Page:Zelda Kahan - Karl Marx His Life And Teaching (1918).pdf/27

 to it is not personal. The idea of a society without private property cannot appal him to the same extent that it does the others. He has none to lose himself, and he will therefore be more disposed to accept the possibility of a form of society where no one shall possess any. He is in daily intercourse with his fellow-workers; his ideas have broadened. He is associated with his fellow-workers in the production of things; the idea of producing things collectively seems a natural thing to him; the idea of owning these things collectively is but a step. His employers associate for their common good—why should not the workers associate for their common good—and they do so. In the factory and in town, he is constantly brought face to face with the wonderful human achievements, and sees how men have mastered the forces of nature. The supernatural, therefore, loses some of its terrors for him, and he learns to rely on his own efforts. Thus, apart from all the other influences at work, the extension of education, and so on, the aims and ideals of socialism fall on fruitful ground when propagated amongst the workers. That is why the scientific socialist says it is inevitable that the masses of the industrial workers must sooner or later embrace socialism, and by carrying on his propaganda amongst them, he is doing all he can to bring about this change as rapidly as possible.

If, in this brief sketch of the materialist conception of history, we have succeeded in clearing away some of the common misconceptions and have stimulated to further study and thought on the subject, our time will not have been wasted.

In addition to his theoretic studies, Karl Marx also took part in the practical work of the international labour movement.

When, in 1864, at a meeting at St. James Hall, the international Working Men's Association was definitely founded, Marx was its intellectual leader. It was a society for the organisation of the working classes of all countries, and it did an immense amount of work in that direction. Whilst not exactly responsibelforresponsible for [sic] the uprising of the Paris Commune,