SERIES 
 
 XHE 
 
 ■iIEW SOCIAL ORDER 
 
 A STUDY OF POST-WAR 
 RECONSTRUCTION 
 
 PROF. MEREDITH ATKINSON, MA, 
 
 STUDENTS' EDITION 
 
 COPYRIGHT 
 
 (UHtOtUiic^ 
 
 Published by 
 The Workers' Elducational Association of Australia
 
 THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES
 
 THE NEW SOCIAL ORDER.
 
 ©chicnttou. 
 
 TO 
 
 WORKER - STUDENTS 
 
 THE WORM) OVER 
 
 THIS BOOK 
 
 IS DEDICATED.
 
 W.E./1. SERIES, No. 2. 
 
 THE 
 
 NEW SOCIAL ORDER 
 
 A Study of Po^-War Recon^rudion 
 
 BY 
 
 MEREDITH ATKINSON, M.A. (Oxon.) 
 
 Sometime Le<3urer in Economics to Oxford University Extension Delegacy, and to Durham 
 
 University Tutorial Classes : 
 
 Director of Tutorial Classes and Member of the Professorial Board, University of Melbourne ; 
 
 President of the Workers' Educational Association of Australia 
 
 STUDENTS' EDITION 
 
 COPYRIGHT 
 
 Published by the Workers' Educational Association of Australia 
 
 SECRETARIAL OFFICE 
 DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, TREASURY GARDENS, MELBOURNE 
 
 Wholly set up and Printed in Australia by Burrows 6- Company, Newtown, Sydney, 
 New Sooth Wales
 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 Part I. 
 THE NEMESIS OF HISTORY. 
 
 Pag k 
 
 Chapter 1. — The Historic Incubus . . , . 1-4 
 
 1. The Debris of the Ages. 
 
 2. Nemesis in Evolution. 
 
 Chapter 1 1. — Nationalism and Imperialism .. 5-12 
 
 1. National Liberty and Imperial Policy. 
 
 2. Imperialism and Subject Races. 
 
 Chapter ill. — The Pathology op 1)emocr.\cy . . 13-19 
 
 1. Progress in Government. 
 
 2. Parliament and Politician?. 
 
 3. Amateur Rulers. 
 
 Chapter IV. — Private Property and Social 20-30 
 Service 
 
 1. The Distribution of Wealth. 
 
 2. The Ethics of Private Property. 
 
 3. Self-interest and Social Service. 
 
 Chai'ter v.— Industrial Unrest and the 31-36 
 Workers' Needs. 
 
 1. Causes of Industrial Unrest. 
 
 2. Trade Unionism and Industrialism. 
 
 ?,. "Conditions are different in Australia." 
 
 Chapter VI. — The Class War .. .. .. 37-46 
 
 1. Is There a Class War? 
 
 2. The Class War as a Doctrine. 
 
 3. Class War and Tyranny. 
 
 J^lULKHiRAPHV I.-— HISTORICAL AND 1 .V TROD l.' ('TORY 47-49
 
 VI. 
 
 Part II. 
 THE FORCES OP UNITY AND PROGRESS. 
 
 PAGK 
 
 Chapter VU. — Unity in History . . . . 53-61' 
 
 1. Unity in European Development. 
 
 2. Unity in Law and Political Thought. 
 
 3. Progress through European Education, 
 
 Literature and Science. 
 
 ('llAPTEK Vin. PoEITICAL AND ECONOMIC MoVE- 62-77 
 
 ments Towards Unity 
 
 1. The Modern Outlook. 
 
 2. Unity through Social Reform. 
 
 3. The International Labour Movement. 
 
 4. Unity through Trade. 
 
 5. The Movement towards International 
 
 Agreements. 
 
 Chapter IX. — Standards of Progress . . . . 78-84 
 
 1. Has the World Progressed? 
 
 2. The Idea of Progress. 
 
 3. The Realities of Progress. 
 
 < 'h.\pter X. — Principles of Growth and Unity 85-92 
 
 1. Reason and Impulse. 
 
 2. Social Repression of Individual Growth. 
 
 3. Liberty Must be Positive. 
 
 4. Community of Purpose. 
 
 5. Human Unity as a Progressive Series. 
 
 Chapter XL — The State and Human Unity . 93-100 
 
 1. What is the State? 
 
 2. A World Safe for Democracy. 
 
 3. iThe Purpose of the State. 
 
 4. National Will and International Mind. 
 
 5. The State as Excessive Power. 
 
 6. The Problem Stated. 
 
 Bibliography II. — Sociological and Philosophic 101-104
 
 vn. 
 
 Part III. 
 A NEW ERA IN EDUCATION. 
 
 PAGK 
 
 Chapter XII. — Education True and False . 107-119 
 
 1. The Root of the Matter. 
 
 2. The Failure of Our Schools. 
 
 3. Doctrine of Original Sin. 
 
 4. iFundamental Subjects. 
 
 5. Religion and Education. 
 
 6. The School and Civic Ideals. 
 
 7. Education for Freedom. 
 
 Chapter Xlll. — Education for Citizenship . . 120-129 
 
 1. The Citizen Ideal. 
 
 2. The Direct Teaching of Citizenship. 
 
 3. The Community Spirit in the School. 
 
 4. The Practice of Citizenship. 
 
 5. The Worker as a Citizen. 
 
 6. Our National Needs in Education. 
 
 Chapter XIV. — Scientific versi:s Cultur.vl 
 
 Education . . . . . . 130-133 
 
 1. The Battle of the Humanities and the 
 
 Sciences. 
 
 2. The Educated Man. 
 
 Chapter XV. — Scientific and Technical Edi- 134-147 
 cation 
 
 1. Science, Education and Commerce, 
 
 2. British Neglect of Science. 
 
 3. The Place of Science in a General Edu- 
 
 cation. 
 
 4. Science and Vocation. 
 
 5. British Science During the War. 
 
 Chapter XVI. — A Programme of Educational 
 
 Re-Construction .. ■. 148-l.o9 
 
 1. The Highway of Education 
 
 2. The Essence of the Programme. 
 
 3. Australia and the Programme. 
 
 Bibliography III. — Education HS
 
 Vlll. 
 
 Part IV. 
 THE INTERNATIONAL PROBLEM. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Chapter XVII. — The Problem Stated . . . . 161-166 
 
 1. The Causes of War. 
 
 2. The Fundamental Need. 
 
 Chapter XVIII. — The League of Nations . . 167-175 
 
 1. Essential Principles. 
 
 2. iThe International Authority. 
 
 3. President Wilson's "Fourteen Points." 
 
 Chapter XIX. — Some Difficulties and Dangers 176-186 
 
 1. Some Thorny Questions. 
 
 2. Unstable Equilibrium. 
 S. The Old Diplomacy. 
 
 4. Coercive Measures. 
 
 5. Conclusion. 
 
 Bibliography IV. — The International Problem. 187-188
 
 IX. 
 
 Pakt V. 
 POST-WAR COMMERCE AND FINANCE. 
 
 TAGF. 
 
 Chapter XX. — The World's Commerce . . 190-20 J 
 
 1. The Post- War Situation. 
 
 2. Increase in Production. 
 
 3. Scientific Management. 
 
 4. Commercial Combination. 
 
 5. Trade Associations. 
 
 6. Conclusion. 
 
 Chapter XXI. — Finance, Taxation and the 
 
 People 202-212 
 
 1. The Real Costs of the War. 
 
 2. Loans and Taxes. 
 
 3. Paper Currency. 
 
 4. The Distribution of the Burden. 
 
 5. The Amount Required. 
 
 6. A Levy upon Capital. 
 
 7. Federation of National Debts. 
 
 8. The Financial Interest.
 
 Part VI. 
 THE INDUSTRIAL OUTLOOK. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Chai-ter XXII. — The Standard of Life .. 214-220 
 
 1. The Wage-System and the Standard. 
 
 2. Wages and Prices. 
 
 Chapter XXIII. — Security and Status . . 221-227 
 
 1. The Limitations of Political Democracy. 
 
 2. State Regulation of Wages and Working 
 
 Conditions. 
 
 Chapter XXIV. — Forms of Industrial Control 228-248 
 
 1. Co-partnership and Profit-sharing. 
 
 2. Co-operation by Consumers and Pro- 
 
 ducers. 
 
 3. State Socialism. 
 
 4. Syndicalism and Guild Socialism. 
 
 5. Industrial Councils. 
 
 6. Constitution of a Council. 
 
 Chapter XXV. — Towards Industrial Democracy 249-254 
 
 1. New Boards for Old. 
 
 2. Social Trusts. 
 
 3. Industrial Democracy in State Enter- 
 
 prises. 
 
 hlblk^graphy v. — economic, financial, .vnd 
 
 Industrial 25^-258
 
 XI. 
 
 Part VII. 
 THE BRITISH EMPIRE AND THE NEW ORDER. 
 
 PAOB 
 
 Chapter XXVI. — The Commerce op the Empire 260-270 
 
 1. Science and the Empire's Resources. 
 
 2. Imperial Preference. 
 
 3. Material Basis of Australian Life. 
 4. Australian Trade and Production. 
 
 Chapter XXVII. — Australia and the New 
 
 Outlook 271-278 
 
 1. The Australian Outlook. 
 
 2. Australian Social Legislation. 
 
 3. Australian Politics. 
 
 Chapter XXVIII. — The Governmext of the 
 
 Empire 279-299 
 
 1. The Growth of the Imperial Problem. 
 
 2. Political Constitution of the Empire. 
 
 3. The Alternatives. 
 
 4. British Citizenship and Sovereignty. 
 
 5. Growth of Dominion Nationalism. 
 
 6. The Weakness of a Federation. 
 
 7. The Dominions and British Foregn 
 
 Policy. 
 
 8. The British Empire and Economic 
 
 Policy. 
 
 9. The Possibility of Imperial Federation. 
 
 Bibliography VI. — Great Britaln" and Lmi'eklxl 
 
 Afi-wirs 300-301
 
 xin. 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 This book is based upon numerous lectures which I 
 have delivered on post-war problems and re-construction 
 in various States in Australia. Portions of it have also 
 appeared in series of articles written for "Stead's Review" 
 and the "Melbourne Daily Herald." I am indebted to the 
 Editors of those journals for their kind permission to re- 
 print selections from the articles. The book itself, liow- 
 ever, has been planned and written chiefly to provide the 
 students of the Workers' Educational Association tlirough- 
 out the Commonwealth with a text book whicii they can 
 conveniently use in their Tutorial Classes. But for the 
 lack of such a book I should not have been so ambitious 
 as to attempt to cover so large a field. Nevertheless, what- 
 ever may be the faults of the l)ook, I have l)e('onie nu)re 
 and more conscious of Ihe need for a unified treatment of 
 this subjeet. Much of the great mass of "Re-construc- 
 tion" literature suffers from a want of unity and breadth 
 of outlook, which I have tried to avoid in the present work,
 
 XIV. 
 
 Now that victory has come to the Alliance of Free Nations, 
 a new social order becomes possible, if the principles for 
 which they fought in the field are translated into the poli- 
 cies of peace. 
 
 A book covering such a wide field, and discussing prob- 
 lems so controversial, cannot escape keen criticism from 
 every point of view entertained by any section of the com- 
 munity. I would merely claim that past-war re-construc- 
 tion will mean nothing at all unless it is based upon sound 
 criticism of the existing order, and a determination to seek 
 solutions consistent with the principles of the larger 
 humanity. 
 
 I have to thank Mr. J. C. Stewart and Mr. W. N. Butler, 
 of the W.E.A. of N.S.W., for their invaluable help in cor- 
 recting the whole of the proofs. I am also indebted to 
 many friends and my audiences in the various cities for 
 helpful criticisms and suggestions. 
 
 MEREDITH ATKINSON. 
 
 University of Melbourne, 
 January, 1919.
 
 PART I. 
 
 The Nemesis of History.
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 The Hi^oric Incubus. 
 
 1.— THE DEBRIS OF THE AGES. 
 
 Though most of us are quite convinced that immediate re- 
 sponsibility for the present war rests by far the most heavily 
 upon Germany, we must agree that the war is, neverthe- 
 less, the culmination of a long historic process, made jjos- 
 sible only by fundamental defects in human nature, oper- 
 ating through society and aggravated by material condi- 
 tions. We hear much to-day of man's conquest of nature, 
 a phrase into which too much is commonly read. It is true 
 that the earliest wars were mostly due to hunger, and 
 other forms of economic pressure, and that most of those 
 crude incentives to human conflict have been removed. 
 But man has not yet .sufficiently conquered the material 
 powers of nature to enable him to ensure to every individual 
 in society the minimum conditions of existence. Nor has 
 he gone very far in the conquest of his own nature, and he 
 is still fighting the battle of the ages, between right and 
 wrong, and striving for the embodiment of right in social in- 
 stitutions and practices. In the moral sphere man's great- 
 est advance has been in the recognition of the unity of all 
 mankind, first expressed by Christianity — but not fully 
 formulated as a political end until the P^rench Revolution. 
 As a result of Eighteenth Century analysis of society and 
 its functions, and impelled by the terrific force of the age 
 
 8l
 
 of machinery, human effort is now consciously directed to- 
 wards securing a state of greater liberty, enlightenment 
 and happiness for every individual. But previous to the 
 revival of this great social idea, there had become embedded 
 in human institutions and ideas an accumulation of errors 
 and wrongs, which largely account for the present state of 
 the world. 
 
 We accept the modern theory of the historic evolution of 
 man from primitive savagery to the civilised state. In the 
 early period, things to-day recognised as absolutely wrong, 
 such as slavery and murder, were established institutions. 
 Gradually the scope of things morally forbidden was en- 
 larged until the basest forms of error and crime were de- 
 clared unlawful. Still, through the greater part of the his- 
 toric period, basic institutions and' ideas have been per- 
 mitted which are largely responsible for the world's present 
 evil condition. 
 
 2.— NEMESIS IN EVOLUTION. 
 
 Early man was so near to the animal that his actions 
 were chiefly inspired by the instincts of fear, desire and 
 self-preservation. Hence, wiien he achieves the aggrega- 
 tion of the tribe, his society is communistic, for the same 
 reasons that kept him individualistic in a still more primi- 
 tive stage. But with the advent of settled life, he passed 
 inevitably from communism to private property. Thus, at 
 one stroke, he founded the beginnings of progress and civi- 
 lisation, and of most of the problems that afflict the world 
 to-day. Prom the confinement of property to personal 
 decorations, slaves and women, man extended its scope to 
 every form of wealth, except the air and sea. The first 
 rulers of settled communities, though frequently warriors, 
 were mostly the men of greatest wealth. Thus were founded 
 aristocracies, oligarchies, hierarchies, autocracies and 
 dynasties, perpetuating castes and nationalities. The rulers 
 of ancient and mediaeval times were the landlord class. The
 
 history of States is their history — of conflicts between men 
 of power, with the common people ranged on either side 
 as pawns, but hardly considered on their own account. Thus 
 every liistoric period has been characterised by some form 
 or other of slavery, or serfdom, militarism, nationalism and 
 imperialism. States were merely embodied force, used by 
 the ruling class as engines for the execution of their ambi- 
 tions or designs. It is because that idea has been perpetu- 
 ated in autocratic States, like Germany, and in the capital- 
 ist system of the world, that the present war remained pos- 
 sible, when other wrongs of history had been sufficiently 
 qualified to give ground for hope that we had seen the last 
 great war. To make wars impossible, we do not need to wait 
 for a perfect world, but we must at least have, within all 
 the most poM^erful nations, a social stability based on in- 
 ternal content and an understanding of human brother- 
 hood. Even if we abolished autocrac}' and dynastic ambi- 
 tion, the other nemeses of history would inevitabl}' make 
 for international misunderstanding and conflict. For what 
 is the history of the Nineteenth Century? It is the age of in- 
 dustrialism, of ruthless competition, modified but little by 
 social reforms, and stronger every year with its grip upon 
 men and their conditions of life. Those who still declare 
 for laissez-faire, and they are many, take upon themselves 
 a terrible responsibility. The unrestricted competition of 
 the Nineteenth Century, and the commercial monopolism of 
 the Twentieth, have produced conditions of life and labour 
 in factories, towns and villages utterly degrading and cruel 
 to the vast majority of workers. This has entailed not 
 merely the misery, but the ignorance of the masses; it has 
 encouraged perverted notions of the functions of the State, 
 cleavage and hostility between the classes, the domination 
 of the lives of the majority by the comparative few, who 
 are corrupted by surplus wealth and luxury. The powers 
 of science and organisation are thus chiefly devoted to the 
 creation of a form of industrialism in which the average
 
 worker suffers far greater risk of starvation than the vil- 
 lage labourer of the Middle Ages. His standard of life is 
 much higher, but his chance of maintaining it much less. 
 The solution is not to hanker after an alleged Golden Age, 
 characterised by discomforts that, to the Australian worker, 
 would be utter misery, but rather to apply consciously all 
 the powers of our organisation and the force of our social 
 idealism to raise the whole plane of civilisation, and to 
 ensure that no worthy citizen shall be in danger of falling 
 below it. 
 
 Our hope lies in the remarkable increase of the tenden- 
 cies to unity and peace long at work in society. There is 
 increasing tenderness shewn everywhere in the care of 
 women and children, the lessening of social prejudice and 
 intolerance, greater willingness to institute fair conditions 
 for all human beings. All these movements will be con- 
 sidered later. At present, however, we must bear in mind 
 chiefly the dangers to a right reconstruction that are em- 
 bodied in our faulty institutions, wrong traditions, neglect 
 of education, and selfish human nature.
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Nationalism and Imperialism. 
 
 1.— NATIONAL LIBERTY AND liVIPERIAL POLICY. 
 
 On no issue have the Allies been more completely united 
 than that of the rights of nationalities. In the violation of 
 Belgian neutrality, and the atrocious treatment meted out 
 to that unfortunate country, Germany boldly challenged 
 the world to a contest between the right of nationality and 
 the power of world-dominion. In the eyes of most people 
 the contest was clearly one between national liberty and 
 economic imperialism. On the other hand, there is no doubt 
 that Jiationalism and imperialism have much in common, 
 and are largely responsible for the continuance of such 
 unhappy conditions as made the war possible. Nationalism 
 is an essential stage in the growth of human freedom, but 
 it has a fatal tendency to become a bulwark of reaction 
 and a justification for a policy of imperialistic aggression. 
 For the past two centuries the national idea "has been the 
 greatest factor in the development of Europe. We need 
 not concern ourselves here with the more or less academic 
 question of the nature of nationality. State, nation, race, 
 are terms that are difficult to define. But it is sufficient 
 to know that the spirit of nationalism is a force uniting 
 a large aggregation of individuals in a desire for self- 
 government and the development of their own social life,
 
 culture, institutions and trade. The enormous strength of 
 this idea is seen in the modern history of Poland, Germany, 
 Italy, Norway, Belgium, Switzerland, the Balkan States, 
 and Ireland. It is almost true to say that the accumulated 
 crop of problems which the Great War was fought to solve 
 are practically all traceable to the ruthless ravishing of 
 national liberties by imperialistic aggressors during the last 
 two centuries. The Congress of Vienna in 1814, after 
 seeming to promise the federation of Europe, was tlie 
 triumph of imperialism, trampling ruthlessly upon the 
 idea of national liberty. The overthrow of Napoleon was 
 largely due to the intense spirit of nationalism called forth 
 by his own oppression of the nations which he conquered. 
 But the Great Powers who met to re-draw the map of 
 Europe proved to be practically as much wedded to im- 
 perialism as the great conqueror. Germany and Italy were 
 thrust back into the 18th Century, their rising national 
 hopes were almost shattered. Belgium was uuwillingl}' 
 united to Holland, and Norway to Svi-eden. Poland re- 
 mained partitioned ; Switzerland lost her democratic con- 
 stitution. While it may confidently be accepted that the 
 triumph of democracy in the Great War will render im- 
 possible anything in the nature of an imperialist reaction 
 of the old character, we are still faced with the dangerous 
 influences of a narrow nationalism and an economic im- 
 perialism. National liberty can only be justified, and in- 
 deed expressed, through the faith and practice of inter- 
 nationalism. Lord Acton and many other famous his- 
 torians have, deplored the disastrous effects of intense 
 nationalism upon the history of the world. A suppressed 
 nationality seeking liberty is a constant danger to hu- 
 manity. Still more dangerous is a people consciously pur- 
 suing a policy of national aggrandisement, and prepared to 
 sacrifice all other nations for the accomplishment of its 
 ends. A legitimate nationalism, seeking to lead one's own 
 country to make its fullest contribution to the progi'ess of
 
 the world is nobly expressed by Mazzini in the "Duties of 
 Man":— 
 
 ' ■ my brothers, love your Country ! Our Country is 
 our Home, the house that God has given us, placing therein 
 a numerous family that loves us, and whom we love; a 
 family with whom we sympathise more readily, and whom 
 we understand more quickly than we do others; and which, 
 from its being centred round a given spot, and from the 
 homogeneous nature of its elements, is adapted to a special 
 form of activity. . . . 
 
 "In labouring for our own country' on the right prin- 
 ciple, we labour for Humanity. ... 
 
 "Humanity is a vast army advancing to the conquest of 
 lands unknown, against enemies both powerful and astute. 
 The peoples are the different 'corps,' the divisions of that 
 army. Each of them has its post assigned to it, and its special 
 operation to execute; and the common victory depends on 
 the exactitude with which these distinct operations shall be 
 fulfilled. Disturb not the order of battle. Forsake ]iot 
 the banner given you by (4od. . . . Say not I, but we. Let 
 each man among you strive to incarnate his counlry in 
 himself. Let each man among you regard himself as a 
 guarantee, responsible for his fellow-countrymen, and learn 
 so to govern his actioiis as to cause his country- to be loved 
 and respected through liim. Your country is the sign of 
 the mission Cod has given you to fulfil towards Humanity. 
 The faculties and forces of all her sons shoukl be associated 
 in the accomplishment of that mission. . . . 
 
 "Never deny your sister nations. Be it yours to evolve 
 the life of your country in loveliness and strength ; free 
 from all servile fears or sceptical doubts; maintaining as 
 its basis the People; as its guide the consequences of the 
 principles of its Religious Faith, logically and energetic- 
 ally applied; its strength, the united strength of all; its 
 aim, the fulfilinciil of the mission given to it by God. . . . 
 
 "And so long as you are ready to die for Humanity, the 
 life of your country will be immortal." 
 
 Had the national .spirit of the European peoples been 
 thus consistent with the broader ideal of humanity, na- 
 tional liberties would have been but the expression within 
 convenient boundaries of the same spirit that seeks to
 
 8 
 
 build a League of Nations, It is futile to declaim against 
 nationalism while the souls of so many peoples are wan- 
 dering in search of the bodies from which they have been 
 torn. "The national spirit is hostile to peace when a 
 nation feels itself unjustly divided or subjugated or de- 
 nied the opportunity for the development of its character- 
 istic modes of life. In such circumstances it inevitably 
 declares war against the status quo, and will continue to 
 be a source of unrest until it has obtained unity and free- 
 dom. In the exaltation of that achievement, as we have 
 seen, one nation after another has been tempted to aim at 
 domination over its neighbours, and has thus continued to 
 be a danger to peace even after its reasonable aspirations 
 have been satisfied."* The real danger of nationalism is 
 its tendency to develop into Chauvinism or aggressive Im- 
 perialism. It was no true national need that led Germany 
 and her allies to conspire against the liberties of other 
 nations. Though none of the Great Powers can be acquittetl 
 of the charge of Imperialism, there is decidedly a scale of 
 guilt. The Imperialism which deliberately provokes war 
 and stamps ruthlessly upon M^eaker nations is certainly not 
 attributable to Great Britain. International relations have 
 long been based upon ideas that justified nations in seizing 
 advantages at the expense of others. But there is all the 
 difference in the world between the shameless and ruthless 
 pursuit of national advantage, of which history will con- 
 vict Germany, and the British policy of exploiting the re- 
 sources of the undeveloped regions of the earth, with fair 
 consideration for the rights of inferior races and the open 
 door to all nations. Nevertheless, we are too prone to for- 
 get that we ourselves have a policy of economic imperialism, 
 and that other nations condemn us as a selfish, commercial 
 and imperialistic people. We should do well to bear this 
 in mind when we play our part in establishing the League 
 of Nations. 
 
 * Ramsay Muir, "Nationalism and Internationalism," p 196.
 
 ''The spirit of commercialism has led to many wars, 
 provoked by the desire to gain access to, or control over, 
 particular markets. This motive has been present in many 
 of onr own wars; it lias been the predominant motive with 
 us perhaps more often than with any other people — from the 
 time when we fought to overthrow the Spanish monopoly 
 of the tropical west, to the time when we waged two wars 
 with China in order to force open the gates of that vast 
 market. And it is impossible for any Englishman to deny 
 that war may bring great commercial advantages, more 
 especially the kind of war that leads to the opening up cf 
 undeveloped areas, or that brings backward peoples into 
 contact with a more advanced civilisation, and causes an 
 increase both in their wants and in their productive 
 power."* 
 
 How necessary it is to bear in mind the different kinds 
 and qualities of Imperialism may be further emphasised 
 by recalling the policies of Empires like Russia, Austria 
 and Turkey. No one who examines history with a desire to 
 assess justly the virtues and vices of the policies of the 
 Great Powers can possibly speak of British Imperialism 
 in the same breath with the tyrannous and unscrupulous 
 policies of those Empires of the Dark Ages. On the other 
 hand, it Avould seem reactionary to reject the idea of the 
 large Empire in the political reconstruction of the world. 
 By far the greater part of humanity are now the subjects 
 of Empires larger than that of Rome. It will surely be 
 easier to build the League of Nations upon huge aggrega- 
 tions of peoples than upon a multiplicity of small States. 
 Even the conglomerate Austrian Empire would probably 
 do better as a political federation than as a series of small 
 autonomous States, which would perpetuate the linguistic, 
 cultural, racial and economic differences that have con- 
 tributed so fatally to the causes of European wars. The 
 cry of "self-determination" is apt to become a craze, which 
 will further divide the world in face of the dire need for 
 obliterating unnecessary and dangerous boundaries. For 
 
 " Muir, op. clt., p. 197. 
 
 b2
 
 10 
 
 this reason it seems to me that the recog:nition of the inde- 
 pendence of the Czecho-Slovak nation by the Allies, liow- 
 ever justifiable by expediency, is politically a reactionary 
 tendency towards unreal national divisions. 
 
 2.— IMPERIALISM AND SUBJECT RACES. 
 
 There are few better tests of progress in government 
 than the way in which Western peoples govern subject 
 races. Civilised man has steadily acquired the master v- of 
 his environment, so that he can determine conditions of his 
 own physical well-being and his relations with men in other 
 lands. The coming of machinery, and the explorations 
 which joined Europe to the ancient East and the new world 
 of the West, led to an intercourse of races, which has given 
 Western civilisation paramount power over mankind. How 
 have the nations used that power? Sadly, we must answer, 
 entirely for their own selfish desires. 
 
 "England and Holland, as well as the Latin monarchies, 
 treated the natives of Africa as chattels without rights, 
 and as instruments for their own ends, and revived slavery 
 in a form aJid upon a scale more cruel than any practised 
 by the ancients. The employment of slaves on her own 
 soil has worked the permanent ruin of Portugal. The slave 
 trade with America was an important source of English 
 wealth, and the philosopher John Locke did not scruple to 
 invest in it. There is no European race which can afford 
 to remember its first contact with the subject peoples other- 
 wise than with shame, and attempts to assess their relativ(^ 
 degrees of guilt are as fruitless as they are invidious. The 
 question of real importance is' how far these various States 
 were able to purge themselves of the poison and to rise to 
 a higher realisation of their duties toward the races Mdiom 
 they M'ere called by the claims of their own superior civi- 
 lisation to protect. The fate of that civilisation itself hung 
 upon the issue."* 
 
 We have travelled far since then, but we have still farther 
 to go yet. The fraud and dishonesty of our commercial 
 
 H-- Curtis, "The Commonwealth of Nations."
 
 11 
 
 system inflicts itself in largest nieasnre npon inferior 
 peoples, e.g., immense qnantities of calico cloth sold to serai- 
 savage nations are so dressed with paste or size as to make 
 them worthless once they are washed. Endless examples of 
 similar frauds might be given.* The factories of India 
 also present conditions that are a deep disgrace to us all.f 
 
 We have to acknowledge, if we are honest, "the rapacity, 
 cruelty, and stupidity of subjects and officers of the par- 
 titioning Powers in their dealing's v.ith natives, the im- 
 punity such agents were allowed, and the support given to 
 them by their Governments, and the reluctance of any 
 Power to intei'vene or remonstrate.'"* The same writer 
 suggests that the League of Nations should guarantee the 
 liberties of primitive peoples under European over-lord- 
 ship, by the adoption of the following safeguards: — (1) 
 Protection of Native land rights, and sufficient Native Re- 
 serves. (2) Prohibition of forced labour, except for defi- 
 nite and approved local services. (3) Restriction of con- 
 tract labour. (4) f-nmplete separatioii of administration 
 from exploitatioji. (5) Maintenance of and respect foi' 
 tribal authority, law, and customs, wherever possible. (6) 
 Exclusion of distilled liquor. Like most other authorities, 
 he declares against any "(-ondominium" or joint authority 
 exercised by two or more Powers. It would seem most 
 practicable that the League of Nations should appoint par- 
 ticular Powers to administer in trust specified territories. 
 under the supervision of a Council for Primitive Peoples, 
 elected by the League. The resources of these territories 
 are the inheritance of all mankind, and should be developed 
 and controlled for the general good. 
 
 * See 9th Edition Encyc. Britt. 
 
 f See Royal Commission's Report on Factory Conditions in 
 India. 
 
 :j:See an excellent pamphlet, "The League of Nations and 
 Primitive Peoples," by Sir Sydney Oliver. (Oxford University 
 Press.)
 
 12 
 
 Government for the good of the governed is the only 
 legitimate and moral policy — to help the weak with onr 
 strength to become strong enongli to help themselves. We 
 mnst be the gnides, philosophers and friends of all those 
 peoples feebly struggling to cross the threshold- of a 
 brighter civilisation. It is too late now to ask why we 
 have possessed ourselves of so many alien lands. "Laissez- 
 faire" offers no solution. The necessity for humane Euro- 
 pean intervention is now clear beyond doubt. 
 
 * 
 
 "Every alternative solution breaks down in practice. 
 To stand aside and do nothing under the plea that every 
 people must be left free to manage its own affairs, and that 
 intervention is wicked, is to repeat the tragic mistake of the 
 Manchester School in the economic world, which protested 
 against any interference by the State to protect workmen 
 . . . from the oppression and rapacity of employers, on the 
 ground that it was an unwarranted interference with the 
 liberty of the subject and the freedom of trade and com- 
 petition. To prevent adventurers from entering the ter- 
 ritory is impossible, unless there is some civilised authority 
 within it to stop them through its police. To shut off m 
 l)ackward people from all contact with the outside world by 
 a kind of blockade, is not only impracticable, but is arti- 
 ficially to deny them the chances of education and progress. 
 The establishment of a genuine Government by a people 
 strong enough and liberal enough to ensure freedom under 
 the law. and justice for all, is the only solution . . . they 
 must undertake tliis duty, not from any pride of dominion, 
 or because they wish to exploit their resources, but in order 
 to protect them alike from oppression and corruption, by 
 strict laws and strict administration, which shall bind the 
 foreigner, as well as the native ; and then they must gradu- 
 ally develop, by education and example, the capacity in the 
 natives to manage their own affairs."* 
 
 * P. H. Kerr in "An Introduction to the Study of Interna- 
 tional Relations," 1915, p. 149.
 
 13 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 The Pathology of Democracy. 
 
 1.— PROGRESS IN GOVERNMENT. 
 
 Few people doubt that in this sphere wonderful progress 
 has been made. Democracy is held to be the last word in 
 government. But even its brief history has exposed funda- 
 mental faults. Democracy has its own peculiar pathology, 
 and we have everything to gain from the diagnosis of its 
 diseases. 
 
 Certainly we have progressed in the organisation of go- 
 vernment, and in a l)etter recognition of the contribution of 
 each citizen to the good of the State, but we seldom ask 
 ourselves what kind of State we should be citizens of, or 
 whether the social unity at which we aim has the highest 
 moral value. It is generall}^ assumed that after this war 
 there will be an immense increase of democratic govern- 
 ment, especially in hitherto autocratic countries. Immense 
 gain, no doubt, will result from the abolition of some of 
 the worst forms of oppression and selfish ambition. But 
 we must not assume that because a people gains self- 
 government it will not go wrong. The greater the facilities 
 for the will of the people to express itself the more clearly 
 will it be exhibited in legislation and collective action. But 
 
 *Por an excellent treatment of this subject, see a little book 
 just published as v.'e go to press, "Democracy and Freedom,'" 
 by Elton Mayo (Macmillans' W.E.A. Series, 1/6).
 
 14 
 
 it is by no means impossible that its will and its action 
 may become wholly perverted. At best the people is a 
 "dark horse.'" Present-day advocates of mass action can 
 hardly realise the Frankenstein they are invoking. We hear 
 much of collective wisdom and collective morality, but it 
 is notorious that crowds are far less wise and far less moral 
 than individuals. The psychology of democracy is always 
 prone to degenerate into that of the crowd. To succeed in 
 influencing a crowd one needs only to understand the 
 nature of their passions and prejudices. 
 
 Democracy is still young and developing. There is no 
 final and absolute form of democratic machinery. So long 
 as peoples vary in temperament, tradition, experience, geo- 
 graphical situation, and education, the forms in whicli 
 democracy expresses its institutions and exercises its func- 
 tions must also vary. 
 
 The great problem of democratic government is to set 
 up adequate safeguards without sacrificing efficiency. Long 
 experience has shown that Legislatures and Executives do 
 not interpret and perform the will of the people with suffi- 
 cient despatch and sincerity. The people are perfectly 
 justified in their suspicion and distrust. Increasing safe- 
 guards must therefore be allowed to be essential. Even an 
 undue increase in the use of the Referendum, Initiative, 
 and Recall, and the adoption of Elective Cabinets might, 
 in many situations, be the only alternative to a further be- 
 trayal of the people's trust. On the other hand, all com- 
 munities must take care to give sufficient play to the per- 
 sonality and initiative of legislators and Ministers to ensure 
 that the very best men will seek election. In short, every 
 people must at all times exercise a nice discrimination be- 
 tween safeguards and liberties. While protecting popular 
 interest, they must trust their legislators to a degree that 
 will give them an incentive to develop their best powers. 
 Growing experience will alone solve these mechanical prob- 
 lems, and, at the same time, develop that spirit of com-
 
 15 
 
 mimity in citizenship and that civic devotion in rulers 
 which, in combination, can alone be relied upon to give 
 full effect to the will of an enlightened people. 
 
 2.— PARLIAAIENT AND POLITICIANS. 
 
 The conditions under which elections are fought en- 
 courage, on the whole, a somewhat inferior type of poli- 
 tician. This is almost entirely due to the defective intel- 
 ligence and education of democracy. Nothing is more de- 
 pressing than to hear sentiments and opinions loudly 
 cheered which one knows to be utterlj- immoral and de- 
 basing. Most public speeches are of a lamentably poor 
 order, seldom giving evidence of the informed mind and 
 close student of affairs. Democracy is easily deceived. The 
 standard of its politicians largely reflects the state of its 
 own consciousness. While Parliamentary institutions main- 
 ly save us from the worst effects of mob rule, they also 
 commit us to limitations of progress imposed by want of 
 knowledge and civic spirit in the masses. This is by no 
 means the fault of the mass. It is the dregs of the historic 
 debauch of human nature, through centuries of oppression. 
 Equally, it will take centuries to evolve the super-race, 
 which alone can make democracy the glorious success it 
 deserves to be. But let us make no mistake as to our still 
 being in the very cave days of democracy. 
 
 The sweeping condemnation of politicians current in 
 Australia to-day is as much a reflection upon populai- 
 judgment as a stricture upon our elected rulers. Yet we 
 have good reason to be dissatisfied with the majority of 
 our politicians. Apart from the personal characters with 
 which they enter Parliament, the conservative atmosphere 
 of that institution greatly influences their minds. Recog- 
 nising the immense difficulties in the way of practical pro- 
 gress, the politician tends to become inactive and apatlietic. 
 Tlie rank and file outside, being out of touch with practi- 
 cal difficulties, grow impatient and critical. The inevitable
 
 16 
 
 tendency of the Party System is to make public business 
 so much a formal farce that the politician feels justified 
 in treating it as a game or mock contest exhibited to the 
 public, while the real business is done behind the scenes. 
 
 It is often urged that Parliamentary government is much 
 purer than it was in the past. The crudities of ancient 
 corruption have certainly disappeared. There are no more 
 sales of "rotten boroughs," no more open bribery, or pur- 
 chase of appointments. But corruption is still undoubtedly 
 prevalent, though in subtler forms, and to an extent hard to 
 determine. The expectation of rewards and all forms of 
 Government patronage are still certainly the main support 
 of the Party System. There is much corruption also in 
 the management of elections and selections. It is notorious 
 that a negligible percentage of electors actively participate 
 in the selection of Party candidates. This leads to a vast 
 amount of petty jobbery, corrupting candidates from the 
 first and bamboozling the electors. It is no wonder that, 
 under such conditions, the candidate is often of such poor 
 material. Most election speeches are of a lamentably low 
 order, but the crowd is apparently quite satisfied with them. 
 
 The severely practical man will probably ask what is the 
 relation of all this to post-war problems. It is, as a matter 
 of fact, the most serious of all our problems. While I 
 shall address myself to the material questions of commerce, 
 finance and industry, I hold most strongly that the basic 
 problem of all is how to alter the attitude of mind and 
 the character of the masses. It is because we have be- 
 stowed so little attention upon this aspect of our social 
 development that our attempts at solution have been so 
 partial and unsatisfactory. If we had the practical good 
 sense to spend an adequate sum upon the education of tlie 
 people in subjects of public concern, the solution of our 
 material problems would come as a matter of course. But 
 we are so eager for an immediate cash return upon our 
 national investments that we are not aware how much
 
 17 
 
 we have squandered upon the roof, while leaving the foun- 
 dations unsound. 
 
 3.— AMATEUR RULERS. 
 
 One fundamental defect of democracy is that it chooses 
 its rulers by standards remote from particular forms of 
 excellence demanded for perfect government. Tlie astute 
 man, who successfully appeals to popular prejudice, or the 
 *' sport," or the lavish rich man, or the "mate," is much 
 more likely to be elected than the soundly trained man of 
 thought and action. There is an increasing tendency even 
 to discredit education and special experience, partly because 
 the acquisition of a little knowledge has made high educa- 
 tional attainment seem less remarkable, but particularly 
 owing to ti)e increasing worsliip of mere equality. "In the 
 popular mind there is what may be called a disposition to 
 believe, not only that one man is as good as another, but 
 that he knows as much on any matter of general interest."* 
 
 Modern business requires more than ever specialised 
 skill, yet political business, the greatest of all, is in the 
 hands of amateurs, frequently utterly ignorant of the 
 business of their departments. Politicians under the old 
 Englisli kings were very tlioroughly trained, yet the much 
 more highly technical administration of our time is en- 
 trusted to absolutely untrained men. Still more amateur- 
 ish is the elector, whose active participation in politics is 
 limited to the crises called elections. Aristotle excluded 
 from citizenship even artisans and husbandmen because 
 their oc('U]Kitio)i robbed them of leisure and opportunities 
 foi" political thought and action. To-day we are governed 
 by those very artisans and husbandmen, the merest ama- 
 teurs in politics. The justification for such rule is. of 
 course, (1) that it is exercised presumably in the main 
 through an elected aristocracy called Parliament: (2) it 
 
 *Godkin: "Unforeseen Tendencies of Democracy."
 
 18 
 
 is the only adequate safeguard against oppression; (3) 
 general common-sense and benevolence have proved them- 
 selves in history to be much preferable to wealth and cul- 
 ture as protectors and rulers of humanity. The aristocrats 
 have been tried and found wanting ; the plutocrats are even 
 v/orse; and the democrats are still on trial. Democracy, as 
 at present constituted, is in but the tirst stages of its evolu- 
 tion. We must suffer from the ignorance of the many, be- 
 cause we cannot trust the intellect of the few. Thereby 
 we lose something, but we gain more. The mistake of the 
 many is in claiming a degree of excellence which is not 
 theirs. We must recognise that in renouncing rule by a 
 true aristocracy, we give up something in efficiency, and 
 perhaps in morality. It is futile to expect from the mass 
 consciousness of uneducated democracy either deep vision 
 or keen foresight. The contest is always between safe- 
 guards and political efficiency. In this stage of civilisation 
 we cannot attain both. We cannot, in fact, expect them to 
 occur together until we have a democracy thoroughly cul- 
 tured, eugenically developed, living in a just social system. 
 One cannot see any great gain in net human intelligence 
 during the historic period. We have progressed by the 
 spread of ideas, rather than by a rise in intellect. We laugh 
 at the superstitions of our forefathers, while entertaining 
 ideas which — considering our improved knowledge — are 
 every whit as ridiculous and illogical. We have ceased 
 burning witches, but we persecute the heterodox just as 
 fiercely. Some modern fashions are less rational than the 
 garb of a savage. 
 
 There is no highway of salvation. Mere political devices, 
 like Proportional Representation, the Referendum. Elective 
 .Cabinets, and the like, are safeguards, but hardly political 
 educators. Every influence, however, that raises and puri- 
 fies our social and political life will increase the succe.ss 
 of Parliamentary government. Clear political thinking and 
 a spirit of devoted public service are basic essentials for
 
 19 
 
 the achievement of the full stature of democracy. Corrup- 
 tion and selfishness, demagoguery and ignorance will be put 
 to flight only by the shining light of knowledge and ideal- 
 ism. In the democracy of the future, we shall see the spirit 
 of a free people exercising its high functions with the proud 
 consciousness that duties and rights are synonymous in the 
 soul of the true democrat ; he realises his duties in the high 
 emprise of complete devotion to society; he finds his rights 
 in an equal contribution to social progress on the part of 
 his fellows.
 
 20 
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 Private Property and Social Service. 
 
 1. THE DISTRIBUTION OF WEALTH. 
 
 It is uudeniable that much of the social schism is directly 
 due to glaring inequalities in the distribution of wealth. 
 No economist fails to recognise that the industrial system 
 of to-day has brought about a form of society which openly 
 permits extremes of wealth and poverty and imposes upon 
 most men the necessity to take part in a competitive struggle 
 which demoralises and degrades them and renders ex- 
 tremely difficult any general elevation of the race. The 
 cry of the Socialist, "Production for use and not for pro- 
 fit," must be accepted as a much finer ideal than the prin- 
 ciple of laissez-faire, which has operated to the manifest 
 and terrible injury of the whole human race. But the 
 Socialists have seriously weakened their case by refusing to 
 give due credit to the competitive system for its remark- 
 able achievements in maintaining a complex system of sup- 
 ply of innumerable commodities drawn from every part of 
 the world, to make possible the daily life of hundreds of 
 millions of human beings. That it produces, bj' the way, a 
 terrible amount of evil and social inefficiency, must not blind 
 us to the good it has accomplished, and to the need for a 
 serious examination of any proposed substitute from the 
 point of view of its capacity for supplying more fully the 
 world's demands.
 
 21 
 
 Unfortunately, however, when we have said all that can 
 be said in favour of the competitive system, its human cost 
 appears so appalling that innumerable social reforms are 
 designed to remove or mitigate its evil effects. We are faced 
 with the problem of so ordering industrial society as to 
 secure to all producers hygienic conditions, a sufficiency of 
 necessary commodities, and provision for the expression of 
 their individual capacities. 
 
 A fact of primary importance, which scarceh' ever re- 
 ceives the attention it deserves, is that in countries where 
 the uecessar}' investigation has been made, it can be shown 
 that the total national income, if equally divided, would 
 yield only about £4 per week per family. That is, there is 
 really not enough wealth produced to satisfy the natural 
 needs of the average civilised nation. This is due, how- 
 ever, not to the failure of the workers to work hard enough, 
 or to any real lack of material resources, but to the fact 
 that industrial society has never yet been organised to pro- 
 vide a minimum standard of comfort for every member of 
 ♦he community. That society could be so organised with 
 comparatively little extra thought is surely clear from the 
 immense improvements in productivity effected during the 
 last generation. Nations that have borne the enormous strain 
 upon their resources entailed by the demands of the war 
 would bear with ease the burden of a progranune of re- 
 construction, such as I shall presently lay down. For not 
 only would the economic cost be small compared with the 
 burden of the war, but tlie practical and immediate effect of 
 such a scheme of reform would be an enormous increase in 
 the economif and social efficiency of all citizens, and par- 
 ticularly those of the working classes who had not previ- 
 ously enjoyed the minimum conditions of human welfare. 
 There is no hope of making this programme effective by 
 merely preaching principles of right social action. The 
 description of those principles is intended to serve as an 
 indication of the highway of progress, and a suggestion of
 
 the goal upon which we should fix our gaze if we are to 
 make the partial eflforts that we oonteinplate a ('(^lutribiitiou 
 to a more complete scheme of social reconstruction, instead 
 of the too usual patchwork which social reforms have ap- 
 peared to be in the past. 
 
 Before we attempt to address ourselves to their remedy, 
 let us enumerate the principal evils which result from an 
 inequitable and unjust distribution of wealth. (1) The 
 possession of unearned income creates powerful and privi- 
 leged groups within society, whose interest is strongly ex- 
 erted towards the maintenance of the status quo, and whose 
 life of luxury and idleness is enjoyed at the expense of 
 large numbers of other human beings. The life of such a 
 class offers, for the most part, the worst kind of example 
 to those less fortunately placed, and lowers the whole tone 
 of the community by the encouragement of wasteful labour 
 and injurious forms of expenditure. I am reminded of the 
 distinguished scholar who caused a storm in the English 
 Church not many years ago by demanding the deletion from 
 the hymn book of the verse "The rich man in his castle, 
 the poor man at his gate ; God made them high and lowly 
 and ordered their estate. ' ' Such pernicious fatalism is the 
 direct result of the existence in society of a privileged class, 
 which has imposed upon human thought its own inhuman 
 and selfish ethic. I am fully aware of the immense con- 
 tribution to progress made by some of the most distinguish- 
 ed members of the leisured classes. But such men form no 
 more than a tiny fraction of their class, and even so the 
 human cost of producing them is entirely out of propor- 
 tion to the human utility they have furnished. We may 
 cry with Browning: "Oh God, make no more giants; ele- 
 vate the race!" 
 
 (2) Not the least of these evils is the existence of two idle 
 classes at the extreme ends of the social ladder. Both are 
 demoralised, the one by luxurious leisure, the other by en- 
 forced destitution. Their existence has imposed upon
 
 2.3 
 
 social thought an unwholesome respect for persons of ' ' inde- 
 pendent means," and an equally undeserved contempt rfor 
 the poverty stricken "out-of-work." For the latter con- 
 dition, the Labour Party urges the adoption of "tlie i-ight 
 to work"; it is equally necessary to remedy the former by 
 imposing "the duty to work." 
 
 (3) Irregularity of employment and general economic 
 insecurity lowers the whole standard of working-class 
 family life. A small steady income is infinitely better for 
 such a family than the same annual return distributed in 
 spasms. Business men say that certainty is the life-blood 
 of trade. The worker might well say that regularity and 
 security are the very foundation of his welfare. Our pro- 
 gramme of reconstruction endeavours to point the way to 
 such an assurance. 
 
 (4) The self-respect and moral well-being of the worker 
 are degraded by the conditions of his labour in most in- 
 dustries. Long liours and excessive toil are the general 
 condition of vast numbers of the working classes. Their 
 alf^iost entire dependence on the will of their employer saps 
 their self-respect and arouses their resentment. Their em- 
 ployment upon the production of so many utterly useless 
 things is another obvious evil. The c^aiicism thereby im- 
 planted in the minds of workers viewing these conditions is 
 a distinct obstacle to general progress. 
 
 Thus, the enjoyment of surplus wealth by a small section 
 of society has iudustnal and social results, whose generally 
 evil influences cannot be denied. How are we to re-con- 
 struct industrial society so as to abolish or minimise these 
 evils, while allowing within the social structure opportuni- 
 ties for the exercise of those strong impulses towards the 
 satisfaction of self-interest, thus turning to the best human 
 account the combative energy, and the love of enterprise and 
 adventure, which in a less moralised environment spend 
 themselves in undesirable ways?
 
 24 
 
 2. THE ETHICS OF PRIVATE PROPERTY. 
 
 It is impossible to address ourselves to the healing of the 
 social schism without some discussion of the morality of the 
 institution of private poverty. This is a matter so conten- 
 tious, touching the interests of such powerful groups and 
 so man}^ individuals, that it is almost impossible to conduct 
 a public discussion of it without serious misunderstanding 
 and prejudice ; but this must be attempted if re-construction 
 is to mean anything at all. Amongst the many efforts put 
 forward to justify private property, we must distinguish 
 carefully between morality and expediency. It can be 
 urged with a considerable show of truth that histor};- proves 
 the efficacy of private ownership in providing the greatest 
 stimulus to productive effort. Or to put it another way, the 
 human energy expended in the past and in the present on 
 the production of wealth would be enormously reduced 
 if the institution of private property were to be abolished. 
 Though this is a ground of expediency, it may be elevated 
 into a ground of morality if it can be shown that, without 
 private ownership, the necessary material basis of a high 
 civilisation would be seriously threatened. On this import- 
 ant point we must try to arrive at some conclusion. * 
 
 There was, of course, a time in primitive society when 
 the scope of private ownership was exceedingly limited. 
 Only slowly private property in land developed, and at last 
 cattle and buildings and movable property were added to 
 the list, until to-day there is very little on the whole earth 
 which is not already private property or in prospect of be- 
 coming so at an early date. Whatever we may think of the 
 institution itself, it is not to be doubted that this universal 
 extension of private ownership is highly undesirable. With 
 the right of private property are wrapt up the rights of per- 
 petuity, inheritance, and free disposal. These rights in- 
 evitably cause many of the evils alreadj^ discussed under 
 the heading of "Distribution of Wealth." They have made
 
 25 
 
 possible the amassing of huge fortunes and the consequent 
 domination of the lives of the vast majority of men by a 
 comparative few. Is the human gain that comes from such 
 an institution worth the admittedly immense human cost? 
 The answer is not to be found in the wholesale abolition of 
 private ownership, or the alternative of leaving things as 
 they are. As a matter of fact, every community has long 
 sought to reduce these evils by numerous forms of inter- 
 ference with private wealth. The most deep-rooted evil is 
 the almost universal worship of money. No mechanical 
 reform can get rid of this. Still, we can do much to re- 
 move the concrete evils of private ownership. I will dis- 
 cuss later the claims of Socialism and Syndicalism to solve 
 the general problem. At present let us have regard mainly 
 to the possibility of other changes. 
 
 Property that is entirely the produce of one man's own 
 labour is not likely to prove a serious social danger. But 
 wherever large accumulations pf wealth are found, the en- 
 joyment of large sums accruing from interest on money lent 
 becomes a real menace to society. Here again, we have so far 
 had to choose between the unsatisfactory alternatives of the 
 Socialist, who would abolish all interest, and the Capitalist, 
 who regards even the income tax as a harmful encroachment 
 upon the means of production. In society as at present con- 
 stituted, the entire abolition of interest would cripple our 
 economic machinery. But it is at least an equal evil to al- 
 low the millionaire the same rate of interest on the last 
 hundred pounds of his million as he received on the first 
 hundred. Society feebly recognises this in the imposition 
 of the super-tax, but the amount of surplus wealth returned 
 to the community by this means is but the tiniest percen- 
 tage of what it could be made, with the greatest benefit to 
 the comnumity, and no harm whatever to production. For 
 such a huge surplus, it must be remembered, is in the main 
 rendered possible only b}^ underpaying the producers and 
 by exploiting the consuming public.
 
