whether they lead beyond the capitalist system itself. And if so, whither are we drifting?
Should a careful and exhaustive examination of the tendencies of the capitalist system fail to lead to any beyond, then we must accept the capitalist system as unlimited in duration for all practical purposes. For the social system which is to succeed the capitalist form of society, must be born and developed within the bowels of capitalism, and it will come into existence only after the passing of capitalism shall come about as the necessary and logical result of the full development of the laws of its own being. And it will be long before the end of the old system, and the birth of the new one will come, that the signs of decaying old age and of the new germs of life will manifest themselves to the intelligent observer.
The examination which Marx made of the capitalist system has not only revealed to him the laws which govern the production and distribution of wealth within the system, but also the historical tendencies of its development which show its place in history with reference to its origin as well as its passing. His work, "Capital," is therefore not only an explanation of the workings of the capitalist system, but also an historical estimate, an appreciation thereof. The sub-title of the work, "A Critique of Political Economy," refers not so much to the theories of the political economists who preceded him with reference to the explanation of the actual workings of the capitalist system, as to their failure to appreciate the tendencies and the laws of capitalism which will lead to its ultimate passing away. According to Marx, the capitalist system of production and distribution is so full of inherent contradictions, that its own development, if the laws of its own existence are freely assert themselves, will lead to its ultimate and speedy destruction. For, not only are the laws of capitalism inherently contradictory, but the development of capitalism has already reached that stage where the contradictions upon which it rests make themselves felt to
