emselves by
claiming that they stand for the _ultimate_ goal of Socialism, though
their immediate program is the same as that of other parties, but any
politician can do that--as has been shown recently by the action of
Briand, Millerand, Ferri, and other former Socialists in France and
Italy--and the day seems near when hosts of politicians will follow
their example.

Any static or dogmatic definition of Socialism, like any purely
idealistic formulation, no matter how revolutionary or accurate it may
be, necessarily invites purely opportunist methods. A widely accepted
static definition declares that Socialism is "the collective ownership
of the means of production and distribution under democratic
management." As an ultimate ideal or a theory of social evolution, this
is accepted also by many collectivist opponents of Socialism, and may
soon be accepted generally. The chief possibility for a difference of
opinion among most practical persons, whether Socialists or not, must
come from the questions: How soon? By what means?

Evidently such a social revolution is to be achieved only by stages.
What are these stages? Many are tempted to give the easy answer, "More
and more collectivism and more and more democracy." But progress in
political democracy, if it came first, might be accompanied by an
artificial revival of small-scale capitalism, and a new majority made up
largely of contented farmer capitalists might put Socialism farther off
than it is to-day. Similarly, if installments of collectivism came
first, they might lead us in the direction of the Prussia of to-day. And
finally, even a combination of democracy and collectivism, up to a
certain point, might produce a majority composed in part of small
capitalists and favored government employees. Collectivist democracy
completed or far advanced would insure the coming of Socialism. But a
policy that merely gave us _more_ collectivism plus _more_ democracy,
might carry us equally well either towards Socialism or in the opposite
direction. The ultimate goal of present society does not give us a
ready-made plan of action by a mathematical process of dividing its
attainment into so many mechanical stages.

A very similar political shibboleth, often used by Party Socialists, is
"Let the nation own the trusts." Let us assume that the constitution of
this country were made as democratic as that of Australia or
Switzerland, and the suffrage made absolutely universal (as t