 26 
 
 Of all forms of property, the private ownership of land is 
 most harmful and tyrannical, and least necessary on any 
 ground that can be urged. I have in mind now not the 
 land upon which a man builds his home, or any land for 
 such immediate enjoyment, or even so much the amount of 
 land worked or cultivated under personal supervision, but 
 rather the vast tracts of country and mineral properties 
 whose economic value bears but little relation to the amount 
 of effort or capital expended upon them by the owner. Ur- 
 ban plots may also be cited as property of this kind. I think 
 it is generally agreed that this kind of private property is 
 exceedingly injurious to society. One of the difticulties in 
 the way of reform is that Parliament has, for centuries, 
 sanctified this form of private ownership. The practical 
 problem of restoring to society the ownership of the soil, 
 without reducing its economic productivity, is one of im- 
 mense difficulty. One entirely desirable and practical re- 
 form is the gradual raising of the land tax on unimproved 
 values until the community can be said to enjoy the benefit 
 of the whole social surplus which its progress has created. 
 
 Another serious question is that of inheritance. It is com- 
 monly urged that, without the incentive of provision for 
 their children, men would not work so efficiently and ener- 
 getically. It is impossible to measure the true extent of this 
 feeling. While every affectionate parent is animated in 
 some degree by this motive, it cannot be said how much of 
 it would remain if the community assured to every child 
 the economic and social conditions which, in the case of the 
 death of the bread-winner, would be necessary to give it the 
 fullest opportunity to rise to its appropriate status in so- 
 ciety. Again, we do not know how much a man who seeks 
 to amass great wealth is moved by the mere desire for the 
 power its possession gives him. The interest of the work 
 for its own sake is another motive, whose strength it is im- 
 possible to measure. Altogether, therefore, I cannot offer 
 any final conclusion about the right or expediency of in-
 
 27 
 
 heritance, except to declare that it is very undesirable that 
 the right of inheritance should extend so far as to make it 
 possible for an heir to acquire a dominating influence over 
 the lives of large numbers of human beings. The imposi- 
 tion of heavy death duties, if administered on some sen- 
 sible plan, which would deal the least injury to existing en- 
 terprises, is one of the best present means of reducing the 
 evils of inheritance. The heavy super-tax is another. 
 
 The great mental confusion which exists regarding pro- 
 perty is well represented by the modern revival of the old 
 idea that sucli property is justified if the owner regards it 
 and uses it as a social trust. This was the view of the 
 Christian Socialists in the early 19th century. It is the 
 view advanced by Mr. Andrew Carnegie, the donor of pub- 
 lic libraries and the munificent promoter of international 
 peace. There is tragic humour in the spectacle of a man 
 whose enormous wealth was acquired under conditions which 
 aggravated the social schism and involved the ignorance and 
 degradation of his workers, now providing facilities for the 
 education of such workers, and also employing wealth gain- 
 ed largely through the existence of international rivalries 
 in the proifaotion of international peace. This apparent 
 effort to reconcile the ruthless pursuit of wealth with the 
 endowment of movements making for human unity serves to 
 aggravate the resentment of the workers and to repel all 
 right-thinking people. We cannot separate the origins of 
 wealth from its expenditure. The condescension known as 
 "charity," however real the feeling that inspires it. is 
 defective as a form of social amelioration, because it takes 
 for granted a wrong relation between the giving class and 
 the receiving class. This is not inconsistent with the doc- 
 trine that "it is more blessed to give than to receive," for 
 if the social attitude towards gi%'ing were what it ought to 
 be, nothitig would be more natural than the human fellow- 
 ship in which the exchange of goods would be made gladly 
 and freely according to the wants of others.
 
 28 
 
 We may conclude, therefore, that the institution of pri- 
 vate property is evil in its scope and effects, rather than in 
 its fundamental principle. Further, it is quite impractic- 
 able to abolish private property in the present stage of 
 human evolution. We can, however, enormously reduce the 
 evils consequent upon it, and can do much to prevent its 
 application to the exploitation of human beings, and to 
 direct its uses to social ends. "The mediaeval economists, 
 who appear to have debated the question of property very 
 thoroughly, finally threw over Plato's idea of common pro- 
 perty and private use in favour of Aristotle's idea of pri- 
 vate property and common use, which they considered more 
 suitable to this workaday world. They thought that com- 
 mon property was suitable for a religious community, each 
 member of which accepted a discipline, bvit not for those 
 who were unprepared to do so. ' ' This contains the crux of 
 the difficulty. Abolition of private property would im- 
 pose upon present day society a discipline altogether too 
 rigorous to be borne. The wiser plan is to palliate the worst 
 effects of the system in such a way as wdll gradually edu- 
 cate men to a more social view of ownership. 
 
 3. SELF-INTEREST AND SOCIAL SERVICE. 
 
 The contention that instincts of self-interest and emula- 
 tion, forming what is generally called human nature, will 
 always operate against any idealised State, is, of course, 
 worthy of serious examination. No society can thrive which 
 fails to offer sufficient scope for these common energies and 
 impulses. The question whether human nature is capable 
 of responding properly to an environment founded upon 
 canons of equity and justice is one that cannot be wholly 
 answered without much longer experience of the partial 
 changes already effected. So far, those who argue that pro- 
 posals for the abolition of destitution, the raising of wages 
 and improvement of working conditions, interference with 
 and confilpation of private property, and other encroach-
 
 20 
 
 ments upon wealth, are fatally apt to impair the incentive to 
 individual effort and to do more harm than good, have had 
 paramount influence over the social mind. While admit- 
 ting that over-drastic social reforms are sure to impair, at 
 least temporarily, the machinery of production and the force 
 of human energy, the fact must also be emphasised that 
 even for purely selfish purposes the present system does not 
 get the most out of the average human being. Indeed, the 
 waste of brain power and energy permitted under compe- 
 tition is one of its most striking faults. It is certain that 
 industrial society could be infinitely better organised than 
 at present, even if its sole motive were a maximum of pro- 
 duction. 
 
 A question much more difficult to answer is whether such 
 an economic re-construction would induce, or be accom- 
 panied by, a fundamental change of spirit, which will make 
 for social co-operation instead of individualist competition. 
 It seems to be impossible to say what changes in this direc- 
 tion will result from material changes in the structure of 
 industrial society. The Departments of the Public Service 
 do not offer any great encouragement of the idea that eco- 
 nomic security induces a high degree of public spirit or 
 individual efficiency. But we must remember that the con- 
 ditions of the Public Services of all countries are them- 
 selves sadly in need of reform, and their Departments are 
 infected with almost the same wrongness of attitude as the 
 ordinary commercial ' enterprise. It is safe to say that in 
 all spheres of human activity, private and public, we have 
 only just begun to improve the economic environment so as 
 to re-act healthily upon the social spirit of the individual. 
 Every improvement in industrial organisation gives us a 
 greater chance of freeing human energies for the cultivation 
 of the more artistic and intellectual aptitudes. What the 
 effect of such reforms would be no one can tell. But surely 
 none will care to deny that on mere grounds of human jus- 
 tice they should be attempted, and so long as they are de-
 
 30 
 
 signed to lead men steadily along the highway, without un- 
 duly straining the human nature of their particular stage 
 in evolution, the social danger of such reforms will be 
 minimised. It is certainly possible to direct the egoistic 
 energies of man into forms of expression which, while offer- 
 ing the fullest play for individuality, will result in the 
 smallest possible degree of social injury. At present a 
 great deal of supposedly valuable labour and energy has 
 to be put forth to save the individual from poverty, where- 
 as, if he were assured of a minimum sufficiency of neces- 
 saries, his energetic impulses could be induced to operate 
 in emulation with all his fellows on a higher plane of com- 
 petition.
 
 31 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Industrial Unrest and the Workers' 
 Needs. 
 
 1. CA[JSP]S OF INDUSTRIAL UNREST. 
 The pheiiomeijoii known as ''industrial unrest" existed 
 long before the war. and cannot be dismissed as merely 
 periodical. Nor is the increased cost of living, or Trade 
 Union agitation, a complete explanation. It is something 
 much deeper than a passing discontent, and much more diffi- 
 cult of solution than by mere rises of wages. Nor is this 
 unrest confined to a small number of workers, though its 
 expression may be limited to them. The fact is that 
 throughout the world the vast mass of workers are very 
 dissatisfied with the present economic system, regarding it 
 as unfair to Labour and convinced that a fundamental 
 change must come. If asked for his objections to the pre- 
 sent economic system of the worhl, the intelligent worker 
 would reply that the distribution of wealth is inequitable, 
 and the terms and conditions of Labour unfaii'. The in- 
 equalities are too glaring to be denied ; they do not at all 
 correspond to inequalities of capacity or service. The 
 worker, moreover, denies that property carries as just a 
 claim to dividend as that of capacity. The average worker 
 does not, of course, believe in equal distribution, but only in 
 remuneration according to the true economic value of sei'-
 
 32 
 
 vices rendered. He holds that large incomes generally re- 
 sult from pivileged positions rather than actual ability or 
 service, enabling their recipients largely to control the 
 workers and their income. 
 
 It is still held by many that the price of labour should be 
 settled by free bargaining between employers and workers. 
 This alleged freedom has always been denied by the workers, 
 who hold that, as economic power resides preponderantly 
 with employers and capitalists, there can be no freedom of 
 contract between possessors and non-possessors of capital. 
 The superior strategic position lies with capital, in the con- 
 trol of raw materials, the ownership of machinery and 
 patents, the domination of market conditions, and the or- 
 ganisation and training of Labour. As payment for ser- 
 vices rendered, the remuneration of the employer is not 
 objected to by the average* worker. But he is fully aware 
 that the rewards of enterprise and of Labour alike go all 
 too often to the speculator or the shareholder, and thus the 
 distribution of wealth, even admitting that capital should 
 get its share, is disgracefully uneven. 
 
 2. TRADE UNIONISM AND INDUSTRIALISM. 
 
 Through Trade Unionism, the workers have always 
 sought to prevent exploitation of their fundamental weak- 
 ness, and especially to prevent the constant fluctuations in 
 the demand for their labour that means spells of unem- 
 ployment and chronic insecurity. They have succeeded in 
 qualifying the worst features of the industrial system 
 as compared with a century ago. Trade Unionism has 
 strengthened the worker's position as a bargainer, by secur- 
 ing and maintaining the standard rate and improved con- 
 ditions. But the vast majority of wage-earners are still 
 unprotected, save by class solidarity and public sentiment. 
 The State has recognised the importance of the standard of 
 life by giving Unions legal status, by Fair Wages Clauses in 
 Government Contracts, by Old Age Pensions, Health and
 
 33 
 
 Industrial Insurance, Industrial Arbitration, and the like. 
 But so far the State has not given adequate attention or 
 support to the right of the wage-earner to an assured econo- 
 mic status. Practically all wage-earners are still exposed 
 to the dangers of unemployment, rises in the cost of living, 
 changes in the methods of production, individual bargain- 
 ing with employers, and accidents beyond human foresight. 
 The war has greatly aggravated these threats to the worker's 
 standard of life. Changes in methods of production, the 
 vast extension of the munitions industry, and particularly 
 the use of women and unskilled workers, have produced a 
 set of new conditions which will demand the utmost care 
 for their proper assimilation in the new social order. We 
 cannot return to the old conditions; but are we prepared to 
 accept the new ? 
 
 Trade Unions can do little by themselves to solve the 
 larger problems of industry. Take for example the prob- 
 lem of unemployment. The organisation of production ex- 
 tends beyond the scope of any Union, and indeed of any one 
 nation. To organise production so as to produce regular 
 employment will never be quite possible until the industry 
 of the whole world is sufficiently well-organised and the 
 working of competition adequately controlled. Cyclical 
 fluctuations in trade are too great and fundamental in the 
 present system to give any hope of world-wide improvement 
 in the immediate future. Apart from the natural influences 
 of seasons and geography, the competitive system leads em- 
 ployers to intensify booms and depressions by carrying pro- 
 duction too far during a boom, and restricting it too much 
 during a depression. Immense improvements could be ef- 
 fected by the better dove-tailing of industries especially in 
 the letting of Government contracts. A great deal could 
 also be done by the State insisting on an industry entirely 
 supporting its minimum of labour at a regular wage. The 
 London Dockers have been for some years graded into 
 classes, a reform which raised them from demoralisation 
 
 cl
 
 34 
 
 into comparatively good conditions. It has also been sug- 
 gested tliat the State could put a premium upon regular 
 employment and penalise irregularity, by imposing a tax on 
 the employer for unemployment insurance heavy enough to 
 make it worth liis while to improve his business organisation 
 so as to absorb the unemploj^ed, and make his labour de- 
 mand continuous and regular. Again, if each industry had 
 to maintain its separate Unemployment Fund, all firms in 
 the industry would be driven to co-operate, in order to ad- 
 tninister the Fund and reduce theii- obligations to the mini- 
 mum. Thus industries which improve their organisation 
 would reap the benefit of their enterprise. The principle 
 of each industry supporting its own workers, both employed 
 and unemployed, seems to me one of the most immediately 
 necessary reforms of our time. Since profits seek their jus- 
 tification on the grounds of management and risk-taking, 
 it is equally justifiable to pay for unemployment out of pro- 
 fits. It is surely utterly unfair to place the whole risk of 
 unemployment on the worker, and let the State and em- 
 ployer go free. 
 
 3. "CONDITIONS ARE DIFFERENT IN 
 AUSTRALIA." 
 
 Any analysis of the present social system on the critical 
 side is apt to be met by the remark, "But these things do 
 not happen in Australia. The working-man is much bet- 
 ter off here." It is certainly true that the Australian 
 worker enjoys, on the whole, better wages and conditions 
 than his brother in most other countries, though it must not 
 be forgotten that, even before the war, the rise in the cost 
 of living had cancelled most of his advances. But it is still 
 more important to remember that the standard of the 
 worker's welfare should not be what he actually gets, but 
 what he ought in justice to have. In speaking of fairly 
 high wages, we must not forget to compare Australian pro- 
 fits with Australian wages. When we dwell upon Australian
 
 35 
 
 conditions with satisfaction, we must also remember that 
 the workers won such reforms as they enjoy in the teeth of 
 great resistance ; they did not come as a free gift. If Aus- 
 tralia be indeed the worker's paradise that many people 
 declare it to be, it is the workers who have built it. 
 
 Though the Australian working-man may be fairly pros- 
 perous, he is still exposed to the accidents of sickness and 
 unemployment. He is often improvident; but in most 
 families how tiny is the margin between want and plenty. 
 We are too apt to accept as our standard of the working- 
 class budget that of the famil}' who is well-off instead of the 
 one who is badly-ott". The recognition of all these facts is 
 quite consistent with the view that a vast number of workers 
 lack a sense of responsibility, and that Trade Unionism has 
 too readily adopted the class war as an excuse for ill-con- 
 sidered and violent action. Means and ends have become 
 sadly confused in the minds of Labour leaders and the rank 
 and file. One of Australia's greatest dangers is this light 
 and airy assumption that nothing matters so long as they 
 win. But the true thinker strives to recognise all the facts 
 and to place them in their proper relation. In the minds 
 of the well-to-do, the worker's faults are ever prominent; 
 his rights are too often forgotten in contemplation of his 
 defects. 
 
 Still more important is it, if we wish to understand the 
 Australian worker, to get a clear view of his idea of his 
 proper position in industry. While the grosser forms of 
 oppression have been removed from Australian conditions, 
 the worker's personality gets little more opportunity of 
 expression than elsewhere. His self-respect feels injured 
 by the domination of his daily life by the employer. Dis- 
 cipline in industry is very essential, but it comes from with- 
 out. The workers are often over-resentful, suspicious and 
 irresponsible. But we must sympathise with their longing 
 to be freed from the sense of utter dependency upon their 
 employers. People are puzzled at the continued unrest of
 
 36 
 
 Australian workers. They forget that the needs of freedom 
 cannot be satisfied merely by fairly good wages. We have 
 gained political democracy ; but full freedom will be im- 
 possible without industrial democracy. The worker has 
 won the right to a share in the government of himself 
 through legislation ; he must be educated up to a full sense 
 of responsibility, self-respect and social duty by winning a 
 share in the government of industry. The way is long and 
 difficult, but it must be trodden if industrial peace and 
 social justice are to be permanently established.
 
 37 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 The Class War. 
 
 1. 1« THERE A CLAIS!S WAR! 
 
 Everywhere to-day we hear of the class-war. In the 
 speeches and writings of revolutionaries, we ai-e told that 
 there exists a fundamental cleavage iii society, which results 
 in a struggle between capitalists and workers, known as the 
 class war. 
 
 Is there, in point of fact, such a struggle now going on in 
 society? We must look for the distinguishing marks of 
 warfare. Is there a vital conflict of interests ? Undoubted- 
 ly there is: the wage-earning class and the employing class 
 find their interests constantly diverging in the division of 
 the proceeds of production into wages and profits. Though 
 high wages and high profits may occur together, there is in 
 general a constant pressure of the one upon the margins 
 of the other. Again, is there one class of society more 
 privileged than the other? Most of the land of the world 
 and its raw materials are in the hands of the few. The 
 conditions of daily life of the vast majority of mankind 
 are dominated by a comparatively small class. Hundreds 
 of millions of men live in destitution, the greater part of 
 which could be removed within a generation, and the whole 
 of it ultimately. During the last hundi*ed years the workers 
 of the world have endured bad housing, low wages, insani-
 
 38 
 
 tary and unhealthy conditions of work, and periods of 
 unemployment, which expose an economic and social cleav- 
 age so deep that it is impossible to escape the conclusion 
 that the class war is a fact. I know no economist of stand- 
 ing who denies these facts, or fails to regard them as utterly 
 deplorable. That a great portion of mankind to-day en- 
 dures hunger and thirst and degrading misery as a normal 
 condition of life, in a world teeming with generous poten- 
 tialities for adequate subsistence for all, cannot be denied, 
 and must not be shirked by any citizen. 
 
 The new social order will never be realisable until the 
 scales fall from our eyes, and we see the kingdom of dark- 
 ness that we have permitted to arise. We need to be re- 
 minded of .such horrible events as the machine-gunning of 
 American miners during a strike a few years ago, of the 
 massacre of the miners on the River Lena in Siberia, of the 
 St. Lawrence strike in America, of the factory conditions 
 in India exposed by a recent Royal Commission, of the 
 scandalous (jonditions under which indentured Coolies have 
 to live and work in Fiji. I have myself seen a dock strike 
 in Russia ended by the police driving the strikers into a 
 forest and besieging them until the}' were starved into 
 submission. These are unpleasant facts, but we are poor 
 citizens if we close our eyes to them. How different 
 would be a social order in which every man, woman and 
 child should be assured of the minima of human welfare 
 — food and drink, shelter and protection, education, leisure 
 and health, and abundant opportunities for spiritual up- 
 liftmeut. Nearly a century and a half ago Rousseau 
 kindled the flaines of the French Revolution with the words : 
 "Man was born free, and everywhere he is in chains." 
 Since then but a few of his grosser shackles have been 
 struck off. The worker can never be free so long as his hold 
 upon life is so precarious. Exposed to dismissal, unemploy- 
 ment and oppressive conditions, he and his family may be 
 I'uined by the slightest cha)ige or accident. Every worker
 
 39 
 
 sees before hiin the grave menace of unemployment. To 
 him economic securitj^ is a most vital concern. Employers 
 and investors may also suffer badly from decline of busi- 
 ness, loss of connections, or from accidents. But they are 
 never, like the worker, faced with the dreadful despair 
 that grips his heart when he is discharged. Is it any wonder 
 that lie feels himself helplessly enthralled by a system 
 which picks him up, or throws him down, at its own caprice 
 and without pity? Instability is the very crux of the 
 worker's position. Though he does not alw^ays blame his 
 employer, he loathes the system that treats him as a scrap 
 of metal or an unthinking cog. 
 
 These admitted evils justify the worker in regarding his 
 class throughout the world as being generally oppressed. 
 But it is a great mistake to attribute to him alone the feel- 
 ings of class hostility. When I hear in suburban trams and 
 trains sweeping indictments of the workers as being lazy, 
 greedy and disloyal, I see tho spirit of the class war stalk- 
 ing naked and unashamed. The psychology of Labour is 
 utterly misunderstood by the well-to-do. The faults of the 
 worker are very obvious. He often shows hastiness and 
 violence, a want of social responsibility, a disposition to 
 tyrannise in victory. But we must always remember in his 
 favour that society has shamefully neglected his education, 
 and that, moreover, he is compelled by his conditions to 
 make decisions in the mass. He is, therefore, influenced by 
 the evils of mass-psychology. You and 1, perhaps, come to 
 our decisions in the comfort of an easy chair, free from any 
 brain-stoi-m of hate occasioned by the fierceness and par- 
 tisanship generally prevailing in the mind of a crowd. Add 
 to this that the worker begins with a just resentment against 
 the social system, and we need not be surprised that his 
 actions are often hasty and ill-advised. But neither his 
 conduct nor his character are recognisable, to those who 
 know him. in tlie caricatures of most of the daily news- 
 papers.
 
 40 
 
 2. THE CLASS WAR AS A DOCTRINE. 
 
 Though the circumstances which make for class hostility 
 are undeniable, there is a world of difference between 
 accepting the class war as a rough statement of fact and 
 advocating it as a creed and policy of progress. For their 
 own protection, the workers must remain sufficiently class- 
 conscious. But they confuse this necessity of their inferior 
 position with the idea of waging deliberate warfare in 
 society. It is inconceivable that the healing of the wounds 
 of society can be accomplished by the deliberate conduct 
 of bitter warfare between the classes, by acting on the 
 doctrine that might is right, by intensifying all the factors 
 that lead men to hate one another. It is futile to hope that 
 from enlarged chaos can emerge the social millennium. But 
 it is equally futile to expect that we can remove the deep 
 dissensions of industrial society by indiscriminate patching 
 or by resistance to every sort of change of the status quo. 
 One wonders which is the more pathetic and dangerous — 
 the "go-slow" policy of the Syndicalist, or the "go-slow" 
 policy of the Conservative. 
 
 The doctrine of the class war also has the fatal defect 
 of most generalisations over the whole human race; the 
 exceptions are so numerous and important as to render 
 the general statement a fallacy. Mankind cannot be di- 
 vided into two armies by an economic boundary. A vast 
 number of men do not fall naturally either into the cate- 
 gory of the "capitalist class" or that of the "working 
 class." This relates not only to their possessions, but to 
 their thought and interests. It is particularly true of their 
 mental outlook. Though the outlook of the propertied, 
 professional and industrial classes is largely determined 
 by their economic environment, the iiumber of exceptions 
 and the degrees of variation are so important as to vitiate 
 the generalisation of the class war advocate, and without 
 his wholesale generalisation he is disarmed. As a matter
 
 41 
 
 of fact, he has reared another version of the "economic 
 man" fallacy. 
 
 Man is not merely economic. Thoiijih his basal self is 
 sometimes wholly, and generally largely economic, lie is 
 actuated very frequently by spiritual, intellectual and 
 moral motives that cannot be traced to any economic 
 root. It is one of the eternal verities that "Man shall not 
 live by bread alone," a truth that is fatal to the doctrine 
 of the class war. 
 
 The ideal of the class struggle appeals strongly to the 
 most active minds in the working-class. Its appeal is to 
 class loyalty based upon class consciousness. The workers 
 are not satisfied with the opening of o})porturiities to mem- 
 bers of their class of superior talent. "One swallow does 
 not make a summer": the winning of a few posts in the 
 upper world does not mean the elevation of his wliole class. 
 He has grown weary of middle-class philosophy and insti- 
 tutions. One is often asked: "What economics are you 
 seeking to teach us?" (.rude as is the idea behind the 
 question, the worker has every reason to distrust the usual 
 text-book economies. He remembers the theories of the clas- 
 sical economists, with their "economic man" and "laissez- 
 faire," their economics divorced from ethics, earning for 
 their philosophy the title of the "dismal science," "the pig- 
 philosophy." He has seen the 19th Century develop na- 
 tional institutions saturated with the thought of the middle- 
 class. He sees the ideas that have permitted the horrors 
 of the factor}'- system allowed to perpetuate themselves 
 through education, Parliaments, the churches and the press. 
 All these forces, therefore, are to him the embodiment of 
 class exclusiveness and privilege. Thus he elevates his own 
 class into the heroes of the class struggle, and theii- fight 
 for freedom becomes a Holy CVusade. He points bitterly 
 to successive disappointments with the reforms anticipated 
 from Parliamentary government, trade unionism. State 
 socialism, co-operation, and social legislation. All have 
 
 C2
 
 42 
 
 failed to bring him the salvation for which he yearns. 
 Despairing of bringing about the social transformation by 
 reformist agencies, he leans upon the doctrine of the class 
 war as a force of progress which will achieve its end by 
 shattering the social fabric and building the new order upon 
 its ruins. The inspiration of a common hope and a common 
 birthright strengthens and directs this movement. It is 
 based on a firm belief in a working-class culture superior 
 to that of the bourgeoisie. The workers welcome strikes 
 as the lightning flashes that illuminate the deep gulf fixed 
 between the workers and their exploiters ; or, to change 
 the metaphor, strikes are skirmishes in the great military 
 preparations for the final victory that is to crown the ef- 
 forts and sacrifices of the working-class militant. 
 
 Such an intensity of conviction and a willingness for 
 sacrifice is worthy of our respect and attention. But I 
 firmly believe that the most sympathetic examination of the 
 class war and its advocates will compel the conclusion that 
 the doctrine and practice of the class struggle are funda- 
 mentally unsound, both in morals and prospects of achieve- 
 ment. In practice, the class war can only lead inevitably 
 to the organisation of resistance on the part of the middle- 
 class, which will defeat the object of such a war, first by 
 its tendency towards an equilibrium of forces, and secondly 
 by speeding up the compromises that are even now con- 
 stantly taking place. The testing of the strength of both 
 sides is always followed, sooner or later, by such re-adjust- 
 ments and concessions. Man, as Kant has said, can get on 
 neither with his fellow-men nor without them, and that is 
 why he progresses. Again, he says, if the earth were not 
 a globe, but an endless plain, there need be no war between 
 nations. It is the unity that makes the conflict. The human 
 problem is to accomplish the unity without a friction that 
 will leave the relics of corruption and cleavage. The equi- 
 librium that would follow, or be promoted by, the class war 
 would largely be a precarious concert of hostile forces. The
 
 43 
 
 equilibrium tliat we should seek must be based upon true 
 human unity expressing itself in laws and institutions which 
 provide the complete environment of human liberty. Such 
 an ideal is unattainable so long as individual interest is 
 preponderantly the basis of individual action, and is sanc- 
 tified by the State, which still leaves to men great potenti- 
 alities for evil action in the ways elsewhere described. 
 
 One invariable phenomenon of extremist movements, 
 whether in preaching or practice, is that the greatest 
 bitterness, invective and persecution are reserved, not 
 for the original enemy, but for the dissenting friend. The 
 heresy-hunt absorbs the best energies of the revolution- 
 ary, as of the sectarian. Indeed, sectarianism is every 
 whit as rife and acrimonious among the parties of revo- 
 lution as among the sects of religion. Much as the Bol- 
 sheviks hate the Bourgeois, the true molten metal of 
 their wrath is poured upon the Mensheviks, tlieir late 
 broth ers-in-arms. Similarly, the "Spartacus" followers 
 of Dr. Liebknecht are at daggers drawn with the Ma- 
 jority Socialists of Germany. The One Big Union move- 
 ment in Australia is cleft into bitterly hostile sects, some 
 favouring federation, some amalgamation, while others 
 consider the Australian Workers' Union the Mecca of the 
 O.B.U. While they are agreed in their undying hos- 
 tility to the employers, these sects ai'e carrying on an in- 
 ternecine warfare of increasing bitterness. 
 
 3.— CLASS WAR AND TYRANNY. 
 
 To cultivate class hatred is to disqualify for true citizen- 
 ship. A sympathetic study of the preachers of the class 
 war has led me to the conviction that the class-hater grows 
 more and more warped in judgment, more and more un- 
 scrupulous as to means and ends. After separating out 
 the humbugs, one meets a number of sincerely convinced 
 agitators, who tell forth the burning conviction within them, 
 born of brooding over the wrongs of the "workers of the
 
 44 
 
 world through centuries of servility. Gradually such agi- 
 tators lose all interest in the truth. They are concerned 
 only in making points against the capitalist. Intrigue and 
 evil diplomacy, and even atrocities, are justified by their 
 conscience. Their poisoned minds and distorted outlook 
 justify all the horrors and evils of war, so long as it is the 
 class war. And yet these are the very men who are fore- 
 most in the ranks of the pacifists, denouncing military war- 
 fare as fiercely as they preach the crusade of the class 
 struggle. To attribute all the evil in the world to economic 
 sources is a fatally easy solution of all difficulties. Tlie 
 readiness of the agitator to stifle critical thought and to 
 give the workers a mere battle-cry has often come within 
 my experience. Over and over again these men have 
 frankly told me that they do not wish the working-class to 
 be ''educated"; it is sufficient for them to know that the 
 capitalist is their eternal enemy. They do not realise the 
 devil they are invoking. The class war seeks to save one 
 class by the suppression of another. It is useless to claim 
 that justice would be dealt out to the conquered. "Woe 
 to the conquered" is at least as likely to be the motto and 
 practice of industrial revolutionists as of the militarists of 
 to-day. JMen are inevitably affected towards tyranny by 
 the sense of power. There is no individual or group in 
 society fit to have entrusted to it the lives of the rest of 
 society. Unlimited powers of government are certain to 
 be translated into engines of tyranny. Moreover, the re- 
 volutionary type is the least fit of all men to re-construct 
 society in* conditions of peace; and yet revolutions place 
 those very men in charge of the state. The Russian Revo- 
 lution, much as it provokes one's sympathy, is a lamentable 
 example of this truth. The so-called Russian democracy of 
 to-day is essentially a militarist government. The Bolshe- 
 viks have yielded to the temptation to use force to attain 
 what they regard as right ends. This is so much easier 
 than the ballot box, and far safer than to risk bourgeois as-
 
 45 
 
 cendaucy. If there is anj' virtue in goverument by the 
 many, it is as much opposed to right that the anarchist 
 few should control the community as the autocratic few. 
 There are none so undemocratic as those who decline to 
 await the sanction and confirmation of a truly popular vote. 
 Hence the claim of such creeds as that of Syndicalism, that 
 the intelligent minority should govern the apathetic ma- 
 jority. If this is true, then democracy is at an end. What 
 difference is there between Nihilists, Jacobites, French Re- 
 volutionaries, Sinn Feiners, German militarists, Bolsheviks, 
 and Syndicalists, in their attitude to democracy? Each be- 
 lieves in dragooning the rest of the community according to 
 their particular doctrines. While there is every justifica- 
 tion for a revolution against intolerable conditions, there is 
 no question that most revolutions are doomed to failure be- 
 cause they seek to pitchfork society into a new social situa- 
 tion, for which it is psychologically quite unprepared. Re- 
 construction of the world after a class revolution must be 
 an utter failure. Both in morality and intelligence the 
 masses of to-day are utterly unfit to build up the new social 
 order, (civilisation grows ever more complex, and while its 
 progress can be immensely hastened by intense effort aud 
 agitation, it cannot be re-constructed upon a catastrophe. 
 All mankind deserve to be saved. A purely class victory 
 would fasten upon us merely another form of industrialism, 
 and greatly delay the higher development, which is the only 
 ultimate end of society. We are too much obsessed with 
 things economic. The world is passing through an econo- 
 mic development which is, after all, only a phase of evo- 
 lution. While it is essential that social justice be attained, 
 before we can proceed to higher levels of life, we can only 
 successfully grapple with the economic problem by keeping 
 our eyes fixed upon the spiritual ends of civilisation, to 
 which economic justice is only one of the means. Not only is 
 human brotherhood a greater ideal than class consciousness, 
 but the individual, like society, is a unity of material and
 
 46 
 
 spiritual, bodj' and soul. Too long have we pretended to 
 divorce these two inseparable elements of human life. Terms 
 like sacred and secular, material and spiritual, though 
 useful for discussion, are utterly misleading in so far as 
 they pretend that the narrowly spiritual can exclude the 
 material in life. Human existence cannot be lived in com- 
 partments. Until we acquire a knowledge of the life of 
 souls without bodies, a life in which appetite and desire 
 play no part, we are not entitled to try to build a world 
 which neglects these elements in the human nature that we 
 know.
 
 47 
 
 Bibliography I. 
 
 HISTORICAL AND INTROIWCTORY. 
 
 Hazeu — Europe Since 1815 (Bell). 
 
 Hayes — Political aud Social History of Modem Europe 
 (Constable). 
 
 Hearnshaw — Main Currents of European History, 1815- 
 1915 (Blackie). 
 
 Phillips, A. — Modern Europe (Ginn & Co.). 
 
 Hassall — European History, Chronologically arrangetl, 476- 
 1910 (Maemillan). 
 
 Robinson — History of Western Europe (Ginn & Co.). 
 
 Robinson and Beard — The Development of Modern Europe 
 (2 Vols.) (Ginn). 
 
 Levett — Europe Since Napoleon (Blackie). 
 
 Rose — The Development of I he European Nations, 1870- 
 1914 (Maemillan). 
 
 The Garton Foundation — Memorandum of Industrial Situa- 
 tion After War. 
 
 Toynbee — Nationality and the War (Dent). 
 
 Slater — Peace and War in Europe (Constable). 
 
 Marvin — The Living Past (Oxford). 
 
 Marvin (Ed.)— The Unity of Western Civilisation (Ox- 
 ford). 
 
 Schmitt — England and Germany, 1740-1914 (Princeton 
 Uni. Press). 
 
 Cramb — Germany a)id England (Murray). 
 
 Dawson — The Evolution of i\lodern Germany (Fisher Un- 
 win). 
 
 Dawson — What is Wrong with Germany? (Longmans). 
 
 Lichtenberger — Germany and Its Evolution in Modern 
 Times (Constable), 
 
 Barker, Ellis — Modern Germany (Smith, Elder & Co.). 
 
 Sarolea — The Anglo-German Problem (Nelson).
 
 48 
 
 Bawsoii — Industrial Germany (Collins). 
 
 Namier — Germany and Eastern Europe (Duckworth). 
 
 Greenwood and Others — An Introduction to the !Study of 
 
 International Relations (Macmillan). 
 Seton-Watson and Others — The War and Democracy 
 
 (Macmillan). 
 Fisher — The Republican Tradition in Europe (Methuen). 
 Morel — Ten Years of Secret Diplomacy (National Labour 
 
 Press). 
 Verguet — France in Danger (John Murray). 
 Murray' — The Foreign Polic}' of Sir Edward Gn^y, 1906- 
 
 1915 (Oxford). 
 Rose. Holland — The Origins of the War (Cambridge). 
 Firth — Then and Now (Macmillan) (pamphlet). 
 Nelson's History of the War (Nelson). 
 Price (Ed.) — The Diplomatic History of the War (Allen 
 
 & Lhiwin). 
 Government Papers — Great Britain and the European 
 
 Crisis (pamphlet). 
 Lodge, Oliver — The War and After (Methuen I. 
 Fernau — The Coming Democracy (Constable). 
 Sarolea — How Belgium Saved Europe (Heinemann). 
 Carnegie Endowment for International Peace — National- 
 ism and War in the Near East (Oxford). 
 Seton-Watson — Roumania and the Great War (Constable). 
 Pirenne^Belgian Democracy (Manchester University 
 
 Press). 
 Zimmern and Agresti — New Italy (Constable). 
 .Miller— The Ottoman Empire, 1801-1918 (Cambridge). ' 
 Magnus — Pros and Cons of the Great War (Kegan. Paul). 
 Diplomatic Documents of European War. 
 Waldstein — What Germany is Fighting For (Longmans). 
 Bevan— The Method in the Madness (Arnold). 
 Cheradame — The Pan-German Plot Unmasked (Murray). 
 Freytag-Loringhoven — Deductions from the World War 
 
 (Constable).
 
 49 
 
 New York "Times/' — Current History of tlie War, 
 
 Jones, Stinton — Russia in Revolution, by an Ej'^e-Witness 
 (Jenkins). 
 
 Anet, Claude — Through tlie Russian Revolution (Hutchin- 
 son) . 
 
 "Daily Mail' Year Book, 1918 and 1919. 
 
 Keltie (Ed.) — Statesman's Year Book. 
 
 Royer, Emile — German iSoeialists and Belgium (Allen & 
 Unwin ) ( pamphlet ) . 
 
 Morier, Sir R. — Memoirs, Vol. I. (The Rise of Prussia). 
 
 Oxford War Pamphlets. 
 
 Macmillan — Pamphlets on European Crisis. 
 
 Atlases: The Cambridge Modern History Atllas; Nelson's 
 War Atlas ; An Introduction Atlas of International 
 Relations ( Headley ) . 
 
 Bartholomew — An Atlas of Economic Geography (Oxford), 
 
 Petre, M. I). — Democracy at the Cross-Roads (Fisher Un- 
 win). 
 
 Vandervelde — Three Aspects of the Russian Revolution. 
 
 Pollock, John — War and Revolution in Russia. 
 
 Cestre — France, England and European Democracy, 1215- 
 1915 (Putnam). 
 
 Ogg, F. A. — Economic Development of Modci-u I-'urope 
 (Macmillan). 
 
 Rose, Holland — The Rise of Democracy (Blackie & Son). 
 
 Liebknecht — "The Future Belongs to the People" (Mac- 
 millan), 
 
 "The New Europe" — Monthly magazine. 
 
 "The New East" — Monthly magazine. 
 
 "The Cambridge Magazine" — Weekly. 
 
 * ' Commonsense ' ' — Weekly.
 
 PAF^T II, 
 
 The Forces of Unity and Progress.
 
 5.^ 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Unity in HiSory." 
 
 1.— UNITY IN P:UR0PEAN DEVELOPMENT. 
 
 America's policy of isolation from European ent<iugle- 
 iiients has been justified by the course of events. But her 
 entry into the war is equally justifiable, since the develop- 
 ments of the struggle have finally made the world a political 
 universe, from which no country can afford or be allowed 
 to stand apart. Further, it has been shown beyond (h)ul)t 
 that any world-order must be built upon the European 
 system. In that continent reside the great majority of 
 first-class Powers. It is there that the most elemental prob- 
 lems of humanity — nationality, religious and racial ambi- 
 tions, the rival political institutions of autocracy, monarchy 
 and republic, modern finance and capitalism, and the go- 
 vernment of inferior races — exist in their most acute and 
 unsettled form. It is a matter of vital importance, there- 
 fore, to realise the nature of the historic evolution of 
 Europe, for the Commonwealth of Nations cannot be real- 
 ised unless it takes full account of historical developments 
 in politics, nationality, philosophy, science and commerce. 
 
 The Greeks gave birth to the highest type of human civi- 
 lisation, within the narroAv scope of their State, whence it 
 became possible for a unity of spirit to spread through 
 Europe. Creek achievements in art and politics were a 
 lasting contribution to human progress, and have caused 
 
 *See "Progress and History," and "The Unity of Western 
 Civilisation"; ed. F. S. Marvin (Clarendon Press),
 
 54 
 
 repeated revivals of learning in Europe. The Romans pro- 
 vided a practical form of organisation and a body of law 
 that made a political unity out of most heterogeneous 
 elements. Law and order, temporarily submerged in the 
 Dark Ages, saw the light again in the unity of the mediae- 
 val Church, which inherited the framework of the Roman 
 Empire, and extended the area of the system of morality 
 and civilisation inaugurated by Rome. The Feudal System 
 of the Middle Ages wa?* the result of the collapse of the 
 •Roman Empire and the cutting of its communications by 
 the invading hordes of barbarian Goths, Huns, Franks and 
 Moors. These tribes were the founders of the separate 
 nations of "Western Europe. The breaches which they made 
 in the unity of European development were more apparent 
 than real. They poured like a hot flood into the divided 
 relics of the Roman mould, but the spirit of the universal 
 Church tempered and subdued them, and gave to European 
 unity an ecclesiastical form and direction. Parallel with 
 this development was the growth of nations as political 
 entities, which may be described as the main work of the 
 Middle Ages. England and France were the first to gain 
 national unity. The Age of Exploration gave rise to a 
 series of commercial empires — Spain, Portugal, Holland, 
 France, England — built upon intense economic and politi- 
 cal rivalries, embodied in the mercantile system and colonial 
 expansion of the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries. 
 During the whole of this period Italy and Germany un- 
 happily remained in a state of political disintegration. Not 
 till our own time did the patriotism and democratic fervour 
 of Cavour, Mazzini and Garibaldi make United Italy pos- 
 sible. Russia, Germany, Austria and Turkey alone failed 
 to rise to the call of democracy. Their failure has cost the 
 world dear, for there is no doubt that a Europe containing 
 only free and liberal forms of government would long ago 
 have settled the grosser causes of friction within her body 
 politic. German unity was, unfortunately, left to the work
 
 55 
 
 of far-sighted autocrats, who hammered into the unity of a 
 great nation what had hitherto been a hopeless mixture of 
 peoples, classes, petty princes, and divergent schools of 
 thought. Thus the progress of the European system to- 
 wards unity has been liamperod b}' the presence in its midst 
 of three huge Empires — Russia, the Central Powers, and 
 Turkey — unassimilated to the conception of democracy 
 and human unity. Nevertheless, these existing barriers 
 and hostilities by no means confute the reality of the many 
 tendencies towards unity. 
 
 2.— UNITY IN LAW AND POLITICAL THOUGHT. 
 
 It was through the growth of the Roman Empire that a 
 uniform system of law was given to Europe. At tirst Roman 
 law applied merely to citizens, strangers being without 
 rights. The human value of imperial development is seen 
 in the gradual growth of Roman law to cover the cases and 
 conditions of aliens, of whom the Empire contained vast 
 numbers. From the imperial conception and practice of 
 law, the Stoics developed the ideal of a world-citizenship, 
 taking the law of nature as its foundation, as against human 
 convention. Thus the law of nature became the basis of 
 the conception of a universal law of mankind. The growth 
 of legal unity was delayed by the confusion of tribal and 
 personal law in the Dark Ages. This has caused some 
 diversities in continental law. But the rights of the feudal 
 lords in their separate territories provided growino; points 
 for a legal and political unity, especially in England. The 
 Canon Law of the mediaeval Church, which was an inter- 
 national society, helped greatly to maintain the spirit of 
 unity amid diversity. The Reformation and the Revival of 
 Ijcarning restored the conception of Roman Law on the 
 Continent through the strong re-action to classical tradi- 
 tion. This movement was helped by the break-up of the 
 mediaeval system, followed by the growth of absolute mon- 
 archies and centralised governments. Moreover, Roman
 
 Law was essentially favourable to despots. Hence its great- 
 est influence was felt in Germany. The growth of strong 
 States produced a series of national codes of such marked 
 similarities that they tended towards the creation of a unity 
 of law in Europe, sweeping away anomalies and diversities 
 of custom. English Law, developing under insular and ex- 
 clusive conditions, took a more original and national direc- 
 tion, and to-day, throughout the world, the conceptions of 
 Roman law and English law divide the honours. 
 
 In political thought, modern European history shows a 
 constant inter-action betwecji the movements occun-iisg 
 amongst all the leading nations. English Liberalism in the 
 Eighteenth Century, with its doctrines of natural freedom, 
 strongly influenced the thinkers of P^rance who inspired the 
 Revolution. The Frencli Revolution in turn atfected the 
 entire thought and action of Europe. The Philosophic 
 Radicals of England, with their doctrine of laissez-faire, 
 were the descendants of the Eighteenth Century Liberals 
 and the French Revolutionaries. Their ideas strongly 
 atfected the political thought of the Continent. But these 
 doctrinaire and philosophic movements must not blind us 
 to those concrete events — political and military failures and 
 successes, and the practical working of institutions — which 
 greatly affect national thought. The actual achievement of 
 Italian unity was a fresh inspiration to Liberalism, just as 
 the triumphs of Germany in 1864, 1866, and 1870 were a 
 victory for efficient autocracy and the unscrupulous State. 
 Tlie final defeat of Germany in the great war will have 
 philosophic and intellectual reactions of the profound- 
 est importance to the human race. Had Germany won, 
 or even not lost, the pall of political pessimism must have 
 descended on the world. The decisive victory of the Al- 
 lies will cause an overwhelming wave of democratic senti- 
 ment to flood the world. These eventualities are of even 
 greater importance to the human race than the actual 
 social and economic degradation which a German victory
 
 57 
 
 would impose upon all peoples. Thus there is a real unity 
 and sympathy in all national and international thought 
 and action, either through co-operation or conflict. In any 
 case no smgle influence can be separated from the rest. So- 
 cial conditions and political thought in England cannot be 
 severed from the emancipation of the Poles and Serbs, 
 Russians and Belgians. There is no philosophy superior to 
 the actual mundane happenings of this planet. Such a un- 
 ity of sympathy, in thought and events throughout the 
 world, may be tragic or promising. Its character and di- 
 rection depend upon the degree in which all these forces 
 can be consciously harnessed in the service of human 
 ideals. 
 
 3.— PROGRESS THROUGH EUROPEAN EDUCATION, 
 LITERATURE AND SCIENCE. 
 
 As in other departments of human activity, a certain 
 unity is traceable in the progress of education in Europe 
 Like many other forces making for unity, education has 
 also proved tlie creator of schism, chiefi/' tiirougii its em- 
 ployment for the promotion of nationalism. The essential 
 driving force of educatioji is derived from tlie strong con- 
 victions of individuals and nations. Tlius tiie intense .self- 
 consciousness of nationalities has confined modern educa- 
 tion within a narrower channel than of old. "Even reli- 
 gion has become national, and God has once again become 
 a tribal deity." Has this inevitable idealisation of nation- 
 ality destroyed our chances of world unity through educa- 
 tion? Apparently there are still higher forces working for 
 unity. 
 
 It was the enthusiasm of religious teachers that gave to 
 Europe the institution of the school and the univ(M-si1y. 
 The international scope of the Church brought about a 
 unified system of education, based upon the Bible, the writ- 
 ings of the Fathers, and the ideal of the service of Mother 
 Church. The system was first utilised to teacli and disci-
 
 58 
 
 pline the barbarians to become faithful servants of the 
 CJiurch. The universal use of the Latin language and hi 
 Koman and Canon Law, aided by the temporal power of the 
 Church, made the system of Western civilisation, especially 
 in its education, common and uniform. The atmosphere 
 and outlook of classical literature were in direct antithesis 
 to the rising nationalism everywhere vigorously seeking ex- 
 pression. For centuries this common teaching produced a 
 sort of international mediaeval mind, and delayed the rise 
 of the great national literatures. 
 
 The internationa] influence of this education was must 
 strikingly exemplified in the universities of the Middle 
 Ages. In the personnel of its students, and its system of 
 teaching, every University was international. A commoji 
 language and a common philosoph}^ enabled the scholastic 
 teachers to discourage national peculiarities, and elevate 
 the idea of unity and orthodoxy into the only way of truth 
 and salvatioji. To be different was a heresy, and iiilellcr- 
 tual rebels like lluss and Wyclif, with their foiloAvers aacjc 
 sternl.y suppressed. The narrow virtues of such a system were 
 soon over-laid by the iron crust of intolerance and tyranny. 
 The mind could not grow within such a dead system. The 
 twin movements of the Reformation and the Renaissance 
 were an inevitable re-action. The Revival of Learning 
 derived its inspiration from Greek literature, inducing a 
 philosophic speculation which aimed at completely freeing 
 the intellect from religious superstition. In place of the 
 dead hand of authority it restored the conception of the 
 dignity of human personality. It souglit, tlirough giants 
 like Erasmus, for a new union of Europe through a com- 
 mon faith based upon a liberal culture. But tliis idea! 
 could not be realised in face of the overthrow of the com- 
 mon language and common belief of Christendom. 
 Thus religion became the great separator, the hand- 
 maid of nationalism, and the educational system 
 underwent a corresponding change. Though the schools
 
 59 
 
 long remained severely classical, the rising tide of 
 national sentiment gave a new colour and direction to the 
 study of ancient literatures. The quickening of thought 
 and the rapid inarch of European events were enough to 
 produce, from the Seventeenth Century onwards, a great 
 new movement in thought and literature, that prepared the 
 way for modern democracy. Before the full effects of this 
 new liberalism could be felt, there occurred a revival cf 
 autocracy through Napoleon. The schools aud universities 
 were used for the deliberate propagation of imperial philo- 
 sophy. Practically all the States and Governments of 
 Europe have, since then, deliberately used the educational 
 system to perpetuate their own forms of State and their 
 exclusive national ideals. 
 
 Ill no country has education been so completely based 
 upon an exclusive nationalism and aggressive imperialism 
 as in Germany. There is nothing wrong or vicious in a 
 nation developing its own peculiar system of educatioji, 
 specially adapted to its needs, a composite of historic tradi- 
 tion and national genius. But the attitude of Germans to 
 their own "luiltur" is very different from that. Their 
 point of view is clear in the use of the Avord "Kultur." 
 which ronghly means civilisation, but is applied, not as 
 with us, to the civilisatioji of mankind in general, but to a 
 German edition of sociological and educational conditions, 
 to be imposed upon foreign nations, if necessary by force. 
 A kultur so purely national and rigid can only be main- 
 tained by a powerful State. Having suffered so mvu'ii from 
 llic weak State and divided empire, Germans have come to 
 believe in Prussian strength as if divine. Thus their whole 
 educational system is bent upon the cultivation of this 
 ideal, not wnth the high human motive of producing good 
 citizens, but to train soldiers and citizens in the interest of 
 their type of State. German political philosophy adopts 
 the State as the highest form of human association. To the 
 Germans humanity has become a merely abstract idea,
 
 60 
 
 lacking organised expression or completeness or common 
 aim and allegiance. This attitude has strongl}^ resisted the 
 liberalism and democracy of English thought, and retarded 
 the advance towards unity. The differences between the 
 political outlook of Prussia and that of England or France 
 are enormous. They are due to the deliberate and artificial 
 change wrought by the German system of education. But 
 for Germany it would be true to say that, "In the realm 
 of ideas Western civilisation forms a single Commonwealth 
 of informal but of existing democratic constitution," Its 
 common features are rooted in the past — religion, learning 
 and tradition. Essentially, unity does not mean sameness. 
 Great nations are complementary rather than similar. 
 English commonsense, breadth and liberty, French logic, 
 accuracy and equalit}^, German organisation, Russian spiri- 
 tuality and brotherhood, constitute an international divi- 
 sion of labour, but a composite whole. 
 
