with his gun before society's temple2 it depends upon him whether the million mass may work1 earn1 eat1 and live4 ,the capitalist system of production and exchange must be supplanted if progress is to continue4 ,in place of the capitalist system we must substitute a system of social ownership of the means of production1 industrially administered by the workers1 who assume control and direction as well as operation of their industrial affairs4 #be4 ,define class consciousness4 ,ans43 ,class consciousness of the workers means that they are conscious of the fact that they1 as a class1 have interests which are in direct conflict with the interests of the capitalist class4 #bf4 ,what function does the state perform in the class struggle8 ,ans43 ,the state is a class instrument1 and is the public power of coercion created and maintained in human societies by their division into classes1 a power which1 being clothed with force1 makes laws4 ,it is1 therefore1 used by the dominant class to keep the subject working class in subjection in accordance with the interests of the ruling and owning class4 ,it is also used to prevent the workers from altering the economic structure of society in the interests of the working class4 ,as the author of the catechism1 of which these twenty-six questions and answers constitute a small part1 says3 ,society is a growth subject to the laws of evolution4 ,when evolution reaches a certain point1 revolution becomes necessary in order to break the bonds of the old and bring in the new4 ,as the chicken grows through evolution until it reaches the point where it must break its shell 7the revolution7 in order to continue its growth1 so do classes of people come to the point in their evolution where revolution is necessary in order to continue their growth1 bring in the new society and consummate the next step in civilization4 ,since #aiac1 when the foregoing catechism was published1 we have had the war to end war and to make the world safe for democracy--a fateful and mournful war in which millions of lives were lost and other millions wrecked with the result of multiplying wars and increasing imperialism4 ,it was a war between national groups of capitalists with conflicting interests for commercial advantages1 which is unexpectedly issuing in three great crises3 7#a7 the imminent bankruptcy of capitalism2 7#b7 the communist revolution in ,russia1 and 7#c7 the imminent taking over of the world by the revolutionary proletariat4 ,hitherto1 the sons and daughters of capitalism have owned the earth with all that thereon and therein is4 ,henceforth1 the sons and daughters of the useful workers shall be the owners4 ,the future belongs to the workers1 but not until they organize themselves into one big revolutionary union4 ,what ideas and aims are involved in the faith and endeavor of ,revolutionary ,unionism will appear from this passage in ,comrade ,philip ,kurinsky's ,industrial ,unionism and ,revolution1 a brilliant pamphlet1 published by ,the ,union ,press1 ,box #bje1 ,madison ,square1 ,new ,york ,city3 ,slavery is not abolished4 ,it is merely a change in the struggle which throws itself hither and thither like the waves of the seas4 ,in ancient times chattel slavery existed4 ,feudalism then took its place4 ,feudalism in its turn was overthrown by capitalism which at present reigns supreme4 ,as the immortal ,tolstoy explained1 ',the abolition of the old slavery is similar to that which ,tartars did to their captives4 ,after they had cut up their heels they placed stones and sand in the wounds and then took the chains off4 ,the ,tartars were sure that when the feet of their prisoners were swollen1 that they could not run away and would have to work even without chains4 ,such is the slavery of wages'4 ,of this slavery does revolutionary unionism speak in the name of the revolutionary worker4 ,it analyzes the present society and shows that it is divided into two economic classes4 ,one class1 the capitalist class1 is the master class which controls all the factories1 mills1 mines1 railroads1 lands and fields and all the finished and raw materials4 ,this class possesses all the natural riches of the world and this economic supremacy gives it control of the state1 of the church1 and of all educational institutions4 ,in short1 this class owns everything and controls the whole social and political life of each country4 ,the other class1 the working class1 owns nothing4 ,it produces all and enjoys little4 ,it uses the machines and tools but does not possess them1 and is therefore forced to sell its only possession1 its labor power1 to the master class4 ,and the latter uses the opportunity to buy that wonderful power like any raw material or some other commodity 7some of the representatives of craft unionism wish to deny this but unsuccessfully74 ,for the commodity which the worker is compelled to sell in order that he might live1 he receives a wage which is determined as is the price of every other commodity4 ,the price is always smaller than the value of the product which the worker produces for the capitalist4 ,between these two classes there must1 naturally1 exist a tremendous struggle which often has the character of actual war4 ,no one urges the workers to this war--not the terrible ,i4 ,w4 ,w4's nor the political socialist1 neither the ,bolsheviks nor the ,anarchists1 but the war naturally and inevitably arises from existing conditions4 ,on the one hand1 the capitalists are continually chasing after higher profits which results in the employment of cheap labor under the worst conditions4 ,naturally the ideal of the capitalist class is to keep the workers in a condition of slavery4 ,if the workers attempt to revolt1 as they do daily1 their masters try to suppress the revolt with all the power at their command4 ,on the other hand1 the workers struggle with all their power to lighten their burdens4 ,they strive to get better conditions1 higher wages and shorter hours1 and in general the ideal of the working class is to throw off the yoke of capitalism4 ,no one rightfully can say that this struggle is merely a theory4 ,we can see this struggle in the attempts of the capitalist class to destroy the victorious ,russian ,proletariat4 ,it is mirrored before our eyes in the continual strikes4 ,nothing can stop this struggle except the abolition of exploitation4 ,no matter how hard the ,citizens' ,committees1 ,boards of ,arbitration1 of ,conciliation and of ,mediation1 with their so-called impartial members try to convince the world that it is possible to bring the warring classes into closer relations1 their attempts are doomed to failure4 ,at best their success is only temporary and their efforts succeed only in blinding the eyes of the working masses4 ,and if at some time these boards claim a victory1 the credit is not due to them1 but to the force exerted by the workers4 ,it is the strike-weapon1 held in reserve by the toilers1 that brings victory to the workers--not the efforts of the philanthropic gentlemen4 ,furthermore the efforts of these gentlemen greatly harm the workers1 for at times when the workers can attain success through the use of the strike1 these philanthropists interfere1 and deaden the initiative and aggressiveness of the strikers4 ,often this causes strife between the strikers themselves4 ,they lose confidence in one another1 and the existence of the organizations which the workers succeeded in building up through their efforts and sacrifices are jeopardized4 ,the ,conciliation1 however1 can bring no conciliation between the employers and workers1 because that is unnatural4 ,on the contrary1 the hatred of one side to the other is intensified and war breaks out oftener and assumes a more bitter and more obstinate character4 ,thus viewing the two struggling classes of capitalist society1 revolutionary industrial unionism comes to the logical conclusion that between capital and labor there exists nothing in common1 that the struggle must go on and peace can come only when economic oppression will cease1 which is possible only when the program of revolutionary unionism will be realized2 namely1 when the workers will take over the means of production and abolish the system of private ownership4 ,the autocratic control of industry1 the unequal division of products will then disappear and society will be built on a socialist foundation1 where the industries will be owned and operated by the workers1 organized in a truly democratic manner1 and where the individual will receive the full product of his labor4 ,these are the principles of revolutionary unionism1 the principles of the international proletariat4 ,they are the true expressions of the class struggle and because of that1 revolutionary unionism attracts more and more followers whose ideal is to develop within the working masses a consciousness of their historic mission4 ,in the words of an eloquent representative of the organized workers in the ,united ,states1 ,i exhort the working men and working women of ,america3 ,keep your eyes on ,russia4 ,watch what is going on there and what the capitalist plunderbund will try to do4 ,do not be misled by the lies and slanders that are daily dished up to you4 ,bear in mind that those who tell you these yarns have an interest to mislead you4 ,they want to use you as a makeweight in their game of wresting from the ,russian workers their dearly-won liberty4 ,it is of no use to enumerate the lies that have already been punctured because they will invent new ones faster than one can write and print4 ,let your reason guide you4 ,think yourselves into the shoes of your ,russian fellow workers4 ,think how you would act if placed in the same position and then draw the conclusion that they act about the same way that you would1 because they are like you moved by the same emotions1 the same desires1 the same aspirations4 ,you1 too1 would like to keep for yourselves the fruits of your toil1 if you only knew how to go about it1 if you had the organization that would make it possible4 ,but as yet you do not know and you have not that organization4 ,in politics you still vote against one another in the ,republican or ,democratic camp4 ,you will have to wait until you do know and until you do have the means--the ,industrial ,unions of the entire working class that will be able to take and hold and administer industry for the reason that it will have the might1 the power to do so4 ,and when you have expressed through the ballot your will for that new society1 which will guarantee to you the full fruits of your labor1 remember the slogan of revolutionary ,russia3 ,all power to the ,soviets1 and let your slogan then be3 ,all power to the ,industrial ,unions6 ,these are prophetic words written fifty years ago by ,frederick ,engels3 ,since the historical appearance of the capitalist mode of production1 the appropriation by society of all the means of production has often been dreamed of1 more or less vaguely1 by individuals1 as well as by sects1 as the ideal of the future4 ,but it could become possible1 could become a historical necessity1 only when the actual conditions for its realization were there4 ,like every other social advance1 it becomes practicable1 not by men understanding that the existence of classes is in contradiction to justice1 equality1 etc41 not by the mere willingness to abolish these classes1 but by virtue of certain new economic conditions4444 ,so long as the total social labor only yields a produce which but slightly exceeds that barely necessary for the existence of all2 so long1 therefore1 as labor engages all or almost all the time of the great majority of the members of society--so long1 of necessity1 this society is divided into classes4444 ,but if1 upon this showing1 division into classes has a certain historical justification1 it has this only for a given period1 only under given social conditions4 ,it was based on the insufficiency of production4 ,it will be swept away by the complete development of modern productive forces4 ,and1 in fact1 the abolition of classes in society presupposes a degree of historical evolution1 at which the existence1 not simply