At the end of his history of materialism (1874) F.A. Lange wrote as follows:
"We lay down our pen and terminate our criticism at a time when Europe is agitated by the social question. In the vast social domain, all the revolutionary elements of science, religion and politics meet together and seem prepared for a decisive battle. Whether this battle remains a simple contest of minds or whether it takes the form of a cataclysm which will bury thousands of unfortunates in the ruins of a disappearing period, one thing is certain:—the new epoch will only succeed by abolishing egoism, and placing the work of improvement of the human race in the hands of a human coöperative society, in place of our feverish work which has only personal interest at heart.
"The contests which are impending will be mitigated if the minds which are to direct the people are imbued with the knowledge of human evolution and historical phenomena.
"We must not abandon the hope that in the remote future great changes may take place without defiling humanity with fire and bloodshed. It would certainly be the finest reward for strenuous work of the human mind, if it could from this time prepare an easy way to that which a certain future reserves for us, avoiding atrocious sacrifices and saving the treasures of our civilization to be transmitted to the new epoch.
"Unfortunately, this prospect has little chance of realization, and we cannot disguise the fact that blind party passion goes on increasing, and that the brutal struggle of interests becomes more and more removed from the influence of theoretical research. However, our efforts will not all be in vain, and truth will prevail in the end. In any case the observer who thinks has no right to be silent, simply because at the present moment he has only a small number of listeners."
Thirty years ago Lange's pessimism would be comprehensible; but ideas have progressed since then, and the prospects of to-day give us more courage for social work.
The Utopian ideas which I have expressed have in no way the pretension to be new. Analyzing the facts in the most diverse domains, I have simply attempted to find those which seem to me suited to solve the sexual problem of the human race most advantageously under the present social conditions. Every one to-day admits that our sexual life leaves much to be desired, but is afraid of touching the crumbling edifice.
I leave it to my readers to decide whether my ideas are nothing more than Utopian, or whether they do not rather represent a realizable ideal, begging them to reflect as calmly and independently as possible before giving their judgment.
After all, we have to choose between pessimistic acceptance of the fatal decay of our race for the benefit of the Mongols, and an immediate and energetic effort toward selective and educational improvement, an effort which will alone be capable of reviving our hereditary vital energy. Whoever decides in favor of the latter alternative should occupy himself with the sexual question, and boldly declare war against the domination of private capital, the abuse of alcohol, and all the prejudices by which we are hampered. He should abandon the luxury and effeminate comfort of our time and return to the principles of Lycurgus and the Japanese—to the education of character and self-control by methodical training in continuous social work combined with voluntary fatigue and privation.