more truly representative government. They are everywhere the party which upholds the rights of the weak, and more earnestly than any other party they seek to secure to every citizen political equality and individual liberty.
With such objects and aims, there is no wonder that the movement grows. But all that is not socialism; it is only liberalism at its best. Unfortunately, the Socialist parties are not made up altogether of moderate and fair liberals. While it is true that some of their demands will, when secured, mean that Europe has taken steps toward distinctly better government, those moderate and sensible measures form only part of their programmes. Other phases of their demands represent the spirit of unrest, of dissatisfaction with existing conditions, of class envy, of faith in those fallacies which lead men to believe that they can substitute legislation for thrift and industry, that a comfortable old age is a right to be demanded wholly from the state and without any contribution of economy and present sacrifice from the individual.
The whole Socialist movement is largely a class movement; it draws a line between property and poverty, and is constantly running the danger of listening to demagogue leaders who appeal to envy and passion, and under a guise of justice and equality propose measures that are unjust and inequitable. It is antagonistic to religion, not only contesting the power of the Church but openly avowing atheistic views. The movement has in it the promise of good and the danger of evil. The good is pretty certain to be accomplished, for in the end it will appeal to the fair-minded of all parties; the evil may be great or small in proportion to the fairness of the Socialists’ opponents. All European government is certain to make ultimate progress toward an equality of rights for all citizens. If the conservatives, the agrarians, and the clericals raise in the way of that progress obstacles which will not give way, they may call into play some of the high explosives that are to be found in the programmes of the revolutionary branches of the Socialist parties. On the whole, however, I doubt if the Socialist movement is likely to do much permanent political harm to Europe, while it already has done and will continue to do considerable good.
It has seemed worth while going somewhat fully into the socialist movement, because the socialist parties of Europe present about the only political tendencies toward change which there are there. They are opposed by parties of reaction or parties anxious to maintain the status quo. The success of the socialist parties will in the main, for the present at least, mean the success of liberalism. Such success will not be likely to affect greatly commercial relations between Europe and America. Success in some of their endeavors will undoubtedly tend to raise the cost of production in Europe, but such tendency would probably be counteracted by the greater industrial efficiency which improved social conditions would bring.
One of the most striking differences between Europe and America is the persistence of racial type there and here the tendency to amalgamate all races into the American. Time seems to bring only increased bitterness to racial antagonisms in Europe, while with us the third generation, at the outside, is completely merged into the American type. I never have been able to understand just what it is that keeps the rancor of races at such a virulent pitch among near neighbors in Europe, when those same races will here renounce language, flag, and racial aspirations, and joyfully and completely merge into the American—all patriotic, all loyal to the Government, all in a generation more anxious to cover every trace of foreign characteristics with the mantle of sovereign American citizenship than they are to perpetuate a single one of those racial prejudices which for generations made enemies of their fathers.
In the case of races that are living side by side, that are occupied with the same general problems of life, and that would enjoy the same measure of benefit or endure the same degree of hardship as legislation is economically good or bad, one would suppose that time would soften the asperities of racial dislikes. In Europe it is not so. There are some nine races in Austria, for example, and the most beneficent piece of legislation that could be devised for the benefit of the whole country would be coldly received compared with the delight with which eight of these races might for a moment unite to bring discom-