of this or that particular ruling class1 but of any ruling class at all1 has become an obsolete anachronism4444 ,with the seizing of the means of production by society1 production of commodities is done away with1 and1 simultaneously1 the mastery of the product over the producer4 ,anarchy in social production is replaced by systematic1 definite organization4 ,the struggle for individual existence disappears4 ,then for the first time man1 in a certain sense1 is finally marked off from the rest of the animal kingdom1 and emerges from mere animal conditions into really human ones4444 ,it is the ascent of man from the kingdom of necessity to the kingdom of freedom4 ,the capitalist countries are ruled through banks1 and a bank is necessarily an institution of the owning class4 ,russia is ruled through ,soviets1 and a soviet is necessarily an institution of the working class4 ,banks and ,soviets are so many headquarters for big unions4 ,in capitalist countries the banks are such for the one big union of the owners1 and in ,russia the soviets are this for the one big union of the workers4 ,these big unions cannot co-exist and flourish in the same country4 ,all owners everywhere see the necessity for their one big union and in all capitalistic countries1 nowhere more than in the ,united ,states1 they have the advantage of being on the ground floor and indeed on all the floors of all the sky scrapers with their union which is the most universally inclusive and the most relentlessly efficient organization on earth4 ,some workers everywhere see the necessity for their one big union1 but nowhere is it seen as generally and clearly as in ,russia1--the only country in which the workers have held the ground floor for any considerable time against all comers4 ,in all countries a beginning has been made by the workers in laying the foundation for their one big union1 but in only one country1 ,russia1 has progress been made with the superstructure1 and here as everywhere the owners have hindered the workers so that they must defend themselves with their right hand while they build with their left4 ,nevertheless wonderful progress is being made and when the industrial structure has been completed1 as it soon must be1 else the world is doomed to destruction1 it shall tower above its capitalist rival as a mountain over a foot hill4 ,after all1 the power of the owner is money and it is not a real potentiality1 for within the social realm there is in reality only one potentiality1 the power of productivity which exclusively belongs to the worker4 ,in the sky there is no god1 and on earth there is no king or priest like unto ,labor1 the lord of gods1 the tzar of kings and the pope of priests4 ,labor is high above all potentialities4 ,the motto1 ,all ,power to the ,workers1 which the class-conscious proletarians inscribe on their banners1 is not the expression of an ideal fiction1 but the declaration of a practical reality1 the greatest among all realities1 that reality in which the whole social realm lives1 moves and has its being4 ,down with the one big union of the owners4 ,long live the one big union of the workers4 ,,ii4 ,,god ,,and ,,immortality4 ,we have done with the kisses that sting1 ,with the thief's mouth red from the feast1 ,with the blood on the hands of the king1 ,and the lie on the lips of the priest4 --,swinburne4 ,many critics contend that socialism and supernaturalism are not1 as ,i represent1 incompatibilities2 but they lose sight of four facts3 7#a7 this is a scientific age2 7#b7 ,marxian socialism is one of the sciences2 7#c7 the vast majority of men of science reject all supernaturalism1 including of course the gods and devils with their heavens and hells1 and 7#d7 only in the case of one of the sciences1 psychology1 is this majority greater than in the science of sociology4 ,the truth of the last two of these representations will be overwhelmingly evident from the chart on the next page4 ,it and its explanation given in the following quotation is taken with the kind consent of the author and also of the publishers of a book entitled ,god and ,immortality1 by ,professor ,james ,h4 ,leuba1 the ,psychologist of ,bryn ,mawr ,college4 ,this book is having a great influence and ,i strongly recommend it to all who think that ,i am wrong in the contention that conscious1 personal existence is limited to earth2 that1 therefore1 we are having all that we shall ever know of heaven and hell1 here and now1 and that whether we have more of heaven and less of hell depends altogether upon men and women1 not at all upon gods and devils4 ,the second edition of ,professor ,leuba's book is now in the press of ,the ,open ,court ,publishing ,company1 #abb ,south ,michigan ,ave41 ,chicago1 ,ill4 ,here is the quotation in support of our contentions3 ,illustration3 ,chart ,,xi ,,partial ,,summary ,,of ,,results ,what1 then1 is the main outcome of this research8 ,chart ,,xi1 ,partial ,summary of ,results1 shows that in every class of persons investigated1 the number of believers in ,god is less1 and in most classes very much less than the number of non-believers1 and that the number of believers in immortality is somewhat larger than in a personal ,god2 that among the more distinguished1 unbelief is very much more frequent than among the less distinguished2 and finally that not only the degree of ability1 but also the kind of knowledge possessed1 is significantly related to the rejection of these beliefs4 ,the correlation shown1 without exception1 in every one of our groups between eminence and disbelief appears to me of momentous significance4 ,in three of these groups 7biologists1 historians1 and psychologists7 the number of believers among the men of greater distinction is only half1 or less than half the number of believers among the less distinguished men4 ,i do not see any way to avoid the conclusion that disbelief in a personal ,god and in personal immortality is directly proportional to abilities making for success in the sciences in question4 ,a study of the several charts of this work with regard to the kind of knowledge which favors disbelief shows that the historians and the physical scientists provide the greater2 and the psychologists1 the sociologists and the biologists1 the smaller number of believers4 ,the explanation ,i have offered is that psychologists1 sociologists1 and biologists in very large numbers have come to recognize fixed orderliness in organic and psychic life1 and not merely in inorganic existence2 while frequently physical scientists have recognized the presence of invariable law in the inorganic world only4 ,the belief in a personal ,god as defined for the purpose of our investigation is1 therefore1 less often possible to students of psychic and of organic life than to physical scientists4 ,the place occupied by the historians next to the physical scientists would indicate that for the present the reign of law is not so clearly revealed in the events with which history deals as in biology1 economics1 and psychology4 ,a large number of historians continue to see the hand of ,god in human affairs4 ,the influence1 destructive of ,christian beliefs1 attributed in this interpretation to more intimate knowledge of organic and psychic life1 appears incontrovertibly1 as far as psychic life is concerned1 in the remarkable fact that whereas in every other group the number of believers in immortality is greater than that in ,god1 among the psychologists the reverse is true2 the number of believers in immortality among the greater psychologists sinks to #h4h per cent4 ,one may affirm it seems that1 in general1 the greater the ability of the psychologist1 the more difficult it becomes for him to believe in the continuation of individual life after bodily death4 ,within the generation to which ,i belong ,darwin and ,marx1 the greatest teachers that the world has had1 went over the top of entrenched ignorance with the greatest books of the world1 worth infinitely more to it than all its bibles together4 ,darwin did this in #ahei with his ,origin of ,species by ,natural ,selection and ,marx in #ahfg with his ,capital1 a ,critique of ,political ,economy4 ,darwin with his book is driving the ,christian church out of its trench of supernaturalism and uniqueism by showing that the different kinds of vegetable and animal life are not1 according to the representation of its bible1 so many separate creations by a personal1 conscious divinity1 but interrelated evolutions by an impersonal1 unconscious nature1 the higher out of the lower1 and that1 therefore1 man is so far from being a special creation1 having his most vital relationships with a celestial divinity and his most glorious prospects in a heavenly place with him1 that he is really more or less closely related to every living thing on earth1 and is as hopelessly limited to it1 as an elephant1 a tree or even a mountain4 ,marx with his book is driving the states out of the trench of imperialism and capitalism4 ,as ,darwin is driving the conscious1 personal gods out of the realm of biology1 placing all animal and human life of body1 mind and soul on essentially the same footing1 so ,marx is driving all such divinities out of the realm of sociology1 placing all life of family1 state1 church1 lodge1 store and shop on essentially the same level4 ,according to ,darwin1 all animal life is what it is at any time by reason of the effort to accommodate the physical organism to its environment4 ,according to ,marx1 human civilization is what it is at any time because of the economic system by which people feed1 clothe and house themselves4 ,this ,darwinian-,marxian interpretation of terrestrial life in general1 and of the human part of it in particular1 is known as materialism4 ,it is the materialistic1 naturalistic1 levelistic interpretation of history1 and differs fundamentally from the spiritualistic1 supernaturalistic1 uniqueistic interpretation of ,christian preachers4 ,the contrast between these interpretations is especially strong in the case of human history4 ,on the one hand the ,christian preacher says1 man's history is what it is because of the directing providence of a ,god1 the ,father1 ,son and ,spirit1 and because of ,his directing inspiration of great leaders1 such as ,washington1 ,luther1 ,caesar and ,moses4 ,on the other hand ,darwin and ,marx agree in saying that both the triune god and the inspired leader are what they are1 because society is what it is2 that1 again1 the character of society depends upon the economic system by which it feeds1 clothes and houses itself1 and that finally all such systems owe their existence to the machinery in use for the production of the basic necessities of life1 the primal machine being the human hand to which all other machines are auxiliaries4 ,the most insatiable and universal among all human longings is for freedom--freedom from economic want1 social inequality and imperialistic tyranny1 also freedom to learn1 think1 live and teach truths4 ,socialism of the ,marxian type is the gospel of freedom1 because a classless god1 nature1 reveals it in the interest of a classless world3 therefore1 it is true1 and slavery1 of which there never was so much before on the earth1 and nowhere is there more than in the ,united ,states1 is utterly incompatible with truth1 and classless interests4 ,all the supernaturalistic gospels are revealed by a class god 7,jesus1 ,jehovah1 ,allah1 ,buddha7 in the interest of the capitalist class3 therefore1 they are false and freedom is utterly incompatible with falsehood and class interest4 ,ignorance is the destroyer-god and capitalism is the diabolical scourge by which he afflicts the wage-earner with many unnecessary sufferings1 especially the crushing ones arising from the great trinity of evils1 war1 poverty and slavery4 ,knowledge is the saviour-god and ,marxism is his divine gospel of freedom from these capitalistic sufferings4 ,,iii4 ,,mythical ,,character ,,of ,,old ,,and ,,new ,,testament ,,personages4 ,what man of sense will agree with the statement that the first1 second1 and third days1 in which the evening is named and the morning1 were without sun1 moon