Page:Zelda Kahan - The Life and Work of Friedrich Engels (1920).pdf/24

20 the whole significance of this is that it merely says that these old institutions do not correspond with our present conditions, and the sentiments engendered by these conditions. We do not, however, in this way explain how these institutions came into existence, why they came into existence and the role which they have played in history. And when we enter upon this matter we have to say, in spite of all contradiction and accusations of heresy, that the introduction of slavery under the conditions of that time was a great step forward."

The old primitive Communism was incapable of expanding because of the limited means of subsistence, and when these became more plentiful, then the productive forces of labour, being still so slight, "yielding only a small surplus over the daily necessities of life, the development of the productive forces, the institution of commerce, the development of the State and of law, and the foundation of Art and Science were only possible through an increase in the subdivision of labour." The most natural and simplest form of this subdivision was that of slavery, which, whilst burdening one section of men with all the menial work of society, left another, the master class, free to direct this work, to carry on the work of the State and to pursue trade, art and science. At that time, had the thought of the iniquity of slavery occurred, it would have been useless to attempt to abolish it, and no mass party could, or did, arise to demand and carry out its abolition.

But the wheel of time does not stand still, and leisured classes tend more and more to become purely parasitic; and now the productive forces have made such gigantic strides as to make the existence of a special leisured class not only superfluous, but a direct obstacle to further social progress; and they will, therefore, be "unceremoniously brushed aside in spite of their possession of 'pure force'" (a term used by Dühring). Nevertheless, force has played an important part in history, and should not be despised and lightly disclaimed.

"According to Herr Dühring" (read now our anti-forcists), says Engels, “force is the absolute evil. The first act of force is to him the first fall into sin. His whole conception is a sort of sermon over the infection of all history up to the present time with the original sin. He talks about the disgraceful falsifying of all natural and social laws by the invention of the devil force. That force plays another part in history, a revolutionary part, that it is in the words of Marx, the midwife of the old society when pregnant with the new, that it is the tool and means by which social movements hack their way through and break up the dead and fossilised political forms—of all this not a word by Herr Dühring. Only with sighs and groans does he admit the possibility that for the overthrow of the system of exploitation force may, perhaps, be necessary, but most unfortunate if you please, because all use of force, forsooth, demoralises him who uses it!

"And this is said in face of the great moral and intellectual advance which has followed every successful revolution! And this is said in