The collectivists are divided into two branches—the evolutionist collectivists and the revolutionary collectivists.
The evolutionist collectivists do not reject reform as a possible substitute for revolution. While they do not claim to be able to say that a social revolution will never be necessary, they recognize the fact that a change of the economic forms of society is a matter of growth and evolution, and are willing to approach the socialistic state by degrees. A writer much in vogue with them is Colins, a Belgian, who advocated the nationalization of land. His two chief works, “Qu’est-ce que la Science Sociale?”—“What is Social Science?”—and “L’Économie Politique,” were published between 1848 and 1857. A number of millionnaires belong to this group of collectivists, and a society has been formed to publish and disseminate the works of Colins. It is said that 40,000 francs have been subscribed for this purpose.
Colins favored these four measures as a transition from private property in land to its nationalization:
“1. Abolition of collateral inheritances.
“2. Proclamation of the liberty of bequest.
“3. A tax of twenty-five per centum upon all inheritances.
“4. Enlightenment of the masses, so that they shall soon demand the collectivity of the soil, or, as the English say, the nationalization of land.”[151]
Collectivists of this group are called “Possibilists” and “Opportunists,” on account of their temporizing inclinations. Although M. de Laveleye states that they are gaining favor with the laborers as opposed to the Irreconcilables, they have few leaders, or, at any rate, talkers of note. On occasion of the election at Belleville, when a deputy was to be elected to replace Gambetta, the evolutionist collectivists nominated a respectable mechanic by the name of J. B. Dumay. He was not, however, elected.
The revolutionary collectivists, also called Marxists, are divided into two factions, owing to personal rivalries. These are called the “Fédération du Centre,” among whom are Jules Guesde, Paul Lafargue, Émile Massard, and Gabriel Deville; and the “Union Fédérative,” among whom are B. Malon, author of the work which I have several times cited; Paul Brousse, and Joffrin, a municipal councillor, who recently demanded of the council the execution of a large number of socialistic measures, like the erection of city workshops (ateliers municipaux) to furnish work to the unemployed, the establishment of bakeries and meat-markets in order to sell provisions at a moderate price, and the construction of houses to be let to laborers at cost price.
At the time when Dumay was candidate at Belleville for the place in the Chamber of Deputies which Gambetta’s death left vacant, the revolutionary collectivists nominated Jules Guesde, who received only a small number of votes. He issued, however, an electoral programme, which is valuable as an authentic statement of principles approved by his party at several different congresses between 1879 and 1882. It is as follows: