Page:The Woman Socialist - Snowden - 1907.djvu/20

 themselves are not a little to blame for their origin. Such amazing errors have been committed, such crimes of tongue and pen been perpetrated in the name of Socialism by those of its advocates whose hearts are better than their heads that the wonder would have been had no misunderstanding occurred. A prominent Socialist was, to a certain extent, quite right when he said that "Socialism would be all right if it were not for the Socialists!" But a cause is always better than its supporters, a principle greater than many of those who profess it.

Again, although Socialism is not atheism nor confiscation, not division nor revolution, it has something to say upon all these questions and a thousand questions besides.

Socialism is a principle, the co-operative principle. Belief in that principle is bound to affect our opinion upon every other subject. The Socialist need not be an atheist, but his Socialism will not permit him to look at matters of religious import in precisely the same way as does his individualist friend. There is nothing new in this idea. It applies to every ideal which