 Great litei'ature and art are human rather than national, 
 especially in their modern spirit. They colour all national 
 feeling and tradition Math the universal. The romantic 
 literature of the whole of Western Europe, and its coinci- 
 dent philosophy, are the offspring of the French Revolution, 
 and reflect the spirit of human unity. Differences in 
 language fail more and more to qualify the universality 
 of all great literature. Painting, sculpture and music do 
 not suffer even the barriers of language. However divided 
 by many things, men find themselves united in the supreme 
 arts of literature, philosophy, music, sculpture and paint- 
 ing, while science is even more international in scope and 
 influence. Mathematics, chemistry, medicine, physical 
 science — all are international. The purely scientific spirit 
 transcends such narrow boundaries as those of nationality. 
 But its beneficial influence is limited by the fact that scien- 
 tific achievement is so quickly translated into efficiency and 
 wealth production, that its effect on human thought and 
 sentiment is apt to be lost. We must not, therefore, make
 
 61 
 
 too much of the technical applications of science as human- 
 istic forces. Technical science makes many servants but 
 few masters. By improving production it raises the stan- 
 dard of life and increases the demand for skilled workers, 
 but adds little to the number of human beings who make 
 truth their own. Tlie advance of technology, and its rapid 
 application to the production of wealth have obscured the 
 deeper aim of science, which is not merely the subjection of 
 nature to man's control, but the service of the higher needs 
 of civilisation, which, though they often baffle definition, 
 are none the less the only things that ultimately matter in 
 the destiny of the human race. It is that aim and its recog- 
 nition that makes the Greek spirit eternal. We must set 
 no limit to the soaring of man's spirit, its passion for 
 liberty, its courage and enterprise in following wherever 
 truth leads. In this great adventure, science is but one 
 force, albeit a vital one. Human society cannot sustain its 
 life or reach superlative excellence through organised effi- 
 ciency or technical skill. That would indeed be to Ger- 
 manise the world, to create an organised slavery, whose 
 chief pathos would be the self-satisfaction of its citizens. 
 The true unity that springs from education, though yet to 
 be fully realised, may be found in our inheritance from the 
 past. The problem is not a new one, but rather that of re- 
 acting to an old ideal to be brought to perfection in changed 
 circumstances. Its own special contribution to the world's 
 commonwealth each nation must continue to make ; its own 
 peculiar genius each must be encouraged to develop. But 
 unity there still can be, and must be — the unity of a com- 
 mon spirit, the unity of a common motive — education for 
 liberty and the perfection of our humanity.
 
 62 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Political and Economic Movements 
 towards Unity. 
 
 1.— THE MODERN OUTLOOK. 
 
 Ever since the Reformation great thinkers have set them- 
 selves to analyse the functions of the State. Grotius, 
 Hobbes, Locke, Kant, Rousseau, Hegel, Bentham, John 
 Stuart Mill, Herbert Spencer — all have contributed to our 
 clearer understanding of the State and its objects. In the 
 16th Century, the period of the rise of national monarchies, 
 thinkers naturally concentrated on the problem of 
 sovereignty. The 18th Century witnessed an overwhelm- 
 ing movement towards individualism, in violent reaction 
 against the suppression of all liberties by the sovereign 
 power of monarchs. The 19th Century, dissatisfied with 
 this over-negative conception of liberty, and driven forward 
 by the enormous forces of the new industrial system, was 
 compelled to seek a positive reconstruction of society 
 through Collectivist legislation. The 18th Century had re- 
 garded too woodenly its conceptions of freedom and nature, 
 science and order. The Romantic poets — Wordsworth, 
 Shelley, Coleridge, Byron — were able to interpret freedom 
 in more spiritual terms, and prepared the way for the great 
 humanitarian movement. But the intense individualism of 
 the Philosophic Radicals found collateral expression in the 
 work of the scientists and economists of the later 18th and
 
 63 
 
 early 19th Centuries, with their passion for organised know- 
 ledge and freedom from restraint. Such a philosophy, 
 though it involved order and freedom, left too much to the 
 motive of self-interest to satisfy the rapidly growing 
 humanitarian sentiment, or to purge the young industrial 
 system of its terrible evils. Gradually the idea of removal 
 of restraints upon individual liberty developed into the con- 
 ception of legislation as a positive aid to individual welfare 
 — a mixture of the negative and the positive conceptions of 
 freedom. This development of opinion towards the social 
 and CoUectivist legislation of the 19th Century was not, in 
 ray opinion, a philosophic movement, but the adoption of 
 economic and political doctrines forced upon the national 
 consciousness by the overwhelming necessity for an endea- 
 vour to remove the terribly concrete evils of the factory 
 system. Thus, in the later 19th Century, the authority of 
 the State was repeatedl}' invoked to compel forms of organi- 
 sation and the observation of conditions which would safe- 
 guard and promote the welfare of the general body of citi- 
 zens, and more particularly that of the workers. Whereas, 
 in the days before the industrial system, politics was 
 divorced from economics, they have been brought into a 
 real and close approximation by the immense growth of in- 
 dustrial and social organisation in our own time. Again, 
 the failure of the laissez-faire philosophy to divorce econo- 
 mics from ethics, through the fiction of the ' ' economic man ' ' 
 and the theory of non-intervention by the State, is due to 
 the pressure of events. A continuance of the effort to 
 separate moral from economic considerations has been 
 defeated by the drastic necessity for reconstructing the 
 economic world on lines consistent with a rising moral 
 standard. Thus to-day we see politics, economics and ethics 
 being draAvn into something like a sociological unity. This 
 is all to the good, for though we may lose something through 
 the vagueness and pretentiousness of the new subject of 
 sociology, its suggestion that the human problem is a com-
 
 64 
 
 plete whole, and can only be solved by our treating it as 
 such, is of real value in the process of reconstruction. On 
 the other hand, the immensity and complexity of the modern 
 social problem, coupled with its awfulness, have led men to 
 search more eagerly than ever for a talisman of reconstruc- 
 tion. Hence the schools of Utopianism, Collectivism, Syn- 
 dicalism, Quild Socialism, the Single Tax and other pan- 
 aceas. Doubtless every one of these philosophies contains 
 some truth in theory, and offers something useful in practi- 
 cal reform. But they are too direct and single in their 
 analysis, and too wholesale in their synthesis, to solve the 
 human problem in its infinite complexity and variety. They 
 are also too downright in their condemnation of palliatives 
 and compromises, A compromise does not necessarily exhibit 
 weakness, but shows the variety of the needs of a situation, 
 and the necessity for selecting varied means to suit a varied 
 end. A multitude of little changes, and not one sweeping 
 change, are alone adapted to the needs of a growing organ- 
 ism. Material environments and intellectual ideas are con- 
 stantly interacting, making the actual problem different 
 from day to day. In his impatience to bring society in one 
 catastrophic plunge into the new social order, the revolu- 
 tionary will not listen to any warnings about the pitiful 
 absence from the composition of the average man of the 
 finalities needed to produce the millennium. He attacks 
 all social reforms as palliatives, i.e., as mere postponements 
 of the revolution and as sops to an increasingly class- 
 conscious proletariat. His error consists, not in condemn- 
 ing certain types of social reform, but in failing to dis- 
 tinguish between the bad and the good palliative. A bad 
 palliative I would call one which merely places a patch upon 
 an organic injury, or, to change the metaphor, tinkers with 
 a deep-seated engine trouble. Such palliatives seem to me 
 to include the workhouse system, all forms of indiscriminate 
 charity, most schemes of co-partnership and profit-sharing, 
 some forms of State Socialism which lead the worker to lean
 
 65 
 
 too heavily upon the State. Good palliatives, on the other 
 hand, would certainly embrace adequate wages, good condi- 
 tions of labour, sound schemes of land settlement, old age 
 pensions, public health facilities, and unemployment insur- 
 ance. Such measures, I would claim, do not result merely 
 in an immediate benefit, but lead us definitely along the 
 highway of permanent reform. In the programme of re- 
 construction which I am suggesting appear only such pal- 
 liatives as these. 
 
 2.— UNITY THROUGH SOCIAL REFORM. 
 
 The existence of similar social evils in the life of all coun- 
 tries, combined with increasing intercourse in ideas and 
 movements, has led to a degree of unity in the methods of 
 social reform. The evils of extreme poverty, political op- 
 pression, industrialism and landlordism are common to all 
 countries. But the reform tendencies cover even broader 
 fields than these. Improvements in sanitation, medical 
 treatment, methods of dealing with criminals, the suppres- 
 sion of slavery, conventions of industrial legislation, the ele- 
 vation of the status of women, and immense improvements in 
 the treatment of children and aged and infirm persons. 
 Though it is easy to exaggerate the material results of this 
 slow social reformation, the reality of the growing sense of 
 liuman unity, through the development of common ideas of 
 political liberty and economic welfare, cannot be denied. 
 The failure of religion to embrace the growing needs of man- 
 kind in a complete unity of aspiration and realisation has 
 driven the finest thinkers and the noblest enthusiasts into 
 the movement of the social reformation. This is a revolt 
 against that false divorce between material and spiritual, 
 secular and sacred, which, in its extreme form, is an absolute 
 denial of the true unity of the individual and of the whole 
 human race. This social reform movement will be im- 
 mensely hastened by post-war conditions. Meanwhile, we 
 may easily exaggerate both its achievement and its prospect.
 
 66 
 
 for it is concerned with the interests most fundamental to 
 man, both in his individual and social capacity, the inter- 
 ests of getting and spending, the upbringing of his family, 
 tlie conditions of inheritance, and the mass of laws surround- 
 ing rights of property; it greatly affects the spheres of 
 health and morality, of crime and insanity, and, in fact, the 
 whole of the hygiene of society. Full unity through social 
 reform cannot, therefore, be accomplished without dealing 
 with the human problem as a whole ; but every uplif tment of 
 itleals, every amelioration of the social system, whether 
 through reforms in industry, education, religious thought 
 or international relations, is an advance in unity. The 
 smallest achievement in the w^ork of betterment is worth 
 while, since its influence expresses itself in infinite waves 
 of progression. Thus conceived, human efforts at regenera- 
 tion become, not a feeble patcliwork. but stones in the temple 
 of unity. 
 
 In the past generation there has been a remarkable 
 growth of international congresses, for the encouragement 
 of every kind of social movement and the discussion of all 
 phases of international life. The most definite effort to 
 establish an international movement for social reform is 
 that represented by the International Association for 
 Labour Legislation. "The object of the association, which 
 is a non-party body, is to create an international standard 
 of legislation." Its national sections are autonomous, 
 being linked together by an International Committee, meet- 
 ing ever}^ two years in Switzerland, and consisting of from 
 six to ten delegates from each national section, and of 
 representatives of the principal Governments, who attend 
 in a semi-official and advisory capacity. In 1906 the asso- 
 ciation was responsible for two International Conventions, 
 covering the prohibition of white phosphorus in the manu- 
 facture of matches, and the prohibition of 'night work by 
 women. The national signatories to these conventions have, 
 grown in number from 7 to 44 and 25 respectively. The
 
 67 
 
 association is continuing actively to seek such reforms as 
 a ten-hour day for lads under 18 and women, prohibition 
 of night-work for boys, reduction of the excessive hours 
 prevailing in continuous industries like those of iron and 
 steel, the extirpation of industrial diseases, and the pro- 
 hibition of the use of lead in the pottery trade. 
 
 Such a movement as this is bound to receive a great 
 stimulus from the new awakening of the social conscience 
 due to the war. The establishment of a LeagTie of Nations 
 would give an additional impetus to its work, since discus- 
 sions between the representatives of industrial countries 
 are bound to raise questions involving the economic effects 
 of national differences in industrial conditions.* For ex- 
 ample, Australian industry is vitally concerned with tlie 
 conditions of labour in Japan. Will nations which have 
 adopted a comparatively high standard of industrial con- 
 ditions be content to rely upon the "economy of high 
 wages" in competition with nations paying much lower 
 wages? It seems probable that there will be at least some 
 attempt to standardise labour conditions, so as to minimise 
 the unfairness of competition between nations. 
 
 3.— THE INTERNATIONAL LABOUR MOVEMENT. 
 
 One of the most important movements before the war in 
 the direction of internationalism was the increasing ten- 
 dency to solidarity amongst the organised workers of the 
 world. It is quite possible that after the war the inter- 
 national labour movement will be the most important 
 single factor in the establishment of conditions making for 
 permanent peace. This movement has taken two principal 
 directions — that of International Socialism, and that of 
 International Trade Unionism. In 1847 a Congress was 
 
 *As we go to press, the Peace Conference has appointed a 
 special commission to investigate r.nd report upon the possi- 
 bility of international industrial standards. This passage 
 was written long before the Peace Conference assembled.
 
 68 
 
 held in London, which resulted in the formation of the first 
 international organisation of workers, with Karl Marx and 
 Frederic Engels as its moving spirits. In spite of a 
 chequered career, and final collapse in 1873, "The Inter- 
 national" served to lay the foundations of a working-class 
 movement at least European in scope, and exercising great 
 influence upon the various national working-class move- 
 ments. It was not until 1889 that it was revived in the 
 form of an International Socialist Congress at Paris. At 
 intervals of a few years, this Congress has been repeated 
 in various European capitals. At the Paris Congress of 
 1900 the International Socialist Bureau was formed, for 
 the purpose of carrying out the work of the Congress, and 
 serving as a centre for socialist literature and activities. 
 It has had a very considerable influence upon the Labour 
 movement in all countries, though the usual split between 
 opportunists and revolutionaries has occupied an exces- 
 sive amount of its attention. On the question of war, the 
 International Socialist movement has adhered to the reso- 
 lution of the Stuttgart Congress of 1907, which was car- 
 ried unanimously^ its form being as follows : — 
 
 "If war threatens to break out it is the duty of the 
 working-class in the countries concerned and of their par- 
 liamentary^ representatives, with the help of the Interna- 
 tional Bureau as a means of co-ordinating their action, to 
 use every effort to prevent war by all the means which seem 
 to them the most appropriate, having regard to the sharp- 
 ness of the class war and to the general political situation. 
 
 "Should war none the less break out, their duty is to 
 intervene to bring it promptly to an end and with all their 
 energies to use the political and economic crisis created by 
 the war to rouse the populace from its slumbers, and to 
 hasten the fall of capitalist domination." 
 
 A great effort was made in several countries, including 
 Britain, to give effect to this resolution, but all were a com- 
 plete failure. The movement was shown to have nothing
 
 69 
 
 approaching the necessary strength to enable it to operate 
 effectively against national spirit and organisation. The 
 German Socialist Party has proved particularly weak in 
 this direction. It is easy to be misled by the figures of 
 membership and affiliated societies in judging the relative 
 strengths of Socialist parties in Europe. The German 
 party was the best organised and the most efficient in the 
 world, having 1,000,000 members, 89 daily papers, and 59 
 printeries. The parties in France and Italy, though not 
 nearly so well organised and equipped, were proportionately 
 much more influential, possessing a strength far beyond 
 their apparent numbers, and a striking percentage of dis- 
 tinguished and professional men. Racial differences pre- 
 vented the Austrian party from gaining much headway. 
 The Russian movement was largely an unknowji quantity, 
 but the revolution has shown that it possessed great latent 
 power, proving once more that spirit is much more import- 
 ant than organisation, Th^.ugh in its apparent results a 
 failure, this general movement for working-class solidarity 
 had become already formidable in many countries, and is 
 quite certain of an immense development, for its influence 
 is infinitely greater now that the issues of war and peace 
 involve entire populations. The outbreak of the present 
 war showed that diplomacy was beyond the understanding 
 or control of the masses, but the growth of a League of 
 Nations, and of all other international movements, will 
 greatly increase the powers and opportunities of a united 
 working-class of the world. 
 
 <)n its purely industrial side, this international movemeiit 
 is still more recent and undeveloped. The International 
 Trade Union Secretariat was founded in 1901, and is now 
 the International Federation of Trade Unions. As early 
 as 1888 an International Congress was held in London, 
 under the auspices of the English Unions, but the real basis 
 of the international working-class movement was the Con- 
 gress of 1901. "The International Federation of Trade
 
 70 
 
 Unions now unites the movements of 21 countries, mainly 
 for purposes of information, and amongst these are all the 
 Powers of the world, except Australia, Bulgaria, and the 
 Argentine, which can be said in any way to possess an 
 effective Trade Union movement."' The first fruits of this 
 development are the publications dealing with reports and 
 statistics of the Labour movement in various countries. It 
 is estimated that the total number of the world's Trade 
 Unionists is now about 15 millions. 
 
 Side by side with this broader international movement is 
 the development of federations of an international scope in 
 particular industries. Metal workers, miners, transport 
 workers, wood-workers and building workers form the 
 greatest of these federations, their membersliip varying 
 from about 1| million to half a million, with more than a 
 score of smaller federations covering other trades. 
 
 In addition to these international developments, there 
 is in each country a growing movement towards complete 
 Labour solidarity. In France the General (Confederation 
 of Labour was growing rapidly in strength and numbers 
 before the war. In England, amalgamations and federa- 
 tions have been growing for many years. To a lesser extent, 
 the same tendencies are observable in America, Germany 
 and some other countries. The present movement in Aus- 
 tralia for the creation of the One Big Union is a significant 
 part of what is becoming a world-movement. But the most 
 ardent supporters of such schemes greatly underrate the 
 apathy and ignorance of the majority of the workers, and 
 grossly exaggerate the possible results of greater solidarity. 
 Unless closer union is accompanied by a clearer under- 
 standing of the problems of industrial society, it will accom- 
 plish little. It is almost pathetic to notice the fervour with 
 which Labour reformers have taken up one scheme after 
 another in full confidence that each would produce a mil- 
 lennium. At one time it was the Utopian communities of 
 Robert Owen. When that prospect failed, a grandiose
 
 71 
 
 scheme for the national federation of Labour captured the 
 imagination of Labour leaders about 1830. Later still. 
 self-governing workshops provided the panacea. Since then 
 State Socialism, Co-operation, Syndicalism, and at last 
 Guild Socialism, have successively, and in our time collec- 
 tively, held the field. Every one of these schemes bears 
 within it vital seeds of truth and suggestions for reform. 
 But every fresh social experiment provides new proof of 
 the simple fact that, until the human material with which 
 we must build our new society is more unselfish, more 
 public-spirited, and more efficient, every mechanical reform 
 must fall far short of its promises. The conservative cites 
 the faults of human nature as an excuse for leaving things 
 alone. But the real lesson of history is that the dead heri- 
 tage from the past must and can be removed, and that the 
 progress of civilisation can be deliberately and success- 
 fully planned for many ^^ears ahead, so long as the people 
 are educated up to an uiiderstanding of the elements of a 
 true reconstruction. 
 
 4.— UNITY THROUGH TRADE. 
 
 The civilising and unifying influence of trade has always 
 been powerful. Before modern times economic relations were 
 not matured. Mediaeval trade was mostly local, limited and 
 feeble. Land communications were extremely difficult, the 
 sea was still unconquered. Brigandage and piracy were 
 rampant everywhere, both Church and State imposing their 
 own restrictions on trade. Nevertheless great trading cities 
 arose, and remarkable success was achieved in carrying 
 goods over large tracts of country and difficult seas. But 
 medieval lands remained largelj' self-sufficient, with a sim- 
 ple economic life. The succeeding age developed highly cen- 
 tralised nations, with an economic policy peculiarh^ selfish 
 and concentrated. This national movement was strongly 
 accentuated during the Age of Discovery, when trading 
 companies arose, which, with their governments, marked
 
 72 
 
 out the world into areas of monopoly. This intense na- 
 tionalism was not broken until the time of Industrial Revo- 
 lution. The growth of capital available for foreign enter- 
 prise, the provision of new markets through exploration, 
 the abolition of the old protectionism, all prepared the way 
 for the tremendous outburst of production inaugurated by 
 adoption of machinery in textile trades. The use of ma- 
 chinery driven by power revolutionised the whole world. 
 The search for raw materials opened up hitherto unknown 
 sources of suppl^^ The huge output led to the search for 
 larger markets, and now the whole world is being drawn 
 more and more into the vortex of modem industrial econo- 
 my. Improved transport and communication, by rail, 
 steamer and telegraph and telephone, have helped to make 
 the Vv'orld one great economic universe. The Industrial 
 Revolution has had its counterparts in finance and politics. 
 Most powerful of all economic forces towards unity is 
 finance. Use of money, even within a limited district or 
 tribe, greatly expedited social unity. To-day, the many 
 forms of international currency and the tremendous growth 
 of international capitalism and high finance tend strongl.y 
 towards world unification, though, at the same time, pro- 
 viding elements of disruption through the concessionaire, 
 the armament interests, and the princes of high finance. 
 Norman Angel 1 was quite right in stressing the close- 
 woven intricacies of the modern credit system, though evi- 
 dently in error in his estimate of its power to prevent war. 
 The delicate machinery of international credit proved quite 
 sufficiently elastic to bend and re-adjust itself under the 
 strain of a world-wide war. Experience has suggested 
 safeguards and devices which have enabled bankers and 
 governments to adapt their institutions to new needs, 
 without incurring the disasters of the past. Great growth 
 of foreign investments on the part of all countries are a 
 further evidence of unification and interlocking of interests. 
 London Stock Exchange lists show a huge number of official
 
 73 
 
 loans, foreign enterprises, and investments of all sorts. 
 Occasionally, several nations co-operate in a loan to another 
 country, e.g., the Five Power Loan to China. This constant 
 stream of investment is a great influence in opening up the 
 water-ways and highways of the world, and in producing 
 a better co-ordination and supply of the world's produc- 
 tion. The re-action of foreign investment upon the manu- 
 factures of lending countries has similar effects. 
 
 Mediaeval self-sufficiency has gone for ever. Every 
 country realises its dependence on every' other for its sup- 
 plies and the satisfaction of its needs. Roughly, a terri- 
 torial division of production exists all over the world, in 
 spite of tariffs. Industrial countries are essentially depen- 
 dent on foreign countries. Lands beyond the seas have 
 been developed by streams of European emigrants. The 
 concession system has also had far-reaching effects in 
 assembling labour and capital in unexploited parts of the 
 globe. The world's system of credit and exchange, so com- 
 plicated, highly organised and delicate, is the nervous 
 system of the modern economic world. Thus, steadily 
 through the ages commerce has pointed the way to the 
 unity of mankind, making it more necessary through show- 
 ing the interdependence of nations. Repressive influences 
 upon this economic unity are political imperfections, na- 
 tional debts, protective tariffs, and differing national ideals. 
 We have seen how economic considerations lead States into 
 secret or open conflict. But the undoubted natural ten- 
 dency of economic forces is towards free intercourse be- 
 tween peoples, though another tendency towards disunion 
 must not be neglected. Trade is based on self-interest, and 
 though the trader believes in peace and unity, his interest 
 conflicts frequently very strongly with that of other na- 
 tionalities. The debts of one nation to another also often 
 lead to bad feeling. The invasion of foreign capital may 
 cause dangerous jealousies. The flag is apt to follow trade, 
 rather than vice-versa, and so international friction arises. 
 
 d2
 
 "From growing commerce loose her latest chain, 
 And let the fair, white-winged peacemaker fly 
 To happy havens under all the sky. 
 And mix the seasons and the golden hours. 
 Till each man finds his own in all men's good, 
 And all men work in noble brotherhood. 
 Breaking their mailed fleets and armoured towers, 
 And ruling by obeying Nature's powers, 
 And gathering all the fruits of peace and crowned with all 
 her flowers.'" 
 
 Thus certain forces have been long and steadily making 
 for unit}^, some of them material and inherent in the nature 
 of world-conditions, others issuing from the hearts and 
 minds of men. The natural pressure of the former, and the 
 healthy extension of the latter, contain the hope of the 
 world. Men are learning to plan with knowledge and 
 sincerity the future of a world hitherto largely left to the 
 blind forces of chance. 
 
 5._M0VEMENT TOWARDS INTERNATIONAL 
 AGREEMENTS. 
 
 Early in the war it became the fashion to declare that 
 international law had ceased to exist. This opinion was 
 based not merely upon the open violation of international 
 conventions and treaty rights by Germany, but had its 
 real root in the pessimism that affirmed war to be inevit- 
 able, and international friendship and law" to be too pre- 
 carious a foundation for a commonwealth of nations. The 
 whole history of the 19th century and the experience 
 of the war itself show how hollow is the cry that there 
 is no public law among the nations. A civil riot does not 
 prove the non-existence of forces of law^ and order, but 
 merely indicates the suspension of their effective opera- 
 tion, and generally leads to their subsequent strengthen- 
 ing. Similarly, the spirit and principle of international 
 law are now more strongly supported by the public con- 
 science of the world than ever before. The violation by
 
 75 
 
 Germany of both the signed conventions and the unwrit- 
 ten laws of the nations has been so flagrant, and fraught 
 with such dire disaster to mankind, that the movement 
 towards international agreements, which seek to nar- 
 row continually the area of conflict, will certainly pro- 
 ceed much more rapidly than before the war. 
 
 A perusal of the existing agreements and Public In- 
 ternational Unions will show that the last century wit- 
 nessed in every department of our common life the be- 
 ginnings of international government. The growth of 
 communications and international trade has been so en- 
 ormous, and its ramifications so widespread, as to create 
 an ever-increasing tendency towards the settlement of 
 international questions by conference and agreement. 
 When the narrow mercantilism of the 18th century had 
 given way to the commercial freedom of the 19th, it 
 was discovered that national interests could be recon- 
 ciled with international needs — a discovery of primary 
 importance. The breakdown of the crude economic bar- 
 riers established by the hostilities of the 18th century 
 soon made international action inevitable in such mat- 
 ters as the control of posts and telegraphs ; while to-day 
 there is scarcely a single function of government which 
 is not exercised through some international organisation. 
 International action has now been applied to (1) com- 
 munications, (2) public health, (3) industry and com- 
 merce, (4) morals and crime, (5) political relations, (6) 
 scientific and educational subjects. 
 
 The Postal Union has set up a most elaborate inter- 
 national control of posts and telegraphs. Numerous 
 diplomatic conventions have resulted from conferences 
 between governments and voluntary associations. Sucii 
 are the International Congress of Weights, Measures and 
 Monies, of 1867, which produced the Metric Union ; a 
 uniform commercial law of salvage and collision at sea 
 was worked out by the International Maritime Commit-
 
 76 
 
 tee, after the Conventions of 1910. Every year confer- 
 ences are held between the Governments of various 
 States, scores of treaties being signed annually covering 
 the subjects already mentioned. The chief defect of this 
 movement is the lack of permanent organisation and 
 regular supervision and revision of the agreements. Most 
 of the work is done by bodies called Public International 
 Unions, possessing their own organising bureau and staff. 
 These vary in scope and functions from permanent de- 
 liberative or administrative organs established under the 
 auspices of the Governments concerned, to special confer- 
 ences summoned to deal periodically with specified busi- 
 ness. The principle and subject-matter of the work of 
 these bodies are remarkable. They include the Sugar 
 Commission, the Opium Commission, the Legal Protec- 
 tion of Workers, the White Slave Traffic, the Interna- 
 tional Institute of Agriculture, the Slave Trade and 
 Liquor Traffic in Africa, Industrial Property. Public 
 health and epidemic diseases, especially Smallpox, 
 Cholera and Plague, are now under the strictest regula- 
 tion by international agreement, operating both on trade 
 routes and by an established system of quarantine. Many 
 agricultural problems are also covered by international 
 conventions, including educational and other publica- 
 tions. In the moral sphere the Slave Trade was the first 
 to ])e dealt with on international lines. The World Anti- 
 Slavery Convention was held in London in 1840, and 
 was the first example of the International Congress. 
 These meetings are now very numerous, and though sel- 
 dom purely official in character, often lead to permanent 
 international organisation under Government control, or 
 with Government representation and support. One of 
 the most noteworthy of these bodies is the International 
 Association to Combat Unemployment, involving eight 
 Governments, seventeen national official bodies, and 
 numerous others. Such organisations are invaluable in
 
 77 
 
 working out solutions of problems in detail. Since 1890 
 international labour legislation has been promoted 
 through Conventions, which, though they cover only a 
 very few basic working conditions, are steadily extend- 
 ing their scope and influence. A good example of the 
 potentialities of international conferences is the settle- 
 ment of frontier questions, once a fruitful cause of con- 
 flict, now almost universally settled by arbitration. The 
 Hague Conferences, though in many directions their find- 
 ings have not been operative, were a most commendable 
 extension of the effort to bring political questions within 
 the scope of international arbitration. Numerous minor 
 instances of the tendencies towards international under- 
 standings might be cited. The adoption of uniform 
 standards in industrial production, covering many scien- 
 tific, commercial and industrial commodities and imple- 
 ments, has been very marked during the last thirty years. 
 International combinations in shipping, steel production, 
 oil, and a great many other forms of wealth and capital, 
 also influence the international movement. Much may 
 be hoped from the insistent needs of the post-war situa- 
 tion, in compelling the nations to establish more and 
 more agreements to keep pace with the ever-increasing 
 community of their interests. Better understandings will 
 also be encouraged by the large number of scientific, edu- 
 cational and political congresses held in the great cities 
 of Europe and America, drawing into helpful co-opera- 
 tion the leaders of thought and action in all the prin- 
 cipal countries of the world.
 
 78 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Standards of Progress. 
 
 1.— HAS THE WORLD PROGRESSED? 
 
 If we ask for definitions of progress, we should probably 
 get as many different standards as persons. I think it 
 would be found that the average man took as his standard 
 that advance in knowledge which gives us power over 
 nature. Though not an utter materialist, the ordinary man 
 measures progress chiefly by the standard of material 
 comfort. Others would urge that progress means the ad- 
 vance of knowledge in the more abstract sense. Another 
 definition would interpret it as the increase of power of 
 every human kind. Perhaps the idealist would say that he 
 would measure it only by our advance in sheer humanity 
 and devotion to the welfare of all. It would not be amiss to 
 assemble all these separate standards into a comprehen- 
 sive judgment which holds progress to rest upon increased 
 knowledge and power applied to the highest human ends. 
 
 Alfred Russel Wallace* adopts the test of character, or 
 moral progress, and declares there is no proof of any real 
 advance in character during the whole historical period, 
 and will not be until the social system is reformed so as 
 to provide conditions suitable to the production of better 
 character. 
 
 * In Social Environment and rioral Progress.
 
 79 
 
 Certainly, in the domain of moral ideas there are many 
 examples from earliest times of moral teaching as great 
 and idealism as lofty as that of our own best thought. The 
 great Indian Vedas about 1500 B.C., Homer about 800 B.C., 
 Socrates and Plato about 400 B.C., Confucius and Bhudda 
 a century or two earlier, all show intellect and morality of 
 the highest order, while their baser nature exhibited itself 
 in forms no worse than our militarism and industrialism. 
 
 Not only in literary expression and moral teaching does 
 the ancient East offer noble examples, but the architecture 
 and craftsmanship of India, Egypt and Mesopotamia are 
 quite as remarkable as those of Greece and Rome. Even in 
 scientific knowledge, especiallj^ of astronomy, the ancients, 
 considering their entire lack of mechanical knowledge and 
 equipment, accomplished wonders. They laid for us the 
 foundations of knowledge and of principle, upon which our 
 whole scientific and philosophic fabric is based. 
 
 2.— THE IDEA OF PROGRESS. 
 
 And yet, though we may agree that the basis of man's 
 morality and the loftiness of liis aspiration have improved 
 but little in the abstract through the centuries, most of us 
 feel instinctively that mankind has nevertheless made 
 measurable progress. We can, in fact, trace the evolution 
 of the idea of progress, and there is abundant evidence that 
 to-day a far greater portion of mankind than ever before 
 believes and understands the creed of human welfare and 
 infinite evolution. Perhaps the simplest representation of 
 progress is that of a spiral inclined at an angle, so that 
 its course is sometimes upward and sometimes downward, 
 but with a nett gain in every upward sweep. Time and 
 again through the ages man has advanced from the simple 
 crudity of his primitive condition to a higher stage of com- 
 fort and better methods of life. But every movement has 
 borne within it some seeds of evil. When simple communism 
 gave way to town life and private property, the corrupting
 
 80 
 
 influences of mone}^ and possessions created a class of 
 wealthy- and over- weening citizens, and destroyed the sense 
 of contentment in the simple things of life. If we trace 
 the course of economic evolution, we find progress and re- 
 trogression at every stage. First the self-sufficient family, 
 living a life of utter economic simplicity, making and con- 
 suming all its necessaries, suffering the disabilities of so 
 narrow a basis of existence, but reaping the benefit of de- 
 tachment and isolation and the enforced simplicity of life 
 and conduct. Such was the old self-contained village of 
 many an early nation. With the growth of communica- 
 tions came greater knowledge, power over natural things, 
 and increased wealth. The village economy gives place to 
 national economy, with all the advantages in knowledge 
 and wealth that spring from wider commercial relations. 
 But the serpent had entered the Eden. Greater comfort 
 and broader ideas were largely counterbalanced by gross 
 corruption of commerce and encouragement of hostility and 
 misunderstanding. Still more true is it that the marvels 
 of the age of machinery have brought with them pains and 
 penalties which make many an earnest mind wonder whether 
 this elaborate and complex civilisation of ours is worth the 
 terrible human price paid for it. It has begun to seem 
 almost inevitable that the upward sweeps of our spiral of 
 progress are quickly followed by devolutions, which almost 
 cancel the advances. 
 
 And yet. in spite of the horrible back-slidings of history, 
 jiiid the groans of the pessimists, mankind has advanced. 
 Even the Greeks had no conception of human progress as 
 wc understand it. Though the idea of historic evolution is 
 found in Aristotle, it is foreshortened by his view of the 
 self-contained City State, based upon slavery as the highest 
 form of society. Greeks and Romans alike got no further 
 than the realisation of the fact of human progress in its 
 external expressions and within caste limitations. They 
 entirely lacked the conception of the infinite possibilities of
 
 81 
 
 alt humanity, and this largely because they did not recog- 
 nise universal knowledge and love as the twin motive forces 
 of progress. 
 
 It was left to Christianity to give full dignity to man's 
 soul and to supply that passionate love of his fellows and 
 irresistible desire for moral advancement that constituted a 
 revolution in Europe. Progress became a spiritual move- 
 ment. In the words of a divine of the early 15tii century : 
 "To be able to understand more and more without end is 
 the type of eternal wisdom. . . . Let a man desire to under- 
 stand better what he does understand, and to love more 
 what he does love, and the w^hole world will not satisfy 
 him."' This idea of looking inward for progress is very 
 modern in spirit. The contribution of our age is to make 
 the idea social instead of merely individual. Just as man 
 is a social animal, his soul is a social force. The needs and 
 works of his soul are as social as the needs and works of 
 his body. 
 
 What the world is still looking for is the formulation 
 of a scheme of progress which will give unity to the aspira- 
 tions of all mankind. The great organisation of the Catho- 
 lic Church of the Middle Ages, wonderful though it was, 
 proved too narrow and confining for the world's needs. 
 In these days it is inconceivable that progress could embody 
 itself in any final organised form ; for it is endless and in- 
 definable; it finds its unity only in the infinity that it 
 pursues. Our conception becomes fuller and richer as time 
 goes on. To the Greeks it was too narrowly artistic, to 
 the mediaeval mind too narrowly spiritual, to the thinker 
 of the eighteenth century too exclusively scientific, to the 
 nineteenth century it was too crudely commercial ; it is left 
 to the twentieth century to evolve a conception of progress 
 as broad and light and deep as the heavens, with all that 
 is best in human intellect and human love striving to issue 
 in the perfect social man.
 
 82 
 
 This modern conception of progress, though long stifled 
 in its expression, is the gift of the French Revolution, 
 which emphasised the supreme worth and sublime destiny 
 of the spirit of man. It is left to us to make a complete 
 synthesis of all elements of progress — knowledge and 
 power, wealth and skill, blended into a fine art of human 
 advancement. There will, of course, always be the struggle 
 between spirit and matter in human beings ; the inner war- 
 fare of the individual never ends. But transcending the 
 myriad conflicts of every day is the splendid harmony 
 arising in ever-swelling volume and purer beauty from the 
 highway of mankind. 
 
 3.— THE REALITIES OP PROGRESS. 
 
 We are agreed that the true basis of progress is moral, 
 and that progress in science, commerce or government is 
 possible only in so far as these things play their part in 
 making for highest human welfare. If we applied this test 
 constantly, we should be less disappointed when we wake 
 up to find how little we have advanced. We build our 
 world upon the things of matter, and turn pessimists when 
 they break beneath a spiritual stress. Let us not expect too 
 much of the world we live in, for we have made it, and we 
 are but common clay. A recent writer* has described the 
 spirit of the present age as saying: "I thank thee, God, 
 that I am not as former ages; ignorant, barbaric, cruel, 
 unsocial; I read books, ride in aeroplanes, eat my dinner 
 with a knife and fork, and cheerfully pay my taxes to the 
 State; I study human science, talk freely about humanity, 
 and spend much of my time in making speeches on social 
 questions." Let us be candid about ourselves: we are still 
 in the neo-lithic age of moral progress. The war proves 
 this, for the things which we call progress — science and 
 art, philosophy and commerce — all very worthy, have 
 * Progress and History, p. 147.
 
 83 
 
 brought us but to the penultimate stage of our ascent from 
 the beasts. 
 
 One of the worst obsessions of our age is that of the ex- 
 treme evolutionists, who think that any sort of develop- 
 ment, so long as it is natural, is good. But progress can 
 only be from a less complete good to a more complete good 
 of the thing itself. Progress in science, as such, is not 
 necessarily good, as, for example, in its tremendous appli- 
 cation to implements of destruction, or to the exploitation 
 of other human beings. This has caused many to question 
 whether man's greater control over nature has brought any 
 good to mankind at all. How deep-rooted is this false and 
 material standard of progress in our minds is clear from 
 views of average man about Australia's future. He will 
 tell us that we need more population ; that the endless re- 
 sources of the continent must be developed ; that our in- 
 dustries must be fostered and every encouragement given 
 to new enterprise. Putting aside the real problem of 
 national defence, which requires a sufficient population, it 
 is verj' doubtful whether there is any need whatever, from 
 the human point of view, for the kind of material progress 
 on which the average mind in a new country is invariably 
 set. After all, once we have accepted the human and moral 
 standard of progress, our chief duty is to see to it that 
 the existing population of Australia enjoys conditions, 
 moral and physical, as nearly ideal as we can make them. 
 There is no virtue in a teeming population. There is no 
 moral excellence in abounding wealth. Unless the general 
 tendencies of our civilisation are in the direction of raising 
 human nature, an increase in the quantity of human life 
 or of human wealth may easily be the mo.st terrible evil. 
 It has been pointed out that the mere arithmetic of human 
 souls is still quite beyond the control of man, and yet it is 
 on that side that we find practically all human problems 
 emerging. The relation between the number of people and 
 the resources at their disposal is so vital in the economic,
 
 84 
 
 moral and spiritual spheres, that we are almost at the 
 mercy of nature's rate of increase. After all, if we are to 
 have a teeming population, it must be of souls put in the 
 way of happiness, and if abounding wealth is desirable, it 
 must be as the furniture of a more spiritual civilisation. 
 
 NOTE ON POPUIxA.TION. 
 
 Lest these words be interpreted as an advocacy of the 
 general limitation of families, I would add that the present 
 steady decline of the birth-rate exhibits several evil features. 
 In so far as it rests upon moral restraint, and a genuine desire 
 to enhance the welfare of women and children, it is admirable. 
 But we find the strictest limitations of families among the 
 well-to-do and luxurious. On the other hand, our ancestors 
 are falsely credited with virtue in the possession of large 
 families, for they were unaware of modern means of limita- 
 tion, and their known moral outlook does not warrant any 
 optimism as to their probable conduct if possessed of our 
 knowledge. While the churches and moralists have rightly 
 preached moral restraint and reverence for life, they have 
 greatly erred in neglecting the close relation between bad 
 social conditions and large families. The workers all over the 
 world have naturally interpreted this indifference as part of 
 the general resistance of the established order to the demand 
 for just economic conditions of family life. No social order 
 that treats its children as does that of to-day has the slightest 
 right to demand more births from those who suffer most from 
 increasing population. We must supplant the bad old idea of 
 "more babies, more wealth," for "to every baby a charter of 
 welfare." The rearing and education of children is an expen- 
 sive and burdensome matter. Post-war conditions will prob- 
 ably enforce upon the State reforms long over-due, until, by 
 the endowment of motherhood, rebates of taxes, and really 
 free education with maintenance, the economic burden at least 
 is shouldered by the State.
 
 85 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Principles of Growth and Unity. 
 
 1.— REASON AND IMPULSE. 
 
 To those who eoiitemplate the confusion of thought ex- 
 hibited not only in the great war, but in past history, men 
 seem to have been guided to so many disastrous courses by 
 unrestrained impulse and desire that many thinkers have 
 long looked forward to the reign of reason as to a Golden 
 Age. Yet the mental composition of the vast majority of 
 the human race makes it almost unthinkable that we can 
 ever leave the guidance of human affairs entirely to the 
 process of ratiocination of the average human being, who 
 is likely to continue to be guided by instinct and impulse, 
 rather than by reason. The average net intelligence of man 
 has probably experienced no considerable increase over the 
 historic period. We laugh at the error and superstition 
 of our ancestors, but, granted our own modern knowledge, 
 we are guilty of just as great an inability to think ourselves 
 beyond the errors of our own intellectual milieu as they 
 were. Human knowledge has, of course, vastly increased, 
 and has become the possession of a far greater proportion 
 of individuals of the race ; modem progress largely rests 
 upon the common spread of ideas. But man has continued 
 to be largely a creature of the emotions. Reason alone is 
 too negative and too uncommon an element to be relied upon
 
 86 
 
 to save the world from the mad precipitancy which has 
 made the present war possible. Of the emotions, desire is 
 always held to be the great driving force. Its importance 
 is admittedly great, but it is questionable whether instinct 
 and impulse are not at least equally great. The problem 
 of human salvation may therefore be resolved into this : 
 Is it possible to achieve a unity of reason, desire and impulse 
 in the individual which will ensure a proper growth of the 
 personality? How much we are controlled by impulse and 
 how much by desire is hard to determine. I think it is an 
 error to treat as new impulses those of modern industrial 
 society as against those of an earlier stage of civilisation. 
 It is argued that "a man's impulses are not fixed from the 
 beginning by his native disposition: within certain wide 
 limits they are profoundly modified by his circumstances 
 and his way of life."* While I believe this to be broadly 
 true, it seems to me that the modern impulses towards ag- 
 gression, whether in commercial competition or in jingois- 
 tic Imperialism, are only the old animal impulses of pre- 
 historic times exercising themselves in a new situation, 
 which tempers their action, but does not fundamentally 
 alter them. The aggressiveness of Bernhardi is in no essen- 
 tial different from that of any brutal conqueror of early 
 times; nor is the brutal dictatorship of the worst type of 
 capitalist essentially different from that of the Arab slave- 
 trader. Reason may be exercised upon all these impulses 
 so as virtually to remove them as social dangers. The 
 truth seems to be that most impulses that are common to 
 men rest upon deep-seated instincts largely inherited. The 
 impulses that are bad, like those towards aggression, can be 
 controlled or removed by reason, but the safest and most 
 effective way is to encourage right impulses by a just social 
 system and an appropriate environment, so that such im- 
 pulses will operate powerfully to the exclusion of wrong 
 ones. For example, the instincts of love, of pleasure and 
 
 Russell : " Principles of Social Reconstruction,"
 
 87 
 
 active creation are capable of such encouragement as to be 
 an infinitely surer basis of right conduct than external 
 authority or dependence on individual reason. Any indi- 
 vidual may be so possessed by one or other of these instincts 
 as to become extremely one-sided and ill-developed. A man 
 who yields entirely to the impulse of love, to the exclusion 
 of all other impulses, tends to become a feeble sentimental- 
 ist. Others may become solely devoted to pleasure, albeit 
 of an aesthetic character ; while artists may easily become 
 the slaves of the creative instinct. The perfect unity in the 
 individual would seem to be achieved in the combination of 
 love, creation and joy as a blend of life impulses, with 
 reason inspiring and tempering them, but not overpower- 
 ing them. 
 
 2._S0CIAL REPRESSION OF INDIVIDUAL 
 GROWTH. 
 
 When we examine our social system to discover the ex- 
 tent to which this spiritual unity is helped or allowed to 
 express itself, we are appalled at the forces of repression of 
 right impulses everywhere in evidence. The economic 
 system renders almost impossible the wide-spread exercise 
 of creative power; it discourages sympathy and kills the 
 joy of life in the vast majorit,y of human beings. The ex- 
 pansive power centred in every individual seldom gets a 
 chance to express itself in healthy energy and social affec- 
 tion. How few men are pursuing the daily activities to 
 which this inward principle of growth urges them with in- 
 stinctive power ! Social institutions should be designed to 
 provide for this free and vigorous growth. Rather do they 
 repress and thwart it by never consulting its true needs, 
 and by imposing upon it a will entirely alien to itself. But, 
 it will be asked, how is this consistent with self-control and 
 social discipline? Certainly the encouragement of these 
 right impulses may, and generally does, proceed witli the
 
 88 
 
 growth of injurious impulses, which must be checked. But 
 in this respect the root fault of the social system is that it 
 imposes this discipline by external authority, and gives 
 little attention to its development within the individual.* 
 
 3.— LIBERTY MUST BE POSITIVE. 
 
 The inheritance of institutions and traditions from 
 former ages has so far made impossible the infusion of 
 this spirit of freedom into our social system. The necessity 
 for the employment of force and external authority in the 
 days of primitive man led to the creation of a class of privi- 
 leged rulers, whose interests thus became bound up with 
 these means of stability. Even the long fight for freedom 
 has had the effect of separating men as individuals and as 
 nations, since thus far freedom could only be asserted by 
 actual defeat of others. Hence liberty has become inevitably 
 associated with individualism and separatism. The crimes 
 of authority have largely given us the schisms of to-day. 
 Slowly, the principles of growth and unity are widening 
 men's ideals of community, and groups owning a common 
 human purpose are constantly broadening towards the 
 ideal of a commonwealth of nations, into which will merge 
 the unified personality of the individual and the social unity 
 of every human group — great or small. 
 
 The transition from individualism to social unity is logi- 
 cal as well as historical. Individualism first expressed 
 itself in a desire to free the individual from limitations of 
 his liberty — mainly a negative advance. Lord Acton de- 
 fines it thus: "By liberty. I mean the assurance that every 
 man shall be protected in doing what he believes to be his 
 duty against the influence of authority and majority, cus- 
 tom and opinion." Or again: "Liberty is not a means to 
 a higher political end. It is itself the highest political end. 
 It is not for the sake of a good public administration that 
 
 *See also Chapter XII., " Education True and False."
 
 80 
 
 it is required, but for security in the pursuit of the highest 
 objects of ci^il society and of private life. ' ' But liberty is 
 something much more positive than that. It involves a 
 direct and deliberate provision, through social institutions, 
 for the cultivation and free play of right impulses, and for 
 such a development of the faculties as will give the citizen 
 an adequate equipment for the life of a free social man. 
 
 4.— COMMUNITY OF PURPOSE. 
 
 It is common purpose that gives the most effective direc- 
 tion to human etfort. The wider this community of purpose 
 can be made, the closer we shall get to a world-community. 
 Community of purpose has grown through the family and 
 tribal units, until it has reached the breadth of large aggre- 
 gations called nations. Though we are far from the day 
 when mankind will be united in .one absolutely common 
 purpose, such a community is often realised in particular 
 directions by international agreements such as those de- 
 scribed elsewhere.* When defective quarantine may en- 
 danger the welfare of many nations, the common purpose 
 arises to make international action possible. And so on 
 through the multitude of concrete cases that have been the 
 subjects of such agreements. It is quite conceivable that 
 with the immensely closer associations that men and nations 
 will achieve in pursuing their economic and political life, 
 tl^re will arise such a vast multitude of cases to be dealt 
 with in order to ensure safety and health in all their com- 
 munications, that real community of purpose will be greatly 
 extended. It will continue, however, to be limited, as we 
 have suggested, by the scope of things which a man can 
 touch. This scope will vary from one individual to an- 
 other, and as the vast majority of mankind are not likely 
 to move far from their immediate group, the limitations 
 laid down are sure to persist over a very long period. 
 
 *See Chapter VIII,, p. 66.
 
 90 
 5 —HUMAN UNITY AS A PROGRESSIVE SERIES. 
 
 Every form of association achieved by m^n expresses 
 itself in its own peculiar form of unity, whether through 
 the family, the village, the tribe, the totem group, the 
 nation, or the empire. When the school-boy writes on the 
 flyleaf of his school-book his extensive address, beginning 
 with his name and ending with "The World," he is in- 
 dicating a series of unities, varying in perfection, in which 
 he is to live his life. The further he gets from his name, 
 the less effective is the unity, indeed for many boys it soon 
 virtually ceases to exist. The breaks in the series of unities 
 are due, however, to historical accident and. human imper- 
 fection, for ideally speaking not one of them is properly 
 inconsistent with the rest.* The Internationalist claims 
 that the only unity that should exist is that expressed in 
 ' ' the world, ' ' the human race. In suggesting that all other 
 unities are imperfections or errors, he is surely wrong. An 
 entire elimination of the forces of schism would not neces- 
 sarily entail the annihilation of all unities inferior to that 
 
 * The following series of addresses may be taken to illus- 
 trate the breaks in unity due to historic and economic 
 causes: — 
 
 (a) A Polish subject of Germany: Star.islaw Konarski, 15 
 Junowitz Str., Mietschisko, Kreis Wongrowitz, Re- 
 gierungsberirk Bromberg, Province Posen. Polish 
 Prussia, Prussia, German Empire, Europe. 
 
 (b) Johann Schmidt, 37 Schulgasse, Hotting (name of a 
 suburb), Innsbruck, German Tirol (as distinct from 
 the Italian Tirol), Austria, Austria-Hungary, 
 Europe. 
 
 (c) A Czech subject of Austria: Vladivoi Tomek, 2 Ka- 
 
 mensky Street, Smichow (a suburb), Prag, Bohemia, 
 Austria, Austria-Hungary, Europe. 
 
 Each of addressees (a) and (c) is living under a Govern- 
 ment which is nationally not his own. The series of unities 
 therefore breaks for him at the name of the country. A series 
 which would satisfy all the needs of democracy might be 
 represented as follows :^ — ■ 
 
 John Smith, 7 Park Street, Prahran, Melbourne, Victoria, 
 Australia, The British Empire, the Commonwealth of 
 Nations.
 
 91 
 
 of the human race. The individual sliould be quite capable 
 of finding perfect self-expression through the social groups 
 to which he belongs, without any essential conflict between 
 them. Love of family and friends is quite consistent with 
 love of the larger family of the nation, and the one should 
 fit a man to exercise the other more perfectly. Devotion to 
 national interest, generally known as patriotism, can surely 
 be of the kind which seeks only to help one 's nation to make 
 its fullest contribution to the commonwealth of nations. 
 Unhappily, our educational systems and social institutions 
 encourage the idea that these loyalties are inconsistent and 
 conflicting. ' ' If men had any strong sense of a community 
 of nations, nationalism would serve to define the boundaries 
 of the various nations. But because men only feel com- 
 munit.y within their own nation, nothing but force is able 
 to make them respect the rights of other nations, even 
 when they are asserting exactly similar rights on their own 
 behalf." The more men can be brought to believe in 
 unity, liberty and justice as the trinity of human progress 
 — a better modern combination than Liberty, Equality and 
 Fraternity — the sooner will they seek to express their in- 
 dividualities through the various associations in which they 
 pass their lives, in sucli a way as to convey from them- 
 selves concentric waves of influence, exercising their 
 greatest power in their famil}' or other central group, and 
 yet passing on some of that power to the widest limits of 
 human society. This is frankly a counsel of perfection. I 
 am deliberately laying down principles of re-construction. 
 But we shall never get very far until we definitely re- 
 nounce the acceptance of impulses and desires inherited 
 from the animal stage of our evolution — aggressiveness, 
 acquisitiveness, antipathy, jealousy — as normal and neces- 
 sary to our social sj^stem, and uphold the more recently 
 acquired but more refined instincts of love and sympathy, 
 of esthetic pleasure, and the desii'e for creation. Since 
 there are many instances in individual lives of these re-
 
 92 
 
 fined tendencies overcoming the coarser impulses, oppor- 
 tunities for their encouragement through the whole of 
 human society- must be almost infinite. Until we have exer- 
 cised upon individuals of every grade and type these re- 
 fined influences, any pessimistic generalisation about hulnan 
 nature is premature. 
 
 I
 
 93 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 The Slate and Human Unity. 
 
 1.— WHAT IS THE STATE ? 
 
