] There is a characteristic story told by Mr. Maurice Baring about a certain revolutionary who one day arrived at a village to convert the inhabitants to socialism.

To say that neither has a right to be idle is, of course, sheer socialism, and a heresy not to be tolerated.

But where the earlier socialisms stopped short, and where to this day socialism is vague, divided, and unprepared, is upon the psychological problems involved in that new and largely unprecedented form of proprietorship, and upon the still more subtle problems of its attainment.

Fabian socialism was the first systematic attempt to meet the fatal absence of administrative schemes in the earlier socialisms.

The need of some engine of thought which one may use with absolute faith and certainty has also created another Socialism, not a personification, but a final and authoritative creed.

Meanwhile Socialism is always a word, a symbol used in common speech and writing.

] CHAPTER 31 SOME ASPECTS OF SOCIALISM § 1.

The two pillars of "scientific" socialism.

Socialism is a word of manifold meanings no one of which is generally accepted.

Socialism designates (1) a social philosophy (2) a mode of social action, (3) a particular political party.

Socialism is faith in the group motive and group action rather than in self-interest and competitive action.

This social philosophy has taken form as "Christian Socialism" among men of strong religious natures, in various religious denominations.

#Socialism in action.

# Active socialism is group action in economic affairs.

A moderate kind of active socialism is represented by each separate case of public ownership or industry.

Even public regulation by authority, of the many kinds described in this volume, is touched with a quality of active socialism.

In this sense there can be more or less of active socialism in a community; a state may be more or less socialized in its economic aspects.

Socialism in action is of course always the expression of a more or less socialistic philosophy shared by a majority of the people.

This has come to be called by his followers, "scientific socialism."

"Scientific" was meant to emphasize the contrast with "Utopian" socialism, as Marx and Engels somewhat scornfully characterized the older communist philosophy, romances of the ideal state, and attempts to found and conduct small communistic states.

But utopian (from utopia, Greek for no place) means nonexistent, and Marxian socialism surely was that.

The beauty of "scientific" socialism was that it never could be tried on a small scaleor tried at all until a whole nation adopted it.

The most important influence of radical socialism has been exerted through negative criticism.

Most men have always agreed in an adverse judgment of the claims of "scientific" socialism.

#Alluring claims of party socialism.