But  the  scientific  difference  between  Socialism
and  Communism  is  clear.  That  which  is  generally
called  Socialism  is  termed  by  Marx  the  first  or  lower
phase  of  Communist  society.  In  so  far  as  the  means
of  production  become  public  property,  the  word
Communism  is  also  applicable  here,  providing  that
we  do  not  forget  that  it  is  not  full  Communism.  The
great  importance  of  Marx's  explanation  is  this:  that
here,  too,  he  consistently  applies  materialist  dialec-
tics, the  theory  of  evolution,  looking  upon  Commu-
nism as  something  which  evolves  out  of  Capitalism.
Instead  of  artificially  elaborate  and  scholastic
definitions  and  profitless  disquisitions  on  the  mean-
ings of  words  ("what  Socialism  is,"  "what  Com-
munism is"),  Marx  gives  us  an  analysis  of  what
may  be  called  the  stages  in  the  economic  growth  of
Communism.
In  its  first  phase  or  first  stage  Communism  can-
not as  yet  be  economically  mature  and  quite  free
of  all  tradition  and  of  all  taint  of  Capitalism.  Hence
we  see  the  interesting  phenomenon  of  the  first  phase
of  Communism  retaining  "the  narrow  horizon  of
bourgeois  law."  Bourgeois  law,  in  respect  of  the
distribution  of  articles  of  consumption,  presupposes
inevitably  the  capitalist  State,  for  law  is  nothing
without  the  organization  for  forcing  people  to  obey
it.  Consequently,  for  a  certain  time  not  only  bour-
geois law,  but  even  the  capitalist  State  may  remain
under  Communism  without  the  capitalist  class.