 "I understand by tlie State the power which, as the 
 organ of a eomnmnity, has the function of maintaining the 
 external conditions necessary to the best life. These con- 
 ditions are called rights. They are the claims recognised 
 by the will of a community as the sine qua non of the high- 
 est obtainable fulfilment of the capacities for the best life 
 possessed by its members.''* The State, as an actual com- 
 munity, depends on the general will, which itself depends 
 upon identity of feeling on the main objects of the State 
 amongst its members. The private will of the individual is 
 absolutely a part of the communal will. This is quite con- 
 sistent with his right and duty to repudiate at times a 
 particular expression of the common will, but the State is 
 the organisation which expresses the highest common factor 
 of all the individual wills in the community. It is fitting 
 and convenient that human society should be organised in 
 separate States within definite territorial limits, in order 
 that they may pursue a human purpose which is single to 
 the race, in spite of territorial boundaries, and for the prac- 
 tical reason that there is a severe limit to the size and in- 
 tensity and effectiveness of any human organisation. It is. 
 therefore, quite conceivable that if only on grounds of 
 expediency and common-sense, nations should continue to 
 be organised in a territorial division of labour, so that each 
 ma.y make with full effect its distinctive contribution to a 
 full human life. Many of the hard things said about States 
 
 *Bosanquet: "Social and International Ideals."
 
 94 
 
 and nations are due to a confusion of actual defective States 
 and the errors of their polities with the State as a political 
 concept and a practical ideal. Thus, the evils of oppres- 
 sion, exploitation, war and dynastic ambition are wrongly 
 attributed to the organisation of the State as such, instead 
 of being laid at the door of human faults and errors 
 creating the bad State instead of the good State. The 
 problem of how to extend the efficacy of an enlightened 
 general will beyond the limits of the State, while maintain- 
 ing the benefits of the concentrated will within the State, 
 is the great task of the reconciliation of nationalism and 
 internationalism. What is wanted is to give the nation- 
 unit a cosmopolitan aspiration. The mind of the average 
 man can only work effectively and continuously within the 
 intense and concrete unity in which he lives his daily life. 
 Co-operation between State unities can, at present, only 
 work upon material and concrete elements of their rela- 
 tions. The more practical the problems faced by inter- 
 national conferences, the more real will be the spirit of co- 
 operation, and the less likely will undue strain be placed 
 upon the Iniraan nature of individuals, 
 
 2._A WORLD SAFE FOR DEMOCRACY. 
 
 Those who declaim against nationalism too frequently 
 make the mistake of regarding international organisation 
 as merely a matter of co-operation between existing units 
 called States. But, as a matter of fact, a vast amount of 
 the conflict arising betw^een States is due to the corrosive 
 and schismatic forces at work within single States, such as 
 a poverty-stricken proletariat or an aggressive jingoism. 
 Tliis puts a new interpretation on President Wilson's fa- 
 mous phrase ' ' a world safe for democrac}^, ' ' which I under- 
 stand to be something much deeper and broader than what 
 he seems to have meant when he first used it. The more 
 perfect the inner life and organisation of the State be- 
 comes, the more complete will be international co-opera-
 
 95 
 
 tion. Every social amelioration, every advance towards 
 greater justice and a larger liberty for the individual, 
 strengthens the true unity of the State, and makes it a 
 greater power for human unity. Just as perfect individuals 
 would produce a perfect State, so perfect States would 
 produce a perfect world. We have grown so hide-bound 
 in our false individualism, owing to our selfishness and 
 want of sympath}^ with our kind, that we forget that the 
 ])erfect individual is only realisable in his complete mem- 
 bership of society ; that is to say, the full stature of citizen- 
 ship, which in*'olves all our relations with our fellows 
 coincides with ihe full stature of the individual. We for- 
 get tliat the individual includes within his own conscious- 
 ness the whole moral universe. An enlightened conscience 
 takes account of all things moral. In the same way, a State 
 or a communit.y implies a moral outlook which involves not 
 only the problems of its immediate conduct, but the whole 
 human problem. Dees not this point the way to the recon- 
 ciliation of individual and State, and of States and hu- 
 manity ? The conscience which leads one State to open 
 conflict with another may be as absolutely healthy as the 
 conscience which directs one individual to bitter opposi- 
 tion to another. If the one is wrong, then so is the other. 
 It is quite conceivable that even in a commonwealth of 
 nations, the group consciousness of one nation may move 
 it so powerfully to a certain moral view that it conceives 
 it to be its duty to attempt to enforce its will upon other 
 States. If only for practical purposes, the world must con- 
 tinue to have separate social organisations. This inevitably 
 brings the risk of conflicts, but every increase in the practice 
 of co-operation makes spiritual unity — the only form of 
 unity worth attaining — less difficult and more real. 
 
 3.— THE PURPOSE OF THE STATE. 
 The State exists for the pursuit of the good life. If its 
 association sets up the external conditions of the good life
 
 96 
 
 for its members, it follows inevitably that it will not be 
 in conflict with any other State which succeeds in doing 
 the same thing. That is why it is true that the risk of war 
 would be greatly reduced if all the Governments of the 
 world were democracies. For a democracy has at least the 
 virtue of pursuing an objective, namely, the general wel- 
 fare, which will bring it into infinitely less conflict with 
 other democracies than would be the case in a dynastic form 
 of government or any kind of despotism. To-day the in- 
 completeness of democracy, not only in the world at large, 
 but in every country owning democratic institutions, is a 
 most serious barrier to international unit3^ The fact that 
 capitalism is in every country stronger than political democ- 
 racy makes impossible any considerable approach to social 
 unity within capitalist States. 
 
 The conception of the State just laid down clears away, I 
 think, the confusions that have arisen owing to the com- 
 mon ideal of the State as external authority and organised 
 power. To the German, obedience to the State implies sub- 
 mission to a power of which his individual will constitutes 
 but a meagre part. In the State, as we have described it, 
 obedience of the individual to the general Mall is simply 
 the following out of a social obligation imposed on every 
 citizen by his own recognition that it will lead to the best 
 expression of his own individuality. Tliis does not pre- 
 clude him from rebelling against the general will on occa- 
 sion, for such a conscientious opposition to the com- 
 mon law may ideally be considered as part of the indi- 
 vidual's contribution to the further enlightenment of the 
 general will. Moreover, very few individuals are in such 
 a minorit}^ on more than a small proportion of occasions. 
 The general will, expressed through majority rule, therefore, 
 tends to be just, since minorities on particular questions 
 are constantly changing, and no citizen finds himself never 
 in the majority and ahvays in the minority.
 
 4.— NATIONAL WILL AND INTERNATIONAL MIND. 
 
 It has been well said '"Devotion to humanity as a best, as 
 a supreme quality, is, unless and until the organism of man- 
 kind becomes actual, better represented by the moral world 
 of the highest communities than by anything common to 
 the whole multitude of mankind." (Bosanquet, op. cit., p. 
 288.) A State may well be doing its best by the world in 
 refusing to yield to a vague human unity, an ideal which is 
 loftier than its alternative, though supported only by one 
 national consciousness. Further, we must be prepared for 
 the fact that the broader the unity aimed at the less positive 
 and directive its force becomes, and the less likely it is to 
 pursue conscientious ends whatever the sacrifice. The 
 things that the highest human beings love best are much 
 more readily realised and comprehended within the com- 
 raunitj^ that they can actively touch at all its points. So 
 much of what our higher life feeds upon is concrete to our 
 senses, and within the range of our personal activities and 
 interests. This limits the scope of the effectiveness of the 
 general will to which we submit. One feels, therefore, that 
 full international co-operation will continue to be limited 
 by the scope of the international general will natural to any 
 particular phase of human development. It seems to me 
 we can best contribute to the broadening and deepening of 
 the international mind by ensuring within our State the 
 broadening and deepening of our true national mind — not 
 the mind that leans to aggression and hatred, but the mind 
 that expresses itself through citizen functions which con- 
 tribute to human progress, through the perfection of its 
 group life. 
 
 If, as we assume to be desirable and necessary, each State 
 or community is fulfilling completely its true social func- 
 tions, much of the need for a complex and concrete federa- 
 tion of the world, constituted in an actual parliament, seems 
 to disappear. We shall discuss later* the dangers and difficul- 
 
 *See Chapter XIX. 
 
 Ml
 
 98 
 
 ties of the practical establishment of a league of nations. 
 A centralised world-force must contain at least some of the 
 tendencies to hasty exercise of compulsion that exist to-day 
 in the embodied power of States. Safety will consist rather 
 in the growth of friendship than in the centralisation of 
 force. There is danger in artificial contiguity; a league of 
 nations will often be as apt to precipitate a quarrel by asso- 
 ciation of divergent interests as to heal one by closer under- 
 standing. 
 
 While we have dwelt so strongly upon the ideal of com- 
 munity in a nation as essential to community in the world, 
 we must not forget the increasing tendency for some feelings 
 of community to over-leap the bounds of nationalism. In 
 times past, religion has often proved one of those forces 
 universal enough to transcend even the national religion 
 of patriotism. The allegiance still claimed by the Roman 
 Catholic Church operates at least in some degree towards 
 the universal. Another movement with international 
 solidarity as its aim is the international labour movement. 
 This force, as has already been observed, is of increasing 
 importance, and will be enormously greater after the war. 
 But it should be pointed out that the need for the inter- 
 national solidarity of labour is due, not to the existence of 
 States, but to the evil policies pursued by States, their 
 failure to realise their proper human functions, and par- 
 ticularly to their permitting the development of such evils 
 in the economic system that large sections of every nation, 
 namely, the proletariat, have been driven to seek reforms 
 through international solidarity, since they are denied those 
 reforms through the true national solidarity which would 
 pflFect them. It is true that capitalism transcends the limits 
 of nations, and therefore the socialist looks to an inter- 
 national solution; but it is also true that any community 
 has within itself the capacity and power necessary to destroy 
 the evils of capitalism in their main features. For example, 
 even such features of international capitalism as foreign
 
 99 
 
 concessions and armaments can be easily removed by the 
 exercise of our national will, without waiting for an inter- 
 national agreement, which will, however, when effective, 
 greatly assist the permanent removal of these cancers. 
 
 5.— THE STATE AS EXCESSIVE POWER. 
 
 There is much truth in the contention that the modern 
 State is excessive power embodied, concentrated miglit 
 rather than collective morality. All modern States must 
 admit this impeachment, though they vary in the degree 
 of their guilt. That the State must be finally the repository 
 of force is obvious, but it is equally clear that its tendency 
 to exercise that force on behalf of its conceived objectives 
 seriously endangers the peace of .the world. The object of 
 civilisation is, while leaving in being the essential minimum 
 of force, to create in the minds of men the power of being 
 their own policemen. Instead of this, however, States have 
 led men to rely so much upon their external authority that 
 disagreement with it is apt to be regarded as criminal. 
 Still, it seems an exaggeration to regard the power of the 
 State as wrong because its exercise is often wrong. Even 
 if the power of the State is expressed in war, it may still 
 be the embodiment of self-sacrifice and idealism. While it 
 is right to say that the fear of invasion is one of the factors 
 in the unity of a State, it is wrong to imply that States 
 would have no part in the world if we removed the ground 
 for the upkeep of defensive power. Certainly, patriotism 
 will always tend to be impure so long as fear, and its com- 
 panion, hatred, are uppermost in the mind of the patriot. 
 But it is surely an exaggeration to say, "The State makes 
 an entirely artificial division of mankind and of our duties 
 towards them : towards one group we are bound by the law, 
 towards the other only by the prudence of highwaymen."* 
 Doubtless many States are entirely artificial divisions, but 
 * Bertrand Russell.
 
 100 
 
 the State qua State, as I have tried to show, need by no 
 means be an artificial division, but a convenient unit ot 
 association for the pursuit of the good life. 
 
 Nevertheless, while insisting on the value of the State as 
 a factor in human progress, we must not forget to empha- 
 sise again the present evils of the abuse and misdirection of 
 State power, and the fact that ver^^ few citizens of any 
 State are of the type necessary to make their State what 
 we have declared it ought to be. We must, therefore, never 
 lose any opportunity of leading the citizen to look beyond 
 the boundaries of his own State for the light that will guide 
 his steps to the good life within the narrower circle of his 
 daily activities. 1 wish, therefore, to safeguard myself 
 against any assumption that I am in the least degree satis- 
 fied with national feeling as I see it to-day. What I am 
 urging is that true national feeling inevitably coincides 
 with true international feeling, and is, in fact, only tlie 
 local expression and effective organisation of a wider 
 humanity. 
 
 6.— THE PROBLEM STATEIX 
 
 Put briefly, the problem of nationalism and international- 
 ism seems to be this: (1) Nations, as at present constituted 
 are wofully defective instruments of world progress; (2) 
 nations, as they might be, are effective organisations for the 
 achievement of the commonwealth of nations; (3) national- 
 ism imperils the success of internationalism, but no better 
 approach to international action has been devised than of 
 using the national organisation to promote international 
 co-operation; (4) the surest guarantee of international 
 justice and liberty is the establishment of those principles 
 within the boundaries of each nation; (5) the common- 
 wealth of nations is" dependent upon the social perfection 
 of its constituent groups, the establishment of machinery 
 for the execution of the universal will, the direction of the 
 national will towards the fulfilment of a world-aspiration,
 
 101 
 
 Bibliography II. 
 
 SOCIOLOGICAL AND PHILOSOPHIC. 
 
 Angell, Norman — The Fouiidatious of Iiiternatioiial Polity 
 
 (Heinemann). 
 Wallace — Social Eiiviroumeiit and Moral Progress (Cas- 
 
 sell). o 
 
 Sombart — Socialism and the Socialist Movement (Dent). 
 Maccunn — Ethics of Citizenship (Maclehose). 
 Walling — Socialism As It Is (Macmillan). 
 Urwick — A Philosophy of Social Progress (Methuen). 
 Hobson — Work and Wealth (Macmillan). 
 Bosanquet — Social and international Ideals ( Macmillan j. 
 Rolland — Above the Battle (Allen & Unwin). 
 Oliver — Ordeal by Battle (Macmillan). 
 Gibbs — The Soul of the War (Heinemann). 
 Campbell — The War and the Soul (Chapman & Hall). 
 Boutroux — Philosophy and War (Constable). 
 Loisy — The War and Religion (Blackwell). 
 Bergson — The Meaning of the War (Fisher Unwin). 
 Dickinson, Lowes — Justice and Liberty (Dent). 
 Stawell — Patriotism and the P\?llowship of Nations (Dent). 
 Russell, Bertrand — Principles of Social Reconstruction 
 
 (Allen & Unwin). . 
 McDougall — Social Psychology (Methuen). 
 Wallas — The Great Society. 
 Farnan — The Economic Utilisation of History. 
 Marvin (Ed.) — Progress and History. 
 Curtis — Commonwealth of Nations (Macmillan). 
 Guyot — Causes and Consequences of the War. 
 Le Bon — Crowd Psychology.
 
 102 
 
 "Wells — Elements of Reconstruction (Reprinted from the 
 
 "Times"'). 
 Geddes and Branford — Tiie Making of tlie Future : Tlie 
 
 Coming Polity (Williams & Norgate). 
 Geddes and Slater — The Making of the Future: The War 
 
 of Ideals (Williams & Norgate). 
 Burns — The Morality of Nations (University of Loudon 
 
 Press). 
 Fowler, Warde — Essays in Brief for War-Time (Blaekwell). 
 Macdonald — National Defence (Allen & Unwin). 
 Cunningham — The Common Weal (Cambridge). 
 Hearushaw — P^'reedom ^n Service (Murray). 
 Conway — The Crowd in Peace and War (Longmans). 
 Koyden — Women and the Sovereign State (Headley Bros.). 
 Carpenter — Towards Democracy (Allen & Unwin). 
 Hobhouse — Democracy and Re-action (Fisher Unwin). 
 Treitschke — Selections from Lectures on Politics (Gowans 
 
 & Gray). 
 Bryce — The Relations of the Advanced and the Back- 
 ward Races of Mankind (Oxford) (pamphlet). 
 Macdonald — Trade. Politics and Christianity in Africa and 
 
 the East (Longmans). 
 Earl of Cromer — Ancient and Modern Imperialism (Alur- 
 
 ray). 
 Gardner, Lucy — The Hope for Society. 
 Smith, Sir Swire — The Real German Rivalry. 
 Proud— Welfare Work (Bell). 
 
 Muir, Ramsay— National Self -Government (Constable). 
 Drage — The State and the Poor (The Nation's Library). 
 Masterman — The Conditions of England (Methuen). 
 Durant — Philosophy and the Social Problem (Macmillan). 
 Belloc, Hilaire— The Free Press (Allen & Unwin). 
 Ensor, R. C. K. — Modern Socialism (Harpers). 
 Papers for the Present — Spirit Creative (Headley Bros.). 
 Read, H. E. — The Abolition of Inheritance (Macmillan).
 
 103 
 
 Ely and Others — The Foundations of National Prosperity 
 (Macmillan). 
 
 Hobson — Democracy after the War (Allen & Unwin). 
 
 Ro3'den, Maude and Others (Ed. V. Gollancz) — The Making 
 of Women (Allen & Unwin). 
 
 A Symposium — Problems of Reconstruction (Fisher Un- 
 win). 
 
 Russell, Bertrand — Political Ideals (The Century Co.). 
 
 Thorn and Rigg — Handbook of Civics (Humphrey 
 Milford). 
 
 Zimmern — Nationality and Government (Chatto & Wiu- 
 dus). 
 
 Cannan — Freedom (Headley Bros.). 
 
 Pay — Co-partnership in Industry (Cambridge University 
 Press). 
 
 Dawson — Problems of the Peace (Allen & Unwin). 
 
 Hayeraft— Darwinism and Race Progress (George Allen). 
 
 Ritchie — Darwinism and Politics (George Allen). 
 
 Beaulieu — Collectivism (Translated bj' Clay) (John ^lur- 
 ray). 
 
 Potter — Co-operative Movement in Great Britain (Allen 
 & Unwin). 
 
 Fay — Co-operation at Home and Abroad (King & Son). 
 
 Hillquit, M. — Socialism in Theory and Practice (Macmil- 
 lan). 
 
 Rauschenbusch — A Theology for the Social Gospel (Mac- 
 millan). 
 
 Foss and West — The Social Worker and Modern Charity 
 (Black). 
 
 Rees (Ed.) — Problems of To-morrow (Clarke & Co.). 
 
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 104 
 
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 Barker — Political Thought from Spencer to the Present 
 
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 Figgis — Churches in the Modern State, 
 Bosanquet — Civilization of Christendom.
 
 105 
 
 PART III. 
 
 A New Era in Education. 
 
 b2
 
 107 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Education True and False, 
 
 1.— THE ROOT OF THE MATTER. 
 
 "We have laid down and repeatedly implied that re-con- 
 struction must be not merely the repair of a damaged social 
 structure, but the building of a new social order on the 
 broad basis of a freedom newly interpreted and soundly ap- 
 plied. All roads lead to education, and all lead from it. 
 False ideals, the evils of industrialism, international pre- 
 judice and hatred, self-seeking of individuals and peoples, 
 all can be cured through education, and through educa- 
 tion alone. The fullness of liberty and democracy will 
 never be otherwise realised. Mankind cannot be saved by 
 the mere mechanics of self-government. The elaborate ma- 
 ehinerv^ of a League of Nations, the democratisation of 
 Foreign Policy, the erection of Councils of Industry, the 
 re-organisation of commerce, the universal franchise, all 
 will be vain and futile, without a change of heart and a 
 truer philosophy of progress. Education, rightly conceived, 
 can give to men the spirit of community instead of that 
 of selfishness, a warm fellowship instead of prejudice ; it 
 can plant knowledge in place of ignorance, interest in 
 place of apathy. It can do all these things because it em- 
 braces every activity of man, material and spiritual and 
 through it man can learn how to reconcile and co-ordinate 
 his material and spiritual well-being. Wealth and welfare, 
 body and soul, individual and state, secular and sacred,
 
 108 
 
 sciences and humanities, find their true blend and unity 
 through education. 
 
 2.— THE FAILURE OF OUR SCHOOLS. 
 
 In the last half century the increase of facilities and the 
 advance in ideals of education has been very great. But it 
 is still unhappily true that our schools are hide-bound by 
 the rigid and mechanical, and fail to develop the child 
 through his natural emotions and faculties so that his mind 
 and spirit may become and remain free, possessed of the 
 inner power of independent thought and right action. And 
 we should expect such a failure from the inherent vices of 
 a social system which worships only material success and 
 permits widespread poverty. 
 
 Physical and material welfare is inseparable from mental 
 training. All countries have been guilty of the crime of 
 pretending to educate boys and girls while insufficiently 
 fed and clothed. The evils of industrialism make a perfect 
 educational system impossible of realisation. In the first 
 place, badly nourished children cannot enjoy proper mental 
 development. Secondl3% the economic conditions of a poor 
 family make it impossible for its children to take advantage 
 of educational facilities offered. Not until we have 
 abolished poverty can we claim to speak of a truly national 
 system of education. Here are some absolute essentials to 
 accompany and subsidise our educational system : Legal pro- 
 vision of the minima of social welfare for every family — 
 through wages, housing, sanitation and recreation ; provision 
 of gardens, play-grounds and parks, gymnasia, educational 
 and pleasure excursions, and special instructions in matters 
 of sex, civics, and economics. 
 
 The evil influence of a commercialised society is to be 
 seen not merely in physical and intellectual depression, but 
 in the low school-leaving age, and the miserably inadequate 
 training held to suffice for mere labourers. Industrialism,
 
 109 
 
 with its insane belief in mere wealth, leads us to lose sight 
 of the fact that material possessions are not so vital as the 
 moral and spiritual basis of civilisation. 
 
 The average school is not a place where the unimpeded 
 energy' of the child is encouraged to healthy expression, 
 and utilised to cultivate individual and social virtues 
 through spontaneous activity. All our schools might be 
 thus free, if we really believed in education, if we embraced 
 great ideals with the same zest as we seek national wealth, 
 if we paid our teachers with a tithe of the generosity we 
 lavish upon our vaudeville artists. Our schools would theji 
 be more worthy of the lip-service we are never tired of 
 paying to education. 
 
 3.— DOCTRINE OF ORIGINAL SIN. 
 
 It has been truly said that the basis of education in all 
 Christian countries is the doctrine of original sin.* The 
 child is made to feel that he was born evil, whereas it is 
 almost certain that his mental and moral instincts are at 
 least as healthy as his physical. Given proper opportunity 
 to express and realise himself, he is a sound, healthy, 
 spontaneous bundle of instincts and activities. Does the 
 school cultivate his expansiveness on lines that would lead 
 him to be at once happy and \drtuous? Seldom, I fear. 
 We bribe him, we bully and snub him, we threaten him, 
 we are even afraid to let him enjoy himself. 
 
 True, the central problem of education is to reconcile 
 freedom with discipline; but hitherto we have solved it 
 entirely at the expense of freedom. Discipline and obedi- 
 ence are essentials, but we largely impose them from with- 
 out by authority, whereas they should be a spontaneous 
 growth of the soul. We want the fresh air of freedom, of 
 the kindergarten and Montessori, blowing healthily through 
 all our school periods. 
 
 *See Holmes, "What Is and What Might Be." (Constable.)
 
 110 
 
 So assiduously have Western nations cultivated this 
 mechanical obedience that now, when everywhere men are 
 questioning the very source of authority, when thrones are 
 tottering, ancient beliefs decaying, and social foundations 
 are threatened, the peoples lack that inherent force of con- 
 trol and sense of social responsibility whose cultivation is 
 the first and last work of the ideal school. In Russia, and 
 indeed in all modern countries, this inevitable breakaway 
 from mechanical and external authority is leaving us help- 
 less, for we have nothing to put in its place. Those who 
 grumble at the errors and limitations of democracy will 
 most readily find their source in the suppression and con- 
 finement of the thought and activity of the young in our 
 schools. We are still failing to lead our children along the 
 path of self-realisation. We call them tender plants, and 
 forthwith put them in straight-jackets. 
 
 And we cannot lay the blame upon the teachers. Their 
 conditions of work — large classes, inadequate training, low 
 salaries and hard driving — jnake their achievement and 
 devotion remarkable. They are compelled to carry out the 
 policy we thrust upon them of cultivating in the child the 
 competitive and anti-social instinct and the debased ethics 
 of a sordid and war-ridden world. We would not abolish all 
 intellectual tests like examinations; but what possible ex- 
 cuse can there be for subjecting children of tender years 
 to such tests, for which they have been driven and drilled 
 until all freedom of thought and upliftment of spirit are 
 killed? We must consider first the rights of the child as 
 a human soul, and not merely what we think should be his 
 place in the machinery of production. 
 
 4. —FUNDAMENTAL SUBJECTS. 
 
 There is general agreement upon the elements of in- 
 struction that must always underlie our application to the 
 activities of civilised life. The quarrel between the Hu-
 
 Ill 
 
 inanities and the Sciences* involves no question of the 
 admitted need for technical and scientific education. It is 
 very much otherwise, however, concerning the content and 
 method of certain subjects of the school curriculum. Edu- 
 cation cannot fulfil its purpose unless it leads the pupil to 
 realise his true relation to his God and his neighbour, the 
 family and the State. Such instruction would embrace the 
 subjects of Religion, History, Ethics, Politics, Economics, 
 and Sexology, precisely those subjects which excite the 
 keenest controversy, and are inadequately taught or 
 entirely neglected.^ 
 
 5.— REUGION AND EDUCATION. 
 
 So implacable is the mutual hostility of the sects that 
 dogmatic religion has had to be more and more excluded 
 from State Schools. Even where religion is actually taught, 
 all doubt and enquiry are frowned upon, and dogma, a 
 more unnatural food for a child than for an adult, is used 
 to silence the spirit of enquiry that is the most valuable 
 heritage of every normal child. The substitution of ethical 
 teaching, though its appeal to reason is worth a great deal, 
 cannot succeed of itself. It is no alternative to true reli- 
 gion, f The true spirit of free growth must pervade ail 
 school subjects. If religious bodies had sufficient courage 
 to meet the frank questions of boys and girls, true religion 
 would make an enormous advance, and the world would be 
 freed from an intolerable mental and spiritual tArrauTiy. 
 It is a significant fact that the terms "free-thinker'' and 
 "rationalist" are applied exclusively to the opponents of 
 religious dogma, though few men are more irrational and 
 dogmatic than the average free-thinker. Nothing is more 
 remarkable than the immense and world-wide growth of 
 scepticism in recent years, affecting even still professing 
 
 * See Chap. XIV., p. 130. 
 
 H See Russell, "Principles of Social Re-constructlon," Ch. V. 
 t Religion, I would define as the aspiration of man towards 
 complete knowledge of and one-ness with God.
 
 112 
 
 Christians. There is no doubt that it is wholly a revulsion 
 against the suppressive influence of unenlightened dogma 
 and the failure of the Churches to play their part in the 
 removal of admitted evils in the social system. 
 
 Eeligious organisations, though setting out to preach 
 brotherhood, have too often aggravated men's divisions and 
 induced feelings of hatred and intolerance. One of the 
 most difficult lessons men have to learn is to regard with 
 calm toleration men who differ from them in religion, or 
 politics, or race. Sects and parties relieve men of the need 
 to think; inherent worship of tradition and desire for the 
 enlargement of the "ego" through the success of their 
 particular group do the rest. To resist this constant ten- 
 dency towards rigidity and mental indolence our schools 
 are doing practically nothing. They largely perpetuate 
 the mechanical ideas on all subjects which make the 
 present system so terribly difficult to re-construct. 
 
 What, then, is the necessary path of reform in the treat- 
 ment of religion in education? Men's passion for the 
 propagation of their own particular dogma will long delay 
 the measures here suggested ; but they must eventually 
 come if the minds of children and men are to be free. If 
 a teacher is judged fit to give instruction in history and 
 literature, involving as they do every principle of conduct 
 and thought, he must be trusted to deal with the religious 
 side of the child's mind. I suggest, therefore, absolute 
 freedom to teachers to deal with the subject of religion, 
 treating it as little as possible as a set subject in the cur- 
 riculum, but rather through all the "humanities" or liter- 
 ary subjects, which it pervades. To make religion "taboo" 
 in schools, as we generally do to-day, is to leave all the 
 humane subjects emasculated, and the mental and spiritual 
 sides of the child stunted. If, in addition, the parents 
 desire dogmatic teaching, let it be given. But no longer 
 must doubt and enquiry be stifled. Dogma that will stand 
 the test of rational discussion is alone worth entertaining.
 
 113 
 
 We insult the intelligence of our children by our foolish 
 evasions and suppressions. We seldom really deceive them, 
 and if we succeed in doing so it is all to their hurt. A 
 truly reverent teaclier, with a full sense of his great re- 
 sponsibility, cannot possibly be a dangerous instructor, 
 whatever may be his denomination. Let the class question, 
 and discuss freely, the origin of the world, the problem 
 of good and evil, the moral foundations of society, and, 
 rightly guided, their reverence for right and truth will be 
 greatly enhanced. Another much needed reform, often 
 recommended, is the free discussion of sermons by the con- 
 gregation. At the Summer School of the Workers' Educa- 
 tional Association held in Oxford University every year, 
 it is usual for a sermon to be preached by a distinguished 
 divine. Then tlie congregation adjourns to another room 
 for questions and discussion, as in a Tutorial Class. The 
 result is remarkable. Both preacher and students enjoy 
 themselves immensely, and the utmost intellectual and 
 spiritual benefit is gained. How much better is this than 
 the present receptive silence ! The clergy are expected to 
 be authorities on every subject of the Encyclopaedia, and too 
 many of them attempt to fill the impossible role. The 
 result is that vast numbers of sermons, dealing confidently 
 with philosophic, scientific and sociological subjects, are 
 utterly worthless. The false divorce of sacred from secular 
 things has led the clergy to neglect such studies as would 
 fit them to be the true guides of the community. The 
 denial of the complete unity of the life of man, body and 
 spirit, is implied in the neglect by the Churches of social 
 reform as being a purely secular matter. Practically all 
 Christian organisations, while thus seeming to exclude the 
 material basis of life from the sphere of theology, expressly 
 or by implication, support the cause of private property 
 and the status quo. Education in religion by absolutely 
 free discussion would expose the false assumptions and 
 social prejudices which too often underlie the activities of
 
 114 
 
 the organised Churches. What an incalculable benefit to 
 mankind would accrue from the invasion of religious 
 thought and life by the spirit of freedom ! 
 
 6.— THE SCHOOI. AND CIVIC IDEALS. 
 
 Through the group of studies comprising History, Poli- 
 tics and Economics, the child may be shown his relation to 
 the State and his neighbour. But the social teaching of 
 to-day is almost entirely confined to History, and that 
 generally of a partial character. "History, in every coun- 
 try, is so taught as to magnify that country : children learn 
 to believe that their own country has always been in the 
 right, and almost always victorious,* that it has produced 
 almost all the great men, and that it is in all respects 
 superior to all other countries. Since these beliefs are 
 flattering, they are easily absorbed, and hardly ever dis- 
 lodged from instinct by later knowledge."! 
 
 Since Napoleon drove the world towards the new nation- 
 alism, and laid the foundations of modern Imperialism, al) 
 States have employed their schools to foster ideals consis- 
 tent with their policies. + In the school are now fought out 
 the conflicts between doctrines and ideals of autocracy and 
 revolution, of secular State and theocracy, of sects and 
 parties and nationalities. "In Trieste and Poland, in 
 Alsace and Macedonia, we find kings and politicians con- 
 tending for the minds and souls of children, and it is in 
 the School, the College, and the University that has been 
 prepared the conflict that is now devastating Europe. "| 
 Thus the child, in general, receives, through the teaching of 
 
 *One of the avowed objects of military censorship is to 
 maintain the morale of the nation by regulating the doses of 
 news. Legitimate as this may be in war-time, the censorship 
 of ideas during peace, through the school and the press, which 
 is almost as effective, is entirely unjustifiable. 
 
 I Russell, op. cit. p. 149. 
 
 J Without doubt England has sinned far less in this respect, 
 but why shut our eyes to the true extent of our error? 
 
 § "The Unity of Western Civilisation," p. 191.
 
 115 
 
 History, political and economic ideas frequently at vari- 
 ance with the facts, and designed to appeal to his most 
 selfish and unsocial instincts. The new critical school of 
 historians in the past generation have done much to dis- 
 sipate the grosser errors and perversions of the school- 
 books, but they still pander, both subtly and crudely, to a 
 wrong sort of national pride, and the support of the status 
 quo. It is just as true of nations as of individuals that 
 confession is good for the soul. Why not confess to our 
 children and ourselves that, in spite of a great past, and 
 wonderful national achievement, we have often been selfish, 
 grasping, oppressive? True patriotism does not need the 
 subsidy of falsehood. Can we honestly claim that our 
 shield is unsmirched by the Opium Wars, the Crimean 
 War, the Boer War ; of our actions at times in Africa, 
 India, Persia, China, Morocco? Certainly we cannot. Then 
 let us be honest with our children, and inculcate, through 
 the teaching of history and literature, a passion for the 
 truth, a reverence for human rights, a determination to 
 build upon the real greatness of our country a grander 
 fabric for the benefit of all mankind. Let us stop talking 
 of our achievements and discuss our tasks. What is more 
 nauseating than the orgy of self-congratulation that fills 
 "Empire Day"? Instead of using the opportunity for an 
 uplifting call to service through Empire citizen,ship, we 
 appeal to the grosser and aggressive instincts of our youth. 
 And if all these lessons of service and citizenship can be 
 conveyed through history and literature, how much more 
 effectively might they be taught directly through Civics 
 and Economics? The mere mention of these as school sub- 
 jects will send a thrill of apprehension through Bumbledom. 
 ' ' Keep politics out of the school ! ' ' Precisely. It is by 
 "keeping politics out of the school" that we ensure our 
 children rising to manhood in ignorance of their duties to 
 the community, and with a warped idea of the social sys- 
 tem. When the average man says "politics" he mean.^
 
 116 
 
 "party politics" — admittedly one of the curses of our age. 
 Heaven forfend that we should introduce such corruption 
 into our schools. What we have in mind, however, is some- 
 thing quite different. Through elementary Civics and 
 Economies most valuable teaching may be given in the 
 relation between citizen and State, production and distribu- 
 tion, and in social and ethical ideals. Many schools already 
 conduct such courses with great success.* They should be 
 universal in both Primary and High Schools. We neglect 
 the education of the child on just those sides of him which 
 are in most vital touch with his real world. A sympathetic 
 and sincere teacher could, if freed from the trammels we 
 lay upon him, make the boy 's world an intelligible universe 
 at every stage. But we lack the necessary faith, and we 
 are soaked in the traditions of the status quo. If we had 
 sufficient faith in truth, both teachers and scholars would 
 respond nobly to its inspiration, with a vast increase in 
 their social efficiency. The true object of education is to 
 keep all social ideas and institutions in a condition of 
 healthy flux. But it is just that flux that terrifies us. It 
 is stability we want, and so, to secure it, w^e petrify the 
 minds of the young. At all costs disquieting enquiry and 
 the disturbance of the existing system must be avoided. 
 The result of the damming of these natural outlets, and the 
 attempt to perpetuate conditions ripe for change, is that, 
 when men attain an inevitable degree of scepticism, they 
 lack the knowledge and idealism to make them anything 
 but destructive. True education is, of course, disinteg- 
 rating ; it is anarchic. It shakes foundations and penetrates 
 to the ultimate. But it is the disintegration of growth ; it 
 is the anarchy that heralds re-construction. To be effec- 
 tive, education must be systematised, but its spirit is essen- 
 tially opposed to system and rigidity, and it is the task of 
 the administrator to see to it that efficiency does not mur- 
 der spirit. 
 
 *This is especially true of American schools.
 
 117 
 7.— EDUCATION FOR FREEDOM. 
 
 The true way of education has been illuminated for us 
 over and over again by the great educational reformers of 
 our age. From Rousseau, Froebel and Pestalozzi, up to 
 our own Montessori, we have been consistently taught and 
 had demonstrated to us that the child must be developed 
 from within, must grow and live from the inner force of 
 his mind and spirit. Why is it, then, that we need repeated 
 re-statements of the true aims of education? The answer 
 is to be found in all that is wrong with the world. Educa- 
 tional ideals and systems inevitably reflect current mor- 
 ality and political and economic institutions. The great 
 educationists have vastly reformed both our notions and 
 our methods, but the inherited dead-weight of tradition and 
 self-seeking crushes the truth. True reform in education 
 can only proceed hand in hand with reform in religious 
 thought, in social conditions, and in our ideas on war, the 
 State, government and private property. How few men 
 will face the truth about any of these things ! "It seems 
 deplorable, but after many years I have come to the 
 conclusion that the majority of men do not want to know 
 the truth about things."* Most of us avoid all news- 
 papers which present views out of keeping with our pre- 
 conceived ideas. Very seldom do we go to hear a politician 
 of the opposite side, or a preacher of another religion than 
 ours, and if we do, it is seldom in any spirit of sweet 
 reasonableness, or with a desire to reach the truth. Many 
 of those who speak so censoriously of the dogmas of the 
 Churches are themselves given to express opinions on the 
 deepest problems of politics and economics with a dogmat- 
 ism and confidence that leaves the real student gasping. 
 Wrong or defective education is largely at the bottom of 
 these grave faults of intolerance and indifference to truth. 
 ''Certain mental habits are commonly instilled by those 
 
 *"The Quest of Truth," by Professor Sylvanus Thompson, 
 F.R.S. (Headley Bros., 1917. 1/- net.)
 
 118 
 
 who are engaged in educating: obedience and discipline, 
 ruthlessness in the struggle for worldly success, contempt 
 towards opposing groups, and an unquestioning credulity, 
 a passive acceptance of the teacher's wisdom. All these 
 habits are against life. Instead of obedience and discipline, 
 we ought to aim at preserving independence and impulse. 
 Instead of ruthlessness, education should try to develop 
 justice in thought. Instead of contempt it ought to instil 
 reverence, and the attempt at understanding; towards the 
 opinions of others it ought to produce, not necessarily 
 acquiescence, but only such opposition as is combined with 
 imaginative apprehension and a clear realisation of the 
 grounds for opposition. Instead of credulity, the object 
 should be to stimulate constructive doubt, the love of mental 
 adventure, the sense of worlds to conquer by enterprise 
 and boldness in thought."* 
 
 Under present conditions such a revolution in education 
 is unattainable. With large classes and over-worked 
 teachers, what else can be expected but mechanical obedi- 
 ence to external authority? The treatment we mete out to 
 our teachers is sufficient to show how superficial is our 
 belief in education. Better salaries and shorter hours 
 would mean immensely improved service and a great ad- 
 vance in the children's progress. But the expense is far 
 greater than we are prepared to face.t Many people see 
 ao more in a reduction in class numbers than relief to the 
 teacher and a bigger dose of knowledge per pupil. But 
 this simple reform would effect a revolution by itself. The 
 teacher could become a guardian and tutor instead of an 
 over-worked drill-sergeant. His personality, coming into 
 intimate contact with his "family" of pupils, would 
 
 *Russell, op. cit. pp. 155-6. 
 
 t In Australia, the teacher's conditions are not very different 
 from those of his European confrere. Our failure in Australia 
 to modify school hours, school buildings, and curricula to our 
 different climate and happier social conditions, does little credit 
 to our imagination or our idealism.
 
 119 
 
 brighten his and their outlook, and set up that relation of 
 love and reverence which is the most powerful factor in 
 the pupil's progress. Mental and moral discipline could 
 be developed from within, whereas to-day we are failing 
 more and more to impose it from without bj^ authority. 
 Permitted the freedom of a Tutorial Class, teacher and 
 scholar would co-operate with interest, and much drudgery 
 and many misunderstandings be dissipated by the freedom 
 of enquiry and discussion and the sense of a common pur- 
 suit. The joy of freedom of thought can be as great in 
 children as in adults, but it cannot survive the habit of 
 passive receptivity still encouraged in most of our schools, 
 and upheld by a pernicious examination system. "We can- 
 not realise the hidden treasures of mind and spirit waiting 
 to display themselves to the teacher who dares to cultivate 
 truth and freedom.
 
 120 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 Education for Citizenship. 
 
 1.— THE CITIZEN IDEAL. 
 
 Long ago Comenius told us that the aim of education is 
 ' ' To train generally all who are born to all that is human. ' ' 
 Thus the purpose of any school system must be to develop 
 all the powers of body, mind and spirit for the common 
 good, to fit men for the service of civilisation. Through 
 citizenship men make the fullest expression of themselves 
 and their complete contribution to life. To enable this full 
 expression to be attained, democracy is absolutely essential, 
 since of all forms of government it is the only one that 
 can offer permanently the fullest opportunities for indi- 
 vidual development, with a universal application to the 
 common good. To work towards this great objective, every 
 subject should so be taught in a school as to play its proper 
 part in developing the broader citizenship. Any school 
 which fails to inculcate public spirit is not playing its part 
 in the training of the citizen body. 
 
 There has been much controversy in recent years as to 
 the relative merits of direct and indirect teaching of citi- 
 zenship. There are most encouraging signs of a great edu- 
 cational awakening as to the true aim and end of national 
 education. Even before the war, the teaching of civics was 
 beginning to receive considerable attention in England and 
 America. But the effect of the war in unifying the spirit 
 of our nation and teaching it that both the material func- 
 tions and the spiritual purposes of the nation 's life are the
 
 121 
 
 common concern of all citizens, is going to have an enor- 
 mous influence upon the new education. It is impossible, of 
 course, to turn out complete citizens at the age of fourteen. 
 It is not generally recognised how many and how serious 
 are the unsettled problems of education arising out of this 
 absurdly early age for leaving school. The over-crowding 
 of the curriculum, the over-anxiety to give early vocational 
 training, the inequalities of opportunity that constantly dog 
 the footsteps of primary school children — these are some of 
 the disabilities due to the foreshortening of the primary 
 school period. Many of the reforms that I shall presently 
 lay down as essential are entirely dependent upon the 
 raising of the school-leaving age. 
 
 2.— THE DIRECT TEACHING OF CITIZENSHIP. 
 
 America is far ahead of Britain and Australia in its 
 development of school instruction concerning matters of 
 civic importance. This is probably due to the strong re- 
 publican tradition and the worship of the American consti- 
 tution, and to the obvious need for the assimilation into a 
 united body politic of the polyglot elements of American 
 society. A large number of societies in America are con- 
 stantly at work promoting the further study of Civics as a 
 school subject. Opinion is absolutely unanimous upon the 
 desirability of teaching Civics from the primary stage on- 
 wards. "We believe," runs the Report of the Committee 
 of Eight of the American Historical Association, "that ele- 
 mentary civics should permeate the entire school life of the 
 child. In the early grades the most effective features of 
 this instruction will be directly connected with the teaching 
 of regular subjects in the course of study. Through story, 
 poem and song, there is the quickening of those emotions 
 which influence civic life. The works and biographies of 
 great men furnish many opportunities for incidental in- 
 struction in civics. The elements of geography serve to 
 emphasise the inter-dependence of men — the very earliest
 
 122 
 
 lesson in civic instruction. A study of pictures and archi- 
 tecture arouses the desire for civic beauty and orderliness. 
 
 If a child is shown the definite purpose of his actions and 
 his common life with his fellows, his affections can be en- 
 gaged on the right side and his best impulses encouraged. 
 There is an immense field of inspiring literature which -ean 
 be used both directly and indirectly as a means of moral and 
 civic education. The lives of great men who have lived or 
 died for the good of the nation and the race, great national 
 struggles for liberty, the progress of science and art, cus- 
 toms and industry, all provide ideal subjects for conveying 
 moral and civic instruction. Through art and science the 
 principles of beauty and truth, law and order, can be taught. 
 Through the group of studies, comprising History, Politics 
 and Economics, the child may be shown his relation to the 
 State and his neighbour. Problems of the production and 
 distribution of wealth, the division of labour, the growth of 
 communications, reciprocity of trade, and a thousand other 
 aspects of things economic can be dealt with in a way that 
 will promote good citizenship as well as showing forth the 
 fundamental unity of the human race on the side of its 
 material needs. That the satisfaction of these needs in- 
 volves important principles of social justice and civic liberty 
 can be enunciated by the teacher so as to awaken a real moral 
 response in the child. The surest way to change the pre- 
 sent world into a commonwealth of nations is to change the 
 moral outlook of our children by encouraging fellowship 
 as against aggression, love as against hatred, social service 
 as against self-interest ; by turning to good account the 
 egoistic energies of children, crowding out the ugly with 
 the beautiful, filling mind and heart and senses with 
 promptings to good works. There is no end to the civic 
 potentialities of child life. That wonderful bundle of way- 
 wardness and obedience, selfishness and generosity, tender- 
 ness and cruelty, love and hate, indolence and energy — 
 the child — can be developed into a thing of power and
 
 123 
 
 beauty by bringing educational and social environment to 
 bear appropriately upon his impulses and emotions. Of 
 such teaching as this there is still sadly too little. An 
 enquiry made in England in 1915 showed that the number 
 of schools in which teaching in citizenship was given, and 
 the amount of time devoted to it, were still very unsatisfac- 
 tory. So far as I have been able to discover, the same or 
 worse is true of Australia. I am quite aware of what is 
 done in some of the High Schools, and also of the great 
 improvement effected in the general tone of most schools in 
 treating the child as a potential citizen. But the general 
 practice of leaving it to the teachers to use ordinary subjects 
 as the sole vehicle of civic education does not by any means 
 meet the needs of the age. The era of social re-construc- 
 tion demands more than ever direct means of endowing the 
 child with an understanding of his civic responsibilities 
 and with motives to express his personality in social service. 
 
 3.— THE COMMUNITY SPIRIT IN THE SCHOOL. 
 
 Some of the most interesting developments in modern 
 education have' been the successful efforts made to base 
 school life on the community or the settlement principle. 
 The George Junior Republics of America, and the Little 
 Commonwealth of Dorchester, England, have accomplished 
 wonders in the training of delinquent and apparently low- 
 grade children. Boys and girls are settled on a farm ; they 
 draw up their own laws and regulations, conduct their own 
 courts, receive wages- and live, in fact, in a community which 
 is, as nearly as possible, an exact counterpart of the outside 
 world. It is a remarkable witness to the potentialities of 
 human nature that these children have risen to the demands 
 of citizenship and reformed themselves by the exercise of 
 civic functions. The utmost care is taken to restore the 
 children by an appropriate transition from their sheltered 
 community to the less merciful world.
 
 124 
 
 Though it is perhaps impracticable to make each school 
 into a community on similar lines, great steps could be 
 taken in this direction if schools were adequately staffed 
 and provided with sufficient space for recreation and all 
 kinds of manual training. Personally, for this reason — 
 the desirability of developing the community sense — I 
 favour the large modern school as against the small school ; 
 but I condemn the present large school because, not being 
 built upon community lines, it has the defects of regimen- 
 tation, without the virtues of fellowship. One looks forward 
 to the building of large school-cities (not city schools), at 
 least in urban areas, where the life of the school will move 
 upon lines which develop the powers of self-government, 
 the feelings of fellowship and the quickness of application 
 so badly needed, if democracy is to fulfil its promise. 
 
 . I have been much struck by the success with which the 
 Victorian type of Rural School has succeeded in developing 
 the spirit of mutual help and the sense of community. For 
 the smaller kind of school, which must long continue to be 
 a principal type in a country of scattered population, the 
 Rural School suggests many lines of educational develop- 
 ment which would satisfy the needs of civic education in 
 the small non-urban area. 
 
 * 4.— THE PRACTICE OF CITIZENSHIP. 
 
 Desirable as is the enlightenment of all citizens through 
 instruction on matters of public concern, still more essential 
 is the provision of opportunities for the exercise of civic 
 functions by as large a number as possible of the popula- 
 tion. In this respect, any form of corporate life, however 
 circumscribed, is preferable to sporadic individualism. The 
 kind of community school that I have outlined, and the best 
 types of college and university, afford abundant opportuni- 
 ties for the exercise of functions parallel to those of the 
 citizen. The public schools and universities of England, 
 faulty though they are in some respects, do develop a kind
 
 125 
 
 of public spirit of the greatest value to the country. But 
 this is not enough : this spirit can best express itself through 
 the institutions of government and all the social action of 
 the private citizen. The net-work of local government in 
 England and Scotland, the co-operative societies, the 
 friendl}' societies, and trade unions, and a whole multitude 
 of political, reformist, philanthropic, and educational or- 
 ganisations have long offered great opportunities to the 
 social energies of the average citizen. He has gradually 
 come to avail himself of these in ways which have made 
 Britain more likely to solve her problems than any nation 
 accustomed to a highly centralised government. It is in this 
 respect that Australia differs very materially from Great 
 Britain. One of the things that most surprise the English 
 visitor is that the intensity of political interest in Australia 
 is accompanied by an extraordinary apathy in matters of 
 local government. And y^t no democracy can be either edu- 
 cated or successful which does not provide for the increas- 
 ing application of the powers of the citizen to the develop- 
 ment of the local community of which he is a part. In this 
 field of civic activity, what Australia most needs is a vast 
 and steady extension of the powers of local government, the 
 encouragement of all forms of co-operation and of societies 
 devoted to special reforms. Until Australians become mor^ 
 actively engaged in the government and development of 
 their local communities, we shall continue to suffer the ill- 
 effects of over-centralisation, the si owing-down of social 
 progress, and complacent satisfaction with things as they 
 are. 
 
 5.— THE WORKER AS A CITIZEN. 
 
 In the practical exercise of citizenship, the average 
 worker has more opportunity of developing his civic 
 capacity than a member of any other class. Through his 
 trade union, friendly society, co-operative store, and politi- 
 cal leagues, he learns much that enriches his citizenship.
 
 126 
 
 I have generally found the average worker less prejudiced, 
 more enlightened and more earnest on matters political and 
 social than the average middle-class man. If we could see 
 him apart from the constant caricatures of the daily press, 
 he would appear a much more estimable citizen than most 
 people are willing to concede. 
 
 The most direct and successful effort ever made for the 
 instruction of the people in citizenship is the movement 
 represented by the Workers' Educational Association. This 
 movement, established in England in 1903, has achieved 
 most remarkable success. Its expressed purpose is the crea- 
 tion of an enlightened democracy, by bringing the best kind 
 of University teacher into close touch with the people. The 
 system of University Tutorial Classes, originated by this 
 Association, is steadily spreading all over the Empire.* No 
 one acquainted with the educational influence which the 
 movement exerts upon the scores of thousands of its stu- 
 dents can fail to see in it the enrichment of their life and 
 the best fulfilment of their citizenship. In Australia, in 
 spite of the fact that the war broke out soon after its es- 
 tablishment, the W.E.A. numbers thousands among its' 
 students, and is steadily covering the whole Commonwealth. 
 We find everywhere an intense longing for knowledge, 
 which we are bent upon satisfying in the best possible 
 sense. 
 
 6._0UR NATIONAL NEEDS IN EDUCATION. 
 
 We are still very far from satisfying even our minimum 
 needs as a nation in the sphere of education. Both in the 
 minimum amount of education now insisted upon and the 
 facilities offered for going be^fond this minimum, we fall 
 far below the national need. Our primary requirements 
 seem to be the raising of the school-leaving age, compulsory 
 continuation schools — both cultural and technical — and the 
 
 * A World Federation has just been formed in London to 
 carry the W.E.A. into all civilised countries.
 
 127 
 
 laying down of a broad highway of educational opportunity, 
 which will enable all who are suitable to attain the very best 
 education to which their capacity entitles them. 
 
 At the present moment the immense majority of our 
 nation receive no scholastic education of any kind beyond 
 the age of fourteen. No nation which really believed in 
 education would sacrifice the highest interests of its children 
 to the demands of wealth production, as we deliberately sac- 
 rifice ever}^ year thousands of our most promising citizens. 
 We think with horror of the half-time system of Lancashire 
 and Yorkshire, but are we much better in our boasted en- 
 lightenment since we allow boys and girls to encounter the 
 physical and moral perils of industrial life with bodies which 
 still need tender care and skilful training, and minds quite 
 unfitted to grow into the larger citizenship which the needs 
 of the Commonwealth demand? We leave them to the 
 school of the gutter, the university of the picture-show, 
 the technical college of the factory, and expect them to be 
 good citizens and skilled producers.* 
 
 For the better protection and development of our youth, 
 they should be under the full or partial control of the edu- 
 cator up to the age of 18 years. Full-time compulsory 
 attendance up to the age of fifteen should be universal. From 
 fifteen to eighteen the more intelligent children would b^ 
 completing their secondary school course commenced at the 
 age of eleven or twelve, while the children of the primary 
 standard would have to undertake a course of continued 
 education from fifteen to eighteen. This would be of both 
 a vocational and cultural character, occupying about half 
 the normal working day, the rest of the day being spent 
 in pursuit of their trades or other occupations. The aim of 
 these continuation schools should be rather to develop the 
 general capacity and personality of the child than the utili- 
 tarian object of technical instruction, though that would 
 certainly have its place. The children of higher capacity 
 * See p. 143.
 
 128 
 
 in this class would receive a more advanced technical train- 
 ing through trade schools kept in closest touch with the 
 industries of the locality. But the broader needs of 
 citizenship should receive adequate attention, increasing as 
 the child approaches his civic majority. 
 
 For those whose higher mental ability entitles them to 
 a longer and more intensive training, secondary schools 
 of varied types, but all subject to Government inspection, 
 should be established on much more generous lines than 
 heretofore. It is not enough to provide a high school here 
 and there ; we must be able to say that we have provided 
 for a sufficient number of places to take every boy and girl 
 in the community who is worthy of a secondary education. 
 We shall again be met with the hollow humbug that the 
 State cannot afford the cost — and this in spite of the fact 
 that we are successfully carrying the financial burden of the 
 war, which shows that we can find the money for anything 
 that is felt to be an absolute national necessity. Is it not 
 time that we elevated education to the level of absolute 
 national necessity? Those who continue to cry that +his 
 or that social reform is too expensive will be recognised for 
 the parochial reactionaries that they are. No nation can be 
 or remain in the van of civilisation, or even of wealth pro- 
 duction, that neglects education. 
 
 A further national need is a large extension of the Uni- 
 versity system, for only through our Universities can we 
 train men and women for the learned professions, the 
 higher technical and scientific posts, and also provide the 
 whole community with the light and leading that can only 
 come from a deep humane culture. The English and the 
 Australians alike are sadly behind the leading nations in 
 their provision of University education. The table quoted 
 below is only made tolerable to British pride by the high 
 position occupied by Scotland. What we need in Australia 
 is not more Universities, but Governments that will take 
 them more seriously, and provide so adequately for their
 
 12^ 
 
 maintenance that every suitable scholar will enjoy facilities 
 for a University education. Not only should scholarships 
 be provided — and this applies also to secondary schools — 
 but a sufficient sum for maintenance to enable the parents 
 to send their children through all the appropriate stages of 
 their training, without any economic loss. 
 
 (Extract from Badley's "Education After the War," p. 22) 
 
 "The actual number of Universities in any country is, of 
 course, only of use for comparison if considered in relation 
 to the size of the population. According to the figures 
 worked out from the latest available reports and statistics. 
 if we take the numbers attending the Universities and 
 Higher Technological Institutes (which are practically of 
 the rank of Universities) in the countries where higher 
 education is most practised, in proportion to the total popu- 
 lation, they are, to every hundred thousand inhabitants, as 
 follows : — 
 
 Switzerland 262 Denmark 97 
 
 Germanv 178 France 90 
 
 Scotland 173 Holland 90 
 
 U.S.A 171 Italy 88 
 
 Belgium 142 ^Australia 87 
 
 Sweden 114 England 74 
 
 Great Britain . . . . 100 Norway 74 
 
 Austria 99 Russia 44 
 
 It will be seen from the above list how far we are out- 
 distanced in this matter of University and higher technical 
 education hy Germany — our most formidable rival in trade 
 as in war. And there, too, the need for yet more education 
 is keenh^ realised if the nation is to utilise all its resources 
 of ability. In a speech in the Reichstag in the autumn of 
 1916, insisting on the importance of preparation for diffi- 
 cult times that will follow the war, and on the need of 
 education as the basis of all re-constructive work, the 
 German Chancellor associated himself with those who de- 
 mand a "free path for all who are capable." This is the 
 watchword of education in all countries ; it is for each to 
 find the waj^s, appropriate to their several conditions and 
 characters, to work it out in practice." 
 
 *Added bv the Author. 
 
 Fl
 
 130 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 Scientific Versus Cultural Education. 
 
 1.— THE BATTI.E OF THE HUMANITIES AND 
 THE SCIENCES. 
 
 We inherit our basic educational ideal from the Greeks, 
 who showed that the (^im of education must be to produce an 
 excellence peculiarly human. It was not designed to culti- 
 vate the special excellence of the craftsman or the English- 
 man or the American, but the excellence of the best human 
 type. Aristotle showed that the end of the State is the 
 good life, not merely living or comfort or efficiency, but 
 virtue. Modern humanism has restored to us this great 
 ideal. Education in the Middle Ages was all vocational, 
 whether through Craft Guild, or Monastery or University. 
 Though it produced some wonderful results, it lacked the 
 ideal of hum.anism, just as nowadays the advocates of 
 purely technical efficiency narrovr the destiny of man from 
 the ideal of complete citizenship to a view of him as a pro- 
 ducing and consuming animal. By all means let us have 
 good engineers and efficient clerks, but let us remember 
 always that the prime aim of civilisation is the good life, 
 and that to produce the good life, technical efficiency and 
 utilitarian science can be useful aids, but no more; the 
 dry bones must not be mistaken for the spirit. Education 
 must aim always at producing the best conceivable type of 
 man. "Seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and all these
 
 131 
 
 tilings shall be added unto you." How true of educa- 
 tion! Seek first to lay deep and true the foundations of 
 character and intellectual strength, and they will not fail 
 to bring in their train the material arts and utilities. But 
 to keep most prominently in our minds the demands of 
 wealth production is to invert the pyramid of human needs 
 One of the greatest dangers to society to-day is the so- 
 called practical man, the man who always wants to know 
 what use a thing is going to be ; who cares only for techni- 
 cal education, and grows impatient when one talks of 
 ideals and humanities; who would rather have cheap 
 clerks than good citizens, and cannot understand ' ' what the 
 people are coming to nowadays, with all this rubbish about 
 education, causing nothing but socialism and industrial un- 
 rest. " Carried to their logical conclusion in practice, his 
 demands would make modern industrialism even more ugly, 
 more soul-destroying and body-crushing than it is to-day. 
 
 I am not condemning technical education, the need for 
 which is apparent everywhere. But I protest most strongly 
 that there is a still greater need for more humanistic edu- 
 cation. The old and narrow classical culture, which elevated 
 Greek and Latin composition into educational ends is to 
 blame for much of the present re-action against literary as 
 compared with scientific studies. The cheap gibes at cul- 
 tural education heard nowadays, though in some degree 
 deserved, are very superficial. Too slavish imitation of any 
 forms or thought is bad. But in these days of materialism 
 and industrialism, there is much that is valuable in the 
 verj' remoteness of antiquity, which produced the deepest 
 philosophy, the clearest thought, and broadest culture ever 
 known. "The glory that was Greece and the grandeur 
 that was Rome" cannot be dismissed as dead languages. 
 The Greeks gave us universal canons of art and the prin- 
 ciples of scientific enquirv^ Of their spirit are all great 
 literatures. They emphasise the unity of all knowledge, as 
 they taught the unity of the individual soul. Arts and
 
 132 
 
 sciences were divisions that never occurred to them. There 
 is, in fact, no real divorce betvt^een them. The 19th Cen- 
 tury has produced this false distinction, partly as a revolt 
 against over-classicism, partly as a response to the indus- 
 trialism of modern society. More than one nation, while 
 repudiating Germanism, is likely to seek the hard, bright 
 efficiency of the German system. It has become necessary 
 to re-affirm that, while man must have bread, he must be 
 supplied with the higher food. There is no necessary con- 
 flict between this lower need and the higher. Just as the 
 getting of bread can and does involve the highest elements 
 of social justice, so what appears to be purely technical 
 training may be developed in an atmosphere of civic devo- 
 tion. The unfortunate and unnecessary distinction between 
 a technical college and a university is that the former im- 
 parts knowledge in an atmosphere of crude materialism, 
 and with an aim tliat is frankly economic, while the very 
 same subject taught at a university carries with it enough 
 of general culture and humanist ideals to make the univer- 
 sity man much more likel.y to be a complete citizen than 
 his technically trained colleague. 
 
 2.— THE EDUCATED MAN. 
 
 Repudiating, then, this false antithesis between science 
 and literature, we must aim at a broad cultural basis in 
 the education of our youth. The study of classical litera- 
 ture of all ages, with the addition of History and Sociology, 
 Economics and Psychology, and at least the more humane 
 sciences like Biology and Hygiene answer our tests of 
 unity and completeness in education. We must not allow 
 the ultra-classicists to exclude science, nor must we allow 
 the ultra-scientists to exclude the humanities, amongst 
 which I would include their own sciences, properly under- 
 stood. To see life steadily, and see it whole, involves the 
 treatment of the individual and society as an organic unity. 
 The child must touch his universe at every point. The
 
 133 
 
 growth of his body, the development of his senses, tl>e 
 widening of his experience must make to him an intelligible 
 whole. How can they be that, if he is ignorant of the 
 science of everyday life, of his own physical functions, of 
 the foundations of social order, and of the ennobling 
 thought and action of his ancestors? 
 
 What is wanted to-day is one large co-ordinating prin- 
 ciple, a master ideal to assemble and correlate subjects, 
 grades and systems into a human unity. Education in the 
 recent past has tended too much towards faddism and fancy 
 systems. We shall find our key-principle not in a new 
 ideal, but in the old one, that education is meant to fit 
 men for the service of civilisation, "for the glory of God, 
 and the relief of man's estate," in the words of Francis 
 Bacon. Or, as I once heard it expressed,* ''An educated 
 man is one who is fitted by his talents and training to co- 
 operate fully in the work of human progress." We may 
 find the perfectl}^ educated man in Britain or America or 
 Australia or Europe. But the marks that distinguish him 
 will not be those of national peculiarity ; his features will 
 be those of the citizen of the Commonwealth of Nations. 
 marked off from his fellow-citizens only by the leaser 
 peculiarities of excellence rooted in his personality, in- 
 herited or acquired. No existing sj^stem, and but a small 
 proportion of existing individuals, can boast this high 
 standard ; but without it re-construction must fail, and the 
 best equipped of educational systems produce results 
 feeble and partial. 
 
 ■'I'V the present Bishop of Oxford.
 
 134 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 Scientific and Technical Education. 
 
 1.— SCIENCE, EDUCATION AND COMMERCE. 
 
 Much has been said recently about British neglect of 
 science in education and industry. There is truth in this, 
 but let us separate wheat from chaff. We must beware of 
 giving way to the cry of selfish interests for a kind of educa- 
 tion that would neglect the higher needs just as much as 
 present-da}' education neglects the material utilities. Many 
 are asking for commercial and scientific re-construction on 
 German lines, or what they imagine to be German. But 
 even German Universities are not harnessed to commerce 
 ancl industry. The German capitalist knows full well the 
 value of leaving experts to develop their own lines of re- 
 search. What is wanted is not greater scientific ability 
 in our Universities, for there is already far more available 
 than commerce v.-ill use; but we need a more generous en- 
 dowment of research, and better means of connecting up 
 without delay the results of research with practical indus- 
 tries. This is a fairly simple matter, but that it has not 
 been accomplished is due rather to the narrowness of out- 
 look and education of politicians and commercial men than 
 to defects in scientific work of Universities. In Germany 
 such research is far better organised and endowed ; it is in- 
 deed a marvellous achievement. But we must not forget 
 that here again danger lies in imitation. "It is a simple
 
 135 
 
 matter of fact that very few of the greatest scientific dis- 
 coveries have been made by Germans." "The men who 
 have revolutionised our view of the world have almost 
 always been Frenchmen, Italians or Englishmen." In our 
 eagerness for re-construction we must avoid copying a 
 system which would crush out that breadth and initiative 
 which are our peculiar genius in the world's division of 
 labour. The Germans deliberately train an army of effi- 
 cient scientists, which suffers from natural defects of all 
 armies. The British plan is to rely upon breadth and 
 originality to produce great scientists. And we get them. 
 The danger lies in carelessness about joining up theory and 
 practice, research and commerce, and that is the sphere in 
 which we must improve. 
 
 2.— BRITISH NEGLECT OF SCIENCE. 
 
 Great scientists in England now fear that the real in- 
 terests of Pure Science will be neglected in the tremendous 
 wave of industrial progress certain to follow the war. It 
 is to be hoped that they under-estimate public sympathy 
 with the ideal of trusting scientists to pursue their own 
 methods without asking for results. The general public re- 
 gards with deep respect, and even awe, the work of the 
 pure scientist, is so conscious of its wonderful achievements 
 that it is quite content to wait in confidence and patience. 
 The results of research into coal-tar and other by-products 
 and electricity alone have produced such revolutions that 
 the man in the street needs no conversion to the support 
 of science ; but this unorganised and inarticulate opinion 
 helps but little. 
 
 Science has real enemies in fanatical supporters of the 
 classics, commercial selfishness, popular ignorance, and 
 apathetic Governments, Of the evil influence of the latter 
 many examples could be given. The politicians" reliance on 
 Free Trade or Protection to make a new heaven and a new
 
 136 
 
 earth, and tlieii* reluctance to subsidise education, and 
 particularly to learn anything from science concerning the 
 art of government, have done immense harm. Another 
 great discouragement of science has been the small scale of 
 English business as compared with that of Germany or 
 America, who both started later, and thus avoided our 
 faults and were not committed to our earlier conditions. 
 We must realise that there is no end to benefits that science 
 can confer upon humanity, both by general intellectual up- 
 liftment and providing increasing improvements in the 
 material basis upon which a higher civilisation may rest, 
 In scientific agriculture, in public health, in the improve- 
 ment of industrial and domestic conditions, in the study of 
 anthropology, especially in relation to our rule of native 
 races, science is the handmaid of civilisation. But we must 
 not let her aspire to be its mistress, nor should we any 
 longer allow her to be exploited by those who grind the 
 face of the poor. 
 
 The general charge brought by British scientists, that 
 their nation has seriously neglected the study and endow- 
 ment of science in the past, is undoubtedly true. The crast- 
 apathy of British statesmen, politicians, administrators, 
 publicists, and business men towards the use of scientific 
 inellicds in all departments of national activity is one im- 
 portant cause why the Allies, though possessing a prepon- 
 derance in man-power and natural resources, were so long 
 faced with the task of defeating Germany. Though the war 
 has largely awakened us to the immense possibilities of 
 scientific research and its practical application, there is still 
 iieed for an intense educational campaign throughout the 
 Empire to secure a deeper respect for and knowledge of the 
 main principles of science. "Original research," said the 
 late Prof. Meldola, "is in itself the most powerful weapon 
 that has been or ever can be wielded by mankind in strug- 
 gling with the great problems which nature offers on all 
 sides for solution." In April, 1917, Lord Sydenham pointed
 
 137 
 
 out tliat the war has had the effect of turning a strong 
 searchlight upon the innermost workings of national life. 
 "Our v/eakness and our potential strength stand plainly 
 revealed. We can see how severely we have suffered, and 
 must still suffer, from our neglect in the past; and if we 
 strive to ascertain causes, we cannot fail to reach the con- 
 elusion that our lack of appreciation of all that science 
 — using that term in its broadest sense — could have con- 
 ferred upon us, lies at the root of 'many present difficulties." 
 The post-war problems which science can assist to solve 
 have an even greater permanent importance than those re- 
 lating to the conduct of the war. It is singular that the 
 enormous advance made by science in every department of 
 knowledge and activity during the last thirty years has 
 been accompanied by a great diminution of interest in pure 
 science on the part of the public and Governments. It 
 would seem as if the outburst of interest caused by Huxley 
 and his colleagues soon spent itself. The same type of 
 lawyer and classical scholar who had long dominated the 
 Departments of State has remained in power, and the 
 scientist has proved helpless against their crusted conser- 
 vatism. It has been found that science can only be ad- 
 vanced as a national cause either by men of scientific tem- 
 per invading the sphere of government, or by the people as 
 a whole acquiring a traditional respect for science, as in 
 Germany, The former is not likely to occur, and for this 
 the scientist can hardly be blamed. Nevertheless, he takes 
 all too little interest in the relation betAveen his work and 
 the practical problems of government. He is entirely justi- 
 fied when lie complains that the administrators placed in 
 charge of remote parts of the Empire, inhabited by inferior 
 races, are generally totally ignorant of such subjects as 
 social anthrcpology and folk-lore, often AAath disastrous poli- 
 tical results. Equally, at home the scientist is rarely con- 
 sulted oil matters of government within his province. Thif= 
 deplorable want of scientific training in the administrative
 
 138 
 
 class is largely due to the restricted outlook and foolish dis- 
 regard for science in our rulers. But the scientist is not 
 wholly blameless. Too often, he waits to be asked his 
 opinion instead of carrying it with vigour into the councils 
 of the nation. Further, the scientific man is generally as 
 hopelessly ignorant of sociological and other humanistic 
 studies as the literary man is of science. "We may be 
 reluctant to confess the fact, but though most scientific 
 men have some recreatiom, often even artistic in nature, 
 we have, with rare exceptions, withdrawn from the world 
 in which letters, history and the arts have immediate value, 
 and simple allusions to these topics find us wanting."* 
 It is often questioned whether a democracy- has the know- 
 ledge and temper to encourage science. Democracy, as we 
 know it, worships equality, and is impatient of recognition 
 of any grades in society, even of grades of learning. Again, 
 democracy re.'ponds too eagerly to the vocal appeal, and 
 in that sphere the scientist is the least influential. To the 
 scientist tlie pursuit of science for its own sake, without 
 an expressed utilitarian end, is the very breath of his 
 life. Democracy shows but little patience with this meti- 
 culous and apparently unpractical research. To the popu- 
 lar mind, the non-fertilisation of the sea-urchin's egg, or 
 the discovery of argon in the atmosphere, or countless other 
 subjects of detailed research seem absurdly remote from 
 reality. But it is, of course, notorious that some of the 
 most important applications of pure science in our genera- 
 tion have been made possible through the unrestrained 
 pursuit of investigations on lines suggested by the work of 
 the laboratory and not by the demands of commerce. This 
 ever-increasing and immense body of knowledge is passing 
 farther and farther beyond the understanding of the aver- 
 age intellect. This again gives the literary man, whose 
 subject and form of expression are much more easily "un- 
 
 *"Cambridge Essays on Education." Prof. Bateson, p. 128.
 
 139 
 
 derstanded of the people," an immense advantage under 
 democratic institutions. Add to this the still-existing and 
 obstinate prejudice of the super-classical public schools 
 against science, and we have a sufiQcient explanation of the 
 difficulties met with by scientists in securing for their 
 subjects adequate recognition in schools, colleges, univer- 
 sities, and the practical activities of the nation. It is not 
 without significance that the very word "science," which 
 should mean knowledge in the broadest sense, has been un- 
 happily restricted in meaning to studies whose subject 
 matter is material things. One development of great 
 promise is the increasing application of the scientific method 
 to the study of the more elusive subjects of research, such 
 as psycholog}', economics and political science. Possibly 
 these may constitute a bridge between the so-called "hu- 
 manities" and the so-called "sciences," since they serve 
 to show the unity of knowledge and the complete humane- 
 ness of all studies. 
 
 Another cause of the neglect of science is to be found 
 in its manner of treatment in the schools and universities. 
 The teachers of science almost invariably concentrate, even 
 with young boys, on the minutiae and formulae of a particu- 
 lar science, instead of endeavouring to give the child the 
 broader picture of the world he lives in, drawn in bold 
 outlines, without details, but complete to the view. "Abro- 
 gating larger hopes we recognise education in its two scien- 
 tific aspects, as a selective agency, but equally as a provision 
 of opportunity. In view therefore of the congenital diver 
 sity of the individual types, that provision should be as 
 diverse and manifold as possible, and the very first essen- 
 tial in an adequate scheme for education is that to the 
 minds of the 3^oung something of ever^^thing should be of- 
 fered, some part of all the kinds of intellectual sustenance 
 in which the minds of men have grown and rejoiced. That 
 should be the ideal. Nothing of varied stimulus of attrac- 
 tion that can be offered should be withheld. So only will
 
 140 
 
 the young mind discover its aptitudes and powers. This 
 ideal education should bring all into contact with heauty 
 as seen first in literature, ancient and modern, with the 
 great models of art and the patterns of nobility of thought 
 and conduct; and no less should it show to all the truth 
 of the natural world, the changeless systems of the universe 
 as revealed in astronomy or in chemistry, something too of 
 the truth about life, what we animals really are, what our 
 place and what our powers, a truth ungarbled whether'by 
 prudery or mysticism."'* This appears to me to be a suffi- 
 cient and complete answer to those who are constantly in- 
 veighing against "the smattering of knowledge" they 
 allege to be taught in the schools of to-day. As I under- 
 stand tliis "smattering," I am wholly in its favour, as 
 against the so-called "thoroughness" of pursuing two or 
 three subjects in the ciull and incomprehensible detail in 
 which the sciences are generally taught in schools. Chemis- 
 try and physics, as taught in my school days at least, quite 
 failed to explain even their own share of the universe. I 
 shall never forget the absolute illumination which came to 
 me before 1 left school through the study of General Ele- 
 nioitary Science for Ijondon Matriculation, and Advanced 
 Physiography for the Science and Art Examinations. 
 These despised subjects were not "thorough," of course, 
 but they were the beginning of one's glimmerings of un- 
 derstanding of the physical universe. The relations be- 
 tween the sciences matter more in general education than 
 the particular sciences themselves. Scientists rightly claim 
 that, the deeper they delve, the more they find the prin- 
 ciples of law and order prevailing in the scheme of things. It 
 would be good for our nation if we could pursue the course 
 of reconstruction with the scientist's passion for truth, 
 and the belief that our social researches would establish 
 those very principles of law and order in human society. 
 
 *"rambridge Essays on Education." Prof. Bateson, pp. 132- 
 133.
 
 141 
 
 Much could be done in this direction if we could show our 
 children, through the teaching of science, the prevailing 
 order and unity of the physical world. But even scientists 
 of University standing are often painfully narrow in their 
 view of knowledge as a whole. Consequently, their stu- 
 dents leave them without a full appreciation of the relations 
 of all branches of knowledge to one another, and they 
 carry into the world a wrong tradition, and help to per- 
 petuate scientific insularity. No scientist who endeavours 
 to live upon a desert island will shed any illumination upon 
 the world at large, nor will he ever discover the inner mean- 
 ing of things. 
 
 Specialisation more often produces bias than breadth. 
 This is not an argument against specialisation, but a warn- 
 ing of its dangers. Most scientific specialists presume to 
 apply canons of investigation, methods and conceptions 
 suitable to their own subject to all other subjects. Tjiis 
 scientific arrogance is a great barrier to the unity and 
 progress of science. Such a prejudice leads the anthro- 
 pologist to neglect archaeology, the geologist to neglect 
 astronomy. The chemist, or any other scientist, can be 
 thoroughly educated only if he knows chemistry thorough- 
 ly, its matter and method, and also its relation to all other 
 sciences, and, above all, its own limitations. 
 
 3.— THE PLACE OF SCIENCE IN A GENERAL. 
 EDUCATION. 
 
 If we are agreed that the teaching of science should not 
 rest upon the method of placing irritating obstacles in the 
 way of the student, but should" endeavour to give life and 
 meaning to the world of things, how is that end most effec- 
 tively to be achieved? The science which covers the 
 broadest field and is most likely to engage the closest in- 
 terest of the young student is Biology. No single science 
 can, of course, accomplish the great end we are seeking.
 
 142 
 
 But biological study provides the readiest subject matter, 
 responds to the most intense curiosity, and immediately 
 exhibits the broad significance of science as a whole. It 
 is the best of all single gateways into the Temple of Science. 
 If the studies of Chemistry, Physics and kindred sciences 
 are grouped about Biology, they are more likely to give 
 the student a full and round view of the universe of nature. 
 But we must go farther than this. It is absolutely essen- 
 tial tliat, in the more advanced stage of University study, 
 the student should have direct teaching in the methodology 
 of science in general. This invades the domain of Philoso- 
 phy, which, properly taught and conceived, is not mere 
 metaphysical speculation, but the mother of the sciences, 
 their supreme interpreter, and capable of supplying the 
 student with that treatment of methodology that he needs. 
 The schools of Philosophy in modern Universities frequent- 
 ly^ do oft'er such teaching. But, in general, it requires to 
 be closer to pure science and to be given a definitely scien- 
 tific bent. What could be more deeply educative than the 
 discussion of scientific method as used by the great thinker.^ 
 and investigators from Aristotle to Darwin? Theories of 
 Causation, the methods of Induction and Deduction, the 
 bases of good classifications, the formulation of Hypotheses, 
 the use of Analogy, all offer excellent facilities for incul- 
 cating the scientific spirit, and ensuring that whatever 
 specialist line of study the student maj^ be pursuing will 
 fall into its proper place in the universe of knowledge, and 
 help instead of hindering the luiderstanding of the whole. 
 I would make the subject of Methodology compulsory in 
 all University courses. Not the least of its advantages 
 would be that it inevitably reduces intolerance and dog- 
 matism — and none can be more dogmatic than the specialist 
 scientist. "Agnosticism is the very life and mainspring of 
 science." A passion for truth and the courage to repudi- 
 ate even cherished errors would go farther than any other 
 qualities to re-construct the world on right lines.
 
 143 
 
 4— SCIENCE AND VOCATION. 
 
 Science can not only help us, to develop intensively the 
 faculties of the individual, but it can ^ide us in placing 
 him appropriately in the practical life of society. There 
 are severe limits, however, to the enactment of the ideal in 
 finding for every citizen his exact place in the community. 
 It must be confessed that there is a vast number of human 
 beings for whom there is no highly specialised place in the 
 sphere of practical work. The humbler workers in the 
 community must be offered other opportunities than the 
 daily drudgery of labour for the development of their per- 
 sonality. But this consideration does not excuse us for 
 allowing the wholesale waste of talent, due to our leaving 
 the vast majority of boys and girls without any guidance or 
 training for the work for which they are fitted by nature. 
 
 "A system which compels a child to attend school until 
 he is fourteen, and then leaves him to his own resources, 
 can do little to create, and less to satisfy, a thirst for 
 knowledge. During the most critical years of his life— 
 fourteen to eighteen — he is left without guidance, without 
 discipline, without ideals, often w ithout even the desire of 
 remembering or using the little he knows. He is led, as it 
 M'cre, to the threshold of the temple, but the fast-closed 
 door forbids him to enter and behold the glories of the in- 
 terior. Year by year, there is an appalling waste of good 
 human material ; and thousands of those whom nature in- 
 tended to be captains of industry are relegated, in conse- 
 quence of undeveloped or imperfectly trained capacity, to 
 the ranks, or become hewers of wood and drawers of water. 
 Many drift with other groups of human wastage to the un- 
 employed, thence to the unemployable, and so to the gutter 
 and the grave. The poor we have always with us ; but the 
 wastrel — like the pauper — 'is a work of art, the creation of 
 wasteful sympathy and legislative inefficiency.' "* 
 
 A remarkable change of opinion has occurred in England 
 among the most distinguished captains of industry in re- 
 
 ♦"Cambridge Essays on Education." Sir J. D. McClure p 
 196.
 
 144 
 
 gard to the proper relation between general education and 
 vocational training. An address by the Chairman of Cam- 
 mell, Laird and Co., early in 1917, is the strongest witness 
 to this change of attitude. The view is now taken that 
 vocational education should be postponed until a fairly late 
 stage in a boy's course, and possibly should not begin at 
 all during his school period. The importance of technical 
 training, even from the broadly educational standpoint, 
 cannot be exaggerated. But there is all the difference in 
 the world between training a boy in the use of his senses 
 and faculties during his school life, and bending his powers 
 definitely in that early stage towards a certain vocational 
 end. One of the dangers of a too-early vocational training 
 is that the boy may be led to make a wrong choice of work. 
 for in few cases does a boy show a final and decisive speci- 
 ality early in his school career. Another result is the 
 lamentable neglect of cultural subjects in technical schools, 
 just at the crucial stage of dawning citizenship. 
 
 It is ver}^ noteworthy that the ancient Universities of 
 Oxford and Cambridge are asked to supply ever-increasing 
 numbers of men to take charge of departments of Industry 
 and Commerce, and these not in the main science men, but 
 those trained in other faculties. Their success is proven by 
 the increased demand for their services. This is a great 
 testimony to the soundness of a general education as an 
 equipment for the practical life. On the science side, of 
 course, the demand for highly trained men is even greater 
 still. More and more firms, both in ordinary trade and 
 industrial production, seek the aid of a scientific staff, 
 many of whom are left to pursue pure research without 
 any request for utilitarian results. This is all decidedly 
 to the good, and is sure to grow. 
 
 5.— BRITISH SCIENCE DURING THE WAR. 
 
 The wonderful possibilities of science, when an oppor- 
 tunity is given to it, have been abundantly exhibited since
 
 145 
 
 the begiuning of the war. The industries ou which the 
 successful conduct of the war depends have frequently 
 received heli) from quite unexpected sources. Much of 
 this, of course, has been the result of the necessities of the 
 moment rather than of an equipment already available but 
 unused. One of the most remarkable successes was the 
 rapidit}- with which vast numbers of delicate gauges for 
 testing fuses were manufactured. Equally noteworthy is 
 the new manufacture of chemical glassware, certain 
 machine tools, and many other products, formerly the 
 monopoly of Continental producers. Many thousands of 
 volunteers, without previous training, were quickly taught 
 the most intricate as well as the most ordinary branches of 
 engineering work, and even small technical schools organ- 
 ised themselves most efficiently to take their share of this 
 imj)ortant national service. How extraordinary had been 
 the neglect of the scientific manufacture of many articles 
 of national necessity is shown by such instances as that of 
 certain optical glasses required by the Admiralty and the 
 War Office, the entire supply of which was imported from 
 the Continent, mainly from enemy countries. Yet the War 
 Office had for years refused to grant the money necessary 
 for the scientific investigations which would lead to a 
 British manufacture being established. The manufacture 
 of dye stuffs, the hardware trade, and a hundred other in- 
 dustrial processes have been allowed to lapse into foreign 
 control, not because of England's refusal to adopt protec- 
 tive tariffs, but because of her reluctance to grant a 
 generous national endowment of scientific research and 
 technical education. That she has at last woke up to the 
 need seems evident, both from the provision made for mili- 
 tary requirements, through the application of science, and 
 also for post-war conditions. 
 
 Fortunately, throughout the world there is now arising 
 a recognition of the necessity for basing the development 
 of national resources and industries on scientific research
 
 146 
 
 and organisation. In Europe, America, Britain and the 
 Dominions, a large number of bodies has been created, 
 mainly with Government support and assistance, to nursue 
 research on a large and intensive scale, and to provide for 
 its application in the economic sphere. "The British Go- 
 vernment has recently created a new Department of Scien- 
 tific and Industrial Research, with a fund of over 
 £1,000,000 at its disposal; a conjoint Board of Scientific 
 Societies has been established at the instance of the Royal 
 Society; an important and influential Committee on the 
 Neglect of Science has taken up the question of scientific 
 knowledge and training in the Public Services, at Oxford 
 and Cambridge, and in the public schools; an Education 
 Reform Council, comprising representatives of science, in- 
 dustry and commerce, as well as of education, lias been ap- 
 pointed ; while various other organisations have taken up 
 one or other branches of the subject of the development of 
 science and its co-ordination with industry, education and 
 adnii]iistration. In France a new national institution for 
 scientific research en a large scale is projected as a resvdt 
 of action taken by the Paris Academy of Science. In 
 Canada a Research Council has been established on a per- 
 manent basis by the Dominion Government to take charge 
 of matters affecting scientific and industrial research in 
 Canada, and to advise on questions of scientific and tech- 
 nological methods affecting the expansion of Canadian in- 
 dustries or the utilisation of the natural resources of 
 Canada. In the United States a National Research Council 
 has been established at the instance of the President, for 
 the purpose of developing and bringing into co-operation 
 existing governmental, educational, industrial, and other 
 research organisations. In Japan a National Research In- 
 stitute is being established on a large scale, involving the 
 expenditure of over £500,000. In New Zealand and South 
 Africa national research organisations are also being estab- 
 lished. In Australia the importance of applying science to
 
 147 
 
 the industries of the country has been recognised by the 
 Commonwealth Government, through the initiative action 
 of the Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon. W. M. Hughes, P.C, 
 M.P., by the establishment, in 1916, of a temporary Ad- 
 visory Council of Science and Industry, which was intended 
 to prepare the way for a permanent Institute of Science 
 and Industry."* 
 
 Special Committees of the Commonwealth Advisory 
 Council are carrying on active investigations into agricul- 
 tural, chemical and industrial subjects, and several valu- 
 able reports liave been compiled. The foundations of a 
 permanent Institute have been laid by the appointment of 
 a salaried Director. The Government has, however, been 
 exceedingly^ dilatory in giving practical effect to the scheme, 
 which cannot yet be said to be playing an important part 
 in our scientific and industrial life. The immediate needs 
 are a generous subsidy and abstention from interference by 
 politicians, t 
 
 *Lightfoot: Pamphlet, "Recent Developments in the Organi- 
 sation of National Industrial Research Institutions.'' Com- 
 monwealth Government Printer, Melbourne. 
 
 t See Chap. XXVI., close of p. 260.
 
 148 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 A Programme of Educational 
 Reconstrudtion. 
 
 Being the RECOMMEND A TIONS of the Workers' Educational 
 Association of Great Britain to the Reconstruction Committee. 
 
 1. THE HIGHWAY OF EDUCATION. 
 
 Resolution 1.— THE IDEAL. 
 
 That the broad principle of free education through all 
 its stages, including that of the University, be accepted. 
 
 PRACTICAL PROPOSALS. 
 
 Resolution 2.— YOUNG CHILDREN. 
 
 (a) That the age for compulsory attendance at school should 
 i;e raised to six years, and it should be compulsory for the 
 Local Education Authority to establish and control a sufficient 
 number of Nursery Schools for the children within their areas 
 between the ages of two and six; 
 
 (b) That attendance at these schools should be free; 
 
 (c) That the Nursery Schools should be under the special 
 supervision of the School Medical Officer, and attention in 
 them should be mainly directed to the cultivation in the chil- 
 dren of good physical habits, and healthy bodily development, 
 play and rest whenever possible in the open air forming an 
 important part in the curriculum; 
 
 (d) That the Nursery Schools should accommodate small 
 groups of children, and should be so distributed as to be near 
 the homes of the children;
 
 149 
 
 (e) That the Head of the Nursery School should be a teacher 
 who has special qualifications for the training of young 
 children. 
 
 Resolution 3.— UNIVERSAL FULL-TIME EDUCATION. 
 
 We are of opiuiou that the age for exemption from com- 
 pulsory full-time attendance at school should be 16, and to 
 this end we recommend : 
 
 (a) That universal full-time education continue to the age 
 of 14, no exemptions being granted under that age, and that 
 no child should leave school until the end of the terms, 
 Christmas, Easter, or Midsummer, in n-hich he attains the 
 age of 14; 
 
 (b) That it be compulsory for aii Local Education Authori- 
 ties to raise the leaving age to 15 (without exemptions) 
 within a period of five years, and that Local Education Auth- 
 orities be granted powers forthwith to riiake bye-laws to raise 
 it to 16; 
 
 (e) That when the school leaving age is raised above 14, 
 Local Education authorities should be loquired to grant main- 
 tenance allowances to children above that age where necessary; 
 
 (d) That education during the compulsory full-time period, 
 more especially in the upper standards, should be organised 
 with a view to its continuance during cidolescence; 
 
 (e) That the ' employment of children for profit or wages 
 outside school hours during the compulsory full-time school 
 period be prohibited. 
 
 Resolution 4.— HIGHER EDUCATION. 
 
 I. SECONDARY EDUCATION. 
 
 A. — Part-time Education between the age of exemption 
 FROM Compulsory Full-time Attendance and 18. 
 
 {a) That compulsory part-time education of not less than 
 20 hours per week (including time spent in organised games 
 and school meals) be provided free for all such young per- 
 sons as are not receiving full-time education; 
 
 (b) That the hours of labour for all young persons under 
 the age of 18 be limited to a maximum of 25 per week; 
 
 (c) That the distribution of hours throughout the year upon 
 the above basis should be arranged, where necessary, to meet 
 the needs of seasonal industries and other circumstances; 
 
 (d) That the education in such schools should be directed 
 solely towards the full development of the bodies, minds, and 
 characters of the pupils; that it should therefore be intimately 
 related to the environment and interests of the pupils, and
 
 1 50 
 
 should contain ample provision for physical well-being, in- 
 cluding organised games and school meals ; 
 
 (e) That the teachers in such schools should enjoy status 
 and emoluments similar to those of teachers in other secon- 
 darj' schools. 
 
 B. — Fui.i<-TiME Secondary Education. 
 
 (a) That all children admitted to a Secondary School should 
 have reached an approved standard of education, the ground 
 of transfer being the fitness of the scholar for the broader 
 curriculum; 
 
 (b) That free provision should be made for all who are 
 eligible and desirous to enter such schools, such provision 
 to include a satisfactory maintenance allowance where neces- 
 sary; 
 
 (c) That the number of Secondary Schools of varying types 
 should be largely increased, and that the curriculum be made 
 more variable to meet the interests of individual scholars; 
 
 (d) That facilities should be provided for the transfer from 
 part-time to full-time Secondary Education; 
 
 (e) That the requirements of a liberal education should be 
 regarded as paramount in the organisation of every type of 
 Secondary School; 
 
 (f) That the distribution and organisation of Secondary 
 Schools should be such as to promote equality of access to 
 University education of the highest type for students in every 
 local area. 
 
 II. UNIVERSITY EDUCATION. 
 
 (a) That no student should be accepted as an undergraduate 
 of a University or University College who has not previously 
 attained an adequate educational standard satisfactory to the 
 University Authorities; 
 
 (b) That free provision should be made for all who reach 
 this standard, adequate maintenance grants being given where 
 financial circumstances require them, and further, that until 
 such time as free University Education is provided, the num- 
 ber of scholarships, the value of each scholarship, angU-the 
 method of selection, should be such that no student should 
 be debarred by financial circumstances from becoming an 
 undergraduate; 
 
 (c) That greater facilities should be provided whereby men 
 and women able to profit by a special period of study at a 
 University should be enabled to do so without an entrance 
 examination; 
 
 (d) That all Universities and University Colleges con- 
 forming to Board of Education requirements should receive
 
 151 
 
 from the State such grants in aid as will enable them to be 
 .efficiently staffed and equipped; 
 
 (e) That it should be a condition of payment of State grants 
 in aid to Universities and University Colleges that they make 
 adequate provision for University Tutorial Classes; 
 
 (f) That since an essential part of the work of a University 
 lies in affording facilities for the advancement of knowledge, 
 more adequate provision should be made for scientific and 
 literary research conducted with this object; 
 
 (g) That workpeople, together with other sections of the 
 community, should be directly represented on the governing 
 bodies of all Universities and University Colleges. 
 
 III. TECHNICAL EDUCATION. 
 
 (a) That in the interests alike of education and of economic 
 efficiency, a sound general education in childhood and adoles- 
 cence is the necessary foundation for any specialised course of 
 technical or professional training, both in town and country, 
 and that therefore technical education should be regarded as 
 supplementary to secondary education; 
 
 (b) That, owing to the immense variety of occupations in a 
 modern community, and the wide differences between them, 
 both in the amount of special training necessary to efficiency 
 and the prospects of permanent employment for young 
 workers, it would be impracticable, as well as undesirable, 
 for the State to attempt to enforce any compulsory system of 
 technical education; 
 
 (c) That, since the trades and industries and professions of 
 the country exist in order to serve the needs of the com- 
 munity, technical education should, as far as possible, be 
 divorced from the prevalent atmosphere of commercialism, 
 and regarded as a training in public service; and that this 
 aspect of the subject should be kept in view in the organisa- 
 tion of the courses of instruction; 
 
 (d) That technical schools should be administered by a 
 body on which employers and workpeople chosen by their re- 
 spective trade organisations should be equally represented, 
 together with members of the Education Authority, and that 
 there should be special advisory committees of employers and 
 workpeople for special trades; 
 
 (e) That close contact should be maintained between Uni- 
 versities and Technical Institutes, and between Technical In- 
 stitutes and schools and workshop practice, and that work- 
 people should also be represented on the University Committees 
 concerned; 
 
 (f) That, subject to the preceding conditions, an extension 
 of technical and professional education is highly desirable 
 in the national interest;
 
 152 
 
 (g) That slich education should be free, and that until this 
 is provided there should be a generous provision of scholar- 
 ships with adequate maintenance grants, so that duly quali- 
 fied students from the full-time and part-time Secondary 
 Schools, and from evening classes in technical schools, whose 
 special bent lies in the direction of scientific and technical 
 work, may pass forward to full-time day courses of instruction 
 (followed by research) in Universities, Technical Colleges, 
 and the larger Technical Schools. 
 
 Resolution 5— CORPORATE I.IFE. 
 
 Since experience has shown the great educational value 
 of corporate life in schools it is necessary : 
 
 (a) That adequate playgrounds and playing fields, with the 
 necessary equipment and free transit to them Avhen necessary, 
 should be provided for all schools; 
 
 (b) That greater freedom of access for children to play- 
 grounds should be allowed out of school hours; 
 
 (c) That children should be encouraged to arrange their 
 own games and other activities, and that facilities should be 
 given for the development of special aptitudes; 
 
 (d) That as far as possible the help of the children should 
 be enlisted in the management of school life. 
 
 Further, it is desirable, with a view to the development 
 of corporate life in our schools : 
 
 (e) That the greatest possible freedom be given to both 
 teachers and pupils, and that teachers be not required to 
 adhere rigidly to a prescribed time-table or a fixed syllabus; 
 
 (f) That the growing practice of a common school meal be 
 encouraged; 
 
 (g) That because of the importance of the development of 
 a sense of beauty in early years, the school buildings and 
 interiors should be designed with this end in view. 
 
 Resolution 6.— PHYSICAL EDUCATION. 
 
 That in view of the general obligation of the State to 
 safeguard the physical well-being of the children of the 
 nation and of the serious defects of their health revealed 
 by the School Medical Service, ampler- provision for the 
 physical well-being is indispensable to the proper working 
 of our Educational System. 
 
 With this in view it is necessary: 
 
 (a) That it be compulsory for all Local Education Authori- 
 ties to set up and maintain such a Medical and Dental Service
 
 153 
 
 as will secure dequate inspection and treatment to all sc'iolars 
 attending the schools within the area of the respective authori- 
 ties; 
 
 (b) That the system of school meals be so extended and 
 improved as to overcome the evils of under-feeding and mal- 
 nutrition; 
 
 (c) That greater facilities for physical training should 
 be provided, including the organisation of games and the use 
 of simple equipment, and also bathing and swimming where 
 possible; 
 
 (d) That the policy of establishing schools on the outskirts 
 of towns, where facilities for open-air teaching and playing 
 fields can be more easily provided, should be encouraged, 
 with the necessary arrangements for conveyance and common 
 meals; 
 
 (e) That ample provision be made for the fullest possible 
 education of all children who are physically or mentally 
 deficient. 
 
 Resolution 7.— SIZE OF CLASSES. 
 
 We are of opinion that no class in any school ought to 
 contain more than 30 pupils, and to this end we recom- 
 mend : — 
 
 (a) That the necessary steps be taken immediately to in- 
 crease the supply of qualified teachers and school accommoda- 
 tion, so as to reduce classes to 40, with a view to further re- 
 duction to 30; 
 
 (b) That a standard of not more than 30 be adopted for all 
 new and remodelled schools, that a separate class-room be 
 provided for each class, and that the present minimum basis 
 of floor space per child be largely increased. 
 
 Rbsoi.oTion 8.— the supply OF GOOD TEACHERS. 
 
 To provide an adequate supply of good teachers it is 
 necessary : 
 
 (a) That there be free access to training facilities for the 
 teaching profession, accompanied by adequate maintenance 
 grants where required; 
 
 (b) That the salaries paid and pensions provided should 
 be such as will induce the best men and women available to 
 enter and remain in the profession, with equal pay for equal 
 service; 
 
 (c) That intending teachers should be enabled to pass 
 through a period of study at a University of at least a year's 
 duration before entering the profession, and that the Col- 
 leges where professional training Is provided should be closely 
 eonnected with a University,
 
 154 
 
 (d) That every possible facility should be provided for pre- 
 sent unqualified teachers to qualify, and that the appointment 
 of unqualified teachers be discontinued; 
 
 (e) That the highest positions in the educational service 
 should be open to teachers who are fitted to fill them. 
 
 Resolution 9.— PUBLIC LIBRARIES. 
 
 That, in view of the importance of extending and develop- 
 ing the work of the public libraries in town and country, 
 it is desirable that they should be brought into closer con- 
 nection with the general educational system of the country; 
 
 With this end in view the separate library rate should 
 be abolished, and the provision and upkeep of public 
 libraries should be entrusted to the Local Education Autho- 
 rity as an integral part of the scheme for its area. 
 
 Resolution 10.— DISTRIBUTION OF COST. 
 
 (a) That each Local Education Authority be required to 
 submit to the Board of Education a complete scheme of edu- 
 cation for its area together with estimates of the cost; 
 
 (b) That 75 per cent, of the total cost of any approved 
 scheme be met by the National Exchequer, but that 
 
 (c) The Board of Education be empowered to reduce the 
 grant where: 
 
 (1) the teaching staff is insufficient in quality or num- 
 bers, or the salaries paid are inadequate; 
 
 (2) the number of scholars in any class exceeds 40; 
 
 (3) the number and variety of educational institutions 
 are not adequate; 
 
 (4) The medical inspection and treatment and supply 
 of school meals are not adequate; 
 
 (5) the Local Education Authority fails to administer 
 its bye-laws; 
 
 (6) where any other part of the scheme is not carried 
 
 out to the satisfaction of the Board of Education. 
 
 (d) That the Board of Education be required to give a 
 special grant to meet the needs of areas where: 
 
 (1) the school population is high; 
 
 (2) the rateable value is low as compared with the cost 
 of education. 
 
 Resolution U —EDUCATIONAL ENDOWMENT. 
 
 That since the proper use of educational endowments is 
 important to the development of a national system of edu- 
 cation, it is desirable:
 
 155 
 
 (a) That a public and intelligible statement should be made 
 periodically as to the amount of such endowments, the sources 
 from which they are received, and the way in which they are 
 controlled and expended; 
 
 (b) That there should be an inquiry into their origin and 
 history; 
 
 (c) That action should be taken for their better distribution 
 where this would appear after inquiry to be desirable in the 
 interests of the educational development of the country. 
 
 RESOI.UTION 12. -WORK OF THE W.E.A. 
 
 That, since the character of British Democracy ultimately 
 depends on the collective wisdom of its adult members, no 
 system of education can be complete that does not promote 
 serious thought and discussion on the fundamental interests 
 and problems of life and society, such as is promoted by 
 the W.E.A. ; that while we are of opinion that it is against 
 the best interests and free development of the Association 
 to accept a grant from the State for general purposes, we 
 regard it as necessary, in order that the voluntary contri- 
 butions to the Association should be free for educational 
 propaganda work, that grants should be made towards the 
 cost of organisation of definite and recognised pieces of 
 work such as University Tutorial Classes and one-year 
 classes. We regard this need as being of national import- 
 ance, more especially in the difficult period after the war. 
 We therefore recommend : 
 
 (a) That the Board of Education grants to University Tu- 
 torial Classes be equal to 75 per cent, of the tutor's salary 
 ana 75 per cent, of the proved cost of organisation and ad- 
 ministration; 
 
 (b) That the Board of Education grant to one-year classes 
 be 75 per cent, of the total cost of organisation, tuition, and 
 administration. 
 
 2. THE ESSENCE OF THE PROGRAMME. 
 
 The problem of Educational Reconstruction has been 
 receiving the greatest attention in Britain, particularly 
 owing to a most active campaign carried into every part of 
 the country by the Workers' Educational Association of
 
 156 
 
 Great Britain. The appointment of a distinguished scholar* 
 as President of the Board of Education sent a wave of 
 optimism through the country, hopes being heightened by 
 his maiden speech introducing the new Education Bill. The 
 chief provisions of the Bill were for the abolition of the 
 Half -Time System, the establishment of part-time com- 
 pulsory continuation schools, improvements in elementary 
 education and in administration. All this is good, but it 
 fell far below the expectations deliberately encouraged by 
 the Government, and practically all leading educationists 
 are bitterly disappointed. Nothing could shew more 
 clearly how great was the gap between promise and fulfil- 
 ment than the detailed programme of educational recon- 
 struction drawn up by the Workers' Educational Associa- 
 tion, and carried by enthusiastic conferences all over Eng- 
 land. The programme is set out in full at the beginning of 
 this chapter, and is well worth detailed study. 
 
 3. AUSTRALIA AND THE PROGRAMME. 
 
 Some of the reforms have, of course, already been 
 effected in Australia, and references to such features as 
 Local Educational Authorities do not apply. But, in the 
 main, Australia is still in need of most of the improve- 
 ments laid down in the programme. Britain is now con- 
 siderably ahead of the Commonwealth in educational 
 policy. We have in Australia no provision for com- 
 pulsory attendance up to 16, for Nursery Schools 
 on any scale, for compulsory part-time continua- 
 tion schools; our high schools are few in number and 
 often inadequately staffed and equipped, while Technical 
 Education is spreading only slowly. The best features of 
 the Australian educational system , are the widespread 
 facilities for primary education, carried out in face of great 
 obstacles; the rapidly improving co-ordination of primary 
 
 * Mr. H. A. L. Fisher, Vice-Chancellor of Sheffield Uni- 
 versity, and a prominent member of the W.E.A.
 
 157 
 
 schools, high schools and Universities. Australian Govern- 
 ments are also much more generous than the British Board 
 of Education, but not nearly so lavish as they imagine. 
 Ministers and politicians successfully create the impression 
 in the public mind that they give far more to Education 
 than they really do. The Universities and the High Schools 
 are very meagrely subsidised in most States. Australia is 
 at least as ready as older countries to elevate the material 
 and commercial aspects of education at the expense of the 
 humane and moral.* The Parliaments and Cabinets of 
 Australia shew little enthusiasm when asked to subsidise 
 University Departments dealing with such "useless know- 
 ledge'' as Pliilosophy, History, and Literature. A project 
 for the extension of practical and technical science, on the 
 other hand, arouses a degree of interest in direct ratio to 
 the cash value of the anticipated return. Unfortunately, 
 most academic men on the literary side content themselves 
 with complaining that Science is stealing their subsidies, 
 instead of urging the unity of knowledge and pleading for 
 generous support for a complete scheme of humanistic and 
 scientific studies under the one University roof-tree. 
 
 * In this respect Victoria seems to me to be worst. The 
 arguments used by some newspapers, and repeated by public 
 men, against extensions of higher education, show a most dis- 
 creditable lack of understanding of the true aims of education 
 in a democratic State.
 
