Socialism

Economic conditions, rather than exceptional individuals, drive the account of history in Robert Rives La Monte's essays on socialism. He challenges the theory that great men alone produce social progress and connects Marxian thought with the changing intellectual climate created by evolutionary science. The collection's contents range from surplus value and class struggle to ethics, materialism and the place of ideals in social change.

La Monte writes as an advocate of the movement, with sharp criticism of capitalism and a stated wish to help readers understand Marxian socialism. His preface also acknowledges that his own treatment of materialism changed over seven years. The discussion of how ideas arise from material circumstances gives the volume a philosophical focus alongside its political arguments. Readers interested in the history of socialist thought can examine how one supporter linked economic organization, moral beliefs and scientific explanations of society.