and stars8 ,what man is found such an idiot as to suppose that ,god planted trees in ,paradise like an husbandman8 ,i believe that every man must hold these things for images under which a hidden sense is concealed4--,origen4 ,one of the critics of ,communism and ,christianism whose representations are in alignment with several others says3 ,while the ,bishop speaks in the language of scholarship1 he entirely ignores all the findings of modern scholars on the literature of the ,bible4 ,the failure to show more clearly that my representations concerning the untenableness of the basic doctrines of ,christian supernaturalism are in alignment with the conclusions of outstanding authorities in the newly developed sciences of historical and biblical criticisms is indeed a defect and an attempt will here be made to remove it by a short but faithful and1 as ,i think1 convincing summary of what such authorities in these sciences have to say on the subject4 ,my summary is summarized from a pamphlet by ,charles ,t4 ,gorham1 published by ,watts and ,company1 #ag ,johnson's ,court1 ,fleet ,st41 ,e4 ,c4 #d1 ,london1 ,england1 which is itself an able summarization of the relevant facts which have been scientifically established as they are given in the greatest of all the ,bible ,dictionaries1 the ,encyclopedia ,biblica4 ,it will be seen that all except one among my contentions concerning the baselessness of the supernaturalism of orthodox ,christians are well sustained4 ,this exception is the contention that ,jesus is not an historical personage1 but a fictitious one4 ,however the great critics are unanimously with me even in this1 for two crushing facts are admitted by them3 7#a7 the ,old ,testament affords no scientifically established data from which a reliable history of the ,jews can be written1 and 7#b7 the ,new ,testament has no such data for a biography of ,jesus4 ,the illuminating summary which is a large part of my answer to the criticism under review follows1 and it is as far as possible in the language of ,mr4 ,gorham3 ,once upon a time there was a system of ,christian ,theology4 ,it was a wonderful though a highly artificial structure1 composed of fine old crusted dogmas which no one could prove1 but very few dared to dispute4 ,there was the magnified man in the sky1 the ,infallible ,bible1 dictated by the ,holy ,spirit1 the ,trinity1 the ,fall1 the ,atonement1 ,predestination and ,grace1 ,justification by ,faith1 a ,chosen ,people1 a practically omnipotent ,devil1 myriads of ,evil ,spirits1 an eternity of bliss to be obtained for nothing1 and endless torment for those who did not avail themselves of the offer4 ,now the house of cards has tumbled to pieces1 or rather it is slowly dissolving1 as ,shakespeare says1 like the baseless fabric of a vision4 ,the ,biblical chronology1 history1 ethics1 all are alike found to be defective and doubtful4 ,divine ,revelation has become discredited2 a ,human ,record takes its place4 ,what has brought about this startling change8 ,the answer is1 ,knowledge4 ,thought1 research1 criticism1 have shown that the traditional theories of the ,bible can no longer be maintained4 ,the logic of facts has confirmed the reasonings of the independent thinker1 and placed the dogmatist in a dilemma which grows ever more acute4 ,the result is not pleasant for the believer2 but it is well that the real state of things should be known1 that the kernel of truth should be separated from the overgrown husk of tradition4 ,during the last few years a work has been issued which sums up the conclusions of modern criticism better than any other book4 ,it is called the ,encyclopedia ,biblica1 and its four volumes tersely and ably set forth the new views1 and support them by a mass of learning which deserves serious consideration4 ,and the most significant thing about it is not merely that the entire doctrinal system of ,christianity has undergone a radical change1 but that this change has largely been brought about by ,christian scholars themselves4 ,a rapid glance at this store-house of the heresy of such scholars will give the reader some idea of the extent of the surrender which ,christianity has made to the forces of ,rationalism4 ,it must be premised that space will permit of the conclusions only being given1 without the detailed evidence by which they are supported4 ,let us begin with our supposed first parents4 ,is the story of ,adam and ,eve a true story8 ,there are1 we are told1 decisive reasons why we cannot regard it as historical1 and probably the writer himself never supposed he was relating history4,k ,the ,creation story originated in a stock of primitive myths common to the ,semitic races1 and passed through a long period of development before it was incorporated in the book of ,genesis4 ,if1 then1 it is the fact1 as ,christian scholars assert1 that this story of the ,creation originated in a pagan myth1 and was shaped and altered by unknown hands for nearly a thousand years1 it is nothing more nor less than superstition to hold that it is divinely true4 ,as for the ,old ,testament patriarchs1 we now learn that their very existence is uncertain4 ,the tradition concerning ,abraham is1 as it stands1 inadmissible2 he is not so much a historical personage as an ideal type of character1 whose actual existence is as doubtful as that of other heroes4 ,all the stories of the patriarchs are legendary4 ,the whole book of ,genesis1 in fact1 is not history at all1 as we understand history4 ,exodus is another composite legend which has long been mistaken for history4 ,the historical character of ,moses has not been established1 and it is doubtful whether the name is that of an individual or that of a clan4 ,the story of his being exposed in an ark of bulrushes is a myth probably derived from the similar and much earlier myth of ,sargon4,l ,turning to the ,new ,testament1 we find that modern critical research only brings out more clearly than ever the extraordinary vagueness and uncertainty which enshroud every detail of the narrative4 ,from the article on ,chronology we learn that everything in the ,gospels is too uncertain to be accepted as historical fact4 ,there are numerous questions which it is wholly impossible to decide4 ,we do not know when ,jesus was born1 or when he died1 or who was his father1 or what was the duration of his ministry4 ,as these are matters on which the ,gospel writers purport to give information1 the fact of their failure to do so settles the question of their competency as historians4 ,the supposed supernatural birth of ,jesus has of late exercised the minds of theologians4 ,it is not surprising that some of them should reject the notion1 for it is one without a shred of evidence in its favor4 ,setting aside the well-known fact that many other religions assume a similar origin for their founders1 we may note the ,new ,testament accounts are in such hopeless conflict with each other that reconciliation is impossible4 ,the important subject of the ,resurrection is treated by ,professor ,p4 ,w4 ,schmiedel1 of ,zurich1 who tells us that the ,gospel accounts exhibit contradictions of the most glaring kind4 ,the article on the ,gospels by ,dr4 ,e4 ,a4 ,abbott and ,professor ,schmiedel is crammed with criticism of a kind most damaging to every form of the orthodox faith4 ,the view hitherto current1 that the four ,gospels were written by ,matthew1 ,mark1 ,luke1 and ,john1 and appeared thirty or forty years after the death of ,jesus1 can1 it is stated1 no longer be maintained4 ,the alleged eclipse of the sun at the ,crucifixion is impossible4 ,one of the orthodox shifts respecting this phenomenon is that it was an eclipse of the moon6 ,modern criticism decides that no confidence whatever can be placed in the reliability of the ,gospels as historical narratives1 or in the chronology of the events which they relate4 ,it may even seem to justify a doubt whether any credible elements at all are to be found in them4 ,yet it is believed that some such credible elements do exist4 ,five passages prove by their character that ,jesus was a real person1 and that we have some trustworthy facts about him4 ,these passages are3 ,matthew xii4 #ca1 ,mark x4 #ag1 ,mark iii4 #ba1 ,mark xiii4 #cb1 and ,mark xv4 #cd1 and the corresponding passage in ,matthew xxvii4 #df1 though these last two are not found in ,luke4 ,four other passages have a high degree of probability--viz41 ,mark viii4 #ab1 ,mark vi4 #e1 ,mark viii4 #ad-ba1 and ,matthew xi4 #e1 with the corresponding passage in ,luke vii4 #bb4 ,these texts1 however1 disclose nothing of a supernatural character4 ,they merely prove that in ,jesus we have to do with a completely human being1 and that the divine is to be sought in him only in the form in which it is capable of being found in all men4,m ,the four ,gospels were compiled from earlier materials which have perished1 and the dates when they first appeared in their present form are given as follows3--,mark1 certainly after the destruction of ,jerusalem in the year #gj2 ,matthew1 about #aai ,a4 ,d42 ,luke1 between #ajj and #aaj2 and ,john1 between #acb and #adj4 ,the question of the genuineness of the ,pauline ,epistles1 is now far from being so clear as was once universally supposed4 ,advanced criticism1 ,professor ,van ,manen tells us in his elaborate article on ,paul1 has learned to recognize that none of these ,epistles are by him1 not even the four generally regarded as unassailable4 ,they are not letters to individuals1 but books or pamphlets emanating from a particular school4 ,we know little1 in reality1 of the facts of ,paul's life1 or of his death3 all is uncertain4 ,the unmistakable traces of late origin indicate that the ,epistles probably did not appear till the second century4 ,the strange book of ,revelation is not of purely ,christian origin4 ,criticism has clearly shown that it can no longer be regarded as a literary unit1 but it is an admixture of ,jewish with ,christian ideas and speculations4 ,ancient testimony1 that of ,papias in particular1 assumed the ,presbyter ,john1 and not the ,apostle1 as its author or redactor4 ,the ,epistles of ,peter1 ,james and ,jude are none of them held to be the work of the ,apostles4 ,they probably first saw the light in the second century2 the second ,epistle of ,peter may even belong to the latter half of that period4 ,all the above conclusions are summarized1 as nearly as may be1 in the words of the authors of the respective articles4 ,their significance is surely enormous4 ,right or wrong1 eminent ,christian scholars here proclaim results in complete antagonism to the ideas usually accepted as forming the true basis of the ,christian faith4 ,they amount1 in fact1 to a complete and unconditional surrender of the whole dogmatic framework which has hitherto been held as divinely revealed1 and therefore divinely true4 ,thomas ,paine was a ,deist4 ,as such he believed that nature may be compared with a clock and ,god with its maker4 ,as the clock maker1 under normal conditions1 has but little to do with his handiwork1 so it has been with the ,creator and his universe4 ,the theists of every name 7,christian1 ,jew1 ,mohammedan and ,buddhist71 not to speak of others1 believe that the universe1 with all which therein is1 lives1 moves and has its being as the result of the willings of their respective gods4 ,though ,i have my god1 indeed two gods1 one god in the world of my physical existence--a trinity3 matter1 force and motion1 and another god in the world of my moral existence--a trinity3 fact1 truth and life1 yet if the rejection of both deism and theism is atheism1 ,i am an atheist4 ,but assuming for the sake of argument that there is a conscious personal being who has had and is having something to do with making things what they are1 ,i set my seal to this arraignment3 ,of all the systems of religion that were ever invented1 there is none more derogatory to the ,almighty1 more unedifying to man1 more repugnant to reason1 and more contradictory in itself1 than this thing called ,christianity4 ,too absurd for belief1 too impossible to convince1 and too inconsistent for practice1 it renders the heart torpid1 or produces only atheists and fanatics4 ,as an engine of power1 it serves the purpose of despotism and as a means of wealth1 the avarice of priests2 but for the good of mankind it leads to nothing here or hereafter4 --,thomas ,paine4 ,william ,rathbone ,greg in his ,creed of ,christendom says that much of the ,old ,testament which ,christian divines1 in their ignorance of ,jewish lore1 have insisted on receiving and interpreting literally1 the informed ,rabbis never dreamed of regarding as anything but allegorical4 ,the literalists they called fools4 ,origen and ,augustine1 the two greatest men which ,christianity has produced1 would agree with ,greg in this4 ,we have already quoted the motto of this section from ,origen1 and we will now quote this from ,augustine3 ,it very often happens that there is some question as to the earth or the sky1 or the other elements of this world1 respecting which one who is not a ,christian has knowledge derived from most certain reasoning or observation1 and it is very disgraceful and mischievous and of all things to be carefully avoided1 that a ,christian1 speaking of such matters as being according to the ,christian ,scriptures1 should be heard by an unbeliever talking such nonsense that the unbeliever1 perceiving him to be as wide from the mark as east from west1 can hardly restrain himself from laughing4 ,,footnotes3 ,k ,but if ,adam and ,eve are not historical personages there is no doctrine of supernaturalistic ,christianism resting on the solid ground of facts and the whole of its immense dogmatic structure is floating in the air of theories and myths4--,author4 ,l ,it is questionable whether such persons as ,samson1 ,jonah and ,daniel ever lived1 but it is certain that their adventures are as mythical as anything in ,aesop's ,fables4--,author4 ,m ,but these nine texts which for some years were often triumphantly pointed to as the pillars upon which securely rested the historicalness of ,jesus as a man are now lying in the dust where the learned and brilliant ,professor ,william ,benjamin ,smith of ,tulane ,university put them by his great contribution to the ,christological problem in a book1 entitled ,ecce ,deus in which he1 as ,i think1 proves conclusively that the ,jesus of the ,new ,testament never was a real man but always an imaginary god1 the ,christian recasting of the ,jewish ,god1 a new ,jehovah4--,author4 ,,iv4 ,,would ,,socialism ,,change ,,human ,,nature8 ,fear not the tyrants shall rule for ever1 ,or the priests of the bloody ,faith3 ,they stand on the brink of that mighty river ,whose waves they have tainted with death1 ,it is fed from the depths of a thousand dells1 ,around them it foams and rages and swells1 ,and their swords and their scepters ,i floating see ,like wrecks in the surge of eternity4 --,shelley4 ,my revolt against the existing capitalist system of economics and the capitalized political and religious systems which support it is complete1 and the end which ,i have in view in this booklet is that of primitive ,christianism1 as it is taught by ,mary in the ,magnificat1 the putting down of the owning masters of the world and the exaltation of the working slaves1 only that ,i do not recommend1 as she did1 that the masters should be banished to starve but rather that they should be allowed to become producers and to live then as such1 not as robbers1 as they now live4 ,this is bolshevism4 ,it is not anarchy1 but a new dictatorship instead of the old1 that of the proletariat in place of the bourgeoisie4 ,but this dictatorship 7though necessary during the period of transition from the capitalist system1 by which commodities are made only for the profit of a few to an industrial system by which they will be made only for use of the many7 is not the goal of socialism4 ,its goal is a classless world--a world in which all who are able to work shall directly or at least indirectly contribute their due proportion1 according to their abilities and opportunities1 towards feeding1 clothing1 housing and educating it4 ,perhaps the truest thing in the ,bible relates to the utterly corrupt condition of civilization1 nor was it ever truer than now1 and it always must be equally true while the world is divided into master and slave classes under the dictatorship of the masters3 ,the whole head is sick and the whole heart faint4 ,from the sole of the foot even unto the head1 there is no soundness in it1 but wounds and bruises1 and putrifying sores3 they have not been closed1 neither bound up1 neither mollified with ointment4 ,capitalism and ,socialism differ fundamentally in that the former always has sought and always will seek to exercise a permanent dictatorship1 whereas that of the latter is to constitute the temporary bridge over which the world is to pass from the economic system under which commodities are competitively made for the profit of the few1 to the economic system under which they will be co-operatively made for the use of the many4 ,it is contended with much show of reason that the dictatorship of the proletariat will not lead to the goal1 because human nature being what it is the slaves will automatically develop into another class of masters4 ,but those who raise this contention proceed upon the assumption that human nature is a constant quantity so that it cannot be essentially changed and that it has made the economic systems1 what they have been4 ,this is not the case4 ,human nature1 like animal nature1 is constantly changing and neither the one nor the other voluntarily changes itself1 but both are forced to change by the development of new and external conditions and by the necessity of conformity to them4 ,professor ,joseph ,mc,cabe1 not a socialist1 observes that these developments and conformities were so many revolutions and that the man who says1 the secret of progress is evolution1 not revolution1 may be talking very good social philosophy but he is not talking science1 as he thinks4 ,in every modern geological work you read of periodical revolutions in the story of the earth1 and these are the great ages of progress--and1 ,i ought to add1 of colossal annihilation of the less fit4 ,darwin discovered that animal nature changed 7for example snake nature changed into bird nature7 because of changed physical environments and the necessity of life to adaptation to them4 ,marx discovered that human nature changed from what it was during the period of chatteldom to what it was during serfdom and from that to what it is under capitalism by reason of the difference in the economic systems of these periods by which the world fed1 clothed and housed itself and that these differences are in turn accounted for by the differences in the machines by which the necessities of life are produced4 ,thus ,darwin explained the history of animal life without the hypothesis of a divine creator1 and ,marx explained the history of mankind without the hypothesis either of a divine ruler or human leaders4 ,these ,darwinian and ,marxian explanations constitute what is known as the materialistic explanation of history4 ,marx represented that capitalism would end the class struggle and issue in a classless world because its profiteering system of production and distribution could not be succeeded by another1 since it divides mankind into masters who are ever growing less numerous and slaves who are ever growing more numerous1 without the possibility of those who are half capitalists and half workers rising out of their nondescript condition into a new master class1 as did the bourgeoisie under feudalism4 ,for these reasons he contended the proletarian slaves would become the grave diggers for the bourgeois masters and so end capitalism with the burial of its representatives4 ,but with the complete and sustained triumph of the proletarian class the bourgeois class will rapidly pass away1 as is now the case with it in ,russia1 and a classless world will be born to live on a co-operative instead of a competitive basis1 in a heaven instead of a hell4 ,v4 ,,what ,,will ,,be ,,the ,,form ,,of ,,the ,,workers' ,,state4 ,hail ,soviet ,russia1 the first ,communist ,republic1 the land of1 by and for the common people4 ,we greet you1 workers and peasants of ,russia1 who by your untold sacrifices1 by your determination and devotion1 are transforming the ,russia of black reaction1 of the domination of a few1 into a land of glorious promise for all4 ,comrades in ,america1 watch the bright dawn in the ,east2 you have but your chains to lose1 and a world to gain6--,the ,workers' ,council4 ,in general outline the form of the workers' state will be that of the ,russian ,soviet ,republic1 and what it is will appear from the following semi-official description1 the briefest and clearest of any which ,i have seen4 ,its authorship is unknown to me but ,i know it to be the work of a committee of which ,zinoviev1 one of the directing and inspiring minds of the proletarian movement in ,russia1 was a member1 and it may be that he is the author4 ,anyhow it is a recently published1 authoritative classic containing the information for which a large part of the world has been waiting3 ,we have before us the example of the ,russian ,soviet ,republic1 whose structure1 in view of the conflicting reports printed in other countries1 it may be useful to describe briefly here4 ,the unit of government is the local ,soviet1 or ,council1 of ,workers'1 ,red ,army1 and ,peasants' ,deputies4 ,the city ,workers' ,soviet is made up as follows3 ,each factory elects one delegate for a certain number of workers1 and each local union also elects delegates4 ,these delegates are elected according to political parties--or1 if the workers wish it1 as individual candidates4 ,the ,red ,army delegates are chosen by military units4 ,for the peasants1 each village has its local ,soviet1 which sends delegates to the ,township ,soviet1 which in turn elects to the ,county ,soviet1 and this to the ,provincial ,soviet4 ,nobody who employs labor for profit can vote4 ,every six months the ,city and ,provincial ,soviets elect delegates to the ,all-,russian ,congress of ,soviets1 which is the supreme governing body of the country4 ,this ,congress decides upon the policies which are to govern the country for six months1 and then elects a ,central ,executive ,committee of two hundred1 which is to carry out these policies4 ,the ,congress also elects the ,cabinet--,the ,council of ,people's ,commissars1 who are heads of ,government ,departments--or ,people's ,commissariats4 ,the ,people's ,commissars can be recalled at any time by the ,central ,executive ,committee4 ,the members of all ,soviets can be recalled very easily1 and at any time1 by their constituents4 ,these ,soviets are not only ,legislative bodies1 but also ,executive organs4 ,unlike your ,congress1 they do not make the laws and leave them to the ,president to carry out1 but the members carry out the laws themselves2 and there is no ,supreme ,court to say whether or not these laws are constitutional4 ,between the ,all-,russian ,congresses of ,soviets the ,central ,executive ,committee is the supreme power in ,russia4 ,it meets at least every two months1 and in the meanwhile1 the ,council of ,people's ,commissars directs the country1 while the members of the ,central ,executive ,committee go to work in the various government departments4 ,in ,russia the workers are organized in ,industrial ,unions all the workers in each industry belonging to one ,union4 ,for example1 in a factory making metal products1 even the carpenters and painters are members of the ,metal ,workers' ,union4 ,each factory is a local ,union1 and the ,shop ,committee elected by the workers is its ,executive ,committee4 ,the ,all-,russian ,central ,executive ,committee of the federated ,unions is elected by the annual ,trade ,union ,convention4 ,a ,scale ,committee elected by the ,convention fixes the wages of all categories of workers4 ,with very few exceptions1 all important factories in ,russia have been nationalized1 and are now the property of all the workers in common4 ,the business of the ,unions is therefore no longer to fight the capitalists1 but to run industry4 ,hand in hand with the ,unions works the ,department of ,labor of the ,soviet ,government1 whose chief is the ,people's ,commissar of ,labor1 elected by the ,soviet ,congress with the approval of the ,unions4 ,in charge of the economic life of the country is the elected ,supreme ,council of ,people's ,economy1 divided into departments1 such as1 ,metal ,department1 ,chemical ,department1 etc41 each one headed by experts and workers1 appointed1 with the approval of the ,union by the ,supreme ,council of ,people's ,economy4 ,in each factory production is carried on by a committee consisting of three members3 a representative of the ,shop ,committee of the ,unions1 a representative of the ,central ,executive of the ,unions1 and a representative of the ,supreme ,council of ,people's ,economy4 ,the ,unions are thus a branch of the government--and this government is the most highly centralized government that exists4 ,it is also the most democratic government in history4 ,for all the organs of government are in constant touch with the working masses1 and constantly sensitive to their will4 ,moreover1 the local ,soviets all over ,russia have complete autonomy to manage their own local affairs1 provided they carry out the national policies laid down by the ,soviet ,congress4 ,also1 the ,soviet ,government represents only the workers1 and cannot help but act in the workers' interests4 ,the motto of this section is the conclusion of a good article in the first number of one among the best of the periodicals devoted to the promotion of ,marxism1 ,the ,workers' ,council1 published by the ,international ,educational ,company1 ,new ,york ,city4 ,this article is so short and lends itself so naturally as a supplement to the foregoing explanation of the new economic system which has been established and is being developed in ,russia that ,i quote the rest as the conclusion of this section about ,sovietism4 ,communist ,russia1 the ,russia of the common people1 marks a new epoch in the world's history4 ,it marks a basic change in the structure of human society4 ,up to this time society lived under the rule of the few1 under the rule of the class which possessed the wealth of the country4 ,the methods were different at different periods in the world's history1 but the results were the same3 riches and power for the few1 a bare existence and endless toil for the many4 ,the slaves1 the serfs1 or the wage workers of today1 who compose the masses of the people1 have ever been the hewers of wood and the carriers of water1 the beasts of burden on whose backs sported and fattened kings and nobles1 landlords and capitalists4 ,they who possessed wealth had the power4 ,and they passed laws to protect that power1 to make the possession of wealth a social institution4 ,private property was enthroned and every striving of mankind was subjected to the rule of property4 ,thence grew the exploitation of man by man for private profit1 and all abuses resulting therefrom2 fear of loss of property1 care of possession1 dread of the future1 fear of loss of employment1 envy and greed4 ,human society was ruled by property grabbers2 masters1 kings1 capitalists1 providing toil1 disease1 war for the masses of mankind4 ,that is the rule of capitalism1 and cannot be otherwise4 ,but under communism1 profit is abolished1 and with it the exploitation of man by man2 private property is no longer a factor in the life of man2 property becomes universal1 all natural and created wealth belong to society1 to every member of the community1 as secure a birth right as air and sunlight4 ,everybody's measured work provides a common fund of things to satisfy material needs1 today1 tomorrow and in years to come4 ,there can be no fear of losing one's job1 of seeing one's children starve1 of the poor-house in old age4 ,as sure as the sun will rise on the morrow1 man is secure of his bread1 his shelter and clothing4 ,man is freed from animal cares1 free to develop his human qualities1 his intelligence1 his brain and heart4 ,russia points the way4 ,russia is now one huge corporation1 every man1 woman and child an equal shareholder4 ,the state is administered as a business2 the benefit of the stockholders being the object of the corporation4 ,the individual contributes his labor1 whatever it may be3 manual1 mental1 artistic4 ,this labor is applied to available materials3 the soil of the farm1 the natural resources1 the mines1 and mills and factories4 ,the finished product is distributed through the agencies of the corporation1 in the shape of food and clothes and shelter1 of education and amusement1 of protection to life and limb1 of literature and art1 of inventions and improvements3 to every man1 woman and child of the nation4 ,to be sure this ideal of a human brotherhood is not yet realized in ,russia4 ,no sane person would expect so tremendous a change to be consummated in three years1 in the face of universal aggression1 intrigues and blockades4 ,it may take ten years1 perhaps a generation4 ,what of it6 ,russia is past the most difficult period of transition from the capitalist state to a communist state1 while other capitalist countries must still face the period of revolution4 ,therefore let ,russia lead the way4 ,let the ,american workers realize that ,russia's fight is their fight1 that ,soviet ,russia's success is the success of the laboring people the world over6 ,have you ever been to ,crazy ,land1,n ,down on the ,looney ,pike8 ,there are the queerest people there-- ,you never saw the like6 ,the ones that do the useful work ,are poor as poor can be1 ,and those who do no useful work ,all live in luxury4 ,they raise so much in ,crazy ,land ,of food and clothes and such1 ,that those who work don't have enough ,because they raise too much4 ,they're wrong side to in ,crazy ,land1 ,they're upside down with care-- ,they walk around upon their heads1 ,with feet up in the air4 --,t4 ,,vi4 ,,withdrawal ,,of ,,prize ,,offer4 ,never have anything to do with those who pretend to have dealings with the supernatural4 ,if you allow supernaturalism to get a foothold in your country the result will be a dreadful calamity4--,confucius4 ,mrs4 ,brown and ,i hereby withdraw1 for the present at least1 our prize offer1 and for two reasons3 #a4 ,we are convinced that it is as necessary to the welfare of the world to smite supernaturalism in religion as capitalism in politics1 but while many are able and willing to attack the octopus of capitalism1 this is true of only a few in the case of the dragon of supernaturalism4 ,some hesitate because they feel with one of the critics of ,communism and ,christianism that revolutionary forces are coming to the surface in the churches4 ,where1 he asks1 shall we classify the stand of the ,catholic ,church against the open shop8 ,what shall be said of the ,interchurch report on the steel strike8 ,what of the attitude of the combined commission in ,denver of ,catholics1 ,protestants and ,jews on the street car strike8 ,we have no desire to belittle such efforts nor to discourage their promoters2 but 7though they may afford some local and temporary alleviation to the miseries of far the greater part of the world--miseries growing out of its division into two classes1 a small class of owning masters and a large class of working slaves7 we center no hope in them1 because the whole history of the supernaturalistic interpretations of religion1 not excepting the ,christian1 show these efforts to be only reformatory and temporary bubbles which sooner or later are always pricked by the masters of what little revolutionary air they contain1 and so never issue in any general or permanent improvement of the sad lot of the overwhelming majority of the slaves4 ,how little the church serves the working slaves1 and how much the owning masters1 will appear from the following representations of ,roger ,w4 ,babson1 the well-known financial expert and adviser3 ,the value of our investments depends not on the strength of our banks1 but rather upon the strength of our churches4 ,the underpaid preachers of the nation are the men upon whom we really are depending1 rather than the well-paid lawyers1 bankers and brokers4 ,the religion of the community is really the bulwark of our investments4 ,and when we consider that only #ae per cent of the people hold securities of any kind and less than #c per cent hold enough to pay an income tax1 the importance of the churches becomes even more evident4 ,for our sakes1 for our children's sakes1 for the nation's sake1 let us business men get behind the churches and their preachers4 ,never mind if they are not perfect4 ,never mind if their theology is out of date4 ,this only means that were they efficient they would do very much more4 ,the safety of all we have is due to the churches1 even in their present inefficient and inactive state4 ,by all that we hold dear1 let us from this very day give more time1 money and thought to the churches1 for upon these the value of all we own ultimately depends4 ,what our critics say about the recent efforts of the ,american churches being in the right direction is interesting to ,mrs4 ,brown and me1 but we are much more impressed by the observation of a writer in a late issue of ,soviet ,russia4 ,in speaking of the baneful influence of the ,russian church through all the ages he says3 ,out of the shadows of antiquity1 from the morning of man's cupidity and avarice1 two sinister figures have crawled with crooked talons through history1 leaving a trail of blood and fear most horrible which has not halted yet4 ,these are the monarch and the priest4 ,the one is symbolical of despotic or oligarchic power1 the other typifies the sordid ignorance and fearful superstition of the credulous masses which maintains the power of the first4 ,high in the streets of ,moscow1 where one may see the pallid1 long-haired1 degenerate-looking venders of holy lies and pious impositions shuffle along like spectres from a remoter age1 there hangs a woven streamer of scarlet hue with huge white lettering1 which defiantly proclaims that religion is the opium of the people4 ,though many still cross themselves a score of times daily on passing the church1 yet nevertheless the people are rapidly assimilating the knowledge which elevates and enlightens1 and learning to reject that which terrorizes and deforms the mind1 and just so sure as the last filthy tyrant has been placed for ever beyond mischief1 so will the last priest soon vanish from the land once contemptuously known as ,holy ,russia4 ,the foregoing is from a revolutionary sympathizer with soviet ,russia and the following is from a reactionary criticizer of it1 but both are to the same effect1 that orthodox ,christianity is wholly against the interest of the proletariat and entirely for that of the bourgeoisie3 ,one of the most striking characteristics of ,bolshevism is its pronounced hatred of religion1 and of ,christianity most of all4 ,to the ,bolshevik1 ,christianity is not merely the theory of a mode of life different from his own2 it is an enemy to be persecuted and wiped out of existence4 ,to understand this is not difficult4 ,the tendency of the ,christian religion to hold before the believer an ideal of a life beyond death is diametrically opposed to the ideal of ,bolshevism1 which tempts the masses by promising the immediate realization of the earthly paradise4 ,from that point of view ,christianity is not only a false conception of life2 it is an obstacle to the realization of the ,communist ideal4 ,it detaches souls from the objects of sense and diverts them from the struggle to get the good things of this life4 ,according to the ,bolshevist formula1 religion is opium for the people3 and serves as a tool of capitalist domination4 ,this influence of the churches1 in the long run and on the whole has been and will continue to be the same throughout christendom everywhere and everywhen1 not excepting these ,united ,states in the twentieth century4 ,nor is it to any convincing purpose that the representatives of the owning class contend that kings and priests have lost their supremacy to presidents and preachers1 for it is imperialism in