 158 
 
 Bibliography III. 
 
 EDUCATION. 
 
 Badley — Education After the War. 
 
 The Education Year Book, 1917 and 1918. 
 
 Athengeum Aids to Study, I. and II. 
 
 Benson (Ed.) — Cambridge Essays on Education. 
 
 British Board of Education — Special Reports on German 
 Education. 
 
 Holmes, Edmond — What Is and What Might Be (Con- 
 stable). 
 
 Holmes, Edmond — In Defence of What Might Be (Con- 
 stable ) . 
 
 Burnet, Jolni — Higher fxlucation and the War (Macmil- 
 lan). 
 
 Lankester, Sir Ray — Science and Education (Heinemann). 
 
 Seward (Ed.) — Science and the Nation: Essays (Cam- 
 bridge). 
 
 Cloyd — Modern Education in Europe and The Orient 
 (Macmillan). 
 
 Allen, William H. — Universal Training for Citizenship 
 and Public Service (Macmillan), 
 
 Gollancz and Somervell — Political Education at a Public 
 School (Collins). 
 
 MacMunn, Norman — A Path to Freedom in the Scliool 
 (Bell). 
 
 McMillan— The Camp School. 
 
 Thorn & Rigg — Handbook of Civics (Australian) (Ox- 
 ford). 
 
 Marshall & Hoy— Australasian Text-Book of Civics 
 (Lothian). 
 
 Begbie — Living Water (Headley Bros.). 
 
 W.E.A, Pamphlets and Reports.
 
 159 
 
 PART IV. 
 
 The International Problem.
 
 161 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 The Problem Stated. 
 
 1.— THE CAUSES OF WAR. 
 
 "The war arose out of a type of quarrel which, had it 
 occurred between haJf-a-dozen individuals of average in- 
 telligence, would have been amicably settled, by reason- 
 able human intercourse, in twenty minutes. Does not 
 this afford a rough measure of the collective wisdom of 
 such States as at present exist in this world? Does it not 
 suggest that they have little faculty of reasonable inter- 
 course with one another? And when you say that of any 
 being, or any collection of beings, do you not put it pretty 
 low down in the scale of intelligence? It is literally true 
 that these States do not understand one another."* 
 
 It is equally true that they fear one another, and that 
 in consequence their moral and political relations are go- 
 verned by the ethics of an age when men went about armed 
 to the teeth, for fear of attack by their neighbours. The 
 extreme pacifist seldom remembers that, even if we could 
 banish the spirit of aggression from national policies, war 
 would still be possible so long as "the black god-mother, 
 Fear," stands sponsor to the nations. 
 
 However great the need for national defence, "the 
 healthy State is non-militant in temper." War is due to a 
 social disease. A State organised for the purposes of ag- 
 gression is a State permanently and deliberately diseased. 
 
 * "Progress and History," Ch. vi., p. 147, Moral Progress, 
 by L. P. Jacks,
 
 162 
 
 No State can be perfect that is not organised on the basis of 
 a belief in a conception of life that places truth, beauty and 
 love highest in its scale of values. In such a State the will 
 to war would be absent, though the will to national defence 
 might well remain, since the defence of those sublime 
 values itself partakes of their sublimity. The antagonism 
 of good and evil may make for war as readily as the com- 
 petition of evil with evil ; even the antagonism of one 
 imagined good with another may be sufficient to start a 
 quarrel. History warrants a healthy pessimism in those 
 who would establish a League of Nations. 
 
 Contrary to the teaching of many extremists to-day, wars 
 cannot be attributed to one single cause. There are several 
 causes of war, which together involve the whole human 
 problem. Nationality, religion, economic conditions, either 
 internal or external, social ideals, political institutions — 
 all these may cause, and have caused some of the most 
 terrible of human conflicts. From the hunger wars of our 
 barbarian ancestors up to the present world upheaval, with 
 all its modern perplexities, almost every conceivable human 
 motive has been at one time or another behind some war. 
 While the cruder incentives to human conflict have been 
 removed, man has carried forward with him much of his 
 earlier tendency to aggression and selfishness, and his in- 
 stitutions are still too closely modelled on the relics of his 
 past. The incubus of the ages checks his emergence into 
 the light of a world better fitted to his higher self. While 
 man has progressed much in social welfare, and gone far 
 towards recognising the unity of all mankind, the world 
 still suffers from chronic instability — that of an inverted 
 cone, with the national, financial and dynastic interests at 
 the apex, and the poverty-stricken masses at the base. With- 
 in the bodies of many nations are undigested fragments of 
 ravished peoples, acting as constant irritants in the States 
 which seek to absorb them, and constituting a never-ending 
 menace to the peace of the world. Slavs, Poles, Bohemians,
 
 163 
 
 Roumanians, Bulgarians, Serbs, and Italians present prob- 
 lems even more important to the world than they are to 
 those separate races. In their treatment of these and kin- 
 dred problems all Governments and Powers have been 
 moved mainly by self-interest, qualified by national charac- 
 ter and public opinion. Foreign policies of the nations 
 have thus become dangerously corrupt, and have made for 
 war rather than peace, since they have done little or no- 
 thing to remove the wrongs and evils from which the 
 world is suffering. The corruption of international rela- 
 tions is therefore due to: — (1) The political ignorance of 
 the people. (2) The political power and jobbery of finan- 
 ciers, concessionaires and armaments interests. (3) Racial 
 and national ambitions, both legitimate and aggressive. (4) 
 The past economic and political history of each nation. (5) 
 The form of its government. (6) Its educational system 
 and ideals. (7) Inheritance of false ideals of national great- 
 ness by practically all nations. (8) The bad social con- 
 ditions which exist in almost every country. (9) The 
 methods of secret diplomacy, which foster intrigue, mis- 
 understanding and selfish nationalism. 
 
 Thus the affairs of the world constantly tend to move in 
 a vicious circle — the poverty and ignorance of the masses, 
 the monopoly of power by aristocratic and plutocratic 
 classes, the search for their aggrandisement in concessions, 
 colonies and dependencies, competition with foreign 
 Powers for these ends, military preparedness and chronic 
 nervousness, the aggravation of conflicting interests ending 
 in war, bringing us back to the evils of poverty and ignor- 
 ance. Our one hope is that the end of this war will be 
 unlike all others, in that it is awakening the peoples of the 
 world to resist the vicious trend of history to repeat itself. 
 
 On the otlier hand, modern conditions actually facilitate 
 further the outbreak of war between governments, since, 
 given secret diplomacy, discussions which before might 
 occupy many weeks can now be arrived at after a few hours
 
 164 
 
 of telegraphic exchanges. This has the double effect of 
 preventiiig- the peoples immediately concerned exercising a 
 decisive influence on momentous events, and of making it 
 impossible for the more impartial opinion of neutral nations 
 to be thrown into the scale. Another development of modern 
 >varfare is the necessity under which governments feel 
 themselves compelled to seek security in gigantic arma- 
 meiits. The present war has carried us still further by 
 showing that almost the entire populations of belligerent 
 countries, and the bulk of their material resources, are 
 marshalled to conduct warfare on the modern scale. This 
 latter development not only makes the burden of war more 
 intolerable than ever, but will make the problem of dis- 
 armament much more difficult, since the disarming of a 
 nation cannot now be effected by a mere reduction of its 
 standing army and navy. Incidentally, it may be remarked 
 that the nationalisation of armaments has also lost mucli 
 of its force, since the preparations for a modern war are 
 now on a scale far beyond the capacity of private firms. 
 
 It may be argued, on the contrary, of course, that mod- 
 ern war is so expensive as to make its outbreak less likely 
 than before. While this is true, it would be foolish for 
 humanity to place any reliance upon such a deterrent, 
 while the inherent character of international relations still 
 makes for conflict. It should be added that the increasing 
 interlocking of economic and political interests between the 
 nations is enough to show how ridiculous is the general 
 statement that capitalists, as such, deliberately provoke 
 wars. Putting aside a small proportion of profiteers, it is 
 absolutely certain that the interest of the average capitalist 
 is utterly opposed to war. 
 
 2.— THE FUNDAMENTAL NEED. 
 Lord Bryce has said* : — 
 
 "The frightful catastrophe of the present war, involv- 
 ing more than half the human race, and bringing grave 
 
 * "Proposals for the Prevention of Future Wars," by "Vis- 
 count Bryce and others.
 
 lo5 
 
 evils on neutral nations also, has driven thoughtful men to 
 reflect on the possibility of finding means by which the 
 risk of future wars may be dispelled, or at least largely 
 reduced. The only effective and permanent remedy would 
 be to convince the several peoples of the world that they 
 have far more to lose than to gain from strife, and to re- 
 place by a sentiment cf mutual international goodwill the 
 violent national antagonism that now exists; but this, we 
 may well fear, would be a slow process. Meantime that 
 which may be done, and which it seems possible to do at 
 once, is to provide machinery by and through which the 
 volume of international public opinion which favours peace 
 may be enabled to express itself, and bring its power to 
 bear upon any nation in which there may, from time to 
 time, exist a spirit of aggression, or a readiness to embark 
 on war in pursuit of selfish interests or at the bidding of 
 national pride." 
 
 This is a lucid statement of the fundamental need and 
 the true objective of a League of Nations. I would merely 
 make the important addition, which I have constantly 
 emphasised, that the internal conditions of each community 
 are themselves not merely a matter of domestic politics, but 
 may directly contribute to, or threaten, the success of any 
 scheme designed to establish a Commonwealth of Nations. 
 At last, however, we have reached the discussion of the 
 machinery and methods best adapted to achieve this most 
 desirable consummation. The most hopeful sign of the 
 times is, to quote Lord Bryce again, that: 
 
 "Everyone seems to feel the approach of a supremely 
 important moment. Tlie reason and the conscience of 
 mankind have been roused, as never before, to a sense of 
 the moral as well as the material evil wrought by war, for 
 no conflict has ever inflicted such widespread suffering, 
 none has so gravely affected neutral nations, and none has 
 ever brought death and misery to so many innocent non- 
 combatants. If the opportunity, which the close of the 
 pi'e.sent conflict will offer for the provision of means to 
 avert future wars be lost, another such opportunity may 
 never re-appear. If things are not then made better, the 
 prosppft for mankind will be darker than ever, and the
 
 16b 
 
 condition of the world will have grown worse, because tht^ 
 occurrence of like calamities will have been recognised as 
 a thing to be expected, and their causes as beyond all hu- 
 man cure."
 
 167 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 The League of Nations. 
 
 1.— ESSENTIAL PRINCIPLES. 
 
 The niininiuiii needs to be met by any organisation or 
 machinery of an international league may be expressed 
 in three words — (a) Moratorium, (b) Investigation, (e) 
 Enforcement. We should have the maximum prospect of 
 preventing wars, if we could make sure of a period of delay 
 for conciliation, machinery to investigate the facts and 
 place them before both representatives and nations, and, 
 lastly, arrangements between the members of the league 
 for defence agai)ist recalcitrant States, or enforcement of the 
 league's decrees. Above all, a period must be provided for 
 in which free discussion can take place and the tribunal of 
 world-opinion can form and deliver its judgment. 
 
 That we may have an actual programme before us, here 
 follows that of the British "League of Nations Society": — 
 
 1. That a Treaty shall be made as soon as possible where- 
 by as many States as are willing shall form a League, bind- 
 ing themselves to use peaceful methods for dealing with all 
 disputes arising among them. 
 
 2. That such methods shall be as follows: — 
 
 (a) All disputes arising out of questions of Inter- 
 national Law or the interpretation of treaties 
 shall be referred to the Hague Court of Arbitra- 
 tion, or some other judicial tribunal, whose 
 decisions shall be final, and shall be carried 
 into effect by the parties concerned.
 
 168 
 
 (b) All other disputes shall be referred to and in- 
 vestigated and reported upon by a Council of 
 Inquiry and Conciliation; the Council to be re- 
 presentative of the States which form the 
 League. 
 
 3. That the States which are members of the League 
 shall unite in any action necessary for ensuring that every 
 member shall abide by the terms of the Treaty, and in par- 
 ticular shall jointly use forthwith their economic and mili- 
 tary forces against any one of their number that goes to war, 
 or commits acts of hostility against another of the signatories 
 before any question arising shall be submitted as provided 
 in the foregoing articles. 
 
 4. That the States which are members of the League shall 
 make provision for mutual defence, diplomatic, economic, or 
 military, in the event of any of them being attacked by a 
 State not a member of the League, which refuses to submit 
 the case to an appropriate Tribunal or Council. 
 
 5. That any civilised State desiring to join the League 
 shall be admitted to membership.* 
 
 This is a typical scheme. Some go further on special 
 points, as, for example, specific provision for the enforce- 
 ment of an economic boycott against a recalcitrant nation. 
 
 It will be useful to summarise here the common points 
 of the various schemes drafted in the Allied countries. All 
 are based on the ultimate union of the civilised states of the 
 world. All distinguish spheres for the settlement of dis- 
 putes, as between purely justiciable questions, and those 
 larger issues affecting the near and vital interests of any 
 nation. All provide for coercion by the assenting States 
 against any other or others failing to adopt the measures 
 laid down by the majority. All rely upon gaining time for 
 public discussion and impartial judgment to make war 
 morally difficult, if not impossible. Various Allied leaders, 
 especially President Wilson, f have laid down fundamental 
 
 * It must be assumed that no League of Nations could 
 be morally or actually complete without the admission of a 
 democratised Germany and Russia. 
 
 t See p. 173.
 
 169 
 
 principles for safeguarding the rights of nations, and pre- 
 paring the way for permanent peace. Self-determination, 
 territorial integrity, national liberty, reference of all in- 
 ternational problems to a League of Nations, these are the 
 main principles on which the League's policy is to be 
 based. It must be confessed that they do not carry us very 
 far, for it is the application of these principles to the 
 practical problems as they arise that creates most of the 
 dissension. The first need will be to persuade the eight 
 Great Powers of Europe and America to agree to the 
 creation of international machinery for preventing war, 
 and establishing permanent understandings between the 
 nations. To set up an international authority will involve 
 for each nation some sacrifice of sovereignty. But we must 
 be careful not to go too far in the demands that we make 
 upon national sentiment, especially in the atmosphere of 
 suspicion that will long remain after the war. Complete 
 disarmament cannot at once be expected, but we may hope 
 for a big reduction in the military and naval establish- 
 ments of all the nations, if only because of the difficulty 
 created by financial stringency. If the nations can also be 
 induced to create an international police force, so much 
 the better, but for that to be effective on the scale of modern 
 warfare, the force would have to be enormous. 
 
 Though the enforcement of the decrees of the League 
 may ultimately require the backing of an armed force 
 Kinder its direct control, there is no real analogy between 
 such a police and the constabulary of a national conunu- 
 nity. The ordinary citizen does not now go about armed 
 for defence. He leaves that to the police. Nations, on the 
 other hand, are always so armed. The true analogy, there- 
 fore, rests on the case of special constables, who are ready 
 armed, but only summoned to act on occasions when they 
 are expressly needed. Such a combination of special 
 national armaments for the enforcement of the will of the 
 Lea^e of Nations will long be overwhelmingly greater
 
 170 
 
 than any international force specially constituted. If 
 something more than reliance upon the armed combination 
 of the League be desired, it would seem to be much better 
 to give the League certain concrete possessions and powers, 
 large enough to enable it to enforce its enactments. The 
 League might set up a special Council to act as trustee 
 of these possessions and powers. For example, a number 
 of the world's greatest strategic points might be handed 
 over to this Council. Their possession would render im- 
 practicable an aggressive act by any nation. Such points 
 would include the Panama Canal, the Suez Canal, the 
 Straits of Gibraltar, Constantinople and the opposite shore, 
 the mountainous region between the Black Sea and the 
 Caspian Sea, the entrance to the Baltic, and any other of 
 the world's strategic keys. This plan involves, of course, 
 immense difficulties, such as the question of the freedom 
 of the seas,* and the many problems arising out of the un- 
 equal distribution of the Empires of the Great Powers. It 
 is not a plan for immediate enactment, but events may 
 force something of this character upon the League. The 
 hands of such an international authority could further be 
 strengthened by having entrusted to it certain regions from 
 which essential raw materials are derived. Such are the 
 oil-fields of the Caspian region, Persia and Mexico, the im- 
 mense food resources of the East and West Indies, the 
 Pacific Islands, and certain selected territories in Asia and 
 Africa. If any such plan could be devised, so as to enable 
 the International Council to strike vitally at the supplies 
 of food, raw materials and munitions, and at the commu- 
 nications of an^?- nation contemplating aggression, inter- 
 national authority would easily be upheld. 
 
 In the matter of alliances also we must beware of asking 
 too much. The present Allies will tend to favour each other 
 for a long time to come. Existing treaties and agreements 
 
 * For an analysis of this problem see W.E.A. pamphlet 
 on ''The Freedom of the Seas," by Prof. W. Harrison Moore.
 
 171 
 
 cannot safely be repudiated at once. It would be even 
 dangerous to the League to remove too hastily the present 
 bonds of union l)etween Powers. What it may hope to do 
 is to prevent those unions taking the form of offensive 
 alliances, allowing only for defensive associations under 
 definite conditions. If the League solved in a practicable 
 fashion most of the questions brought before it, the nations 
 would gradually be brought to rely upon this International 
 Parliament, and what is dangerous in alliances might 
 gradually fall away. 
 
 The more ambitious exponents of the idea of the League 
 of Nations would admit representatives of practically all 
 the world's sovereign States. The inclusion of States like 
 those of Central and South America, and of some parts of 
 Asia and Africa, would probably overweight the scheme, 
 especially at the beginning. It would seem most practicable, 
 and would least endanger the success of the scheme, not 
 to attempt immediately any federation of the world, or 
 even the establishment of a United States of Europe, but 
 to base the initial scheme on the inclusion of all the (ireat 
 Powers, providing for the accession of such others as may 
 apply for inclusion. Bit by bit, as experience was gained, 
 it should prove possible to draw into the union every 
 sovereign State in the world. The constituent members 
 would be asked to bind themselves by treaty to refer all 
 disputes to judicial arbitration for decision, or to an in- 
 ternational council of conciliation for investigation and 
 report ; and to take defensive or penal action in concert in 
 circuHLstances already outlined. Whether coercive action 
 shall extend beyond militars- operations — such as an 
 economic boycott — will be discussed presently. 
 
 2.— THE INTERNATIONAL AUTHORITY. 
 
 It is in the International Council, rather than in the 
 judicial court, that the most important functions will 
 centre and the greatest difficulties be experienced. Mat-
 
 172 
 
 ters of first consideration will be the manner of appoint- 
 ment of delegates and the quality of the men selected. The 
 ingenious proposal that each Parliament should appoint its 
 national quota on the principle of proportional representa- 
 tion in each Parliament, would secure the fairest distribu- 
 tion of influence amongst the various shades of opinion. 
 No one direction of foreign policy would be likely to be 
 pursued to the exclusion of other views. Another advan- 
 tage of this arrangement would be that similar schools of 
 opinion in various countries would tend to draw together. 
 and so cross the dangerous boundaries of an exclusive 
 nationalism. There are, however, some objections to this 
 kind of delegation. It is questionable whether men accus- 
 tomed to the thought and methods of party politics in their 
 own countries are best fitted to conduct such exceedingly 
 delicate negotiations as a Council of this character would 
 have to undertake. There is danger, also, in the solidarity 
 of parties on an international basis, since that might result 
 merely in broadening and perpetuating the party 
 system in a sphere where its faults could do in- 
 finitely more damage. It would seem that the 
 real virtue of such a scheme of representation, 
 namely, that of public discussion of international affairs, 
 can be gained without those accompanying dangers. The 
 type of man required for such work is not the politician, but 
 the highly trained publicist, men of the calibre of Lord 
 Bryce, or President Wilson, or Mr. H. A. L. Fisher, British 
 Minister for Education. One has in mind a kind of 
 public international commissioner, who combines, in the 
 highest degree, the qualities of the judge, the diplomat, and 
 the publicist. Such men are very uncommon, but each 
 nation has produced some of them, and many more would 
 emerge, if such careers were opened up before them. Apart 
 from the International Council, an increasing number of 
 commissioners of this type may be needed in the future to 
 administer those lands whose disputed possession or geo-
 
 173 
 
 graphical situation cause them to be constituted neutral or 
 international territory. Such commissioners as are sug- 
 gested could still be elected, in that Parliament would have 
 the right of ratifying their selection, and could add to their 
 number a proportion of each party in the House. But it is 
 highly desirable that all members should be appointed for 
 a term of years, so as to make the Council permanent, to 
 give the members adequate experience, and to avoid any 
 suspicion that they are elected to further any particular 
 scheme. Full public discussion could be provided for by 
 the appointment of a Foreign Affairs Committee in each 
 Parliament, on the plan of proportional representation, 
 whose business it would be to discuss international affairs, 
 and to keep in close touch with the Council of Nations. 
 They would report to Parliament at regular intervals, and 
 through the debates and press discussions a most desirable 
 publicity wouhl be achieved. 
 
 It is not suggested that the Council should at once be 
 charged with any executive power. No Government would 
 be bound by its decisions. It would report its views upon 
 the solutions of the problems presented to it to the public 
 of all nations. This w^oukl provide the greatest possibk' 
 assurance that any action taken by the Government would 
 be in accordance with instructed public opinion, which is 
 at least more favourable to peace than is secret diplomacy. 
 The real danger is always the corrupt or secret action of 
 politicians. The scheme outlined aims directly at pro- 
 viding safeguards against that evil, and yet does not over- 
 strain national feeling in the initial stages of the League. 
 
 3.— PRESIDENT WILSON'S "FOURTEEN POINTS." 
 
 The fourteen principles enujieiated by President Wilson 
 on January 8, 1918, are as follows : — 
 
 1. — Open covenants between nations; no secret treaties; 
 no secret diplomacy. 
 
 2. — Freedom of the seas in peace and war.
 
 174 
 
 3. — Equality of trade conditions for all nations. 
 
 4. — Reduction of armaments by all nations. 
 
 5. — Adjustment of colonial claims, based on the wishes 
 of the inhabitants. 
 
 a. — Evacuation of all Russian territory, and assurance 
 for Russia's political and commercial development. 
 
 7. — Evacuation and restoration of Belgium. 
 
 8. — Evacuation of occupied French territory, and right- 
 ing of the wrong done in 1871 by the taking of Alsace-Lor- 
 raine. 
 
 9. — Readjustment of the Italian boundary along lines of 
 nationality. 
 
 10.- — ^Autonomous development for the peoples of Aus- 
 tria-Hungary. 
 
 11. — Evacuation of Roumania, Serbia, and Montenegro, 
 with guarantees for the territorial integrity of the Balkans 
 and a seaport for Serbia. 
 
 12. — The Dardanelles open and free to all nations, with 
 Turkish sovereignty for the Turkish portions of the Ottoman 
 Empire, and autonomy for other nations now under Turkish 
 rule. 
 
 13. — Establishment of an independent Poland, with access 
 to the sea. 
 
 14. — ^A League of Nations to enforce international coven- 
 ants. 
 
 The four principles laid down on February 11th, 1918, 
 are as follows : — 
 
 First. — That each part of the final settlement must be 
 based upon the essential justice of that particular case, and 
 upon such adjustments as are most likely to bring a peace 
 that will be permanent. 
 
 Second. — That peoples and provinces are not to be bar- 
 tered about from sovereignty to sovereignty, as if they were 
 mere chattels and pawns in a game, even the great game, now 
 forever discredited, of the balance of power, but that. 
 
 Third. — Every territorial settlement involved in this war 
 must be made in the interest and for the benefit of the popu- 
 lation concerned, and not as a part of any mere adjustment 
 or compromise of claims among rival States; and
 
 175 
 
 Fourth. — That all well-defined national aspirations shall 
 be accorded the utmost satisfaction that can be accorded them 
 without introducing new or perpetuating old elements of dis- 
 cord and antagonism that would be likely in time to break 
 the peace of Europe, and consequently of the world. 
 
 President ^Vilsoii. iu a .speech on September 27, 191h, 
 declared for the self-determination of all peoples, and 
 enunciated a basis for a League of Nations to assure the 
 permanency of peace, after peace has been established. He 
 declared that he was opposed to any peace with outlaws. 
 
 NOTE ON "THE COVENANT." 
 
 Since this Chapter was written, the Peace Conference 
 has formulated the articles of "The Covenant," which is to be 
 the Constitution of the League of Nations. In spite of the 
 stirring events of the Conference, one feels that the Chapter 
 can be profitably left in its original form, with the addition 
 of the following summary: — 
 
 SUMM.A.Ry OF THE COVENANT. 
 
 Acts of parties to be carried out by Body of Delegates, 
 Executive Council and International Secretariat. Periodic 
 meetings of Body of Delegates at seat of League. Executive 
 Council to consist of representatives of America, the British 
 Empire, France, Italy and Japan, and four other States, mem- 
 bers of the League. Permanent secretariat to be established 
 at seat of League. Admissions of States not signatories to the 
 Covenant to require assent of not less than two-thirds of States 
 represented in Body of Delegates. Recognition of principle 
 that maintenance of peace requires reduction of armaments. 
 Executive Council to determine scale of armaments. Terri- 
 torial integrity to be mutually preserved against aggression. 
 Executive Council to advise as to means. League to have right 
 to take any action deemed wise to safeguard peace of nations. 
 Parties in no case to resort to war without having submitted 
 disputes to arbitration or inquiry by Executive Council. The 
 high contracting parties to agree to submit to arbitration any 
 dispute that cannot be settled diplomatically. The Executive 
 Council to formulate plans for a permanent Court of Inter- 
 national Justice. Disputes likely to lead to a rupture, not 
 submitted to arbitration, to be referred to Executive Council. 
 Council may refer to Body of Delegates. Every treaty or in- 
 ternational agreement to be registered with Secretary-General, 
 and published. Body of Delegates to have right from time 
 to time to advise reconsideration of treaties which have be- 
 come inapplicable. Parties agree that present covenant is 
 accepted as abrogating existing obligations which are incon- 
 sistent with terms thereof. Amendments of covenant to take 
 effect when ratified ])y Executive Council and three-fourths of 
 States whose representatives compose Body of Delegates.
 
 176 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 Some Difficulties and Dangers. 
 
 1.— iSOME THORNY QUESTIONS'. 
 
 The new League must not exist merely to exercise nega- 
 tive functions. It must seek to construct the peace, not 
 merely to prevent occasions of war. It must be a co- 
 operative society, not a mere vigilance committee. It should 
 give scope to the creative and formative will of the inter- 
 national mind. To accomplish this will be very difficult, 
 for the conservative tendencies of leagues and conferences 
 are very real. The League must be of such a character as 
 to ensure fair decisions and the enactment of mature ehange-s 
 in the world. It must not stereotype existing Empires and 
 Powers, and thus operate against the legitimate aspirations 
 of less fortunate nations. 
 
 Some questions are too delicate and thorny to be tackled 
 at present. For example, would Austria submit the Hun- 
 garian question? Or Germany that of Poland or Alsace? 
 Or Britain that of Gibraltar, Ireland or India? It is well 
 for us to be aware that if we, as British citizens, commit 
 ourselves to a League of Nations, we shall at once be con 
 fronted with such thorny problems as the future of India, 
 our intervention in Persia, the Freedom of the Seas, and 
 our possession of many naval stations all over the world, 
 not to mention the Irish question, which our enemies will 
 endeavour to make international. Would our national 
 pride permit the "White Australia" policy to be submitted
 
 177 
 
 to the League? Should we not be prepared to defy a de- 
 cision adverse to us? 
 
 Economic conditions after the war will force the nations 
 to seek in combination some solution of the problems pre- 
 sented by the scarcity of foodstuffs, raw materials, and 
 shipping. It is more than probable that many nations 
 will be pressed to revise their tariffs, especially on food- 
 stuffs, so as to reduce to a minimum the injury inflicted 
 upon other nations by checks upon the free supply of neces- 
 sary commodities.* For the same reason, irresistible pres- 
 sure may be brought to bear upon nations who seek to 
 limit the opportunities to be enjoyed by other nations of 
 using ocean ports which lie upon the great trade routes of 
 the world. These, and many other questions hitherto con- 
 sidered to be the exclusive province of each nation con- 
 cerned, will soon become matters of such international 
 moment that the League of Nations will find them amongst 
 its most pressing business. There will be plentj' to do after 
 the war to keep the League busy. The world will probably 
 be in a state of semi -starvation, to cope with which inter- 
 national action will be necessary. Some international 
 machinery will have to be set up to work out the details 
 and ensure the observance of the peace treaty. The de- 
 velopment of aircraft wall compel us soon to formulate an 
 international code for the air. The handling of backward 
 countries and raw materials, and the free use of ocean ports, 
 will all call for early attention. 
 
 2.— UNSTABLP] EQUILIBRIT.'M. 
 Facts must be faced by all who wish to see a League of 
 Nations established and made effective. It is not sufficient 
 merely to establish excellent machinery ; we must also face 
 
 * The reported speeches in England of Mr. W. M. Hughes, 
 Prime Minister of Australia, seem to claim for Australia a 
 right to refuse to sell wool to Germany. Such a policy is 
 totally inconsistent, both with the idea of a united imperial 
 policy and that of a League of Nations.
 
 178 
 
 the underlying motives of international rivalry, ambition, 
 and fear. Much of the hostility between nations has its 
 roots deep in racial characteristics and human nature, but 
 the rivalry flourishes most under the influence of economic 
 factors. The powerful pressure of those factors is often 
 opposed to the growth of an international spirit, and this 
 pressure must be relieved if war is to be abolished. The 
 establishment of democracy may do something to eliminate 
 ■rivalry, ambition, and fear, but unless democracy can 
 master the spirit of conquest and the desire for economic 
 gain by military means, the trouble will be as acute as ever. 
 This implies the giving of much greater attention on the 
 part of ordinary citizens to foreign affairs and the causes 
 of international problems. Very few people realise yet 
 that the scramble of the great powers for commercial con- 
 cessions in different parts of the world has helped more 
 than anything else to breed international hatred. Once 
 dei^ocracy realises this, it will. I believe, take steps to 
 remove the most serious danger to international brother- 
 hood. Let us by all means exploit the treasures of the 
 globe and bring its resources to the service of mankind, 
 but that work should be done for the benefit of humanity 
 as a whole, and not for the selfish advancement of any one 
 nation or section of a nation. 
 
 Many people believe that a League of Nations will prevent 
 misuse of those powers in the future. That is by no means 
 certain. It might well happen that the League would give 
 additional encouragement to the growth of international 
 trusts. The Council of the Nations would provide a natural 
 basis for the negotiation of commercial treaties designed to 
 increase and broaden the international character of pro- 
 duction. Steel, oil, rails and several other industries are 
 already international in scope, and the trusts make enor- 
 mous profits from their operations. A great deal of the 
 business of a League of Nations would be concerned with 
 production and trade in the various countries. The urgent
 
 179 
 
 necessity for lowering tlie cost aud increasing the volume 
 of production will encourage the formation of international 
 trusts. Such industries as coal mining, metalliferous ores, 
 paper, salt, cotton, and many others, now largely trustified 
 over the area of single nations, might easily be made in- 
 ternational in scope. Such a development makes in one 
 way for war, in another for peace. It makes for war in that 
 it sets up demands for commercial concessions in China, 
 Mexico, Asia Minor, and other unexploited and badl>'- 
 governed countries. These demands are generally backed 
 up b}^ the Governments of the countries supplying the 
 capital. If only two or three countries are combining in 
 one scheme, hostile groups of nations are apt to be estab- 
 lished, and war may be the final result. On the other hand, 
 if a large number, perhaps the majority, of nations are 
 represented ultimately in these large combines, quarrels will 
 not be likely to result. Interests will be closely interlocked, 
 and the capital of each nation will get its share. 
 
 A close examination of the European system leads one 
 inevitably to the conclusion that its unstable equilibrium 
 of forces is not due, as many writers would have us believe, 
 merely to the wickedness or selfishness of some nation or 
 class, but that it is chronic to the situation. England has 
 been much condemned for her policy of "The Balance of 
 Power." But it is only fair to England to observe that, 
 though she has definitely pronounced for that policy on 
 several occasions, the tendency to a balance of power is in- 
 herent in the European situation. Given, in the words of 
 Lord Cromer, the fact that "the unwavering pursuit of 
 interests assumed to be national is the sole object of a 
 foreign policy," the association of natioiis in rival groups 
 seems to me to be practically inevitable. And we shall 
 not change the tendency merely by condemning it. A 
 League of Nations can only change it bj' working for the 
 removal of the deep-seated causes of national hostilities, 
 racial rivalries, and economic imperialism. In fact, the
 
 180 
 
 establishment of the League under the conditions fixed by 
 the past may well increase the tendencies to disaster. We 
 cannot expect the League to be unanimous, at any rate at 
 first, on any vital question involving national interests. 
 The League might, therefore, easily resolve itself into two 
 or more mutually hostile alliances. The Party System is 
 deeply rooted in the hearts of men. What is to prevent its 
 importation into the League, especially with such vast in- 
 terests at stake? Should the international organisation be 
 thus divided, how is the force of the international authority 
 to be exerted? The closer contiguity of the rival nations 
 may even promote discord, by bringing their aspirations 
 into sharper contrast, and encouraging many of them, 
 particularly the smaller nations, to bring up unsettled 
 questions for discussion, which they dared not put forward 
 under present conditions. Further, the League would 
 probably intensify the demarcation of races and nations, 
 for the readier presentation of grievances. One is prob- 
 ably expressing a feeling common to many in saying that 
 one is weary of the small nations problem. The remark 
 of Mr. Bernard Shaw, that small nations are nuisances, 
 since they are a standing temptation to the great empires 
 to come and steal them, may be reinforced by the observa- 
 tion that the tiny nationality is an anachronism, a reaction 
 against the healthy tendency to larger aggregations. If 
 the League merely encourages a refined delimitation of 
 nationalities, human unity will be indefinitely postponed. 
 
 3.— THE OLD DIPLOMACY. 
 
 The informed discussion of foreign policy is pari of the 
 plan for making foreign policy more open and democratic. 
 We all know that proper discussion of international affairs 
 has been prevented by the unhealthy secrecy which has 
 guarded the doors of the foreign offices of Europe. We have 
 left things to the diplomat, and yet the average diplomat 
 of to-day is completely unfitted for his high task. He is
 
 181 
 
 lacking in democratic sympathies, his education has been 
 on narrow class lines, and usually he regards the mass of 
 the population as mere pawns in the game. He has not 
 been subjected to criticism in parliament or the press, 
 and has gone his own sweet way, completely out of touch 
 with the nation wliose destinies he is deciding. This must 
 be changed. Publicity is essential, and in future the lives 
 (.f millions cannot be subjected to little parties of supposed 
 super-men. The dangers of openness are nothing when 
 compared with the disasters of secrecy. The war has 
 brought to the average man a terrible awakening to his 
 vital interest in foreign affairs. We have learned with 
 alarm of the number of times since 1904 at which our states- 
 men have secretly committed us — our lives and our posses- 
 sions — to policies that brought us to the brink of war. 
 We must have full discussions in parliament, with parlia- 
 mentary ratification of all treaties, and the periodical re- 
 vision of those treaties. A reasonable degree of secrecy 
 should, of course, be allowed to protect nations from cor- 
 rupt action by treacherous governments, and to give deli- 
 (rate negotiations a fair chance of succes.sful issue. 
 
 The critic replies that the people are too ignorant to con- 
 duct foreign polic3^ But their ignorance is engendered by 
 secrecy. He declares that mob psychology would quickly 
 lead us to disaster. But the passions of the mob are largely 
 produced by, and stimulated by, "yellow journalism." or 
 the corrupt influence of armament and other interests in 
 press and public life. Again, he urges that people in the 
 mass are less peaceable than their governments. There is 
 no force in the argument that foreign policy is a thing 
 apart, and is not amenable to the same influence and forms 
 of control as domestic matters. I admit that people in the 
 mass can be worked up into a state of great hostility, but 
 nations to-day are much less responsive to jingoism and 
 scaremongering than they were a century ago. Experience 
 in conducting their own foreign affairs would soon lead
 
 182 
 
 them to see that there is a true community of interest be- 
 tween nations, and would help them to fight class interests, 
 corruption, and financial domination. Some would urge 
 that democratic control must be preceded by education. 
 There is plenty of room for education in foreign affairs, 
 but that is no reason for postponing democratic control. 
 Democracy is self-educative, as the franchise has proved, 
 and people would quickly learn more about other lands 
 by controlling their own foreign policy. 
 
 The attitude of the people towards other nations would 
 be much more healthy and reasonable were it not for the 
 interested and pernicious influence of the greater part of 
 the newspaper press of the world. Our liberties are con- 
 stantly being threatened by new dangers. The latest is 
 the control, on an international scale, of the so-called "free 
 press." The oi^eial Press Censorship has greatly assisted 
 this tendency, in spite of the legitimate complaints of the 
 newspapers that it has unreasonably hampered their work. 
 The Bureaus of Public Information established by the 
 various Governments have sedulously used the cable ser- 
 vices to "instruct" public opinion on "safe" lines. Hand 
 in hand with this official manipulation has gone the in- 
 fluence normally exerted by the vested interests of inter- 
 national finance, that always stand at the termini of the 
 cables. What hope is there for a League of Nations, or for 
 the prevention of war, if the nations are to be robbed of 
 the benefits of unadulterated news? It is difficult to see 
 any solution of this problem. It would certainl^y pay the 
 v/orld to establish News Commissions, under Government 
 control, but free from political interference, for the trans- 
 mission of true news all over the world. The competition 
 of these agencies would make it impossible for newspapers 
 to print the mutilated and biassed reports too frequently 
 found in their columns. It is no less desirable that the 
 home news and reported opinions of each community should 
 be pure. It has often been suggested that each Government
 
 183 
 
 .s^hould run a newspaper of its own, under an editorial 
 commission, but otherwise on general newspaper lines. 
 Another proposal is that each newspaper should be com- 
 pelled to provide a certain specified amount of space for 
 the use of the Government, to ensure accurate reports of 
 its official activities, and announcements of public interest. 
 Whether these schemes are practicable it is very difficult to 
 say. 
 
 In spite of the apparently invincible case for the aboli- 
 tion of secret diplomacy, it is quite certain that the old 
 diplomacy will die hard. When we have put aside the true 
 case against the pernicious aspects of secret diplomacy, it 
 has to be remembered what a chaotic mixture of races and 
 policies and traditions Europe still is. 
 
 "It is providential that we should all have found a spokes- 
 man so superb as Mr. Wilson. But a numerous body, like 
 the Alliance, comprising many great nations, each with 
 their distinctive traditions, distinctive interests, distinc- 
 tive sacrifices, and distinctive wrongs, cannot find a perfect 
 spokesman in the head of any one of them ; its members 
 must speak with voices of their own. On the other hand, 
 it is equally important that they should not speak with 
 separated voices; because, as Mr. Wilson long ago pointed 
 out, the settlement which they seek in common must be 
 regarded as an integral whole, whose success would be 
 jeopardised in its entirety if the satisfaction of the legiti- 
 mate aspirations of one or more of the peoples concerned 
 were chaffered and bartered away piecemeal."* 
 
 This is the purest logic of history, expressing both the 
 present need and the historic difficulty of unity. As we 
 go to presst the Peace Conference is assembling. The 
 cabled discussions are unhappily exposing the tremendous 
 
 *"The New Statesman," October 26tli, 1918, p. 64. 
 
 fThe French Premier, M. Clemenceau. has just expressed 
 his dissent from some of the ideals of President Wilson, de- 
 claring that Prance must have security, at all costs, and favour- 
 ing the continuance of special treaties and secret diplomacy. 
 Our own Foreign Secretary, Mr. A. J. Balfour, declared in 
 X9X7 that secret diplomacy could not be dispensed with,
 
 184 
 
 complexity of the settlement, and the impracticability of 
 apphnng, without qualifieation, such simple general prin- 
 ciples as those enunciated by the great American President. 
 This experience shows clearly that the League must 
 "hasten slowly." 
 
 4.— COERCIVE MEASURES. 
 
 The application of coercive measures by the League will 
 offer serious practical difficulties. Agreement as to the 
 exact measures to be adopted, the difficulty of securing 
 unanimity and of fairly distributing the risk and respon- 
 sibility, all are matters for very serious consideration. 
 Such practical problems, however, can only be solved in 
 the light of experience gained in the actual working of the 
 scheme. Every difficulty successfully^ overcome will greatly 
 strengthen the chances of the League of securing permanent 
 peace resting on free consent. 
 
 Viscount Grey says:* 
 
 "The obligation is that if any nation will not observe 
 this limitation upon its national action; if it breaks the 
 agreement which is the basis of the League, rejects all peace- 
 ful methods of settlement and resorts to force, the other 
 nations must one and all use their combined force against 
 it. The economic pressure that such a League could use 
 would in itself be very poM^erful, and the action of some 
 of the smaller States composing the League could perhaps 
 not go beyond economic pressure, but those States that 
 have power must be ready to use all the force, economic, 
 military, or naval, that they possess." 
 
 If the League sees one nation preparing to attack an- 
 other, it must take action ; but how ? There seems to be no 
 way of meeting the difficidty except by providing for 
 public discussion and by bringing moral force to bear. 
 But what is an attack on another nation ? A country may 
 pursue a policy which, on the surface, is purely commercial, 
 but which is really military in purpose. What, for ex- 
 
 * Pamphlet, "The League of Nations," Oxford University 
 Pres§.
 
 185 
 
 ample, is a "strategic" railway? A policy of pin-pricking 
 or intimidation, as often used by Austria against Serbia, 
 would also be very difficult to deal with. There seems no 
 way of meeting this problem other than by affording the 
 complainant nation the readiest facilities for report and 
 redress. 
 
 Much has been said of the possibility of using the 
 economic boycott as a weapon to prevent war. There can 
 be no doubt that this weapon is a powerful one, and its 
 exercise in modern times might have far-reaching results. 
 But there is always the danger that it will rebound upon 
 those who use it. If, for instance, the Allies boycott Ger- 
 many, it would mean that Holland, Denmark, Scandinavia, 
 and other countries near to Germany would suffer much 
 more than the countrj^ we wished to hurt. Russia and 
 America could possibly snap their fingers at a boycott, 
 since they could supply most of their own requirements. 
 Switzerland, on the other hand, could be quickly starved 
 into submission. Britain would suffer severely from a 
 blockade, since it draws much of its supplies from other 
 lands. Obviously, therefore, the use of this weapon is 
 limited by considerations of justice and practicability. An- 
 other suggesstion is that all nations in the League should 
 deposit a large sum of money, which should be forfeited 
 if they went to war; but the scale of war to-day is such 
 that the loss of even a large sum would have very little 
 effect. We must admit, then, that the task of punishing 
 the offender is a most difficult one. We must rely rather 
 upon the growth of an enlightened public opinion, and 
 upon the willingness of each nation to admit tliat it may 
 be wrong. Meanwhile, a drastic reduction of armaments 
 would lessen the ability of nations to wage war eff'ectively, 
 and experience might show the Tjeague how to draw upon 
 the forces of the world in order to punish the wrongdoer. 
 
 The question of a "trade \var" against Germany is quite 
 a dilfereut problem from that of the economic boycott to
 
 186 
 
 prevent war. In the words of Mr. H. G. Wells: "The 
 threat of war after the war robs the reasonable German of 
 his last inducement to turn on his Government and insist 
 upon peace. Shut out from all trade, unable to buy food, 
 deprived of raw material, peace would be as bad for Ger- 
 many as war. He will argue, naturally and reasonably 
 enough, that he may as well die fighting as starve." Our 
 best protection against German competition is the high 
 technical training of our people, and the encouragement of 
 their enterprise and skill by every possible means. On the 
 other hand, a nation is justified in taking steps to guard 
 its possession of such materials and processes as are essen- 
 tial to its safety. 
 
 5._C0NCLUSI0N. 
 
 The supreme difficulty of the international problem lies 
 in the fact that it involves the whole universe, from forms 
 of government to ideals of family life, from the marriages 
 of potentates to the wages of Indian coolies. According to 
 the immensity of range so must be the complexity of the 
 solution. Every new approach to human justice, every 
 victory over intolerance, every broadening of ideas and 
 deepening of ideals, means an advance towards the brother- 
 hood of nations. Love of family, loyalty to country and 
 empire, and faith in religion should be but the expression 
 in miniature of that deeper love, that larger loyalty, that 
 higher faith, which we owe to all our kind. The man who 
 says wars will never cease is a blasphemer, and condemns 
 mankind to Hell. He is an enemy of the race, for he culti- 
 vates despair and cripples the will to reform. We need 
 faith, tempered by caution and a right pessimism. We 
 must keep ever in mind that the essentials of perfect peace 
 are rooted in just conditions of life for the people, and an 
 enlightened democracy building and guiding its own in- 
 stitutions.
 
 187 
 
 Bibliography IV. 
 
 THE INTERNATIONAL PROBLEM. 
 
 Dawson (Ed.) — After-War Problems (Essays). 
 
 Angell, Norman — The Great Illusion (Ileinemann). 
 
 Muir, Ramsay — Nationalism and Internationalism (Con- 
 stable). 
 
 Macdonald, Murray — European International Relations 
 (Fisher Unwin). 
 
 Johnston, Sir Harry — Common Sense in Foreign Policy 
 (Smith, Elder). 
 
 Dickinson, Lowes — The European Anarchy (Allen & 
 Unwin). 
 
 Chesterton, Cecil — The Perils of Peace (Werner Laurie). 
 
 Viscount Bryce and Others — Proposals for the Prevention 
 of Future Wars (Allen & Unwin) . 
 
 Woolf — International Government (Allen & Unwin). 
 
 Ilobson, J. A. — Towards International Government (Allen 
 & Uiiwin). 
 
 Brailsford, N. II.— A League of Nations (Headley). 
 
 Dawson, W. H.— Problems of the Peace (Allen & Unwin). 
 
 Fielding-Hall, II.— The Way of Peace (Hurst & Blackett). 
 
 Lynch, Frederick — The Peace Problem (Revell). 
 
 Eldsall, E. — The Coming Scrap of Paper (Allen & Unwin). 
 
 Angell, Norman — War Aims (Headley Bros.). 
 
 Key, Ellen — War, Peace and the Future (Putnam). 
 
 Humphrey — International Socialism and Tlie War (King 
 & Son). 
 
 Brown — International Trade (Macmillan). 
 
 Marburg — League of Nations (Macmillan). 
 
 Wells, H. G.— In the Fourth Year (Cliatto & Windus). 
 
 Furniss and Others — Some Economic Aspects of Inter- 
 national Relations (Rnskin College).
 
 188 
 
 Pariiphiets — Tlie League of Nations, by Viscount Grey ; 
 The League of Nations, by Sir Frederick Pollock; 
 The League of Nations and the Democratic Idea ; The 
 League of Nations and Primitive Peoples, by Sir 
 Sydney Olivier (Oxford University Press). 
 
 Hamon, Augustin — Lessons of the World-War (Fisher Un- 
 win). 
 
 Barclay, Thomas — New Methods of Adjusting Inter- 
 national Disputes and the Future (Constable). 
 
 Schvan, August — The Foundations of Permanent Peace 
 ( Grant Richards ) . 
 
 Wilkinson, Spenser — Government and the AVar (Constable) 
 
 Burns, Delisle — The World of States (Headley Bros.). 
 
 Coleman, Frederic — Japan Moves North (Cassell). 
 
 Heath, Carl — The Pacific Settlement of International Dis- 
 putes (Headley Bros.). 
 
 Smith — International Law (Dent's Primers).
 
 189 
 
 PART V. 
 
 Post -War Commerce and Finance.
 
 190 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 The World's Commerce. 
 
 1.— THE POST-WAR SITUATION. 
 
 The ruling factor in the finance and commerce of the 
 world for many years to come will be the aggregate 
 national debts of the principal countries. The total cost 
 of the war to all the nations concerned is at least 
 £40,000,000,000, and this does not include the enormous 
 loss through the halt in the production of w^ealth due to 
 war conditions and actual loss of man-power. To com- 
 plete the -.tale • of the world 's burden, we must add the 
 pre-Avar debt of the nations, which totalled at least 
 £7,000,000,000. Not only must the trade of the next 
 generation discharge the interest bill and endeavour to 
 provide for the redemption of this colossal debt, but it 
 is certain that wages practically all over the world will 
 be much higher than in the past, and that a large number 
 of costly social reforms will be instituted. 
 
 The advantages and disadvantages under which in- 
 dustry and commerce will labour for the next few years 
 may be conveniently summarised. The disabilities, bound 
 to be considerable, will include: (1) The loss of a great 
 number of our best producers; (2) The loss of a huge 
 amount of capital, more especially the best of our foreign 
 securities; (3) The impairment of our national machinery 
 of production ; (4) The disorganisation of our financial 
 machinery, owing to inflation, bound to be followed by 
 severe stringency in the supply of capital; (5) Great
 
 IQl 
 
 internal dislocation and disturbance in every country, 
 owing to millions of soldiers and millions of munition 
 workers seeking employment. These serious industrial 
 difficulties will be greatly aggravated through the revo- 
 lution created by the relaxation of Trade Union condi- 
 tions and the entire reorganisation of the factories, both 
 with regard to the employment of women and the general 
 conditions of labour and production; (6) External dis- 
 tui'bance, economic and political, owing to the complete 
 upheaval of foreign markets, international commerce and 
 finance, and the political unrest inevitable in a Avorld 
 fundamentally changed; (7) Heavy taxation, which will 
 bring its own complications through the conflict of class 
 interests, aggravating the strife between capital and 
 labour. 
 
 On the other hand, the world resumes business on a 
 peace footing with some distinct advantages: (1) Except 
 in the cases of those nations whose territory has been 
 actually devastated, the factors of production in the 
 world as a whole have not been materially damaged, and 
 in most cases have been made much more efficient under 
 the pressure of the war. (2) The close control of ship- 
 ping, commerce and production exercised .by the Allied 
 Governments in co-operation has had the effect of elimin- 
 ating a vast amount of wasteful competition and im- 
 mensely speeding-up production. (3) Though the total 
 losses in man-power are, from the human standpoint, 
 appalling and disastrous, the supply of labour in the 
 world has not been phenomenally depleted, and is en- 
 tirely adequate to the world's needs. (4) The financial 
 machinery of the world is intact, and has not only stood 
 the unprecedented strain with success, but has actually 
 profited from the experience of the war. (5) Though 
 industrial unrest and social disturbance, both internal 
 and external, are inevitable, the economic effects of the 
 League of Nations Avill probably be in the direction of
 
 192 
 
 a great increase in the world 's wealth, while the quickened 
 conscience of all classes will probably go far towards 
 solving the industrial problem, with a consequent in- 
 crease in production. 
 
 2.— INCREASE IN PRODUCTION. 
 
