The Labor enquirer., 1886-12-11
A Review Of the Doctrine of
Positive Philosophy as
Applied by comte.
The AbominatiOn = xIndorsedl as
Science" Offers no. Hope
For the Poor.
The Sleight.of.H Hand Tricks Of Moses
Still Employed to Befnddle and
Bamboezle the People. !;
For the ENQUIRER.

ply as applied by Comte to social re-
form, was essentially an arlstocratic
affair; that the method was to make
monopolists teoder and sympathetic by
the spread of Positivism. A reading of
Martineau's translation of Comte's
noted work will confirm the above view.
Apparently, Comte endeavored to make
many evils seem permanent social fea-
lures, giving them the title of positive"
science. In other words, he takes for
granted evils that the Socialist tries to
abolish. Not few English people re-
gard Comte as social reformer; if any
Socialist be deceived let him read the
following quotation. 1t Is impossible
to read the whole work, so full is it of
turgid cancellations with lack of illus
trations. Iquote fully so that Comte
may thoroughly condemn himself:
GAS it Is the inevitable lot of the ma
jority of men to live on the more or less
precarious fruits of daily labor, the great
social problem is to ameliorate the con-
dition of this majority without destroy
ing It's classification, and disturbing the
general economy; and this is the func.
tion of the positive polity regarded as
regulating the final classification of
modern society."-page 436.
"a true resignation-that is a per
manent disposition to endure. steadily
and without hope of compensation, all
inevitable evils. can proceed only from
deep sense of the connection OF all
kinds of natural phenomena with AVA
ria5le laws. If there are (as doubt not
there are) rolitical evils which, like
some personal sufferings, cannot be rem
edied by science, science at least proves
to US that they are incurable, 30 as to
calm our restlessness under pain bv the
conviction that it is by natural law that
they are rendered insurmountable." -
page 494.
"All true moral order is incompatible
with tue existing vagabond liberty Of
individual minds, if such license were
to last; for the great social rules which
should become customary cannot be
abandoned to the blind and arbitrary
decision of an incompetent public, with
out losing all their efficacy. The requi-
site conveyance of the best minds can
not be obtained without the voluntary
renunciaton on the part of most of
them, of their sovereign right of free in
quiry, which they will doubtless be
willing to abdicate as soon as they have
found organs worthy to exercise appro-
priately their vain provisional suprem-
acy."-page 451.
I'VE shall see how this ancient
slavery was the necessary preparation
for the final prevalence of the industrial
life, by imposing on the majority of the
race irresistably and conclusively, that
toll to which man is constitutionally
averse, The ancient slavery was of the
producer to the warrior; and it tended
to develop their respective energies 30
as to occasion their final concurrence in
the social progression. page $50.
what the ultimate conditions of mar
riage will be we cannot know as vet. It
is enough to be assured they will be
consonant with the fundamental prlnci
pie of the institution the natural sub
ordination If the woman, which has re-
appeared under all forms of marriage, in
all ages, and which the new philosophy
will place on its right basis--a know.
ledge of the individual organism, and
then of the social organism. Compar.
ing sex with age, biological anal ysis pre-.
sents the female sex in the human spe
cies especially, as constitutionally IN 9
state of perpetual infancy in com parison
with the other; and therefore more re
mote, in all important resp ects from the
ideal type of the race. Sociology will
prove that the equality of the sexes, o.
which 80 much is said, is incom patible
|. with all social existence, by showing
that each sex has special and permanent
, functions which it must fulfil in the nat
ural economy of the human family, ant
which concur in common end by diff
ferent ways, the welfare which results
being in no degree injured by the nee
essary subordinatlon, since the happi
ness of every being depends on the wis,
. development Of its proper sphere. -
page sos.
l.. The denominations indorsed as scienc,
i by Comte are! Permsnency of the presen
8 labor Glass" and of uncertain reward Il
: labor; the resultant security of wesltl
3 for idlers; resignation to suferin
q which Comte says Is lnsurmountable &C
: cording to his SCIENCE" denial of tn
il right to think and the subordination
/. woman.
j. Comte repeatedly denounces what b
's terms intellectual Anarchy" Thinl
l. ing is personal matter, hence is prof.
J. erly within the sphere of lndividualIsr
a or Anarchy.
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