politics which enthralls and supernaturalism in religion which degrades4 ,the world is greatly afflicted with both1 none of it much1 if any1 more than our country4 ,it seems to us that we see two fundamentally important facts more clearly than our critics see them3 7#a7 the first step in the way of salvation for the proletariat is class consciousness1 and 7#b7 the ,christian interpretation of supernaturalistic religion has been1 and until it is discredited will continue to be the most efficient among the many preventives to this consciousness4 ,let me show this to be the case by an experience which ,i had some years ago when ,mr4 ,pierpont ,morgan1 ,senior1 was at the height of his glory1 as the king of the great realm of big business1 receiving homage on the one hand from the ,rockefellers and ,rothschilds1 and on the other hand from the ,blockheads and ,henry ,dubbs of all the world4 ,at that time ,i made a confirmation visitation for my sick episcopal brother1 the ,bishop of ,new ,york1 to what was popularly known as ,pierpont ,morgan's church 7,st4 ,george's1 one of the downtown churches for working people47 ,he was the senior warden of this great parish having nearly #e1jjj communicants4 ,he went with the collecting procession out through the great congregation and back to the chancel where each collector ceremoniously emptied the contents of his basket into the great gold alms basin held by the ,rector4 ,while the famous financier was collecting contributions from obscure toilers1 how could any1 brought up as ,i was and as nearly all of the great congregation were1 see that capitalism has divided humanity into two conflicting classes which have nothing in common1 the working class and the employing class1 between which a struggle must go on until the workers organize1 take possession of the earth and the machinery of production and abolish the wage system6 ,by the light of what ,i had been taught all along and of what ,i was then seeing with my own eyes from the bishop's chair such a representation would have seemed preposterous and what was true of me was equally so of all present1 rector1 wardens1 vestrymen1 members and visitors4 ,there were not many ,i4 ,w4 ,w4's4 in those days1 but if one had been there and upon leaving the church had made a representation to this effect to a fellow-worker who was a member of ,st4 ,george's would not the reply have been something as follows3 ,see what ,pierpont ,morgan and ,i have in common3 the same ,god2 the same religion2 the same church2 the same services for worship2 the same collection basket in which he puts a #ajj4jj bill and ,i a ten cent piece2 the same ,lord's ,supper where we eat and drink together2 and1 besides all this1 there is the same hell where he will go unless he gives me a fair day's wage and where ,i will go unless ,i do a fair day's work1 and the same heaven where both will go to equally glorious mansions1 if we are alike #ajj percenters in church and state1 and if he pays me liberally for my work and ,i slave hard enough for his money4 ,assuming the truth of the ,christian interpretation of religion this conclusion is correct4 ,but this ,christian religion is not true4 ,christianism offers nothing to either the owners or workers in the sky for its god and heaven1 devil and hell are lies4 ,and neither religious ,christianism nor political ,republicanism or ,democracy1 not to speak of the other isms of religion and politics1 offers the workers aught on earth4 ,capitalism is the god of this world1 of no part of it more than of these ,united ,states1 and capitalism is to the laborer a robbing1 lying1 murderous devil1 not a good divinity4 #b4 ,the recall of the prize offer is also occasioned and justified1 we think1 by a demand1 which was as unexpected as it is gratifying1 for our little propagandist in foreign countries1 and we have been persuaded that it should be met by securing to him the gift of tongues4 ,we propose to do this by devoting the money which was set aside for the prizes to the encouragement of making and publishing translations4 ,,footnotes3 ,n ,the capitalist countries of the world constitute the ,united ,states of ,crazy ,lands4 ,,vii4 ,,afterword4 ,so many ,gods1 so many ,creeds1 ,so many ways that wind and wind1 ,when all this sad world really needs ,is just the art of being kind4 --,ella ,wheeler ,wilcox4 ,i4 ,my title1 given in ,latin on the picture page1 is bestowed upon me by some in jest and by others in reproach1 and ,i am accepting it from both as compliments1 because they prove that ,i have at least succeeded in making clear the general outlines of my religious and political position4 ,the use of this title is due to the desire that those who pick up the booklet should not buy it1 much less undertake to read it1 under a mistaken impression as to its doctrinal trends4 ,in ,english the ,latin title is1 ,bishop of the ,countries belonging to the ,bolsheviki and the ,infidels4 ,certain friends greatly fear that some things said in this booklet may fall foul of the criminal-syndicalism laws4 ,i have carefully read those of ,ohio and believe that the booklet contains nothing which is not safely within them4 ,anyhow1 ,i have spoken the truth about supernaturalistic religion and capitalistic politics as ,i understand it1 and ,i believe that ,i have adequately supported all my representations on bases of relevant facts which cannot be gainsaid or1 at any rate1 upon sound arguments which have such facts for their foundations4 ,however1 ,i am trying to hold myself open to conviction2 and1 this being the case1 if the powers that be in state or church feel that they must proceed against me1 ,i beg that1 in justice to all the persons and interests concerned1 they will come with their resources of persuasion1 not coercion4 ,my appeal to the religious and political rulers to do this shall be in the burning words of a celebrated defender of the capitalistic system of economics1 ,john ,stuart ,mill1 words which constitute the most remarkable passage in his powerful essay on ,liberty3 ,no argument1 we may suppose1 can now be needed1 against permitting a legislature or an executive1 not identified in interest with the people1 to prescribe opinions to them1 and determine what doctrines or what arguments they shall be allowed to hear4 ,speaking generally1 it is not1 in constitutional countries1 to be apprehended1 that the government1 whether completely responsible to the people or not1 will often attempt to control the expression of opinion1 except when in doing so it makes itself the organ of the general intolerance of the public4 ,let us suppose1 therefore1 that the government is entirely at one with the people1 and never thinks of exerting any power of coercion unless in agreement with what it conceives to be their voice4 ,but ,i deny the right of the people to exercise such coercion1 either by themselves or by their government4 ,the power itself is illegitimate4 ,the best government has no more title to it than the worst4 ,it is as noxious1 or more noxious1 when exerted in accordance with public opinion1 than when in opposition to it4 ,if all mankind minus one1 were of one opinion1 and only one person were of the contrary opinion1 mankind would be no more justified in silencing that one person1 than he1 if he had the power1 would be justified in silencing mankind4 ,were an opinion a personal possession of no value except to the owner2 if to be obstructed in the enjoyment of it were simply a private injury1 it would make some difference whether the injury was inflicted on only a few persons or on many4 ,but the peculiar evil of silencing the expression of an opinion is1 that it is robbing the human race2 posterity as well as the existing generation2 those who dissent from the opinion1 still more than those who hold it4 ,if the opinion is right1 they are deprived of the opportunity of exchanging error for truth3 if wrong1 they lose1 what is almost as great a benefit1 the clearer perception and livelier impression of truth1 produced by its collision with error4 ,this passage should be inscribed in letters of gold on the doors of every church and court house in the world4 ,it was written in condemnation of the persecution by majorities of minorities in states1 but it applies equally to all intolerance of dissentient opinions4 ,it is utterly impossible in a printed discussion of the length of this booklet to weed out every word capable of misconstruction2 and equally so to furnish a definition or limitation to every doubtful word or phrase4 ,nevertheless ,i call attention to a few3 ,the word revolution as used here should not be taken as implying armed insurrection or violence1 unless expressly so described4 ,these are not necessary features of revolution4 ,there have been both political and industrial revolutions entirely unattended by violence or bloodshed2 for example1 the political revolution of #aghg when the old ,articles of ,confederation were abolished and the federal ,constitution imposed upon the ,united ,states2 also the political and industrial revolution of #aiai in ,hungary when for a time a soviet system was established1 with ,bela ,kun as premier4 ,the bloodshed which often attends revolutions comes almost invariably from the lawless counter-revolutionary efforts of the deposed ruling class to maintain themselves in power or regain power by terrorism and murder4 ,when ,i eulogize the ,bolsheviki and their system in ,russia1 ,i am not to be taken as advocating for the ,united ,states the employment of the bloody tactics for gaining power1 which the capitalist press of ,america persists in describing--and as ,i believe1 falsely4 ,i deal in this booklet not with tactics but with facts4 ,i concern myself here not with the ways by which the ,bolsheviki of ,russia gained power1 but with what they did with the power after gaining it4 ,as ,i was trained in theology1 ,i am certain that my religious position has been so clearly outlined that no mistake as to where ,i stand will be made by the rulers in my church2 but1 having had no training in the law1 ,i am less certain that my political position will be as unmistakably understood by the rulers in my state4 ,therefore1 to avoid misinterpretation of certain words and phrases in this booklet1 ,i here expressly disclaim any intention of violating the criminal-syndicalism statute of ,ohio1 following as closely as may be its phraseology in these my denials of criminal intention3 ,nothing herein is to be understood as advocating or teaching the duty1 necessity1 or propriety of crime1 sabotage1 violence or unlawful methods of terrorism as a means of accomplishing industrial or political reform4 ,this booklet is not issued for the purpose of advocating1 advising1 or teaching the doctrine that industrial or political reform should be brought about by crime1 sabotage1 violence or unlawful methods of terrorism2 nor of justifying the commission or the attempt to commit crime1 sabotage1 violence or unlawful methods of terrorism with intent to exemplify1 spread or advocate the propriety of the doctrines of criminal syndicalism2 nor of organizing any society1 group or assemblage of persons formed to teach or advocate the doctrines of criminal syndicalism4 ,if any such meaning shall be read into any passage of this booklet by any reader1 it will be a wrong meaning1 not what ,i intended to convey4 ,a revolution by which a new industrial democracy--the freedom to make things for the use of workers--will supplant the old capitalist democracy--the freedom to make things for the profit of owners--is an inevitable event in the history of every country within the twentieth century4 ,,ii4 ,my object in this booklet is not the promotion of class hatred and strife4 ,far from it4 ,it is to persuade to the banishment of gods from skies and capitalists from earth4 ,theism and capitalism are the great blights upon mankind1 the fatal ones to which it owes1 more than to all others together1 the greatest and most unnecessary of its suffering1 those arising from ignorance1 war1 poverty and slavery4 ,this recommendation as to banishments and this representation in support of it stand out