A period of _laissez-faire_ was held by Rodbertus to denote a transitional stage and a preparation for a different social organization. After the social order of the Roman republic, which was founded on the possession of many slaves, and production on a large scale by them, had had its day, freedom in trade and commerce reigned under the emperors, but was terminated by the feudal system of the Middle Ages, for which state it was only preparatory. In the same manner, the present imperfect and unsatisfactory organization, or, as he perhaps would have said, disorganization, was to end in a higher social stage. It was wicked and impious to hope for an improvement from _laissez-faire_, which he called a fool’s paradise. Good things did not come to us in this world of themselves. It was intended that we should work for them, and for their attainment use all the instrumentalities which Providence has committed to us, the state included. All of the leading socialists of to-day, to whatever socialistic group they may belong, have been influenced greatly by Rodbertus. An understanding of his theories renders it comparatively easy to understand Marx and Lassalle. German socialists of to-day may be divided into three groups—viz., social democrats, professorial socialists, and Christian socialists. We also hear of state socialists, who form one class with professorial socialists; save that a few of them may, perhaps, belong to the social democrats. Sometimes they are separated from professorial socialists and made to include simply German office-holders, but the ideas of German office-holders, as such, can have no interest for us in this place. The same man is sometimes called a professorial socialist and sometimes a state socialist, as, for example, Professor Wagner—state socialist as an office-holder who lays stress on the beneficial effects of state activity, professorial socialist as a professor who does the same. It is best to use the term professorial socialists in a wide sense, so as to include all holding similar views. CHAPTER X. KARL MARX.