standard it sets up, the regulations it establishes, are not things
that a man must merely take account of as special restraints on his
freedom, exceptional limitations on the exercise of his individuality;
they constitute the basic conditions of his life. When the Socialist
movement was in its infancy in this country--though it had made great
headway in several of the leading countries of Europe--the customary
way of disposing of it was with a mere wave of the hand. Socialism can
never work; it is contrary to human nature--these simple assertions
were regarded by nearly all conservatives as sufficient to settle the
matter in the minds of all sensible persons That is now no longer so
much the fashion; yet I have no doubt that a very large proportion of
those who are opposed to Socialism are still content with this way of
disposing of it. But Socialism has steadily--though of course with
fluctuations --increased in strength, in America as well as in Europe,
for many decades; and it would be folly to imagine that mere
declarations of its being "impracticable," or "contrary to human
nature," will suffice to check it. Millions of men and women, here in
America--ranging in intellect all the way from the most cultured to
the most ignorant--are filled with an ardent faith that in Socialism,
and in nothing else, is to be found the remedy for all the great evils
under which mankind suffers; and there is no sign of slackening in the
growth of this faith. When the time comes for a real test of its
strength--when it shall have gathered such force as to be able to
throw down a real challenge to the conservative forces in the
political field--it is absurd to suppose that those who are inclined
to welcome it as the salvation of the world will be frightened off by
prophecies of failure. They will want to make the trial; and they will
make the trial, regardless of all prophecies of disaster, if the
people shall have come to believe that the object is a desirable
one--that Socialism is a form of life which they would like after they