SOCIALISM AND CHRISTIANITY.
Ancient Socialism and Modern Writers-Social Conflicts of Antiquity and Socialism-Socialism and Democracy are Modern Phenomena-Ancient Democracies-Terms of the Social Problem-The Utopists of AntiquityThe French Revolution and Socialism-Utilitarian Philosophy and Socialism-The Doctrines of Hegel and Socialism-Limits of Economics as a Biological Science-Social Democracy and Materialistic Doctrines-Liberal Writers-Origins of Socialism-Ancient Philosophy and Socialism--Errors of Social Democracy-Anti-Religious Prejudice-In what the Christian. Ideal resembles the Socialistic Ideal-The Conservative School-Christianity and Socialism-Catholic Socialists and Social Democracy-Dangers of Socialism-Catholic Democracies.
HE modern historians of Socialism, to whatever school they belong, all exaggerate the importance of the social conflicts of antiquity, attributing to them a large part of the programme and tendencies of contemporary Socialism.
In the fundamental principles of modern Socialism we must note two distinct doctrines: the ethical and the economic. The former has been admitted even by the most violent opponents of all socialistic systems, whereas, on the contrary, the latter is still the subject of much controversy even among writers who combat in the same ranks.
Aspirations after equality and chimerical dreams for reconstructing the social fabric upon a juster basis, certainly present no novelty.1 The history of the East, like that of Greece and Rome, teems with accounts of social struggles; but in the
1 On the origins of the socialistic theories of antiquity consult the remarkable work by S. Cognetti de Martiis, Il Socialismo Antico, Torino, Bocco, :888.