44

VI THE ROOT OF THE EVIL 68

VII FROM COMPETITION TO MONOPOLY 81

VIII WHAT SOCIALISM IS AND WHAT IT IS NOT 94

IX WHAT SOCIALISM IS AND WHAT IT IS NOT--_Continued_ 118

X THE OBJECTIONS TO SOCIALISM ANSWERED 136

XI WHAT SHALL WE DO, THEN? 170

APPENDICES:

I A SUGGESTED COURSE OF READING ON SOCIALISM 175

II HOW SOCIALIST BOOKS ARE PUBLISHED 179

THE COMMON SENSE OF SOCIALISM

I

BY WAY OF INTRODUCTION

Socialism is undoubtedly spreading. It is, therefore, right
and expedient that its teachings, its claims, its tendencies,
its accusations and promises, should be honestly and seriously
examined.--_Prof. Flint._

_My Dear Mr. Edwards_: I count it good fortune to receive such letters
of inquiry as that which you have written me. You could not easily
have conferred greater pleasure upon me than you have by the charming
candor and vigor of your letter. It is said that when President
Lincoln saw Walt Whitman, "the good, Gray Poet," for the first time he
exclaimed, "Well, he looks like a man!" and in like spirit, when I
read your letter I could not help exclaiming, "Well, he writes like a
man!"

There was no need, Mr. Edwards, for you to apologize for your letter:
for its faulty grammar, its lack of "style" and "polish." I am not
insensible to these, being a literary man, but, even at their highest
valuation, grammar and literary style are by no means the most
important elements of a letter. They are, after all, only like the
clothes men wear. A knave or a fool may be dressed in the most perfect
manner, while a good man or a sage may be poorly dressed, or even
clad in rags. Scoundrels in broadcloth are not uncommon; gentlemen in
fustian are sometimes met with.

He would be a very unwise man, you will admit, who tried to judge a
man by his coat. President Lincoln was uncouth and ill-dressed, but he
was a wise man and a gentleman in the highest and best sense of that
much misused word. On the other hand, Mr. Blank, who represents
railway interests in the United States Senate, is sleek, polished and
well-dressed, but he is neither very wise nor very good. He is a
gentleman only in the conventional, false sense of that word.

Lots of men could write a more brilli