on nearly every page of the booklet1 and in order to make sure of special prominence for them on its last pages1 ,i quote the following from an article by ,g4 ,o4 ,warren 7a major in the ,british army1 ,i think7 an occasional contributor of brilliant articles to rationalist publications on sociological lines3 ,if there be a ,god who rules men and things by ,his arbitrary will1 it is an impertinence to attempt to abolish poverty1 because it is according to ,his will4 ,but if there be no such ,god1 then we know that poverty is caused by men and may be removed by men4 ,if there be a ,god who answers prayers1 the remedy for social injustice is to pray4 ,but if there be no such ,god1 the remedy is to think and act4 ,if men go to heaven when they die1 and if heaven is a place in which everybody will be made perfectly happy1 then there is no need to struggle against poverty in this world1 because a few years of trouble1 or even degradation1 in this world are of no consequence when compared with an eternity of happiness that must be ours by simply following the directions of the clergy4 ,but if there be no such heaven1 then it becomes a matter of first importance that we make our condition as happy as possible in this world1 which is the only one of which we are certain4 ,i maintain that there is no ,god who rules men and things by ,his arbitrary will and who answers prayers1 and that there is no heaven of everlasting bliss to which we are to be wafted after death4 ,and ,i maintain this not only because ,i think that these religious beliefs are erroneous1 but because ,i know that they are most potent to make men docile and submissive to the most degrading conditions imposed on them4 ,i feel sure that the doctrine that obedience to rulers and contentment in poverty are according to the will of ,god1 and the doctrine that the poor and the oppressed will be compensated in heaven are the chief causes of slums1 prisons1 lunatic asylums and poor-houses4 ,all political tyranny is backed up and made possible by belief in an arbitrary ,god1 and all poverty is endured because of the belief that after death everlasting happiness and wealth await us4 ,two conditions are necessary to human happiness3 personal freedom and general wealth4 ,but we never can be free as long as we believe that it is the will of an infinite heavenly ruler that we should submit to a finite earthly ruler1 whether he gets upon the throne by hereditary succession or by the votes of a majority2 and wealth will never be justly1 and therefore1 generally1 distributed as long as most of the people believe that because they are poor in this world they will be rich in the world to come4 ,the apostle ,paul says that political rulers are ordained by ,god and must be obeyed1 from the ,king to the constable1 from the ,president to the policeman4 ,he says that if you are refractory1 the minister of ,god will use his sword1 and will not use it in vain4 ,he says that the sword-bearer is ,god's minister4 ,christ himself recites a parable about a rich man who went to hell because he was rich and a poor man who went to heaven because he was poor4 ,rich ,christians are told by the clergy that the surest way for them to get to heaven is by being rich2 but they use this parable to console the poor with the idea that the surest way for them to get to heaven is by being poor4 ,and this idea is confirmed by the saying of ,christ3 ',blessed are the poor1 for theirs is the kingdom of heaven4' ,i claim that it is impossible to prove that any being exists who can do1 or ever does1 anything outside of the regular processes of ,nature1 and therefore that the word ,god1 which has always meant such a being1 should be dropped4 ,i would have no objection to the current use of the word ,god if that use were harmless1 but it is very far from that4 ,it is a word that every despot conjures with to keep the people in ignorance and subjection4 ,it is a word that crafty politicians use in carrying out their schemes of bribery and plunder4 ,the same thing applies to the word heaven4 ,it is impossible to show that there is any such place1 and the word is used as a bribe to the poor to keep them quiet under injustice4 ,i do not see how there can be a life after death1 but if there is it will not be any better because we are poor and undeveloped in this world1 and therefore immortality should be a reason rather for discontentment among the poor than for submission to injustice4 ,as an atheist1 ,i object to a ,god who is for every tyrannical ruler and against the rebels that he imprisons1 tortures and slays2 who is for the idle landlord and usurer and against the workers2 who is for the purse-proud prelate and against the people2 who is for the boodle politician and against the happiness of the many2 who is for the white exploiter and against the simple colored man2 who is for the rich profiteer and against the petty burglar and pickpocket4 ,if ,i am told there is no such ,god as this1 ,i reply that there is1 or there is none4 ,the ,god of every ,christian creed is the ,god of the rulers1 the ,god of the idle rich4 ,there never has been any other ,god known to the world4 ,this is the ,god that the church now worships and always has worshiped4 ,there are forces in ,nature that we do not yet understand1 and therefore should not name4 ,but they can only help us as we learn what they are and how to use them4 ,it is therefore neither our duty nor our privilege to pray1 nor can any good be thus achieved4 ,it is for us to observe1 to think1 and to examine the pretensions of the privileged4 ,it is for us to understand that there is no ,god to raise our wages1 and no heaven to compensate us for our poverty and all the misery it entails in this world4 ,said the parson1 ',be content2 ,pay your tithes due1 pay your rent2 ,they that earthly things despise ,shall have mansions in the skies1 ,though your back with toil be bent1' ,said the parson1 'be content4' ,then the parson feasting went ,with my lord who lives by rent2 ,and the parson laughed elate ,for my lord has livings great1 ,they that earthly things revere ,may get bishop's mansions here4 ,be content6 ,be content6 ,till your dreary life is spent1 ,lowly live and lowly die1 ,all for mansions in the sky6 ,castles here are much too rare1 ,all may have them--in the air6 ,,iii4 ,according to ,marxian socialism1 the history of man arose from the need of his body for food1 raiment and shelter4 ,this is the materialistic explanation of history1 and the following is one of the passages in which ,marx clearly shows that it is true and reasonable3 ,in the social production which men carry on they enter into definite relations that are indispensable and independent of their will2 these relations of production correspond to a definite stage of development of their material powers of production4 ,the sum total of these relations of production constitutes the economic structure of society--the real foundations1 on which rise legal and political superstructures and which correspond to definite forms of social consciousness4 ,the mode of production in material life determines the general character of the social1 political and spiritual processes of life4 ,it is not the consciousness of men that determines their existence but1 on the contrary1 their social existence determines their consciousness4 ,at a certain stage of their development1 the material forces of production in society come in conflict with the existing relations of production1 or--what is but a legal expression for the same thing--with the property relations within which they had been at work before4 ,from forms of development of the forces of production these relations turn into their fetters4 ,then comes the period of social revolution4 ,marx and his followers are justified in their contention that the physical necessities of man 7not gods or great men7 constitute the key to his history by the fact that there was no mind of man before the human body nor will there be any mind when the body has been disintegrated2 for the mind was made by the body1 for the body1 not the body by the mind1 for the mind4 ,this very remarkable fact1 when duly considered1 will change nearly all the ideas of most men and women about almost everything4 ,a leader is but a mouthpiece of a people through which they give expression to their deepest convictions and highest aspirations4 ,early in my life ,lincoln was the great leader of the people in the ,united ,states1 and late in it ,lenin is the great leader of the people of the world4 ,the earlier of these was at least a rationalist and the latter is an atheist1 so that the first probably did not suppose himself to have been inspired by a divinity1 and the second certainly does not4 ,i claim1 said ,lincoln1 not to have controlled events1 but confess plainly that events have controlled me4 ,in ,lenin's ,birthday ,anniversary number of the magazine1 ,soviet ,russia1 the ,editor says3 ,at the very outset1 we must clearly state that much of ,lenin's powerful position in present-day history is made by the history itself1--by the fact that we are living at the moment when the entire life of the race is vindicating in a most emphatic manner the theoretical position occupied by ,lenin for many years4 ,after all1 ,lenin1 like ,trotsky1 was an unknown man1 except to certain political circles1 and the mass of ,russian revolutionists1 even as late as #aiaf4 ,and yet1 he was the same ,lenin2 had not the opportunity come to put into practice the system for which he and his associates had been laboring and suffering for many years1 no doubt the circle of his admirers and readers would not be much wider in #aibj than it was in #aiaf4 ,lenin would probably be the first to admit--nay1 insist--that the material circumstance that enables a certain individual to assert himself is the prime element in building his reputation4 ,so that1 if the ,russian ,revolution had not taken the course it did take1 ,lenin1 with exactly the same mental and idealogical preparation1 might have remained a relatively unknown man4 ,those who on the one hand interpret life from the naturalistic or materialistic point of view1 and those who on the other hand interpret it from the supernaturalistic viewpoint need not and generally do not differ as widely as is commonly supposed4 ,materialism is the name for two totally different things1 which are constantly confused4 ,there is1 in the first place1 materialism as a theory of the universe--the theory that matter is the source and the substance of all things4 ,that is 7if you associate force or energy or motion with your matter1 as every materialist does7 a perfectly arguable theory4 ,it has not the remotest connection with the amount of wine a man drinks or the integrity of his life4 ,but we also give the name of materialism to a certain disposition of the sentiments1 which few of us admire1 and which would kill the root of progress if it became general4 ,it is the disposition to despise ideals and higher thought1 to confine one's desires to selfish and sensual pleasure and material advancement4 ,there is no connection between this materialism of the heart and that of the head4 ,for whole centuries of ,christian history whole nations believed abundantly in spirits without it having the least influence on their morals2 and1 on the other hand1 materialists like ,ludwig ,buchner1 or ,vogt1 or ,moleschott1 were idealists 7in the moral sense7 of the highest order4 ,look around you and see whether the belief or non-belief 7for the ,agnostic is in the same predicament here7 in spirit is a dividing-line in conduct4 ,there is no ground in fact for the confusion1 and it has wrought infinite mischief4--,mc,cabe4 ,as to their philosophy concerning the origin1 sustenance and governance of the universe1 communists are almost to a man materialists2 but1 as to their philosophy concerning life1 they are as generally idealists4 ,there is1 ,i feel sure1 as much idealism in my thinking and living now as there was in the days of my orthodoxy4 ,many of the representations of the ,jewish-,christian ,bible are materialistic in a high1 if not gross1 degree4 ,this is true