Marxian Socialism, which seeks to solve the complex problem of human
misery by economic and proletarian revolution, has manifested a new
vitality. Every shade of Socialistic thought and philosophy acknowledges
its indebtedness to the vision of Karl Marx and his conception of the
class struggle. Yet the relation of Marxian Socialism to the philosophy
of Birth Control, especially in the minds of most Socialists, remains
hazy and confused. No thorough understanding of Birth Control, its aims
and purposes, is possible until this confusion has been cleared
away, and we come to a realization that Birth Control is not merely
independent of, but even antagonistic to the Marxian dogma. In recent
years many Socialists have embraced the doctrine of Birth Control, and
have generously promised us that "under Socialism" voluntary motherhood
will be adopted and popularized as part of a general educational system.
We might more logically reply that no Socialism will ever be possible
until the problem of responsible parenthood has been solved.

Many Socialists to-day remain ignorant of the inherent conflict between
the idea of Birth Control and the philosophy of Marx. The earlier
Marxians, including Karl Marx himself, expressed the bitterest
antagonism to Malthusian and neo-Malthusian theories. A remarkable
feature of early Marxian propaganda has been the almost complete
unanimity with which the implications of the Malthusian doctrine have
been derided, denounced and repudiated. Any defense of the so-called
"law of population" was enough to stamp one, in the eyes of the orthodox
Marxians, as a "tool of the capitalistic class," seeking to dampen the
ardor of those who expressed the belief that men might create a better
world for themselves. Malthus, they claimed, was actuated by selfish
class motives. He was not merely a hidebound aristocrat, but a pessimist
who was trying to kill all hope of human progress. By Marx, Engels,
Bebel, Karl Kautsky, and all the celebrated leaders and interpreters