only a part of the bourgeoisie. Certainly, by the time that
socialism draws near to its day of triumph, atheism will have made
immense progress, and a republican form of government will have been
established in many countries which to-day submit to a monarchical
regime. But it is not socialism which develops atheism, any more than it
is socialism which will establish republicanism. Atheism is a product of
the theories of Darwin and Spencer in the present bourgeois
civilization, and republicanism has been and will be, in the various
countries, the work of a portion of the capitalist bourgeoisie, as was
recently said in some of the conservative newspapers of Milan (_Corriere
della sera_ and _Idea liberale_), when "the monarchy shall no longer
serve the interests of the country," that is to say of the class in
power.

The evolution from absolute monarchy to constitutional monarchy and to
republicanism is an obvious historical law; in the present phase of
civilization the only difference between the two latter is in the
elective or hereditary character of the head of the State. In the
various countries of Europe, the bourgeoisie themselves Hill demand the
transition from monarchy to republicanism, in order to put off as long
as possible the triumph of socialism. In Italy as in France, in England
as in Spain, we see only too many republicans or "radicals" whose
attitude with regard to social questions is more bourgeois and more
conservative than that of the intelligent conservatives. At
Montecitorio, for example, there is Imbriani whose opinions on religious
and social matters are more conservative than those of M. di Rudini.
Imbriani, whose personality is moreover very attractive, has never
attacked the priests or monks--this man who attacks the entire universe
and very often with good reason, although without much success on
account of mistaken methods--and he was the only one to oppose even the
consideration of a law proposed by the _Depute_ Ferrari, which increased
the tax on estates inherited by collateral heirs!

Socialism then has no more interest in preaching republicanism than it
has in preaching atheism. To each his role (or task), is the law of
division of labor. The struggle for atheism is the business of science;
the establishment of republicanism in the various countries of Europe
has been and will be the work of the bourgeoisie themselves--whether
they be conservative or radical. All this constitutes the his