Like the peasant proprietor, who gives part of his time to his overlord, the slave is provided with the necessaries of life independently of his obedience to the detailed orders of his master.

His master feeds him just as he would feed an animal; the industrial obedience is insured by the subsequent application of force.
These two coercive systems are the only alternatives to the wage-system that have ever been found workable in the past history of the world.

We will now consider the system which some of the most thoughtful socialists of to-day are proposing as a substitute for it in the hoped-for socialistic future.

The school of English socialists, of which Mr.Webb is the best-known member, have given to the world a volume called _Fabian Essays_.

This volume was republished in America, and to the American edition a special preface was prefixed with a view to emphasising the essentials of a socialistic conception of society, and bringing the details of the socialistic theory up to date.