 All authorities are agreed that the adoption of the 
 best machinery and the entire reorganisation of business 
 methods during the war are sufficient in themselves to 
 bring about a great increase in production. Edison, the 
 American inventor, has expressed the opinion that Eng- 
 land's productivity has doubled since the beginning of 
 the war. The further application of science to every 
 branch of industry, the growth of the large scale busi- 
 ness organisation, great improvements in the marketing 
 of products, a general increase in the efficiency of both 
 workers and employers, all influenced by the spur of a 
 keener competition than the world has ever known, will 
 go far to make up the economic leeway and to pay off 
 the accumulated war debt. Added to these advantages 
 are two great new factors, the development of aircraft 
 and the supply of cheap power. It is certain that there 
 will be, in the immediate future, a phenomenal growth 
 in the use and efficiency of aircraft, both for postal and 
 commercial purposes. The economic, social and political 
 effects of such a revolution of communications can hardly 
 be exaggerated. New trade routes, inaccessible areas, 
 and hitherto unconnected centres will be opened up for 
 every purpose. Of still more immediate importance are 
 the vast possibilities of cheap electric power. The British 
 Coal Commission of 1905 reported that "The evidenc(; 
 points to a future extension of central power station.^ 
 and the generation and transmission of power upor n 
 large scale. If such stations were established in close 
 proximity to the collieries, there would be nothing to 
 pay on the coal in the way of railway rates, and the
 
 193 
 
 question would then be, not the cost of transport of coal, 
 but the cost of transmission of power," The President 
 of the Institute of Electrical Engineers in England re- 
 cently declared that the adoption of the *' all-electric " 
 plan would save nearly two-thirds of the total amount 
 of coal per annum used for commercial purposes in 
 Britain. The plan provides for a distributive system in- 
 volving ,a hundred great ^power-stations, ffrom which 
 electrical power for manufacture, transport, heat and 
 light could be supplied to the whole country. The saving 
 in coal alone would rise from 25 million tons per annum 
 to 50 or 60 million tons. The hydro-electric scheme of Tas- 
 mania recently inaugurated is assured of commercial 
 success, while the Victorian plan for utilising large re- 
 sources of brown coal for a State distribution of power is 
 of the greatest promise. In addition to the economy, a 
 vast increase in production would be made possible. 
 Still more important to future generations would be the 
 social revolution effected by such a network of power- 
 supply in the distribution of manufactures and agricul- 
 ture, the cleansing and beautification of urban and rural 
 life, the hygienic conditions of the community, the distri- 
 bution of population, and the solution of many domestic 
 problems. 
 
 The distribution of cheap power to the cottage homes 
 of England might well result in the revival of cottage 
 industries, and the application of many modern forms 
 of production to rural conditions. Add to this the possi- 
 bility of introducing the amenities of life as lived in 
 large communities to rural society, and we have the 
 makings of a great social revolution. 
 
 So far, in this brief survey of the post-war condition 
 of the factors of production — land, labour, capital and 
 organisation — we have noted to the world's credit con- 
 siderable advantages over the pre-war situation. The 
 land will certainly be more productive than before, both 
 
 Hi
 
 194 
 
 in foodstuffs and raw materials, for we have learnt mord 
 intensive methods of culture and the avoidance of many 
 forms of waste. In the production of foodstuffs Eng- 
 land's experience in intensive agriculture during the war 
 has been a revelation. Even in countries where exten- 
 sive cultivation is still largely employed, the economies 
 and improvements effected in growing and handling have 
 been very considerable. But all these improvements will 
 be needed to overtake the food shortage, from which the 
 world was suffering many years before the war, and also 
 to supply the ever-rising standard of living now affecting 
 all nations. Whether the factor called labour has also 
 increased its efficiency of production is not so easy to 
 determine. Certainly the output of the individual worker 
 has risen enormously under war conditions. But this is 
 not a true measure of his efficiency, since better machinery, 
 improved organisation and longer hours account for the 
 greater part of the increase. It is, however, probably 
 true to say that these various improvements and' the gene- 
 ral war pressure have raised the standard of efficiency 
 of the worker. But machinery and organisation are in 
 most industries much more important factors of efficiency 
 than labour. 
 
 3.— SCIENTIFIC MANAGEMENT. 
 
 Nevertheless, the productive powers of the average 
 worker are capable of a remarkable increase. This is 
 r;hown by the working of the system, adopted chiefly in 
 the United States, known as "Scientific Management." 
 The fundamentals of this scheme are: (1) A scientific 
 system of piece-work rates, based upon elaborate "time 
 studies" and "motion studies" of each operation, so as 
 to find the most scientific way of doing the most minute 
 pieces of work; (2) The use of a "card-system," both for 
 record and instruction, setting forth every movement 
 of tools, materials and workmen on a job; (3) The great-
 
 195 
 
 est possible standardisation of tools, operations, equip- 
 ment and products; (4) Scientific division of labour 
 amongst foremen, from top to bottom of the industry, 
 each being a specialist either in instruction or super- 
 vision. 
 
 There is no doubt that the application of this system 
 is the logical completion of the Industrial Revolution, 
 in that it seeks to increase the efficiency of labour as well 
 as that of machinery. There is equally no doubt that 
 it makes possible large increases in dividends and wages, 
 the shortening of hours and the reduction of fatigue. 
 But the objections raised to it in a most thorough enquiry 
 conducted in America by the Hoxie Commission are, in 
 the present stage at any rate, fundamental. Its advan- 
 tages in the increase of efficiency and prodtietion are 
 admitted, and deserve the name scientific. For the 
 capitalist and the manager it is highly instructive and 
 profitable. But for the wage-earner it is no solution to 
 the industrial problem. It is death to the Standard Rate 
 on which Trade Unionism has been compelled to insist 
 through generations of struggle. It does not protect the 
 piece-work rates from being reduced by the employer; 
 further, "investigation shows that, in all the outstand- 
 ing instances at least, and therefore almost certainly in 
 all instances, capital has received the lion's share of these 
 extra profits, even although the proportion of them dis- 
 tributed to labour has often meant large increases in 
 daily wages."* Scientific management, therefore, offers 
 neither fair remuneration nor economic security to the 
 worker. It does not make his employment any more 
 certain, and makes that of his more inefficient brother 
 much less secure. 
 
 The arguments for and against scientific management 
 in its relation to unemployment are much the same as 
 those advanced in the case of new machinery. The eeo- 
 
 *Muscio, "Industrial Psychology " Angus & Robertso'i.
 
 196 
 
 nomic advantages of machinery, in lowering costs of 
 production and increasing the demands for commodities 
 and labour, are admitted. To the individual worker, 
 however, the vital question is, not whether prices are 
 lowered and total employment increased, but whether 
 he personally suffers unemployment and other material 
 disadvantages. While the beneficial economic effects are 
 filtering through to him, he may have to endure destitu- 
 tion and ruin. Similarly, the scientific management makes 
 no provision for that dangerous interval, and provides 
 no solution of the problem of the less skilled and less 
 able-bodied, who may not answer the tests of scientific 
 efficiency. If, therefore, we are to avail ourselves of 
 the commercial benefits of efficiency schemes, they must 
 be accompanied by infinitely more important plans for 
 safeguarding the interests and satisfying the needs of 
 the workers. It is true that scientific management is not 
 )iec€ssarihi associated with "speeding-up" and other evils, 
 but to the worker it is enough that they exhibit the 
 tendency, and that a very large number of schemes 
 actually do mean speeding-up. 
 
 Further, scientific management makes no sort of provi- 
 sion for raising the status of the worker to that of a part- 
 ner in the control of industry. The conditions of his work 
 are more rigidly settled than ever before, and though he 
 is more highly trained, he is, none the less, a more unskilled 
 worker. The effect of monotonous perfection of muscular 
 action upon the mind and health of the worker is problem- 
 atical. But perhaps the most serious objection to scientific 
 management is its liability to grave abuse in the hands of 
 employers who are either too ignorant of its methods, or too 
 greedy for profits to make it ''safe for democracy." 
 
 A very careful investigator* found that the reforms 
 essential to scientific management in practice were threefold 
 
 =iSee Chipman: "Efficiency, Scientific Management and Or- 
 iranised Labour," pp. 12/13.
 
 197 
 
 and fundamentally important, namely (1) an adequate 
 system of industrial education, (2) an adequate recognition 
 of the principles of democracy in industry, ( 3 ) an adequate 
 conception of, and sympathy with, the sociological and 
 economic aspirations of the worker. To cure these defects 
 he recommended industrial education, the application of no 
 time study, premium or bonus without the consent of the 
 workers, and an adequate system of co-operative represen- 
 tation between employer and employee. If scientific man- 
 agement could really be democratised, there would lie 
 before it a future without danger, and of considerable 
 benefit to the world. After all, the mere increase of wealth 
 is less important than justice and happiness. It is not 
 only just, but common-sense, to base any methods to secuie 
 increased production upon conditions that will, at the same 
 time, satisfy the legitimate claims of labour. Those claims 
 are for security in the standard of life of the worker, and 
 the fullest recognition of his right to a share in the control 
 of industry. 
 
 4.— COMMERCIAL COMBINATION. 
 
 The greater efficiency of machinery and organisation, to 
 which I have already referred, wall be much enhanced by 
 the rapid development of the Trust movement in industry. 
 It has often been pointed out that one reason why Ger- 
 many and America had ousted Great Britain from her 
 supremacy in certain fields of production is that their in- 
 dustry, commencing much later than that of England, was 
 organised on the large scale basis. Though the growth of 
 huge combines was taking place in England long before the 
 war, the American Trust and the German Kartel were much 
 more typical of the industrial structure of those countries 
 than the existing large enterprises of England. Without 
 going into the reasons for this, we may be quite certain that 
 the huge economic Combine has not only come to stay, but 
 will rapidly increase both its area of control and its com-
 
 198 
 
 mercial grip now that the war is over. Amalgamations in 
 banking and shipping alone in England have now pro- 
 ceeded so far that less than half-a-dozen firms practically 
 control those economic fields. Everything points both to 
 a vast extension of these amalgamations and to the pro- 
 motion of new enterprises on the scale of the large mono- 
 poly. Government regulation during the war has greatly 
 assisted this development. For example, the Committee of 
 the Privy Council entrusted with the disbursement of 
 £1,000,000 for the aid of industrial research in 1915-16, 
 found it very difficult to carry out this trust without the 
 association of the various industries concerned for the com- 
 mon purpose. There has occurred, therefore, a combination 
 of many English firms which will probably endure and ex- 
 pand. The Empire Resources Development Commission 
 includes in its proposals one for a grant by the State of 
 chartered monopolies, subsidised with millions of national 
 capital, to companies of shareholders who will undertakc 
 Jand settlement, or the control of ocean fisheries, or the ex- 
 ploitation of various products of the Empire. The British 
 Government has shown some tendency to adopt this kind 
 of subsidised charter. This proposed partnership in enter- 
 prise between the State and the capitalist is a new develop- 
 ment, fraught with both danger and hope. If it results 
 merely in a more intensive exploitation of our resources, 
 without any better attention to the rights of subject peoples 
 and of the workers in the industries concerned, it will be 
 unquestionably dangerous. If, on the other hand, the 
 British Government exacts as the price of monopoly ade- 
 quate safeguards of the rights of producers and consumers, 
 a new and hopeful form of co-operation may be estab- 
 lished. Why should not the State demand representation 
 on the directorates of all monopolies, whether set up with 
 its own support, or developed by private enterprise? It is 
 futile and reactionary^ to attempt merely to suppress a form 
 of Combine which effects real economies and increases th^
 
 1Q9 
 
 world's wealtli. But we caiiuot afford to allow these huge 
 business monopolies to develop uncontrolled, or we put 
 ourselves under an economic tyranny far worse than any 
 despotism of the past. The community has every right to 
 demand representation upon the Boards of these Trusts, 
 and, where practicable, representation for the workers in 
 the particular industry concerned. With such safeguards, 
 we could afford actually to assist the development of the 
 big business, since it has undoubted economic advantages 
 which would help us to increase the world's wealth and pay 
 off the debts of the war. Trusts and Combines have been 
 most successful where certain favouring conditions exist ; 
 as, when industries require very large capital, or where 
 the product is uniform or bulky, and freights heavy ; 
 where raw materials are easily controlled, where costly ex- 
 periments and increases of plant have to be undertaken, 
 and where success depends upon costly patents or heav}- 
 advertising expenses, 'ihc Trust is thus the child of 
 modern industrial conditions. Though the world is in for 
 a period of the keenest competition, it will be rivalry 
 within fewer and larger areas, more and more circum- 
 scribed. Though the small business is by no means doomed, 
 and is likely to persist in many industries, international 
 trade will be mapped out more and more on the large 
 scale, with increasing intervention by Governments, and 
 closer co-operation between them for the control of essen- 
 lial food-stuff's and raw materials. 
 
 5.— TRADE ASSOCIATIONS. 
 
 Another development of commercial combination is what 
 is known as the Trade Association. This is not to be con- 
 fused with the Joint Stock Company or Trust, or with the 
 British Trade Corporation. It is a loose association of 
 jRrms and individuals in the same or connected trades, for 
 the pursuit of the business interests of the trades concerned. 
 This development has been proceeding for many years
 
 200 
 
 past, but in most cases it had failed to become very effec- 
 tive, chieiiy owing to the jealousies and secrecies chronic 
 amongst trading concerns. War pressure has, however, 
 given a great impetus to the movement. There are now 
 numerous bodies doing as effective work in promoting their 
 common interests as the various Birmingham Trade Asso- 
 ciations have done for some years. Mr. Hughes' scheme 
 for Trade Associations is based upon British experience. 
 The principal danger is that every increase in their effec- 
 tiveness brings them nearer to control of prices in the anti- 
 social manner of the Trust. They need the close attention 
 of the Government and the Legislature. There is no doubt, 
 however, that much of the German success in marketing 
 was due to associations of manufacturers and exporters, 
 backed by the Government. The organisation of the dis- 
 tribution and marketing of British products in general is 
 much inferior to that of America and Germany. British 
 industry, having been founded at least half a century be- 
 fore that of her rivals, has been built upon a small scale in 
 many trades, and this constitutes a serious handicap upon 
 our commercial development. Again, industry and finance 
 should go hand in hand, and there is much to be said for 
 a scheme which seeks to create an industrial banking de- 
 partment in London, based upon the co-operation of several 
 joint stock banks. This plan would avoid the dangers of 
 German industrial finance, while reaping the full benefits 
 of British solidity and caution. 
 
 Only the largest firms can compete in foreign markets. 
 Only big corporations and Governments can afford the 
 costly experiments and large extensions of modern indus- 
 try. I suggest, therefore, the actual encouragement of 
 certain forms of association and combination for com- 
 mercial purposes, as tending to greater economy, reducing 
 prices, increasing productivity, and offering the easiest 
 means to the nation of controlling production for the good 
 of the community, without incurring the risks and faults of
 
 201 
 
 a vast extension of centralised State Socialism. But an 
 essential accompaniment of such growth of association is 
 the representation of the State and the workers on the 
 boards and committees controlling these bodies. 
 
 6.— CONCLUSION. 
 
 On the whole, I consider our prospects of recovering the 
 ground lost, paying off the war debt — apart from the re- 
 ceipt of indemnities — and increasing the world's wealth in 
 g*:*neral, are decidedly good.' During the nineteenth cen- 
 tury the aggregate commerce of the world increased 
 twenty-fold. Though that rate of increase cannot, of 
 course, be maintained, we require only a relatively small 
 percentage of increase to make us economically safe. The 
 total commerce of the world before the war was estimated 
 at £5,000,000,000. Of this total the British Empire en- 
 joyed two-fifths. If we increase our own commerce by 
 fifty per cent., and continue the present rate of taxation, 
 we should provide for interest and redemption with com- 
 parative ease. I believe that pressure of circumstances, 
 combined with the other factors which I have analysed, 
 will lead to an unprecedented increase in the production 
 of every nation. That there will be many disturbances 
 and interruptions, both local and international, is inevit- 
 able. But the human race has never before been in a 
 position to analyse its own situation so thoroughly, to take 
 stock of all its resources, to be forewarned of pitfalls, and 
 to plan in so deliberate a fashion the making of its future. 
 With such knowledge, and under such pressure, we shall 
 face the future with confidence. The earth is capable of 
 an infinitely greater produttion than we have derived from 
 it. Just as we have never needed its products so urgently, 
 so, too, we have never been so well equipped to acquire 
 them.
 
 202 
 
 CPIAPTER XXI. 
 
 Finance, Taxation and the People. 
 
 1.— THE REAL COSTS OF THE WAR. 
 
 The general public is too apt to measure the cost of the 
 war by mere budget figures.* Even the money cost is far 
 beyond this. \\"e must take account also of the vast 
 amount of private property destroyed, the huge losses due 
 to dislocation of foreign trade, and the incalculable loss 
 in production resulting from the number of men killed or 
 maimed. But even if all these could be estimated, the 
 real costs v^ould still have to be determined. They consist, 
 not in things actually used up in the process of war, but 
 in things which the community has had to do without in 
 order that these things might be provided. It is the ser- 
 vices which men and machines would have rendered had 
 there been no war that make up the real cost of the things 
 which they produced during the war. Moreover, a big 
 addition to the cost arises through our having to provide 
 extra goods and services out of a vastly diminished real 
 income. 
 
 ''The true pa^mient by a country for a war consists in 
 the loss and suffering of its people. This is by no means cor- 
 rectly measured by the sum of money expended by the State. 
 
 *See Pigou: "The Political Economy and Finance of the 
 War." 
 
 d
 
 203 
 
 The State pays mainly for manning antl equipping and 
 sending into war its forces. The cost to the country as a 
 whole of niajiuijig the fon.-es is considerably greater than 
 the sum of money expended by the State on this account ; 
 the cost to the couniry at' a whole of the equipment and 
 transportation is probabl}' less than that which the State 
 pays for these services. In addition the country suffers 
 man}^ other losses which are excluded altogether from the 
 purview of the State."* 
 
 2.— LOANS AND TAXES. 
 
 Much controversy has arisen over the relative merits of 
 loans and taxation as methods of war finance. Most of the 
 belligerent nations have relied almost entirely upon loans 
 — this includes Australia. Even America, with her enor- 
 mous taxable capacity, did not raise any considerable pro- 
 portion of the money needed for war purposes by direct 
 taxation. She contented herself with the flotation of 
 gigantic loans. Britain is practically the one countr^^ in 
 the world that raised any substantial portion of her war 
 expenditure out of current income. Economists are agreed 
 that national finance during war time should be based, as 
 far as practicable, on taxation, rather than on loans. Heavy 
 taxation is more cheerfully borne during war time, wlnm 
 the need for economy and sacrifice is strongly impressed 
 upon the minds of the people. The burden is not so likely 
 to be supported in times of peace with the same tolerance. 
 There is also the serious moral question as to how far we 
 are justified in unloading upon posterity the bulk of the 
 cost of the war. The admitted dangers of large loan 
 flotations point in the same direction. The more we rely 
 upeu loans, the greater is the danger of iuflation, high 
 prices, and general extravagance. The best possible clieck 
 upon such inflation is the rigorous practice of saving by 
 the people. In this direction we have a long way to go in 
 Australia before we can emulate the example of the French, 
 
 -Pethick Lawrence, "A Levy on Capital," p. 23.
 
 204 
 
 the British, or the Americans. It is quite an illusion to 
 suppose that, by postponing the payment of our debts, we 
 really escape the burden of to-day. We can only finance 
 the war by real deductions from the current income of the 
 nation. If we inflate credit by reckless borrowing, high 
 prices exact their tribute. We cannot entirely prevent this 
 tendency, but we can vastly limit it b}' practising economy. 
 
 During the last financial year the United Kingdom 
 raised in taxation the enormous sum of £613,000,000, prac- 
 tically trebling her revenue of the year before the war. 
 In the same period, the Commonwealth and the States 
 added only 50 per cent, to their revenue. Thus the United 
 Kingdom is far ahead of Australia in the adoption of what 
 is regarded by economists as the soundest method of war 
 finance. The average citizen in Britain now pays twice 
 as much in taxation as the average citizen in Australia. 
 But we must also take into account the enormous public 
 debt of Australia. Before the war, our public debt per 
 head was nearly five times that of the United Kingdom, 
 while to-day the averages are practically the same. In 
 Australia we are, therefore, at present in this position : our 
 financial burden is proportionately the same as that of the 
 United Kingdom so far as the national debt is concerned, 
 but the Imperial Government had to raise several times the 
 amount per head for the current cost of the war that we 
 in Australia are called upon to raise. 
 
 It is clear then that, both in the matter of loans and in 
 the matter of taxation, our performance is not very remark- 
 able. Britain has raised an average of £2,000,000,000 per 
 annum in loans. On the basis of a comparison of her in- 
 come with that of Australia, the Commonwealth should be 
 able to raise every year a loan of £270,000,000 instead of 
 something like one-third of that sum, as was raised by 
 Commonwealth and States. This does not mean that Aus- 
 tralia's war finance is a simple matter of adjusting the 
 proportion of loans and taxes. The reduction of the ex-
 
 205 
 
 travagant expenditure of all our Governments is, as clearly 
 shown by recent investigations, one important method of 
 easing the burden of the war debt. 
 
 3.— PAPER CURRENCY. 
 
 Those who dream of an international paper currency 
 must give us, first of all, a world in which international con- 
 fidence is paramount. No paper-money can circulate- far 
 from its own national boundaries. No effective substitute 
 for gold as a basis of commerce has ever yet been found. 
 Gold does not merely act as the final settler of accounts 
 between nations, but it also stabilises commerce, since it 
 has a value of its own as a product of industry, and its 
 market value keeps it in a close and healthy relation to 
 the commercial needs of the community. The experience 
 of its paper substitute in all countries during the war has 
 been such as to lead every nation to welcome the restora- 
 tion of the gold basis. The very foundations of economic 
 prosperity are stability and certainty. In normal times, 
 with the production and exchange of wealth proceeding 
 under favourable conditions, commercial exchange between 
 the nations is largely on the basis of goods purchasing 
 goods, with bills of exchange serving as the chief inter- 
 mediary. But these exchanges of goods largely determine 
 the conditions of finance in all the great markets of the 
 world. Any abnormal financial condition in a single one 
 of these centres instantly reflects itself in the markets witJi 
 which it is in commercial sympathy, and ultimately all over 
 the world. The financial barometer that marks these 
 fluctuations is the rate of exchange, which tells the relative 
 values of the currencies of the countries concerned. To 
 nothing is this barometer more sensitive than to alterations 
 in the amount of the national currency. There is no easier 
 and more dangerous way of producing these changes in 
 the currency in circulation than the issue of paper-money. 
 No longer is the natural check always acting upon gold
 
 206 
 
 production in operation ; the will of the Government which 
 issues the paper is the sole determinant of currency con- 
 ditions. Few Governments can resist the temptation to 
 raise funds for the mere cost of printing, neglecting to 
 apply the safe test of the natural absorbing power of the 
 community. Had there been a free market for gold during 
 the war, the depreciation of paper would have* been quickly 
 exposed. It is well known that the sovereign is at a high 
 premium in countries where it is in circulation. It is 
 equally well known that part at least of the rise in prices in 
 many countries is due to an excessive issue of paper-money. 
 The policy of safety lies in the direction of developing 
 the exchange of products between the nations as rapidly as 
 possible, thus providing the currency with its only safe 
 foundation — a flourishing commerce. 
 
 4.— THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE BTTRDEN. 
 
 The principal canon of taxation is equity. But this does 
 not lead us very far, for most controversy rages over the 
 question of what is equity in practice. Net incomes are not 
 a simple guide, for the State has to go into the question 
 of how the incomes are earned, and what are the proper 
 relative burdens to be borne at various income levels. It is 
 consistent with equity that no tax, or only the very mini- 
 mum, should entrench upon the income level of subsistence. 
 Differentiation should also favour those who spend their 
 incomes in ways that cause the most favourable re-action 
 upon themselves and the community. Luxuries, whether 
 harmless or injurious, are proper subjects for taxation in 
 a society in which the inequalities of wealth are so glaring 
 that such an artificial re-adjustment is a matter of pure 
 equity. If is a proper object of taxation, not merely to raise 
 revenue for the purposes of government, but to redress in- 
 equalities of income. Hence is justified a very steep gradu- 
 ation of income-tax, leaving entirely free those incomes 
 which merely suffice for the support of individuals and
 
 207 
 
 families on the level of fair subsistence. Most of the in- 
 equalities of income-tax are due to the State regarding 
 incomes of the same fig-ure as equal, when the proper calls 
 upon them are very unequal. Thus, in no country is the 
 married man with children, whether paying direct income- 
 tax or not, placed on the same level of contributions to the 
 State, or receipt of benefits, as the unmarried man. 
 
 It would be an immense improvement in income-tax, and 
 would have a most beneficial influence upon post-war 
 finance, if Professor Marshall's suggestion were adopted, 
 that we should exempt from income-tax 
 
 "that part of income which is saved, to become the source 
 of future capital, while leaving property to be taxed on in- 
 heritance and in -^ome other ways; then an income tax, 
 graduated with reference to its amount, and the number of 
 people who depended for their support on each income, 
 would achieve the apparently impossible result of being a 
 graduated tax on all personal expenditure. Rich and poor 
 alike would be left to select those uses of their incomes which 
 suited them best, without interference from the State, except 
 in so far as any particular form of expenditure might be 
 thought specially beneficial, or specially detrimental, to 
 public interests. The income tax would then levy the same 
 percentage on the rich man 's expenditure, on coarse tea and 
 on fine tea, on bread and on expensive food; and a higher 
 percentage on eacli than the poor man's expenditure on any- 
 thing, unless it be alcohol and tobacco. The way to this 
 ideal perfection is difficult; but it is more clearly marked 
 than in regard to most Utopian goals." 
 
 It is a commonplace but necessary ob.servation that a 
 Government mnst always take care to avoid drying up 
 savings by excessive taxes on higher incomes. While the 
 canon of equity allows for the very steepest graduation, the 
 conditions of an industrial society as at present constituted 
 are such that the question of expediency imposes a prac- 
 tical limitation upon tlie ability of the State to take, with- 
 out grave risk to production, the total unearned increment 
 above a particular figure. Nevertlieless, there is little to be
 
 208 
 
 said against a continuation, in a modified form, of the 
 Excess Profits Tax, which is, after all, only a special form 
 of income-tax. It is the provision for proper exemptions, 
 rather than the principle, that aroused controversy over 
 this tax. 
 
 5.— THE AMOUNT REQUIRED. 
 However high our aspirations for social reform and for 
 the raising of the general standard of life, it is well to 
 recognise that all our schemes are severely limited by the 
 taxable capacity of the nation, and that capacity is deter- 
 mined by the productive powers of the people. The im- 
 mense financial pressure of the post-war situation will 
 compel Britain to pass far beyond the easy limits of her 
 pre-war taxation. The actual net national debt is now 
 between seven and eight thousand millions. The annual 
 interest charge alone will be at least £350,000,000. Thus, if 
 Britain spends no more on her general requirements than 
 before the war, she will have to raise a minimum revenue 
 of £550,000,000. If we add the costs of social and economic 
 reforms — Education, Public Health, Child Welfare, Na- 
 tional Insurance, Housing, Old Age Pensions, Communica- 
 tions, etc.— the total revenue to be raised would reach the 
 colossal figure of £700,000,000. Britain is at present actu- 
 ally raising practically that amount annually by direct and 
 indirect taxation — three-quarters by the former and a 
 quarter by the latter method. If she continues her present 
 taxation (leSvS the Excess Profits Tax) she would raise over 
 £400,000,000, The problem is how to raise an extra 
 £350,000,000 at least, for defence against foreign enemies 
 and the promotion of social welfare. Nothing could be more 
 disastrous than to pay for the war by the debasement of 
 the workers' standard of life, which is what has generally 
 happened after the wars of the past. I have purposely 
 omitted all calculation of indemnities in this budget, since 
 it is an item bevond calculation.
 
 209 
 
 Australia's war debt is approximately £300,000,000. The 
 public debt of the six States is about £400,000,000. Though 
 much of this is covered by assets, it constitutes a large 
 burden for a young country. It is Australia's good fortune 
 tliat the world situation will probably save her from the 
 worst effects of years of uneconomical expenditure. The 
 total interest bill alone will be about £30,000,000 for States 
 and Commonwealth, with an additional £60,000,000 for 
 ordinary expenditure, bringing her probable taxation per 
 head to a figure equal to that of the United Kingdom, with 
 its colossal war debt. 
 
 6.— A LEVY UPON CAPITAL. 
 
 The possibility of checking the growth of capital by 
 excessive taxes has a strong bearing upon the frequently 
 suggested method of a direct levy upon capital to reduce 
 the war debt. That such a levy is practicable, that it may 
 be entirely justifiable and even essential, cannot be denied. 
 But it is equally certain that it has grave disadvantages. 
 Whether these would be outweighed by the advantages in 
 a given situation is a matter for examination in the existing 
 circumstances. Probably it may be assumed that a series of 
 levies upon capital would greatly reduce savings. There 
 would not, of course, be the same degree of objection to a 
 single levy for a speciall\' declared purpose, such as the 
 German levy upon private fortunes for the increase of the 
 army, just before the war. 
 
 The case for a levy on capital is ably argued in the book 
 by Mr. Pethick Lawrence already quoted. He assumes that 
 the burden cannot be borne by taxation, even al its present 
 level, and since repudiation of the national debt is un- 
 thinkable, the only course left open to the nation is some 
 kind of direct levy upon capital. Just as the Chancellor 
 of the Exchequer taxes those who benefit under wills 
 through the imposition of death duties, so, argues the writer, 
 he could draw a part of his resources from all those pos- 
 
 h2
 
 210 
 
 sessed of accumulated wealth by making a general levy on 
 capital, which the author would rather call a levy on 
 wealth. He cites as objections: (1) The fact that it is 
 exceedingly harassing to owners of capital to be called upon 
 annually either to part with some of their capital or to find 
 the equivalent out of income; and (2) the levy would have 
 to be paid in money, the raising of which would lay capi- 
 talists under the necessity of bringing into the market large 
 quantities of material wealth of all kinds. To avoid the 
 consequent discouragement of saving and economic con- 
 fusion in the markets, it would, therefore, be necessary to 
 impose the levy once, and once 0]il,y, and also to give the tax- 
 payer the option of paying in money or in other forms of 
 property. The State is now so organised as to be capable 
 of accepting shares in commercial enterprises, foreign and 
 colonial securities, interests in land, trustee securities, and 
 so on. The graduation of such a levy would be on the same 
 principle as estate duties and the super-tax, but much 
 more steeply graduated. As I have already suggested, we 
 may be compelled to adopt the policy of a levy on capital. 
 Nevertheless, the objections are very serious. It would be 
 very difficult to avoid dangerous dislocation of the financial 
 and general markets, consequent upon so many properties 
 offering for sale. It is also probable that many commercial 
 men would find their businesses seriously injured by so 
 sudden a call. It cannot, however, be argued that it is 
 unjust to demand so high a payment from the wealthy. 
 The most valid objections to the proposal relate to expe- 
 diency, and not to morality. 
 
 7.— FEDERATION OF NATIONAL DEBTS. 
 
 It has often been suggested that the debts of the whole 
 Empire should be consolidated and federated, on' the ground 
 that such a measure would greatly assist Imperial defence, 
 finance, trade, and the sentiment of unit3^ The Dominions 
 would also enjoy the same advantages of cheap money as
 
 211 
 
 Britain. The greatest difficulty would be that of adminis- 
 tration, for a debt is peculiarly a subject of local credit, 
 and therefore not very easy to manage through a central 
 authority. This objection applies more seriously to tlie 
 far larger scheme for a world federation of national debts. 
 If the obstacle could be overcome, however, the advantages 
 to the world would be enormous. One result would be such 
 a close interlocking of financial and commercial interests 
 between the nations that war would become more difficult 
 and unprofitable than ever. Finance and commerce would 
 also benefit immensely from the free sales of such a security 
 in every market. Recently a proposal was enunciated by 
 authoritative persons representing the Allies for some such 
 arrangement amongst them. It is to be hoped that such a 
 measure may prove practicable. 
 
 8.— THE FINANCIAL INTERESTS. 
 
 One of the strongest objections to large increases in 
 national debts is that they place political and economic 
 power to a most disproportionate degree in the hands of 
 the lenders. The payment of the interest on the huge total 
 of £40,000,000,000, which represents the total war debts of 
 the nations, gives to a comparatively small class a greater 
 lien than ever upon the world's production of wealth. Thus 
 one of the most serious causes of social unrest and economic 
 distress has been greatly aggravated. Many people are 
 very puzzled by the fact that, in spite of a huge increase 
 in the world's powers of production, the masses of the 
 people are really very little better off. I have already dwelt 
 upon some of the reasons for this. Undoubtedly a further 
 explanation is to be found in the fact that the claims of 
 those who live upon rent and interest have been accumu- 
 lating for centuries, until to-day their total demands can 
 onl}^ be satisfied by leaving the masses inadequately pro- 
 vided for. If, according to the custom of the Jews in 
 ancient times regarding the ownership of land, we could
 
 212 
 
 begin all over again at fixed periods, wiping out all pre- 
 vious claims, we should escape the terrible accumulation 
 that rent and interest represent. As it is, however, the 
 ever-increasing mass of the claims of those who do not 
 actively produce wealth makes it improbable that unless 
 every person is compelled to work for a living, and more 
 effective taxation devices are discovered, there will be any 
 fundamental reformation of the inequitable distribution of 
 wealth.
 
 213 
 
 PART VI. 
 
 The Industrial Outlook.
 
 214 
 
 CHAPTER XXII 
 
 The Standard of Life. 
 
 1.— THE WAGE-SYSTEM AND THE STANDARD. 
 
 Too commonly the wage-system is referred to as some- 
 thing new, as a growth of at most the last hundred years. 
 While it is true that the essential characteristics of the 
 modern capitalist system have developed an intensity and 
 form which makes the wage-system of to-day much more 
 powerful, universal and dominating than any previous 
 phase in economic evolution, it is none the less true that 
 the essential features of the domination of the people by 
 a relatively small class were developed many centuries ago. 
 The industry and commerce of the Middle Ages were under 
 the control of independent craftsmen and merchants, asso- 
 ciated together in their Guilds. The land and its resources 
 were, however, entirely in the hands of the nobles and 
 gentry. With the decline of the medieval system came the 
 rise of the modern wage-system. A general commercial 
 expansion, immensely increased by the geographical dis- 
 coveries of the 16th Century, caused the rise of a large 
 trading class, employing the rustic villagers at their looms, 
 striking a staggering blow at the economic independence 
 of the craftsmen of the towns. The wage-nexus and un- 
 employment became the chronic features of the industrial 
 system. Evidence of the growing cleavage between the 
 capitalist and working-classes is found in the reign of 
 
 f
 
 215 
 
 Elizabeth, in the increasing conflicts between the newly- 
 formed Journeymen's Societies — ^the true forerunners of 
 Trade Unions — and the masters. 
 
 It required only the invention of machinery and the 
 application of power to industrial production to bring the 
 already existing wage-system to the intense development 
 with which we have been familiar for the past century. Just 
 prior to the industrial revolution, there occurred the great 
 Enclosure Movement, which destroyed the yeoman-farmer 
 class of England, and greatly reduced the standard of life 
 of the villager, whose second source of income — that from 
 the loom — was presently to be filched from him by tiie 
 machine industry of the factory. 
 
 The chief factors of the Industrial Revolution may be 
 summarised as follows: — (1) The discovery of the New 
 World and the sea route to India gradually altered the 
 whole method and sicale of P]uropean commerce. (2) Bri- 
 tish sea-power being supreme. England was able to exploit 
 fully the unlimited market for cottons in the Indies, and the 
 very large market for w'oollens in Europe and America. 
 (3) The steady accumulation of capital had proceeded 
 through many generations of successful trade, and tlu- 
 opening of the rich mines of the New World. London was 
 the financial centre of the world by 1600, and a century 
 later the Bank of England became the pivot. (4) The in- 
 vention of textile machinery, from 1767 onwards, substi- 
 tuted mechanical for human energy, enormously increasing 
 output and revolutionising industrial and social conditions. 
 (5) The application of steam-power, based on coal supply, 
 was of still greater importance, saving far more labour than 
 mere mechanism, and vastly cheapening production. (6) 
 The old system of regulation, under mercantilism, whereby 
 burdensome and repressive protective duties were placed 
 on almost evei'ything, was burst asunder by the rush of new 
 enterprises promoted by machine production and intense 
 competition.
 
 216 
 
 The new conditions required large capital and many 
 labourers. Hence the rise of the Factory Sj^stem, charac- 
 terised by capitalist control, increased division of labour, 
 the shifting of labour and industries to coal areas, and 
 the employment of vast numbers of children, women and 
 ether unskilled workers, under conditions which cannot but 
 fill with horror all who read of them. The Royal Com- 
 missions of 1833 and 1842, coupled with the Poor Law 
 Report of 1834, are probably the most dreadful official 
 documents ever published. They show the workers and 
 their children treated as factory fodder, fed into an in- 
 dustrial system which recked nothing of either their bodies 
 or their souls, and took as its creed the inhuman doctrine 
 of "laissez-faire," which claimed for the capitalist as a 
 right the so-called freedom of picking up his labour or 
 throwing it aside at his own M'ill, paying it wages as low 
 as he could force it to take, and accepting no responsibility 
 for working conditions or for the existence of the workers 
 while unemployed. It is true that the grosser forms of these 
 industrial evils have been mitigated by a multitude of 
 minor ameliorations. Through Factory Legislation, Wages 
 Boards, Public Health Acts, national education, Housing 
 and Town-planning Acts, the conditions of the average 
 worker have been made somewhat healthier and happier. 
 But it is still true to say that the fundamentals of the 
 wage-system are unaltered, that chronic insecurity is the 
 condition of the vast majority of workers, and that they 
 are almost as far from true economic freedom as they ever 
 were. 
 
 The modern social reform movement has not gone to 
 the root of industrialism; social legislation and State Social- 
 ism — the two great streams of the reform movement — have 
 failed to bring about any vital change in the wage-system. 
 In all capitalist and State enterprises alike practically all 
 workers are still dogged by insecurity, and restricted by the 
 lack of industrial status.
 
 217 
 
 2.— WAGES AND PRICES. 
 
 Though there is need for a fundamental change in tlie 
 status of the worker, his present needs are such that he 
 cannot afford to await a complete reformation. He is im- 
 mediately and vitally concerned in maintaining and raising 
 his standard of life by securing wages with a sufficiently 
 high purchasing-power. Long before the war the problem 
 of the cost of living had become acute. The war has made 
 it one of the most vital questions of the day. Not only 
 have prices risen to an unprecedented height in every 
 country of the world, but actual scarcit}', var.ying in degree 
 from the comparatively happy conditions in Australia to 
 those of real famine in Russia, has greatly aggravated the 
 problem. With something like a return to normal condi 
 tions, we may expect a considerable fall in the prices of a 
 large luimber of couunodities of general consumption. But 
 the causes of the rise in prices are in many cases of a 
 character that preclude anything like a return to pre-war 
 prices. The cost of production has risen owing to increased 
 cost of carriage by land and sea, the increased cost of raw 
 materials, higher interest on capital, rises in wages and 
 shortage of labour. A further factor in the higher cost 
 of living is the inflation of currency and credit in all 
 countries. 
 
 So long as an actual shortage in the supply of neces- 
 saries continues, the consumers will compete with one an- 
 otlier for the supply, and high prices will be maintained. 
 But even when the demand is fully met, many of the causes 
 of high cost already referred to would continue to operate. 
 Capital and labour will both be dearer ; shipping and raw 
 materials will be scarcer; taxation will be heavier, and 
 widespread dislocation of commerce will exist, Even if 
 all possibility of profiteering could be eliminated, a much 
 higher cost of living than that of pre-war times is certain. 
 What course will the nations adopt to safeguard their less 
 fortunate citizens against the ruinous effects of liigh prices
 
 218 
 
 of necessaries? Not a single government has succeeded 
 during the war in protecting the working-classes from ex- 
 tortionate prices. It is not yet possible to make any final 
 declaration as to the success or failure of price-fixing by 
 governments. But we may quite safely conclude that the 
 results have been very disappointing, and that comparative 
 failure has been due both to the hopeless complexity of 
 the subject and its ineffectual handling by the Government. 
 On the other hand, those who are content to leave prices to 
 supply and demand must be ignorant of the many restric- 
 tions upon competition involved in modern conditions. The 
 steady growth of commercial combines and secret under- 
 standings is reducing the benefits of competition to a mini- 
 mum. We can no longer look to it effectually to keep dowti 
 prices. A common belief of the worker that rises in prices 
 always overtake rises in wages is not completely borne out 
 in economic history', which often shows falls in prices 
 occurring at the same time as rises in wages. But it is 
 more and more true that the two move in close sympathy, 
 under the pressure of commercial combination and business 
 understandings. 
 
 It is obvious that something more must be done to assure 
 to the workers a high minimum standard of life, and that 
 the means already adopted do not have this result. If 
 pressure is exerted to lower the wages of the British worker 
 — never very high — industrial strife will be acute. The 
 stoppage of war bonuses, the overcrowding of the labour 
 market, and the dislocation of trade will, of themselves, 
 cause a dangerous fall in the standard of life. This can 
 only be fully met by a concerted series of measures, such 
 as insurance against unemployment, the enforcement of a 
 minimum wage, an adequate supply of good houses, the 
 promotion 'of necessary public works, and some means of 
 maintaining the purchasing-power of wages. Excepting 
 the last, all these measures are immediately practicable, and 
 have indeed been adopted by the British Government as
 
 219 
 
 part of its declared policy. The crux of the situation, 
 however, is still in the problem of how to maintain pur- 
 chasing-power at a standard level. One expedient that 
 would have enormous influence in this direction is the sug- 
 gestion I have frequently made, that all commercial mono- 
 plies and completely organised industries should have State 
 representatives and Labour delegates on their Boards or 
 Councils, to protect consumers and workers from exploita- 
 tion. Only employers M^ho wish to make more than their 
 fair profit could object to a scheme which is already in 
 partial operation in England. Another plan of great in- 
 terest is a revival of an idea advocated by the late Profes- 
 sor Jevons, a celebrated economist, baSed upon " a tabular 
 standard of value. ' '* The Government Statistician in prac- 
 tically every country regularly publishes index numbers to 
 indicate variations in the prices of the principal necessaries 
 of life. The suggestion is that rates of wages should be 
 based upon these index-numbers, and not upon the face 
 value of the coinage, as at present. That would mean that 
 a rise in prices would be followed by a corresponding rise 
 in wages as soon as the publication of the index-numbers 
 exposed the change. Thus, the purchasing power of a given 
 wage would never materially alter, though the worker would 
 have open to liim the customary means of seeking further 
 additions to his wages. If such a plan proved practicable, 
 the workers would have the incalculable boon of an assured 
 standard of life. One of the difficulties facing such a 
 scheme would be local variations in prices and in habits of 
 spending. The statistician might, therefore, issue dif- 
 ferent price-lists for different localities. A more serious 
 difficulty would arise from the fact that a large mimber of 
 commodities of general consumption have to be excluded 
 from the statistician's calculations, to make them uniform. 
 This would give a considerable advantage to producers of 
 
 * See W.E.A. pauiphlet, "Great Britain after the War," by 
 Webb and Freeman.
 
 220 
 
 the excluded commodities. Further, the producers of ne- 
 cessaries would find it very difficult to secure a legitimate 
 rise in price to meet a genuine increase in the cost of pro- 
 duction. As in price-fixing, the ramifications of this idea 
 must be endless. It would be extremely unwise to do more 
 than experiment with it at first. It might be possible to 
 introduce it into some Government departments, as a test, 
 and also to apply it to Old-age Pensions, and watch its 
 effects. At any rate, it may be safely agreed that some- 
 thing serious will have to be attempted to regulate the 
 standard of life of the people. Things cannot be allowed 
 to drift, as at present, both for the sake of social peace and 
 as a matter of common justice.
 
 221 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 Security and Status. 
 
 1.— THE LIMITATIONS OP POLITICAL 
 DEMOCRACY. 
 
 It is inevitable that men suffering from social disabili- 
 ties should throw their aggregate weight against the most 
 obvious and immediate barrier to the growth of their free- 
 dom. The early revolutionary movement in Russia was 
 Nihilist and violently anarchist, because it saw in the con- 
 tinuance of the autocracy the greatest obstacle to Russian 
 freedom. There were no parliamentary institutions in 
 Russia to draw the minds of the masses towards reforma- 
 tion by political means. In Austria, on the other hand, the 
 Socialist movement has long concentrated upon the reform 
 of the franchise, since the existing Parliament represented 
 vested interests and dynastic aggrandisement. Similarly, 
 the English working-classes have for generations put the 
 greater part of their strength into securing political 
 powers, and thereby social reforms. In France, the La- 
 bour movement has not remained political for so long a 
 period, since it realised, with characteristic French acumen, 
 much earlier than the working-class of any other country, 
 the serious limitations of political democracy. Both in 
 England and in Australia the contrary is true. Political 
 activity, whether through Trade Unionism or parliamentary 
 representation, has absorbed most of the effort of the La-
 
 222 
 
 hour movement, and the vast majority of the people as a 
 wliole have believed that complete social salvation could 
 be achieved through parliamentary institutions. Politics 
 are an obsession with the Australian people. 
 
 The history of the struggle for the franchise is full of 
 unheeded warnings that what is known as political democ- 
 racy is the mere beginning of the broader freedom which 
 must include ever}" activity of man in the social sphere — 
 religious, economic, political, intellectual, moral — all these 
 liberties make a composite of freedom. Not a single one 
 of them can be complete in itself without the others. Our 
 religious and moral freedom, for example, must remain in- 
 complete so long as our economic security may be threatened 
 by those who wish to coerce us on matters religious or 
 moral. Still more true is this of political freedom. In 
 spite of a univei-sal franchise and a secret ballot, the 
 worker cannot enjoy complete political freedom so long as 
 he may be discharged for his opinions, or exposed to the 
 accident of unemployment, or suffer a limitation of educa- 
 tional and economic opportunities, aither in himself or his 
 family. Again, there cannot be true intellectual freedom 
 so long as education is limited in any of its phases to any 
 class of society, or men have to suppress their opinions or 
 limit their acquirement of knowledge for economic reasons. 
 All these limitations upon freedom are in operation to-day. 
 Though many of the more obvious burdens have been 
 struck from the backs of men, few can yet, in the truest 
 sense, claim that their careers are their own, even within 
 proper social limits. 
 
 The greatest disappointment which the development of 
 Parliamentary institutions has offered is the continued 
 domination of political powers by the middle-class. 
 
 "It is a commonplace that Great Britain to-day is an 
 oligarchy equipped with democratic, or partially demo- 
 cratic, political institutions. The fact that these institu- 
 tions are largelv democratic in form does not make them
 
 223 
 
 democratic iu practice, because the power of capitalism 
 stands behind the State. Capitalism controls the funds 
 of the great parties, and thereby controls their policies. 
 Capitalism controls the press, and thereby twists and de- 
 forms public opinion to its own ends; and, even if these 
 expedients fail, no Government dares to run seriously 
 counter to the wishes and interests of the great economic 
 magnates."' (Self-Government in Industry,"' by G. D. H. 
 Cole, p. 75.) 
 
 One cause of this is that in practically all countries the 
 broadening of the franchise was at first a bourgeois move- 
 ment. The 1832 Reform Bill in England gave the vote to the 
 middle-class, whose growing wealth and their impatience 
 with the obstacles to individual freedom set up by the 
 landed aristocracy caused them to sweep away the worst 
 relics of a corrupt Parliament. But it was more than a 
 generation before this new class of merchants and manu- 
 facturers allowed the introduction of Household Suffrage, 
 and even then it was stronglj^ resisted, and was actually 
 passed by the Tories. The coming of the franchise to the 
 English working-class certainly expedited social reforms 
 and the growth of Trade Unionism and Socialism. It is 
 a common habit amongst Labour thinkers of to-day to 
 deride, without qualification, all political effort, both in the 
 past and the present. That political action has helped the 
 workers to remain blind to the broader needs of freedom is 
 certainly true. But it is equall3'' true that they could never 
 have attained their present improved basis for common 
 action and solidarity of interest without learning in the 
 domain of politics valuable lessons in economics and or- 
 ganisation. Moreover, those who completely rule out 
 political action are adopting a very narrow definition of 
 politics, which properly includes every possible activity and 
 policy within the State. It is the fault of the workers that, 
 in the first place, they have neglected to educate them- 
 selves to the point at which they could take the greatest 
 advantage of the immense political powers which they
 
 224 
 
 possess; and secondly, because they have narrowed the 
 meaning of political action until it stands for little more 
 than putting representatives into Parliament. Even so, 
 however, the limitations of political democracy are funda- 
 mental.* The perfect working of parliamentary institu- 
 tions is rendered impossible by the chronic economic dis- 
 abilities of the workers. At the same time, the ignorance 
 and inexperience of the workers would make it impossible 
 to operate successfully an industrial democracy, even if 
 that were enacted by Parliament. 
 
 The application of the democratic idea to society is, then, 
 very partial and incomplete. Though freedom must grow 
 in all directions, from within as well as without, the most 
 pressing need of our own time is for an advance towards 
 industrial democracy. For we have discovered that the 
 two things the worker most needs before he can have the 
 essentials of freedom, are economic security and industrial 
 status. To achieve these ends, many schemes have been 
 put forward, some of them fundamentally at variance witli 
 one another, others quite consistent in that they apply the 
 democratic idea to different kinds of enterprise. The rival 
 schools of reform may be conveniently summarised as fol- 
 lows: — (a) Those based primarily on the conservation of 
 the present system. These include practically all forms of 
 co-partnership and profit-sharing, the system of industrial 
 arbitration and wages boards, and many other kinds of 
 social legislation whose main objective is the amelioration 
 of the present system. Such reforms are generally de- 
 nounced by Socialists as palliatives, on the ground that 
 they obscure the true evil and seek merely to patch it up. 
 (b) Those which aim at the gradual displacement of capi- 
 talist enterprise. Amongst these are co-operative societies, 
 both of consumers and producers, self-governing workshops, 
 and similar efforts on the part of workers to apply indus- 
 trial democracy on a limited scale. (c) Collectivist or 
 
 * See Ch. iii., "The Pathology of Democracy."
 
 225 
 
 Socialistic enterprises, being those mainly comprised in 
 State and Municipal Socialism, or "State Capitalism," as 
 many prefer to call it. (d) The revolutionary schools of 
 thought, which aim at a complete, though not necessaril}' 
 violent, revolution in society, which will give the workers 
 complete possession and control of the means of production, 
 distribution and exchange. These schools of thought are 
 principally the result of the work of Karl Marx, and in- 
 clude what is generally known as Marxian Socialism — 
 though that is a broad term covering more than one school 
 of practical reform — together with syndicalism, industrial 
 unionism and guild socialism. 
 
 It is beyond the scope of this book to examine the theories 
 underlying these schools of thought and practical reforms. 
 I shall merely examine their potentialities in the sphere of 
 industrial control. 
 
 2.— STATE REGULATION OF WAGES AND 
 WORKING CONDITIONS.* 
 
 The principal contribution made by Australia to 
 measures of industrial reform are the W^ages Boards and 
 Arbitration Courts established in every State. This s^^stem 
 is now old enough to enable us to measure its main results 
 and tendencies. It has become the fashion in certain 
 quarters to condemn the system root and branch, and advo- 
 cate its abolition. This is altogether too sweeping. There 
 can be little doubt that industrial arbitration has raised 
 wages or prevented their fall in a large number of trades, 
 and it has introduced some semblance of law and order 
 into the relations between capital and -labour. There is 
 also much moral gain in the recognition by the community 
 of the public duty of endeavouring to regulate the wage 
 system on the basis of social justice. Nevertheless, there 
 can be alleged against the arbitration system that it has 
 had unforeseen developments fraught with social danger, 
 
 * See also Chap. XXIV., Sec. 5, "Industrial Councils." 
 
 Jl
 
 226 
 
 and that it has fallen far short of the hopes of its earnest 
 founders, whose objective was industrial peace. In the 
 first place, it is notorious that strikes have been as violent, 
 and probably as frequent, as would have been the case with- 
 out arbitration. The very rise in the standard of life 
 which the system has been held to effect has caused the 
 workers to press for more. B"'urther, popular education is 
 now a generation old, and is bearing its first crop of more 
 eidightened workers. The growth of their industrial or- 
 ganisation, coupled with the acquisition of political power, 
 lias also done much to promote a more ambitious and far- 
 reaching policy of industrial development than the system 
 of arbitration can satisfy. 
 
