s means in the competition between members of the sex, and the
social approbation which marriage brings.

The only certain thing the wisest man may say about our social
institutions is that they have changed in the past and that they will
continue to change, or be modified, or to pass away, in the future. In
one short year, the war has altered some of our old institutions beyond
recall. We believe that a continuation of the war for a considerable
period will mean economic and social changes that will rock the world.
And out of the storm and stress of things we doubt very much whether any
of our existing social institutions will emerge intact--if it emerge at
all.

The family as it is known in America today, the marriage contract, the
relations of the sexes are bound to alter as they reflect changed
economic conditions. Some of the old "pillars of the social structure"
in Russia have already crumbled away.

Women are becoming ever more necessary and important in the role they
play in industry. With this growing economic importance, and with the
increasing need of capitalism for more children to augment the labor and
military supply, the power of women will probably increase marvelously
during the next few years. Governments will reward the surrender of
woman to man, while employers compete among themselves for her labor
power. Much will be offered to women.

This, we believe, for only a brief period, for we cannot but think that
the final results of this war--the fruit of the present system of
production and distribution--will be the utter collapse of the system
itself--making way for a New Society wherein the only aristocracy shall
be that of Labor and of Merit.

Undoubtedly, in the New Society, conditions will be very much changed
for women. But they will also be greatly changed for men. What the
future sex relations will be, we do not pretend to know. Perhaps the
statement by Frederick Engels in his "Origin of the Family," is as good
a forecast as any. He says:

"What we may anticipate about the adjustment of sexual relations after
the impending downfall of capitalist production is mainly of a negative
nature and mostly confined to elements that will disappear. But what
will be added? That will be decided after a new generation has come to
maturity: a race of men who never in their lives have had any occasion
for buying with money or other economic means of power the surrender of
a woman; a race of women who ha