Socialism and the Social Movement in the 19th CenturySombart, Werner
History
Socialism and the Social Movement in the 19th Century
Sombart, Werner
Socialism
Then is not the social struggle, according to this idea of it, as
necessary as a thunder-storm in a heavy atmosphere? He who sees in the
struggle something artificial, produced by bad men, may perhaps
attribute to the creator of the disturbance bad motives for this
knavery, for this frivolous and malicious upsetting of social rest.
But he who understands that the struggle arises necessarily out of the
constitution of social life, and that it is only a warfare between two
great principles, each of which has been, and must be, constituted by
a combination of objective circumstances--he who looks at differences
of idea as to the world and life which arise from the fact of
different standpoints and which are the necessary occasion of
differences in conditions of life--this one will come to the
conviction that even his opponent stands on much the same grounds as
he himself; that not personal baseness, but the compelling force of
fate, has placed him in a position such that he must be an opponent.
Then will it be easy, I think, to respect the other man, to refrain
from suspicion and contempt, to battle with him openly and honourably.
Shall we extol the Geneva Convention, which humanised warfare, as a
fruit of advanced culture; and yet within our kingdom, like
barbarians, without any consideration for the opponent, fly one upon
another with dishonourable weapons?
In this the development of English social agitation can serve as a
model. It points out to us how men may conduct in social life a moral
and civilised warfare. Even upon the Continent, I hope, will the more
humane form of struggle reach acceptance, if only because it springs
of necessity from a deeper conception of what class strife really is.
So long as the battle rages legally and honourably, we need not worry
about the future of our civilisation.
Schiller's lines show how undisturbed we may be at the social
struggle:
"A full life is what I want,
And swinging and swaying, to and fro,
Upon the rising and falling waves of fortune.
For a man becomes stunted in quietness of life;
Idleness and rest are the grave of energy.
* * * * *
But war develops strength.
It raises all to a level above what is ordinary,
It even gives courage to the cowardly."
CHRONICLE OF THE SOCIAL MOVEMENT (1750-1896).
These tables contain the first attempt to make a synchronistic
presentation of the most important dates in the modern social, that
is, the proletarian, movement. We here specify these dates for the
chief countries, England, France, Germany; and as well for the
international activity of the working-men's movement. In addition, the
most important occurrences in the development of capitalism and of
social legislation, so far as they have relation of cause or effect
with the social movement, are indicated in heavy type.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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