and sculptors painting canvases and shaping
clay, as poets and statesmen serving humanity by singing and by
statecraft. The spiritual, intellectual, and artistic uplift consequent
upon such a condition of society would be tremendous. All the human
world would surge upward in a mighty wave.

This was the opportunity vouchsafed the capitalist class. Less blindness
on its part, less greediness, and a rational management, were all that
was necessary. A wonderful era was possible for the human race. But the
capitalist class failed. It made a shambles of civilization. Nor can
the capitalist class plead not guilty. It knew of the opportunity. Its
wise men told of the opportunity, its scholars and its scientists told it
of the opportunity. All that they said is there to-day in the books,
just so much damning evidence against it. It would not listen. It was
too greedy. It rose up (as it rises up to-day), shamelessly, in our
legislative halls, and declared that profits were impossible without the
toil of children and babes. It lulled its conscience to sleep with
prattle of sweet ideals and dear moralities, and allowed the suffering
and misery of mankind to continue and to increase, in short, the
capitalist class failed to take advantage of the opportunity.

But the opportunity is still here. The capitalist class has been tried
and found wanting. Remains the working-class to see what it can do with
the opportunity. "But the working-class is incapable," says the
capitalist class. "What do you know about it?" the working-class
replies. "Because you have failed is no reason that we shall fail.
Furthermore, we are going to have a try at it, anyway. Seven millions of
us say so. And what have you to say to that?"

And what can the capitalist class say? Grant the incapacity of the
working-class. Grant that the indictment and the argument of the
revolutionists are all wrong. The 7,000,000 revolutionists remain.
Their existence is a fact. Their belief in their capacity, and in their
indictment and their argument, is a fact. Their constant growth is a
fact. Their intention to destroy present-day society is a fact, as is
also their intention to take possession of the world with all its wealth
and machinery and governments. Moreover, it is a fact that the
working-class is vastly larger than the capitalist class.

The revolution is a revolution of the working-class. How can the
capitalist class, in the minority,