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, stem this tide of revolution?  What has it to offer?  What does it offer?  Employers’ associations, injunctions, civil suits for plundering of the treasuries of the labour-unions, clamour and combination for the open shop, bitter and shameless opposition to the eight-hour day, strong efforts to defeat all reform, child-labour bills, graft in every municipal council, strong lobbies and bribery in every legislature for the purchase of capitalist legislation, bayonets, machine-guns, policemen’s clubs, professional strike-breakers and armed Pinkertons—­these are the things the capitalist class is dumping in front of the tide of revolution, as though, forsooth, to hold it back.

The capitalist class is as blind to-day to the menace of the revolution as it was blind in the past to its own God-given opportunity.  It cannot see how precarious is its position, cannot comprehend the power and the portent of the revolution.  It goes on its placid way, prattling sweet ideals and dear moralities, and scrambling sordidly for material benefits.