These and some other minor changes having to be made, I took the time to rewrite large parts of the volume, making such substantial changes in it as to constitute practically a new book. The chapter on Robert Owen has been recast and greater emphasis placed upon his American career and its influence; in Chapter IV the sketch of the Materialistic Conception of History has been enlarged somewhat, special attention being given to the bearing of the theory upon religion. All the rest of the book has been changed, partly to meet the requirements of many students and others who have written to me in reference to various points of difficulty, and partly also to state some of my own ideas more successfully. I venture to hope that the brief chapter on "Means of Realization," which has been added to the book by way of postscript, will, in spite of its brevity, and the fact that it was not written for inclusion in this volume, prove helpful to some who read the book. The thanks of the writer are due to all those friends--Socialists and others--whose kindly efforts made the earlier edition of the book a success. YONKERS, N.Y., December, 1908. CONTENTS PAGE PREFACE vii CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Changed attitude of the public mind toward Socialism--Growth of the movement responsible for the change--Unanimity of friends and foes concerning the future triumph of Socialism--Herbert Spencer's pessimistic belief--Study of Socialism a civic duty--Nobility of the word "Socialism"--Its first use--Confusion arising from its indiscriminate use--"Socialism" and "Communism" in the _Communist Manifesto_--Unfair tactics of opponents--Engels on the significance of the word in 1847--Its present significance 1 CHAPTER II ROBERT OWEN AND THE UTOPIAN SPIRIT Utopian Socialism and Robert Owen--Estimates of Owen by Liebknecht and Engels--His early life--Becomes a manufacturer--The industrial revolution in England--Introduction of machinery--"Luddite" riots against machinery--Early riots against machinery--Marx's views--Owen as manufacturer--As social reformer--The New Lanark experiment--He becomes a Socialist--The New Harmony experiment--Abraham Lincoln and New Harmony--Failure of New Harmony--Owen compared with Saint-Simon and Fourier--Emerson's tribute to Robert Owen a fair estimate of the Utopists 16 CHAPTER III THE "COMMUNIST MANIFESTO" AND THE SCIENTIFIC SPIRIT