Page:Leo Tolstoy - The Russian Revolution (1907).djvu/54

 Rh outcome of the activity (falsely and harmfully misdirected by force-using Governments) of the Western nations, who have succumbed to the false idea of freeing themselves from violence by violence, but the unquestionably true way towards the future welfare of humanity. "Even if it be true," say the supporters of civilization, "that all these inventions, technical appliances and products of industry, are now only used by the rich and are inaccessible to working men, and cannot therefore as yet be considered a benefit to all mankind, this is so only because these mechanical appliances have not yet attained their full perfection and are not yet distributed as they should be. When mechanism is still further perfected, and the workmen are freed from the power of the Capitalists, and all the works and factories are in their hands, the machines will produce so much of everything and it will all be so well distributed, that everybody will have the use of everything. No one will lack anything. and all will be happy."

Not to mention the fact that we have no reason to believe that the working men who now struggle so fiercely with one another for existence, or even for more of the comforts, pleasures and luxuries of existence, will suddenly become so just and self-denying that they will be content to share equally the benefits the machines are going to give them—leaving that aside—the very supposition that all these works with their machines, which could not have been started or continued except under the power of Government and Capital, will remain as they are, when the power of Government and Capital have been destroyed, is a quite arbitrary supposition.

To expect it, is the same as it would have been to expect that after the emancipation of the serfs on one of the large, luxurious Russian estates, which had a park, conservatories, arbours, private theatrical troupe, an orchestra, a picture gallery, stables, kennels and store-houses filled with different kinds of garments—all these, things would be in part distributed among the liberated peasants and in part kept for common use.