tion would be much greater than that of any gradual process."
Very coolly in his well-filled library he takes the logic of his own analysis. Capital secured its booty through force. Injustice is the name for present "rights of property." Justice will be restored when labor comes to its senses, taking from every proud cut-purse the treasures so long withheld from the labor that produced them. It is true that Jaurès, Kautsky, Bernstein, Shaw, the Webbs, H. G. Wells, and others who have international recognition, commit themselves to compensation—Bernstein and the Webbs most unequivocally—but close scrutiny of the other three who have commanding influence is perplexing. Jaurès writes:[1]
"We do not propose to adopt any violent or sudden measures against those whose position is now sanctioned by law, we are resolved, in the interests of a peaceful and harmonious evolution, to bring about the transition from legal injustice to legal justice with the greatest possible consideration for the individuals who are now privileged monopolists. We especially state that in our opinion it is the duty of the State to give an indemnity to those whose interests will be injured by the necessary abolition of laws contrary to the common good in so far as this indemnity is consistent with the interests of the nation as a whole."
These last words (the italics my own) are not without humor. Compensation "consistent with the interests of the nation as a whole," has to be interpreted by political majorities. The convenient elas-
- ↑ Studies in Socialism, p. 89.
