St. Johns review. (Saint Johns, Or.) 1904-current, 1908-10-09

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rlilosophy, the materialistic concep
ton of history, in the words OF
Frederick Engels, who was for 90
years a co-worker OF Karl Marx, the
o thor of Capital. or Marx It can
be truthfully said, he possessed one
OF the giant intellects Of the nine.
teenth century, as In 1913 he fore
told the trust rule of the present, al.
though at that time there was to all
appearances, no sign of trust.
Following is from Engel's Social.
ism. Utopian and Scientific"
"The materiali5t conception of his.
toiystarts from the proposition that
the production of the means to sup
rort human life, and next to pro.
iuctlon. the exchange " things pro.
duccd is the basis Of all social struc-
ture, that In evory society that has
appeared In history the manner In
s. hich wealth is distributed and so.
ci,ty divided ln.o classes or orders.
| - h'b'h"'Ht upon Nhhl ~ BiVu"''"i
G,w II Is produced, and how the prod
ucts are exchanged. From this point
of view the final causes of all chang.
~ and political revolutions are to be
Cuught not In mems brains, not In
mans better insight into eternal truth
aud Justice. but In changes In the
nodea and exchange. They are 10
bc sought. not In the philosophy
INT In the economies of each par.
ucular epoch The growing pcrcep.
ton that the existing social In.
stitutions are unreasonable and unJus
that reason has become unreason,an
iIht wrong, IL only proof that In
tho modcR OF production and oxchang
changes have silently taken place with
aLlch The social order adapted 70 th,
nrllor economic conditions is no
'ongor inkeeplng. From this II also
follows that the means Of getting rid
OF the inoongruitics that have been
irouEht to light must also be pres
mt In n more or less dcyclopodcon
dltlon within the changed modes OF
production themselves. These means
are not To be invented by deduction
rom fundamental principles. but ARE
10 be- discovered In the stubborn fact
u the existing system Of production
what In then the position Of modern
socialism In this connection?
The present structure OF society
this In now pretty generally conced
,d-ls the creation OF the ruling elias
II today,of the bourgoolse, The
modc of production peculiar 10 the
bourgcoisc. known since Marx as the
capitalist mode oi production. was
Incompatible with the fcudal system.
Aith the privileges II conferred upoI
individuals, entire social ranks and
corporations as Eell AS with the he
rrditary ties Of subordination which
constituted the framework of It's so
cal organization, The bourst ois'
/ soko up the foudal sysiom aud bnill
Gpon its ruins the capitalist order
II society. the Kingdom OF free eomp'
lition. of personal liberty. OF the
equality before the law,of all eommod'
lty owners. of all the rest OF the cap
Itallst blessings. Thenccforward the
capitalist mode of production conlc
develop freedom. Since steam ma
'hlnery and the making Of machln
FRY by machines. transformed the Old
'r manufacture into modern industry
he productive forces evolved under
he guiding hand OF the bourgeolse
developed with rapidity aud a de
,rce unheard of before. but just az
he older manufacture in It's time e
nd handicraft, becoming more de
.eloped under its Influence hao
ome into collision with the fendal
rammels OF the guilds. 50 now mod
ayolopment comes into collision d
,ilhthe bounds within which the cap 4
alist mode of production holds II [
onfined. The new productive forces [
ave already outgrown the capitalist !
lOde of using them, and the conflict n
etween productive forces and modes O
{ production is not u CONFLICT en- k
endered In the mind OF man, Ike c
nat between original sin and divine u
lstiee. 1t exists In fact, objective a
z. outside us. independently OF the =,
IN and actions even of the men tha I,
ave brought IL on. Modern social q
m is nothing but the reflex action .
thought OF this conflict in fact; it, M
eal reflection In the minds. FIRST ii
IA industry. in its more complete nj
the class directly suffering under a,
the working class. Il
Now. in what does this conflict 4
'nsist2 Before capitalist produc al
pm, that is. in the middle ages, the ri
stem OF petty industry obtained geI ca
ally, based upon the private prop vi
ty Of the laborers,in their means of III
oductlon; in the country, the agri'
lture OF the small peasant. freeman pr
serf; In the towns. the handicrafts an
ganized in guilds. 'The instru- SO
'nts OF labor-land. agricultural i'm, pi
'men's. the workshop. the tools I'M
ne the instruments OF labor OF sin pr
, individuals, adapted to the use of du
Q worker and therefore OF necessl tn,
small, dwarfish, ,circumscribed but frS
this very reason they belonged as ite
rule. TO the producer himself. To pls