of the account of the creation according to which the god1 ,jehovah1 with hands moulded a man out of dust2 performed a surgical operation upon him for the purpose of securing a rib out of which he carved a woman2 made a garden2 and provided worship for himself by a system of material sacrifices4 ,the ark of the covenant was a wooden chest1 and its contents 7a pot1 some manna1 and ,aaron's rod7 were materialities4 ,the conception1 birth1 death1 descension1 resurrection1 ascension and session of the god1 ,jesus1 were 7if they occurred7 material realities4 ,and the eating of the flesh and drinking of the blood of the god sounds like materialism1 especially according to the explanation of the ,greek1 ,roman1 ,lutheran and ,anglican churches4 ,,iv4 ,a nutshell summary of this booklet is contained in these confessions of my religious and political faith3 ,i4 ,my religious faith is summed up in the following creed of twelve ,articles3 7#a7 ,the chief end of every man should be to make the most of his own life by having it as long and as happy as possible and to help others in doing this for themselves4 7#b7 ,though parents live unconsciously in their children and all do so in those over whom they have had any influence1 yet all there is of conscious1 personal life for man is of a terrestrial character1 none celestial4 7#c7 ,knowledge is the ,christ of the ,world4 ,the saviour-gods of the supernaturalistic interpretations of religion are symbols of this one4 7#d7 ,ignorance is the devil of the world4 ,the destroyer-gods of the supernaturalistic interpretations of religion are symbols of this one4 7#e7 ,knowledge consists in knowing facts and truths4 ,every real fact and truth is a word of the only gospel which the world possesses4 7#f7 ,a fact is something which matter1 force and motion have unconsciously done1 not what a god has consciously willed4 ,there are no other facts4 7#g7 ,a truth is a fact so interpreted that if it is lived it will contribute towards making the most of life4 ,there are no other truths4 7#h7 ,hence the greatest people in the world are the scientists who discover facts1 and the preachers who interpret them and persuade to their living4 ,if you contend that mothers are greater than teachers1 ,i shall agree with you on condition that you will admit that a mother is not really great unless she is a teacher4 7#i7 ,the desire and effort to learn facts1 interpret and live them constitute morality4 7#aj7 ,morality is the greatest thing in the world1 because it is all there is of real religion and politics4 7#aa7 ,but1 paradoxical as it may seem1 there is one thing which is greater than the greatest thing in the world--freedom4 7#ab7 ,and the freedom which is greater than morality consists in the liberty to learn1 interpret1 live and teach facts1 without which liberty a man may be a non-moral child1 or an immoral hypocrite1 but he cannot be the possessor of the pearl of great price--morality1 without which human life is not worth the living or even possible4 ,,ii4 ,my political faith is summed up in the following creed of twelve articles3 7#a7 ,as the universe in general is self-existing1 self-sustaining and self-governing1 so man in particular1 who is but one among the transitory1 cosmic phenomena1 has all of the potentialities of his own life within himself1 so that every man can say of himself what the makers of ,jesus had him say3 ,i and my ,father are one4 7#b7 ,man has set a far-off and high-up goal of an ideal civilization for himself1 and is finding the way to it by his own discoveries1 and is walking therein by his own strength1 so that he is not in the least indebted to any of the gods of the supernaturalistic interpretations of religion1 either for the setting of the goal1 or for what progress he has made towards it4 7#c7 ,nor is humanity indebted to its outstanding representatives for the advance in the way of civilization1 as is evident from the fact that1 but for the gods1 it would have long since been far beyond the point where the ,english-,german war would have been within the range of possibilities1 and these gods are the gifts to a blind humanity by its blind leaders4 7#d7 ,humanity is not indebted to its physical scientists any more than to its spiritual prophets for its advance in the way of civilization1 because the scientists have always worked1 as the prophets have preached1 in the interests of the profiteers of the existing system of economics4 ,economic systems have been the chief1 if not indeed1 the only promoters of war1 and the world war with its tremendous horrors would not have been possible but for science4 7#e7 ,so1 then1 the history of civilization has been what it is because of the economic systems by which the material necessities of life 7foods1 raiments and houses7 have been produced1 not because gods have made spiritual revelations1 nor yet because men have made great discoveries and persuasively taught them4 ,according to ,marx1 who discovered the key to the door of history1 it is constituted neither by the gods in the skies1 nor the great men on earth2 but by economic systems4 ,these create the divinities and the leaders1 not they them4 7#f7 ,thus far in the history of mankind every civilization has rested upon the institution of slavery and there have been1 speaking broadly1 three different forms of it1 with their correspondingly different civilizations1 chattel1 feudal and capital4 ,each of these forms of slavery has been the foundation for a superstructure of a civilization peculiar to a distinct period of history4 ,chattel1 feudal and capital slaveries respectively constituted the foundations for the superstructures of ancient1 mediaeval and modern civilizations4 ,the second of the two great discoveries by ,marx was that the wage slavery of capitalism1 by far the worst of all slaveries1 is due to surplus profits4 7#g7 ,since civilizations have their embodiments in religious and political institutions 7churches and states with what goes with them7 so clearly as to justify the contention that religion and politics are the halves of one and the same reality--civilization--it follows that ,i am right in carrying my materialism over from the realm of religion into that of politics4 7#h7 ,a system of economics is about the most materialistic thing in the world1 yet it is the only key which will open the door to the temple of human history4 ,having opened it with this key1 the first thing to be seen is a world divided into two classes1 one class whose representatives live by owning the material means and the machines for production and distribution2 and another class whose representatives live by working in making and operating these machines1 with the result of producing and distributing the material commodities by which the world is fed1 clothed and housed1 but to the surfeiting of the owners who as such produce nothing and have everything and the starving of the workers who produce everything and have nothing4 7#i7 ,capitalists and communists agree that when the goal of humanity has been reached the world will find itself to be one all inclusive co-operating family4 7#aj7 ,capitalists say that then the co-operating will be between the owners as fathers1 and the workers as children4 ,the capitalists will recognize every laborer who does a fair day's work as a good son or daughter1 and the laborer will recognize every owner who gives a fair day's wage as a good father4 7#aa7 ,but communists say that then the co-operating will be between men1 all of whom are on the same footing as laborers1 since1 when the goal is reached1 the world will no longer be divided as it has been1 from time out of mind1 into a small owning or master class and a large working or slave class2 but it will constitute one great all inclusive family1 every member of which will be on the same footing with all others1 except that the older members will regard the younger as sons and daughters1 and they in turn will be regarded as fathers and mothers1 and all of the same generation will look upon each other as brothers and sisters4 7#ab7 ,civilization always has been and ever will be impossible without slavery1 because leisure and opportunity for study1 social intercourse and travel are necessary to it1 but under capitalism1 as it works out1 only representatives of the owning or master class have these prerequisites1 and those of the working or slave class must be deprived of them4 ,when communism supplants capitalism all will have their equal parts in both the labor necessary to the sustenance of the physical 7body7 life1 and also the leisure necessary to the development of the psychical 7soul7 life4 ,there will still be slavery1 indeed much more of it than the world has hitherto known1 but machines1 not men1 women and children will be the slaves4 ,of course there will remain much work connected with the making and operating of the machines1 but the time and energy required for it will more and more decrease with the inevitable increase in the number and efficiency of the machines until1 according to conservative estimates1 three or four hours per day of comparatively light and pleasant employment will be quite sufficient to provide the necessities of life in abundance for every worker and his dependents1 so that1 then1 all will have as much of them as the few have now2 and this without any sense of slavery because when one is working for the benefit of himself and his own in particular1 and the public to which he belongs in general1 not for the profit of a class of which he is not a representative1 there is no feeling of irksome servitude4 ,v4 ,a world-wide revolution has begun and is rapidly spreading over the earth4 ,why8 ,because a world-wide economic system for feeding1 clothing and housing the people has broken down so that it must be supplanted by a new system1 else mankind will perish for the lack of food1 raiment and shelter4 ,this revolutionary war is between the working class whose representatives live starvingly1 though they produce and distribute all the necessities of life and the capitalist class whose representatives live surfeitingly1 though taking no part in the production and distribution of these necessities4 ,nearly one hundred years ago our fourth ,president1 ,james ,madison1 saw partly and dimly what nearly every one now sees fully and clearly3 ,we are free today substantially1 but the day will come when our ,republic will be an impossibility4 ,it will be an impossibility because wealth will be concentrated in the hands of a few4 ,a republic cannot stand upon bayonets1 and when that day comes1 when the wealth of the nation will be in the hands of a few1 then we must rely upon the wisdom of the best elements in the country to readjust the laws of the nation to the changed conditions4 ,the laborers of ,russia have turned the country right side up so that they themselves are above and the capitalists below1 having the privilege of remaining down to idle and starve or else to crawl up to work and live1 but not to rob1 war and enslave4 ,as ,i lay down my pen the working man's government of ,russia is fighting a double war1 the ,poland-,crimea war1 to prevent its overthrow by the capitalist governments of the world1 especially ,england1 ,france1 ,japan and the ,united ,states1 which in this war are surreptitiously confederated against it1 and the victory seems assured to it1 largely because of the sympathy and help of their fellow workers throughout the world4 ,marx though dead yet speaketh4 ,he is speaking more widely and persuasively in death than in life4 ,russia is the megaphone from which his voice goes out through every land and over every sea4 ,never man nor god spake with as much power as he speaks4 ,his gospel is to the slave1 and this is its thrilling appeal--workers of the world unite1 and this is its inspiring assurance--you have nothing to lose but your chains and a world to gain4 ,,wm4 ,m4 ,,brown4 ,brownella ,cottage1 ,galion1 ,ohio4 ,september #bdth1 #aibj4 99 99 99 99 99 99 ,transcriber's note3 ,the typographical error overwhelmlingly was changed to overwhelmingly4 ,all other spelling1 capitalization1 and punctuation was retained4