Part 53

Europe altogether is traversing now a very bad phase of the development of the military spirit. This was an unavoidable consequence of the victory obtained by the German military empire, with its universal military service system, over France in 1871, and it was already then foreseen and foretold by many--in an especially impressive form by Bakúnin. But the counter-current already begins to make itself felt in modern life.

As to the way communist ideas, divested of their monastic form, have penetrated in Europe and America, the extent of that penetration has been immense during the twenty-seven years that I have taken an active part in the socialist movement and could observe their growth. When I think of the vague, confused, timid ideas which were expressed by the workers at the first congresses of the International Workingmen’s Association, or which were current at Paris during the Commune insurrection, even amongst the most thoughtful of the leaders, and compare them with those which have been arrived at to-day by an immense number of working-men, I must say they seem to me as two entirely different worlds.

There is no period in history--with the exception, perhaps, of the period of the insurrections in the twelfth and the thirteenth centuries (which led to the birth of the mediæval Communes), during which a similarly deep change has taken place in the current conceptions of Society. And now, in my fifty-seventh year, I am even more deeply convinced than I was twenty-five years ago, that a chance combination of accidental circumstances may bring about in Europe a revolution far more important and as widely spread as that of 1848; not in the sense of mere fighting between different parties, but in the sense of a deep and rapid social reconstruction; and I am convinced that whatever character such movements may take in different countries, there will be displayed in all of them a far deeper comprehension of the required changes than has ever been displayed within the last six centuries; while the resistance which such movements will meet in the privileged classes will hardly have the character of obtuse obstinacy which made revolutions assume the violent character which they took in times past.

To obtain this immense result was well worth the efforts which so many thousands of men and women of all nations and all classes have made within the last thirty years.

THE ABERDEEN UNIVERSITY PRESS LIMITED

Transcriber’s Notes

Italicized text is surrounded by underscores: italics.

Small capitals are changed to all capitals.

New original cover art included with this eBook is granted to the public domain.

Obvious typographical errors and punctuation errors have been corrected after careful comparison with other occurrences within the text and consultation of external sources. Except for those changes noted below, all misspellings in the text, and inconsistent or archaic usage, have been retained.

The following corrections have been applied to the text (before/after):

(p. 10) ... on the battle-field, with a deep ... ... on the battlefield, with a deep ...

(p. 19) ... in Gogol’s Revisór and ... ... in Gógol’s Revisór and ...

(p. 21) ... and Madame Mazímoff thought ... ... and Madame Nazímoff thought ...

(p. 59) ... of the habour of Sebastopol, ... ... of the harbour of Sebastopol, ...

(p. 66) ... into his textbook; ‘and ... ... into his text-book; ‘and ...

(p. 95) ... than many similiar estimates ... ... than many similar estimates ...

(p. 139) ... the small trades-people and the ... ... the small tradespeople and the ...

(p. 150) ... however, was looked, and a ... ... however, was locked, and a ...

(p. 193) ... out the eagle ‘That pass ... ... out the eagle. ‘That pass ...

(p. 202) ... those which Tolstoy expresses ... ... those which Tolstóy expresses ...

(p. 222) ... which our step-mother has taken ... ... which our stepmother has taken ...

(p. 233) ... in the heart-rending novels ... ... in the heartrending novels ...

(p. 249) And the constrast climate! ... And the contrast of climate! ...

(p. 280) ... Their watch-word was, ... ... Their watchword was, ...

(p. 281) ... Moscow, and Kieff, eager ... ... Moscow, and Kíeff, eager ...

(p. 315) ... being a newcomer, I could ... ... being a new-comer, I could ...

(p. 357) ... ‘Is Mr. Lávroff in?’ ... ... ‘Is Mr. Lavróff in?’ ...