 The 2iiost serious effect of arbitration is, however, the 
 development on each side of a highly organised system of 
 strategy, in which the leaders conduct manauvres with the 
 greatest skill, their sole object being the gaining of p.oints 
 and victories for their own side. The trade union secre- 
 tary becomes a skilful advocate, and a great deal of the 
 manager's time is occupied in fencing with him. As in a 
 court of law, the side which can convince the chairman of 
 the board is sure to win, for almost invariably the voting 
 is of a solid party character. Thus the very basis of the 
 wages board system seems to me to be wrong, for it looks 
 no further than the stereotyping of an industrial situation 
 in which neither side co-operates with the other, and the 
 divergence of their interests is emphasised. Add to this 
 the endless friction caused by delays in the issues of 
 awards, their varied interpretations, and disputes as to 
 their enforcement, and we need not be surprised that the 
 system fails to give real satisfaction or to solve the funda- 
 mental problem of industry. When a strike occurs, the ex- 
 tent and intensity of the bitterness between the two parties 
 shocks the observer, but it is largely the result of the very 
 system established to prevent it. How can we expect indus- 
 trial peace from a form of industrial strategy that never
 
 227 
 
 contemplates the transformation of the contending armies 
 into a co-operative association ? What chances would there 
 be for the League of Nations if our conception of human 
 unity was as limited as is our plan for establivshing indus- 
 trial unity ? No scheme will achieve success which does not 
 go to the very root of the causes of friction, recognising 
 the rights of all concerned, and allowing for progressive 
 changes in industrial society. It is inconceivable that any 
 single scheme can solve a complex and varying problem, 
 but it should be possible to adopt improvements which go 
 much farther than stereotyping the existing system, as 
 arbitration tends to do.
 
 228 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 Forms of Industrial Control. 
 
 l._CO-PARTNERSHIP AND PROFIT-SHARING. 
 
 All over the world a large iiumber of schemes of co- 
 partnershifj and profit-sharing have been tried. Most have 
 failed ; some have succeeded. After a close examination 
 I hold that neither profit-sharing nor co-partnership can 
 solve the industrial problem. The objection of the work- 
 ers to schemes of profit-sharing is chiefly that they are 
 designed to secure an increased output, for a relatively 
 smaller return to him and a larger profit to the employer. 
 It must be admitted that a vast number of profit-sharing 
 schemes have been based upon that motive, or adopted 
 merely with a view to securing industrial peace at the 
 expense of the solidarity of Labour. There are, of course, 
 profit-sharing schemes which are genuine enough to the 
 extent that they give the worker what is really increased 
 wages on a fair basis of remuneration. In so far as shar- 
 ing profits means increased wages for work done, it is on 
 much the same level as piece-wages, and is therefore good 
 or bad according to the rates paid and the conditions under 
 which the work is done. But profit-sharing as a general 
 scheme of reform has not the slightest effect upon the 
 industrial problem as such, and if universally applied 
 would simply postpone the larger issues of industrial de- 
 mocracy. Co-partnership, again, can vary 'over a great
 
 229 
 
 range of schemes. If it is designed merely to keep the 
 workers quiescent and increase the output, it is worse than 
 useless. It may, on the otlier hand, take such a form as 
 that of Messrs. Thompson 's Textile Mills in Yorkshire, 
 which vv^ere ultimately vested entirely in the workers of 
 the factory by the owner, who had gradually trained them 
 until they were capable of running the mills for them- 
 selves on co-operative lines. While, however, such a plan 
 offers valuable lessons to Trade Unionists, we must remem- 
 ber that the desert can never be made fruitful merely by 
 the planting of oases. It is industry on the large scale 
 and as a unity that must be treated by the reformer, if his 
 reforms arc to be at once democratic and of universal ap- 
 plication. Industry can no longer be cut up into island 
 factories or isolated crafts. Industrial re-construction 
 must take the widest sweep that is practicable, and be 
 based upon a widening integration, as complete in itself 
 as the circumstances wil] allow. Thus, while co-operative 
 societies, self-governing workshops and advanced forms of 
 co-partnership offer valuable lessons for the working-class 
 and a good training-ground for the industrial democrat, 
 they have serious limitations when we have in view the 
 much larger problem, of how to apply industrial democracy 
 to a large industry, like the railwajjs, the engineering 
 trade, shipping, or many others as yet untouched by the 
 co-operative or democratic idea. 
 
 2.— C()-OPP]RATiON BY CONSUMERS AND PRO- 
 DUCERS. 
 
 One of the boldest and most successful attempts to deal 
 with tlie social problem is represented by the great co- 
 operative movement, now flourishing in many countries. 
 In Britain alone its membership involves one-quarter of 
 the population and a total trade of nearly £150.000,000. 
 The movement is made up almost entirely of distributive 
 stores, governed by the purchasing members, and the Co-
 
 230 
 
 operative Wholesale Society, which manufactures for those 
 stores and is governed by them. Thus the consumers con- 
 trol both distribution and production, giving rise to what 
 has well been called "the Irish Question" of the Co- 
 operative Movement, i.e., consumers' control versus pro- 
 ducers' control. Undoubtedly, the elimination of the 
 capitalist and private shopkeeper by the consumers has 
 brought extraordinary benefits to the working-class, in bet- 
 ter goods, increased purchasing power, higher wages, ex- 
 cellent labour conditions, and in the education of the work- 
 ers in democratic government and social responsibility. 
 Nevertheless, consumers' co-operation has not given the 
 producers a share in the control of industry. Hence there 
 has arisen a lesser movement, that of producers' co-opera- 
 tion, in which associations of producers in one or more 
 workshops seek to establish ownership and control of pro- 
 duction. Though the movement is growing slowly, it has 
 no prospect of widespread adoption, and it possesses the 
 fundamental defect already mentioned, of giving undue 
 power to small sections of producers, and also of demand- 
 ing from them unusual ability and self-discipline. As a 
 matter of fact, the whole tendency of the co-operative 
 movement of to-day is for the producers' societies to be 
 either absorbed or dominated by the consumers' societies, 
 which can lend them abundant capital, insisting in return 
 upon their virtual control. Important as this movement 
 is, it is obvious that it has not settled the problem of in- 
 dustrial control, for it subordinates the producer almost 
 as much as private enterprise. It has, nevertheless, a better 
 prospect of elevating him to his right position than most 
 other forms of enterprise. Already, however, the co- 
 . operative movement is faced with the same problem>s of 
 unwieldiness and over-centralisation as confront the great 
 Trusts. 
 
 It is none the less true that excellent opportunities lie 
 before the Trade Unionists of Australia, through the estab-
 
 231 
 
 lishment of co-operative workshops and mines. It should 
 be quite practicable for trade unions connected with such 
 trades as furniture, boots, clothing, printing, and flour- 
 mill iug, to raise the necessary capital to start a factory on 
 the co-operative i^rinciple. The protection of the tariif, 
 the higher standard of education and of comfort, the ab- 
 sence of big trusts, the ever-increasing market, the assured 
 prosperity of the country, and the lessons of past attempts 
 in other countries, constitute a combination of circum- 
 stances entirely favourable to sucii a movement. But the 
 Australian worker shirks the dii^cult task of establishing 
 his own industries. 
 
 The most serious difficulty in the wa}^ of self-governing 
 workshops is not lack of capital, or even of markets, but the 
 tendency to adopt a too extreme form of democratic control. 
 The Australian workers, from the love of independence so 
 characteristic of them, would probably find particular diffi- 
 culty in securing the discipline and efficiency of majuige- 
 ment essential to industrial success. It is always the su- 
 preme act of self-denial in a democracy to endow its elected 
 leaders with dictatorship. But disaster will come upon in- 
 dustrial co-operation if the management is selected, not for 
 business efficiency, but because of democratic services or 
 personal beliefs, and if such control is robbed of its reality 
 b}' constant interference from the rank and file. Manv- a 
 self-governing workshop, and many a Labour periodical, has 
 broken upon this rock. Another form of abnegation almo;;! 
 as essential is the recognition that an association of pro- 
 ducers cannot stand alone, but must be linked up vvith as 
 sociations of consumers, either through voluntary societies 
 or with various State activities. It would be courting dis- 
 aster, for example, to start a Co-operative Furniture Fac- 
 tory without any business connection being formed, eitlier 
 with local distributive societies or a co-operative wholesale 
 society. ]\Toreover, no such venture should be inaugurated 
 by a siiigle I'nion, but by a number of Unions in sympa-
 
 232 
 
 tlietic co-operation. My conclusion is that co-operation by 
 producers is perilous when isolated, but of great promise 
 when conjoined with other forms of co-operation, which will 
 broaden the basis of its activity and provide it with a sta- 
 bility unrealisable in isolation. Many other difficulties, both 
 technical and moral, will require discussion before actioi) 
 can be taken. The main difficulty to be emphasised, as 
 already suggested, is the increasing impatience of the Aus- 
 tralian worker with anything like discipline from above, a 
 characteristic which does him credit in his struggle to bet- 
 ter his condition, but one which, if carried forward into the 
 sphere of co-operation, would result in certain failure. 
 Equally ill-advised would be any attempt to limit the bene- 
 fits of Industrial Co-operation to those adhering to any one 
 political party. It would be unwise, for the practical rea- 
 son that co-operation can only succeed with the widest pos- 
 sible market, and for the moral reason that it would be un- 
 fair to limit its advantages to any section of the com- 
 munity.* 
 
 3,_STATE SOCIALISM. 
 The most direct and far-reaching reform of the past 
 century has been the adoption, in practically all modern 
 countries, of the policy of nationalisation of certain enter- 
 prises. This policy is the outcome of the pressure of the 
 economic situation, influenced by the preaching of the doc- 
 trines of Socialism, or Collectivism. It is difficult to as- 
 sess the proportionate effects of material circumstances and 
 social doctrines, but it is quite certain that a great deal 
 of what is called State Socialism has been adopted by muni- 
 cipal and national authorities for purely business pur- 
 poses — "Socialism without doctrines." A very large 
 number of the municipal councils of Europe and America, 
 which liave municipalised various business undertakings, 
 
 * See my paper on "Trade Unionism and Co-operation." in 
 "Trade Unionism in Australia" (W.E.A. publication).
 
 233 
 
 are really conservative in outlook, and were actuated chiefly 
 by the desire for a reduction of local rates and a higher 
 efficiency for their city. Nevertheless, the Socialist has 
 influenced public opinion very considerably in the direc- 
 tion of a widening of State powers. He claims for nation- 
 alisation that it means lower charges, better and more con- 
 siderate service, greater safety, less fraud and corruption, 
 and better conditions for the worker. The early critics 
 of Socialism were those who supported private ownership 
 as being more efficient, and at least as moral. But of the 
 latter-day critics of nationalisation, the bitterest are to 
 be found amongst the workers themselves, and particularly 
 amongst those who preach either Syndicalism or Guild 
 Socialism. The elaborate thesis set forth by these new 
 schools against State Socialism may be briefly summar- 
 ised. Their indictment of the wage-system is much the 
 same as that of the revolutionary socialist. But, while 
 they are in favour of national ownership, they are wholly 
 opposed to the kind which they call "State Capitalism," 
 their chief objection to it being that it fails to give the 
 workers industrial self-government. To them and to the 
 Syndicalists, nationalisation, like political democracy, has 
 served but as another tool of the bourgeoisie, to fasten more 
 securely their shackles upon the workers. Whatever may 
 be the arguments for and against nationalisation as a prac- 
 tical and efficient social reform, it is certain that it fails 
 to give the workers either security or status. Further, it 
 is highly improbable that State ownership could ever ex- 
 tend effectively to the myriad ramifications of shipping 
 and foreign trade, manufacturing and distribution, under 
 one central Government. 
 
 4._SYNDICALISM AND GUILD-SOCIALISM. 
 
 First and foremost of the modern movements for the 
 achievement of the industrial state by revolutionar}' means 
 comes "Syndicalism." The word is derived from the
 
 234 
 
 French "Syiidicat," which means simply a Trade Union. 
 The best English rendering of Syndicalism is "Revolu- 
 tionary Trade Unionism." It is important to understand 
 its doctrines, because they have greatly affected recent 
 economic thought, and are likely to have some practical 
 results both in England and in Australia. 
 
 The Syndicalist's indictment of the present system is 
 much the same as that of the class conscious worker in all 
 countries, but he is more emphatic in his denunciation of 
 Parliamentary Government and all political action, put- 
 ting his trust in "Direct Action," by which he means the 
 employment of economic pressure to secure the industrial 
 republic. The successive disappointments of the worker 
 at the results of Trade Unionism, Co-operation, Social Le- 
 gislation and Democratic Institutions have led to the wide- 
 spread advocacy of "Direct Action." Through many 
 skirmishes with the enemy, argues the Syndicalist, the 
 workers will fit themselves for the great and final battle 
 of the general strike, whereby they will completely abolish 
 the Capitalist system and establish the regime of Indus- 
 trial Unionism. Industrial discipline from within is the 
 Sjmdicalist's ideal. The class conscious minority must 
 carry the apathetic mass by its own dynamic. Syndical- 
 ism is, therefore, opposed to Democracy, which it regards 
 as a mere counting of heads, and Parliaments and State 
 Socialism as ingenious devices for keeping in bondage the 
 Industrial Classes. Sorel, one of the principal Syndicalist 
 writers, wrote a book to prove that progress is an illusion, 
 and proletarian violence the great progressive force. When 
 the revolution is accomplished, industry would be organ- 
 ised through the Industrial Unions, who would govern their 
 own conditions, with a bureau for each district and a 
 general Federation of Labour to govern the whole. Thus 
 the French have once more given to the world a vivid idea, 
 destined to have the profoundest influence upon the indus- 
 trial system. Stripped of its futile violence and economic
 
 235 
 
 fallacies, Syndicalism has prepared the way for some fonn 
 of industrial democracy. 
 
 The organisation known as the Industrial Workers of 
 the World is the American version of Syndicalism. Their 
 methods are largely identical, though the I.W.W. is well 
 aware that an Industrial Syndication governing such a 
 huge country as the United States is utterly impossible. 
 The I.W.W 's. outlook and methods are hated as much by 
 organised Labour as by the Capitalist, and it returns the 
 compliment with interest. 
 
 Perhaps the most important outcome of the Syndicalist 
 movement is what is now famous as Guild Socialism. Some 
 ten years ago in England there arose a little school of bril- 
 liant thinkers and writers, who called themselves "Guild 
 Socialists." Highly critical both of State Socialism and 
 Syndicalism, these men have been teaching that Indus- 
 trial Reconstruction must seek the abolition of the Wage 
 System, through the establishment of what they call Na- 
 tional Industrial Guilds, using the term "Guild" as the 
 best name to cover tliat combination of mediaeval inde- 
 pendence which characterised all Craft Guilds and the 
 modern Trade Union organised on an industrial basis. 
 These men seek to establish a system of industrial control 
 which will satisfy the just demands and needs of the 
 producers, while fully protecting the consumers from ex- 
 ploitation. They oppose nationalisation by a centralised 
 Government as failing to satisfy the demand of the work- 
 ers for the democratic control of industry. They are 
 equally opposed to the other extreme. Syndicalism, since 
 it gives the producers a degree of control that would divide 
 the State and threaten the interests of the general com- 
 munity. They advocate, therefore, the control of each in- 
 dustry by those engaged in it, with the State in the position 
 of owner and ultimate controller of the whole means of pro- 
 duction. The workers of all grades in each industry would 
 be organised into one body or Guild, having full control
 
 236 
 
 over the industry and its parts, but all persons in authority 
 to be elected by the members of the Guild as a whole. The 
 State would fix the quantity and nature of their produc- 
 tion, but would leave to them the methods and processes 
 of that production, paying them a lump sum for distribu- 
 tion. Small sections and crafts would be grouped to- 
 gether within the complete industry. All the transport 
 workers, from labourer to general manager, would be mem- 
 bers of the Transport Guild; the miners of the Miners' 
 Guild; the teachers of the Teachers' Guild, and so on. 
 While the State would be the Capitalist, and would under- 
 take the distribution of the goods and dispense the pro- 
 ceeds in the proportions it would determine, those en- 
 gaged in the industry would be the real government of the 
 industry. Such an elaborate reconstruction of industry 
 as that advocated by the Guild Socialists has no hope of 
 immediate realisation. Neither employers nor workers 
 are at present fitted to accomplish it. The vast majority 
 of workers take practically no interest in the problems of 
 industry. Most employers fail to entertain the ideal of 
 social service, and without a radical change of outlook 
 the average citizen will remain totally unfit to play his 
 full part in an Industrial Democracy. But we need by 
 no means wait for that consummation. We can experiment 
 and educate in that direction. By modifying our indus- 
 trial machinery, we can educate the citizen for Industrial 
 Democracy, for nothing is more educative than practical 
 government. 
 
 But even if Guild Socialism were at once realisable, there 
 are certain objections to the scheme as at present advo- 
 cated. The first is that of the democratic election of the 
 Guild Officers. Popular election of our political leaders has 
 yielded us but indifferent results. How much worse would 
 it be to rely upon the vote of the workers to give us the 
 economic and administrative experts essential to the pro- 
 per control of industry? Failure and corruption would be
 
 237 
 
 enormously multiplied in such a fruitful field. The mass 
 of the workers could never adequately judge the ability 
 and character of the men seeking their suffrages in so com- 
 plex a sphere as that of a large industry. Those most suc- 
 cessful ill winning the applause of the democracy would 
 gain the positions, though their technical knowledge might 
 be utterly inadequate. It is possible to carry democratic 
 elections to extremes. A much more effective way of secur- 
 ing the best Guild Officers would be to leave their election 
 in the hands of the Council of the Industry. That Coun- 
 cil would be democratically elected, and they would be 
 more familiar with the personalit}^ and fitness of those 
 seeking the positions than the man who lived, for instance, 
 one hundred miles away, and who, if he had to vote, would 
 probabl}^ vote for someone whom he had never seen or 
 known. But even then it is not certain that to leave the 
 choice to tliose within the industry would be just to the 
 community at large.* 
 
 A much more fundamental objection rests upon the ques- 
 tion of the ultimate seat of national sovereignty. The 
 Guild Congress, representing the association of all the in- 
 dustrial guilds in the countr,y, would, according to the 
 ideas of the Guild Socialists, be the real governing body of 
 all industry. 1 have long held that this constitutes a vir- 
 tual economic sovereignty, which would seriously threaten 
 and weaken the sovereign power of Parliament. To hand 
 over to the Guild Congress such enormous powers as those 
 involved in the effective control of industry is to leave Par- 
 liament emasculated. The Guild Socialists have lately 
 seemed to recognise this, and have proposed that differ- 
 ences between Congress and Parliament could be overcome 
 by joint meetings of representatives of the two bodies.-|- 
 This seems to rae a clumsy and ineffective method, and it ex- 
 
 *See also Mayo. "Democracy and Freedom" (Macmillans, 
 1/6), pp. 55-60. See Cole, "Self-Government in Industry." 
 
 t See Cole, "Self-Government in Industry."
 
 poses at once the fundamental danger of a division of the 
 sovereign power, always to be avoided in national policy. 
 It would be much better to recognise Parliament as the 
 sovereign power, and to limit the functions of the Guilds to 
 the administration of their industries, and the presentation 
 to Parliament of larger matters of policy for assent or mo- 
 dification. Another objection is that the exercise by the 
 Guilds of what should be national powers would shut out 
 from the exercise of some functions of citizenship a large' 
 number of citizens who are not industrial or professional 
 workers capable of enrolment in an}' guild. 
 
 A lesser problem is the old one of demarcation. Though 
 the Guild would automatically wipe out many craft boun- 
 daries, there would be frequent disputes as to which Guild 
 certain workers should join, and the jurisdiction of eacli 
 body. 
 
 A final criticism that seems to me important, though to 
 others it may appear fantastic, is that the Guild Socialists 
 take too rigidly economic a view of man and society. The 
 moral, spiritual and aesthetic elements in man are in danger 
 of being submerged by this economic obsession, whicli has 
 led this school and others to map out the future of society 
 and government as if man were merely a sort of industrial 
 animal. The occupations of his leisure, the aspirations of 
 his spirit, the range of his emotions, show how dangerously 
 restricted is this economic interpretation of man. 
 
 5._INDUSTRIAL COUNCILS. 
 
 Ironically enough, Syndicalism and Guild Socialism are 
 now giving us as their first fruits what are known as "In- 
 dustrial Councils," a form of co-operation between capital 
 and labour that is anathema to such schools of thought. 
 The Re-construction Committee on Relations between Em- 
 ployer and Emploj^ed, established by the British Prime 
 Minister, under the chairmanship of the Rt. Hon. J. H.
 
 239 
 
 Whitley, Ai.P., proposed a scheme for the establishment of 
 ludustrial (.'oiiiicils, which has been accepted by the Go- 
 vernment as part of its policy of re-construction. The 
 Council contained such well-known men as Sir T. A. Kat- 
 clift'e Ellis, Secretary of the Alining Association of Great 
 Britain, Mr. Robert Smillie, the militant President of the 
 Miners' Federation of Great Britain; such well-known 
 economists as Professor Chapman and Mr. J. A. Hobson, 
 Sifr G. J. Carter, Chairman of the Shipbuilding Employers' 
 Federation, Mr. J. R. Clynes, M.P., President of the Na- 
 tional Union of General Workers and lately Pood Con- 
 troller of Great Britain, and several other persons high in 
 public esteem and representative of various national in- 
 terests. Their report, which was unanimous, has been 
 submitted to numerous employers' associations and Trade 
 Unions, and has excited great interest. In the large ma- 
 jority of cases, the response, especially from the Unions, 
 was "overwhelmingly in favour of the adoption of some- 
 thing on the lines of the suggestion in the report." The 
 press and the public have proved equally favourable. A 
 year ago, the Minister of Labour, himself a Labour Alem- 
 ber, informed the Employers' Associations and Trade 
 Unions of the Government's adoption of the policy of In- 
 dustrial Councils, and requested that such bodies be formed 
 as soon as possible in all well-organised industries, pro- 
 mising that they would be recognised as "Official Standing 
 (^Consultative Committees to the Government on all future 
 (juestions affecting the industries which they represent, and 
 would be the normal channel through which the opinion 
 ;ind experience of an industrj^ will be sought on all ques- 
 lions with which the industry is concerned." No rigid 
 organisation is to be imposed. The Councils will be "in- 
 dependent bodies electing their own officers, and free to 
 determine their own functions and procedure with refer- 
 ence to the peculiar needs of each trade." Their estab- 
 lishment will "make possible a larger degree of self-
 
 240 
 
 government in industry than exists to-day." Thus the 
 scheme is intended to be a serious step towards industrial 
 democracy. 
 
 The nature of the organisation of an Industrial Council 
 is simple. Each industry of a defined economic scope will 
 have its own Council of equal numbers of employers and 
 workers, elected by their own associations. Each side of 
 the Council will have its own chairman, with a chairman 
 for the whole Council, selected from itself or outside it in 
 any way that it may determine. The National Industrial 
 Council of each trade will be the supreme body, but 
 equally important will be the Works Committees and the 
 District Councils. The British Ministry of Labour recently 
 published an extensive report dealing with Workshop 
 Committees. The experience of war conditions has shown 
 the immense importance of "Shop Stewards," who form 
 a most useful kind of committee from the workers' side, 
 and, together with representatives of the management, 
 would constitute the Works Committees recommended by 
 the Report. The Ministry hopes that tliis will be the 
 ultimate development. The District Councils would be 
 representative of the Trade Unions and of the Employers' 
 Association in each industry, based upon the existing 
 machinery for collective bargaining. All these bodies would 
 meet regularl}', and constantly consider all matters affect- 
 ing their industry. "If they fulfil their functions." says 
 the Report, "they will be the best builders of national 
 prosperity. The State never parts with its inherent over- 
 riding power, but such power may be least needed when 
 least obtruded." It is suggested that each Council should 
 deal with such subjects as the better use of the practical 
 knowledge of the workers, means for giving them a greater 
 share in the control of their conditions, the settlement of 
 general principles of employment, wages and other con- 
 ditions, regular methods of negotiation and conciliation, 
 the maximum of economic security for the workers, teehni-
 
 241 
 
 eal training and industrial research, the use of and reward 
 for inventions and improvements designed by work people, 
 and the adequate safeguarding of tlieir rights, and pro- 
 posed legislation affecting the industry. 
 
 iSome industries with the most favourable kind of or- 
 ganisation have already established National Industrial 
 Councils. The National Painters' and Decorators' Joint 
 Council has been in existence over two years, and actually 
 suggested the basic idea of the Whitley Report. So far, 
 the Council has met with great success. The National 
 Council of the Pottery Industry met early last year, and 
 was attended by the Minister of Re-construction and the 
 Minister of Labour. Its objects cover the whole field of 
 the problems of control, employment, welfare and indus- 
 trial progress. 
 
 Britain is witnessing the establishment of one Industrial 
 Council after another. During July, 1918, live new Coun- 
 cils were established, namely, the Furniture Trades. Gold 
 and Silver, Horologieal and Allied Trades, the ilanufac- 
 ture of IMatches, the Rubber Industry, and Silk 
 Manufactures. Each of those held its tirst meeting 
 in the course of the month. As a result, vari- 
 ous Committees were appointed to consider such 
 questions as the function of Works Committees, the 
 commercial side of the Council's activity, to collect infor- 
 mation about the post-war situation of the industry, to 
 prepare a scheme for the formation of District Councils, 
 to report upon a system of education for the trade, and so 
 oil. It is further officially reported that considerable pro- 
 gress has been made towards the formation of Councils in 
 many other industries, including the following: — Boots 
 and Shoes, Carpets, Bedsteads, Bobbins, Cables, China- 
 clay, Connnercial Road Transport, Electricity PoAver and 
 Supply, Heavy Chemicals, Paper-making, Printing, Roller 
 Engraving, Saw-milling, Surgical Instruments, Tin- 
 mining, Tramways, Vehicle Building, Water- works, Wool-
 
 242 
 
 lens and Worsted. Enquiries are also proceeding with re- 
 gard to numerous other industries. 
 
 Perhaps the most serious obstacle to the success of the 
 Councils is the surprising lack of organisation over the 
 whole field of their industry on the part of both capitalists 
 and workers. In ship-building, for example, a large num- 
 ber of craft unions cut across the broader industrial 
 division. On the side of the employers there is even greater 
 multiplicity in some industries, and many associations are 
 not fitted to undertake such duties. Tlie chances of success 
 of the Councils are much greater in the case of industries 
 organised on the lines of big combines, and also in those 
 trades in which there is no gTeat complexity of production, 
 as in coal-mining. But the want of organisation amongst 
 some masses of workers, like those in clerical occupations, 
 will make it very difficult to set up a Council for their in- 
 dustry. Still worse, many employers and bodies of workers 
 may prefer to remain aloof and make their separate bar- 
 gains, while compulsion would probably be repugnaiit to 
 the British people. It should also be pointed out tliat 
 most of the trades in which the Councils have already been 
 established are vevy well organised, and deal with second- 
 ary industries. It may not be so easy to apply the scheme 
 to trades which are given to the use of the strike method, 
 or to disputing amongst themselves. 
 
 The matter of greatest concern to consumers in regard 
 to the control of industry, is whether their interests will 
 be sufficiently safeguarded in a partnership of the two 
 sides of producers. For example, what is to prevent the 
 coal-owners and the miners co-operating through their 
 Industrial Council to raise the price of coal to the public, 
 so as to secure higher wages for the one and bigger pi-cfits 
 for the other? The sliding scale of prices and wages often 
 adopted in the British coal trade has frequently operated 
 against the interests of the public. The settlement of the 
 coal strike in New South Wales in 1917 had the aspect of
 
 24,^ 
 
 such a bargain, though it was ratified by the Court. What 
 is there in the plan of the Industrial Council to prevent 
 the adoption of deliberate means of raising prices in the 
 interests of both parties? That it will be often essential 
 and right to raise prices is obvious, but we must not leave 
 the unqualified power to do so in the hands of the pro- 
 ducers. The "Whitley Report expressed its confidence '"that 
 the Councils, in their work of promoting the interests of 
 their own industries, will have regard for the national in- 
 terest, " and not undertake "'action of an anti-social 
 character.'' This expression of trust will hardly be sub- 
 stantial enough for the consumer, who is so often called 
 upon to pay, without justification, the gains of both sides. 
 Another possible danger is that, in Protectionist countries, 
 advocates of particular tariffs might find a fruitful field 
 in appeals to the workers and employers in the trades 
 affected, though the tariff might be quite opposed to the 
 public interest. If employers and workers were able in 
 this way to form a sort of ring, a new political and indus- 
 trial menace would be introduced into our national life. 
 In all probability, it will be found necessary for the State 
 to secure representation on the Industrial Councils of all 
 trades, to protect the interests of the geiieral public. A\ 
 present, the Government is observing a sympathetic vigi- 
 lance, a benevolent neutrality. Whether this will be suffi- 
 cient can only be proved by experience. 
 
 The same objection may be urged against the Intlustrial 
 Council as 1 have already made against the Wages Board. 
 namel3% that it stereotypes the existing conditions of the 
 capitalist system, and does not really provide the industrial 
 freedom which Labour demands as a right. The objects 
 laid down in the existing Councils are. however, wide 
 enough to give some promise that they will develop towards 
 industrial self-government. It remains to be seen whether 
 these new parliaments of industry will follow the bad and 
 bitter policy of the party system in political parliaments.
 
 244 
 
 If the employers are merely to be arrayed, under such a 
 scheme, on the side of the "divine right of capital," and 
 the workers insist on proclaiming "no peace at any price," 
 the more intensive organisation of the Councils will be but 
 the preparation for a great class struggle, which will bring 
 chaos and disaster. 
 
 Other critics of the scheme doubt whether the employers, 
 when confronted with its practical working, will tolerate 
 such an invasion of their sovereignty. It is urged, on the 
 ether hand, that, if the workers win so much, they will 
 seek a still more fundamental change, especially since 
 every failure and source of friction will be put forward as 
 proof of the need for something more revolutionary. The 
 Workshop Committees and the employers and managers 
 can hardly be expected to agree on many important mat- 
 ters. Some witnesses aver that the "Shop Stewards" 
 actually foment discord between workers and employers. 
 Finally. Industrial Councils do nothing to solve the un- 
 employment problem, or to cure the multitude of social ills, 
 for they take account only of those employed in specified 
 trades. Still, there is much to be gained by closer indus- 
 trial organisation, for without that we cannot go far. 
 
 6_C0NSTITUTI0N OF AN INDUSTRIAL 
 
 COUNCIL. 
 
 National Council of the Pottery Industry.^ 
 
 The first industry to give effect to the recommendations 
 
 of the Whitley Report is the pottery industry. The first 
 
 meeting of the National Council of the Pottery Industry 
 
 was held on 11th January, 1918, and was attended by the 
 
 Minister of Re-construction and the Minister of Labour. 
 
 both of whom addressed the Council. 
 
 As this is the first of these Councils to be formed, the 
 statement of its objects and constitution is given in full 
 below : — 
 
 *See "The Labour Gazette," February, 1918, p. 49.
 
 245 
 
 Objects. 
 
 The advancement of the Pottery Industry, and of all 
 connected with it, by the association in its government of 
 all engaged in the industry. 
 
 It will be open to the Council to take any action that 
 falls within the scope of its general object. Its chief work 
 will, however, fall under the following heads: — 
 
 (a) The consideration of means whereby all manufac- 
 turers and operatives shall be brought within 
 their respective associations. 
 
 (b) Regular consideration of wages, piece-work prices, 
 and conditions, with a view to establishing and 
 maintaining equitable conditions throughout the 
 industry. 
 
 (c) To assist the respective associations in the main- 
 tenance of such selling prices as will afford a rea- 
 sonable remuneration to both employers and em- 
 ployed. 
 
 (d) The consideration and settlement of all disputes 
 between different parties in the industry which it 
 may not have been possible to settle by the exist- 
 ing machinery, and tlie establisliment of machinery 
 for dealing with disputes where ad<»quate machin- 
 ery does not exist. 
 
 (e) The regularisation of production and employment 
 as a means of insuring to the workpeople the 
 greatest possible security of earnings. 
 
 (f) Improvements in conditions with a view to re- 
 moving all danger to health in the industry. 
 
 (g) The study of processes, the encouragement of re- 
 search, and the full utilisation of their results. 
 
 (h) The provision of facilities for the full considera- 
 tion and utilisation of inventions and improve- 
 ments designed l)y workpeople, and for the ade- 
 quate safeguarding of the rights of the designers 
 of such improvements. 
 
 (i) Education in all its branches for the industry. 
 
 (j) The collection of full statistics on wages, making 
 and selling prices, and average percentages of
 
 246 
 
 profits on turnover, and on materials, markets, 
 costs, &c., and the study and promotion of scien- 
 tific and practical systems of costing to this end. 
 All statistics shall, where necessary, be verified 
 by chartered accountants, who shall make a statu- 
 tory declaration as to secrecy prior to any inves- 
 tigation, and no particulars of individual firms or 
 operatives shall be disclosed to anyone. 
 
 (k) Inquiries into problems of the industry, and, 
 where desirable, the publication of reports. 
 
 (1) Representation of the needs and opinions of the 
 industry to Government authorities, central and 
 local, and to the community generally. 
 
 Co7istitution. 
 
 (1) Alonbership. — The Council shall consist of an equal 
 number of representatives of the manufacturers and the 
 operatives ; the manufacturers ' representatives to be ap- 
 pointed by the Manufacturers' Associations in proportions 
 to be agreed on between them; the operatives' representa- 
 tives by the Trade Unions in proportions to be agreed on 
 between them. The number of representatives on each side 
 shall not exceed 30. Among the manufacturers ' representa- 
 tives may be included salaried managers, and among the 
 operatives' representatives some women operatives. 
 
 (2) Honorary Me')v'bers.--The Council to have the power 
 to co-opt honorary members with the right to attend meet- 
 ings or serve on committees of the Council, and to speak 
 but not to vote. 
 
 (3) Ke-appoint me nt.— One-third of the representatives 
 of the said Association and Unions shall retire annually, 
 and shall be eligible for re-appointment. 
 
 (4) Officers. — The officers of the Council shall be: — 
 (a) A chairman and vice-chairman. When the chair- 
 man is a member of the operatives, the vice-chair- 
 man shall be a member of the manufacturers, and 
 vice-versa. The chairman (or in his absence the 
 vice-chairman) shall presid': at all meetings, and 
 shall have a vote, but not a casting vote. It shall 
 always be open to the Council to appoint an inde 
 pendent chairman, temporary or otherwise.
 
 247 
 
 (b) Such secretaries and treasurers as the Council 
 maj' require. 
 
 All honorary officers shall be elected by the Coun- 
 cil at its annual meeting for a term of one year, 
 and, subject to the condition that a chairman or 
 vice-chairman from the said Associations shall be 
 succeeded by a member of the said Unions, shall 
 be eligible for re-election. The Council may from 
 time to time fix the remuneration to be paid to 
 its officers. 
 
 (5) Committees. — The Council shall appoint an executive 
 Committee, and standing committees, representative of the 
 different needs of the industry. It shall have power to 
 appoint other committees for special purposes, and to co- 
 opt such persons of special knowledge, not being members 
 of the Council, as may serve the special purposes of these 
 committees. On all committees both manufacturers and 
 operatives shall be equally represented. The minutes of 
 all committees shall be submitted to the National Council 
 for confirmation. Each committee shall appoint its own 
 chairman and vice-chairman, except in the case of the 
 finance committee, over which committee the chairman of 
 the National Council shall preside. 
 
 (6) Finance. — The ordinary expenses of the Council 
 shall be met by a levy upon the Manufacturers" Associa- 
 tions and the Trade Unions represented. Special exjiendi- 
 ture shall be provided for by the Finance Committee. 
 
 (7) Meetings. — The ordinary "meetings of the Council 
 shall be held quarterly. The annual meeting shall be held 
 in January. A special meeting of the Council shall be held 
 on the requisition of ten members of the Council. Seven 
 days' notice of an}- meeting shall be given. Twenty mem- 
 bers shall form a quorum. Committees shall meet as often 
 as may be required. 
 
 (8) Yoting.— l'ho voting upon all questions shall be by 
 show of hands, and two-thirds majority of those present 
 and voting shall be required to carry a resolution. Pro- 
 vided that, when at any meeting the representatives of the 
 Unions and the Associations respectively are unequal in 
 munbers, all members present shall have the right to enter 
 fully into discussion of any matters, but only an equal
 
 248 
 
 number of each of such representatives (to be decided 
 amongst them) shall vote. 
 
 The membership of the Council consists of thirty manu- 
 facturers' representatives and thirty operatives' represen- 
 tatives. 
 
 Note on "Shop Stewards." 
 
 The needs of the war gave rise in Great Britain to the 
 system of "Shop-Stewards," workers elected by their fel- 
 lows in the workshop to negotiate with the management, 
 and even to deal independently with many matters of shop 
 discipline, hygiene and general arrangements. Their im- 
 portance has steadily increased, not merely in making for 
 smoother working of the factories, but also, in many dis- 
 tricts, in exactly the opposite direction — class-conscious 
 action against the employers. In districts like London and 
 the Clyde, the system seems just as apt to foment unrest as 
 to allay it. It is the energetic and class-conscious worker 
 that is most likely to be elected as a steward, and he in- 
 fluences the men towards militant action. This experience 
 seems to me to emphasise the hopelessness of attempting to 
 solve the industrial problem by anything short of a funda- 
 mental change in the control of industry. Incidentally, the 
 war has precipitated a practical experiment in "shop 
 syndicalism," which is undermining the powers of Union 
 executives and Labcur politicians, and may well change the 
 whole complexion of British Trade Unionism. The O.B.U. 
 in Australia is a more theoretical movement in the same 
 direction.
 
 249 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 Towards Induflrial Democracy. 
 
 1.— NEW BOARDS FOR OLD. 
 
 Willi some hesitation, I venture to suggest a line of ad- 
 vance whicii seeks to avoid the difficulties of both the new 
 form of Industrial Oouiieil now being adopted in England 
 and our own form of Wages Board. I have shown that tlu^ 
 Industrial Council, though a great improvement on any 
 plan previously devised, may neglect the interests of the 
 consumer and the comnumitj' in general, antl work too ri- 
 gidly upon its own industrial basis. Could we not i)i Aus- 
 tralia turn our Wages Boards into what I would call In- 
 dustrial Boards, bodies based upon a form of triple co- 
 operation between the State, the employers and the work- 
 ers? All interests thus being combined, the members of the 
 Board being chosen in equal numbers by each interest, we 
 could assign to them much larger functions than those now 
 allocated to Wages Boards. We could, in fact, give them 
 complete charge of their industry, and statutory powers 
 for its regulation. Except for this latter feature, the 
 English Industrial Councils, already agreed upon, are ex- 
 ercising such powers. 
 
 Following broadly the plan of a Council outlined in the 
 British "Labour Gazette," I would suggest the following 
 form of constitution of an Australian Industrial Board, 
 with the addition of the clauses covering the functions of 
 an Industrial Council of the British type* : — 
 
 * See Chapter XXIV., Sec. 6.
 
 250 
 
 (1) The object of the Board shall be the advancement 
 of the industry and of all connected with it, by the 
 association in its government of all engaged in 
 the industry and representatives of the nation. 
 
 (2) The Board shall consist of an equal number of 
 representatives of the employers and the workers, 
 and of national representatives appointed by the 
 Minister for Labour. The Board shall have power 
 to co-opt honorary members without the power to 
 vote. The Chairman will be chosen alternately 
 by employers and workers from the whole Board. 
 
 2.— SOCIAL TRUSTS. 
 
 If we have read aright the main trend of economic evo- 
 lution, we must accept the modern Trust as a natural de- 
 velopment. But no one who desires a social reconstruction 
 can be content to let the trusts go on gi'owing until they 
 absorb the majority of industries. This is no merely aca- 
 demic question. The movement is going on now, befcre 
 our eyes, even in Australia, and it will be immensely has- 
 tened after the war. If w^e are content to look on and do 
 nothing, our laissez-faire policy can have but one result. 
 The trustification of industry has always meant an enor- 
 mous increase in the power of capital over labour. It has 
 also brought high finance and international politics into 
 much closer association, to the danger of peaceful relations 
 between the nations. The huge burden of the w^ar debts 
 has increased the powers of high finance. Meanwhile, 
 what of the masses? The people of the country exploited 
 by foreign capital almost always suffer. A strengthening 
 of the trusts, without any form of social control, would 
 inevitably be against the interests of workers and con- 
 sumers in the long run. What is to be done to safeguard 
 the interests of the general community ? The Americans at- 
 tempted to crush the trusts, and failed. These combines 
 dominate the life of the United States. Many Socialists
 
 251 
 
 still believe that nationalisation is the only way. But 
 nationalisation of the vast industries of America alone is 
 an utterly impracticable proposition. Moreover, State 
 bureaucracy has been proved to possess faults of its own, 
 which make both workers and public dissatisfied with it. 
 Still more important is it to remember that these trusts 
 will become more and more international in scope and 
 operations. We are beginning to see that a large number 
 of industries cainiot be confined within the limits of one 
 country. It is against natural evolution to attempt so to 
 confine them. Their development will be enhanced by the 
 need of the Allies to maintain a close comiuercial associa- 
 tion for some years, until their economic leeway is made up. 
 Side by side with this intensive development >n com- 
 mercial organisation will proceed the internationalism of 
 working class agitation. It seems inevitable that in the 
 disturbed conditions that must follow the war Bolshe- 
 vism will increase. Capital will further organise to meet 
 it ; Labour will endeavor to go one better. Such conditions 
 precipitate a social revolution. Chaos and disorder would 
 reign, and a civil war more terrible than the great war 
 would ensue. The picture is by no means overdrawn. 
 Class-consciousness and international capitalism are both 
 absolutel}^ certain to increase rapidly. They cannot mix. 
 An upheaval is, therefore, certain, unless the public inter- 
 est can be safeguarded by the adoption of some form of 
 social control of the Trusts. 
 
 The League of Nations, acting through the Governments 
 concerned, could provide for the representation, upon the 
 directorates of the Trusts, of each Government, and also 
 of the producers working in the industry. Such triple 
 co-operation would safeguard the public and the workers 
 against exploitation, both in prices and wages. It would 
 also help society to get accustomed to tlie government of 
 industry and to taking a hand in its development for the 
 social good. Why should not a government demand, as
 
 252 
 
 the price of monopoly, full representation on the board of 
 directors? This would not make the Trust a State mono- 
 poly, but it would prevent the rise of the usual evils asso- 
 ciated with trusts. Smaller monopolies, operating within 
 the boundaries of one country, might be similarly treated, 
 on the assumption that there should be no monopoly with- 
 out social control. Take the vexed question of the Meat 
 Trust. The State has a right to insist upon such a trust 
 conforming to the standard of the public good. With such 
 safeguards, commercial combination could be deliberately 
 encouraged. For example, the boot and shoe trade of Aus- 
 tralia might easily be formed into a single combine. It 
 is a lucrative and highly organised industry. But its 
 present organisation is most wasteful — too many factories, 
 travellers, shops and agencies. It would pay the trade and 
 the public a hundredfold to form such a trust, on the plan 
 of triple co-operation suggested. 
 
 3.— INDUSTRIAL DEMOCRACY IN STATE 
 ENTERPRISES. 
 
 The vast majority of commercial enterprises of to-day 
 involve the three interests of the capitalists, the workers 
 and the commuinty. The introduction of industrial self- 
 government into such a system is full of difficulties. State 
 enterprises, on the other hand, however much they may 
 fail to give the worker economic security and industrial 
 citizenship, have not before them the task of eliminating 
 the private capitalist. If, then, there is anything in the 
 guild idea, the businesses conducted by the State should 
 offer a much readier testing-ground and far less opposition 
 than in private enterprises. It is true that State under- 
 takings are administered on almost exactly the same plan 
 as capitalist enterprises. This is partly due to the bu- 
 reaucratic form of their administration, but still more to 
 the fact that both the Government and the public apply 
 the purely financial test to their management. Though
 
 253 
 
 Australia has proportionately more State enterprises than 
 almost any other country in the world, its workers have 
 never evolved the idea of a more democratic control of 
 State enterprises. They content themselves with reliance 
 upon closer organisation, as in the One Big Union move- 
 ment, Mdiich can do little or nothing to develop within its 
 membership the true capacity for self-government in in- 
 dustry. The great majority- of the workers of Australia 
 are wanting in liabits of hard thinking and sustained ef- 
 fort, and show a complete lack of any real grasp of the 
 industrial problem. The necessary qualities of self-sacri- 
 fice, patience and public spirit can only be developed in 
 the mass by constant practice in the responsibilities of 
 industrial autonomy. I suggest, therefore, that State 
 enterprises offer a splendid field for such an experimental 
 and educational reform. The workers in each Govern- 
 ment workshop could elect a Committee of shop stewards, 
 whose chief business would be to co-operate with the mana- 
 gers and foremen in the smooth running of the shop. These 
 Shop Committees would deal Math details of wages, factory 
 conditions, grievances, new processes, accident and sick- 
 ness arrangements, promotions, apprenticeship, technical 
 education, and shop discipline. Had such Committees 
 been in operation two years ago. the Sydney strike would 
 never have occurred, for the introduction of a card-system 
 or any other innovation would have been subjected to co- 
 operative discussion by management and workers. Such 
 a simple scheme would suit workshop industries like State 
 brickworks or bakeries. 
 
 When a State industry passes beyond the workshop 
 unit, different forms of control would have to be adopted 
 to suit different conditions. In the case of the railways. 
 District Councils could be established on the lines already 
 suggested by railway administration. These District 
 Councils would contain representatives from all the in- 
 dustrial grades in the district. Such Councils would dis-
 
 254 
 
 cuss all matters falling within the scope of the district 
 organisatiou. The National Council for the whole of any- 
 one State enterprise could consist of delegations from each 
 of the District Councils. Such is the barest outline of the 
 possibilities for industrial democracy in an industry owned 
 by the State. Further detail cannot be offered for lack of 
 space.* But I wish to repeat here my conviction that the 
 workers can only fit themselves for the democi'atic control 
 of industry by adopting a scheme of industrial education 
 sufficiently graduated to give them a sound training and 
 to avoid the many pitfalls that beset the path of those who 
 seek industrial reconstruction with material lower than the 
 angels. 
 
 * In a course of lectures to the Victorian Railway Union, 
 in December, 1918, I woi'ked out in considerable detail a plan 
 for applying self-government principles to the State Rail- 
 ways. The lectures have been published by the Union in 
 pamphlet form.
 
 255 
 
 Bibliography V. 
 
 ECONOMIC, INDUSTRIAL, AND FINANCIAL. 
 
 Clay — Economies: An Introduction for the General Reader 
 
 (Macmillan). 
 Withers, Hartley — The Meaning of Money (Smith, Llder). 
 Scott, AV. R. — Economic Problems of Peace After War 
 
 (Cambridge). 
 Hirst— The Political Economy of War (Dent). 
 Kirkaldy (Ed.) —Credit, Industry and the War (Pitman). 
 Harvey and Others — Competition : A Study in Human 
 
 Motive ( Macmillan ) . 
 Brailsford— The War of Steel and Gold (Bell). 
 Gill, Conrad — National Power and Prosperity (Fisher Un- 
 
 win). 
 Millioud — The Ruling Caste and Frenzied Trade in Ger- 
 many (Constable). 
 Bossiere, Rene — Towards Peace Through Money (Simpkin. 
 
 Marshall, Hamilton, Kent & Co.). 
 Nicholson — War Finance (King & Son). 
 Horniman, Roy — How to Make the Railways Pay for the 
 
 War (Routledge). 
 Fabian Research Department — Plow To Pay for the War 
 
 (Allen & Ilnwin). 
 Labour Year Book, 1916. 
 Angell, Norman — War and the Workers (National Labour 
 
 Press). 
 Kirkaldy (Ed.) — Labour. Finance and the War (Pitman). 
 Furniss (Ed.,)— The Industrial Outlook (Chatto & Wiii- 
 
 dus). 
 Carter, ITiiiitly — Industrial Reconstruction (Fisher Un- 
 
 win).
 
 256 
 
 Cole— The World of Labour. 
 
 Cole, G. D. H.— Labour iu War time (Bell). 
 
 Orage — National Guilds (Bell). 
 
 Hobsou — Guild Principles in War and Peace (Bell), 
 
 Cole and Arnot — Trade Unionism on the Railways (Allen 
 & Unwin). 
 
 Hall — Agriculture After the War (Murray). 
 
 Radford — Agricultural Co-operation and Organisation 
 (Hodder & Stoughton). 
 
 Radford — State Services (Smith, Elder). 
 
 Earl of Cromer and Others — After War Problems (Allen 
 & Unwin). 
 
 Palmer, Mabel — Life-Saving in War-Time (Arthur Pear- 
 son). 
 
 Cole, G. D. H.— Methods of Wage Payment. 
 
 Drake, Barbara — Women in Engineering. 
 
 P^abian Research Department — The Co-operative Movement 
 (pamphlet). 
 
 Fabian Research Department— Industrial Life Assurance 
 (pamphlet). 
 
 Fabian Researcli Department — State and Municipal Enter- 
 prise (pamphlet). 
 
 Fabian Research Department^ — Three "New Statesman" 
 Supplements ( pamphlet ) . 
 
 Gregory, T. E. — Foreign Exchanges and the War. 
 
 Hobson, J. A. — The New Protectionism. 
 
 Hodges, H. R. — Economic Conditions, 1815 and 1914, 
 
 Pease, E. R. — Profit-sharing and Co-partnership (pamph- 
 let). 
 
 Raskin College — The Re-organisation of Industry. 
 
 Ruskin College — Some Problems of Urban and Rural In- 
 dustry. 
 
 Sanders, W. S. — Trade Unionism in Germany. 
 
 Webb. Sidney — The Restoration of Trade Union Conditions 
 (pamphlet). 
 
 Webb, Sidney— When Peace Comes (pamphlet).
 
 • 257 
 
 Webb, Sidney — The Way of Industrial Reconstruction 
 (pamphlet). 
 
 Webb, Sidney — Towards Social Democracy (pamphlet). 
 
 Webb, Sidney— Industrial Democracy (Longmans). 
 
 Workers' Educational Association: Educational Recon- 
 struction (pamphlet). 
 
 Cole — Self-Government in Industry. 
 
 Withers, Hartley — Lombard Street in War. 
 
 W.E.A. Pamphlet— The War and the Worker. 
 
 British Association (Economics Section) — Industry and 
 Finance: War Expedients and Reconstruction (Pit- 
 man ) . 
 
 Mrs. Sidney Webb (Ed.)— The Case for the National Mini- 
 mum. 
 
 War Cabinet Report. 
 
 Industrial Unrest Report. 
 
 Reconstruction Committee Reports. 
 
 Kent, Stanley — Fatigue Report. 
 
 Ministry of Munitions Reports. 
 
 People's Year Book. 
 
 Penty — Old Worlds for New. 
 
 Hichens — Problems of Modern Industrs'. 
 
 Spooner — Industrial Fatigue. 
 
 Labour Party Pamphlets. 
 
 Jevons — Education and Employers (pamphlet). 
 
 Whitley Report Pamphlets (pamphlet). 
 
 Working Woman's House (pamphlet). 
 
 Choice Before the Nation (pamphlet). 
 
 F.B.E. Memorandum (pamphlet). 
 
 Webb — History of Trade Unionism (Longmans). 
 
 Clayton. Joseph — Trade Unions (The People's Books). 
 
 Lloyd, C. M.— Trade Unionism (Black). 
 
 Henderson, Arthur — The Aims of Labour (Headley Bros.). 
 
 Benn, Ernest — Trade as a Science (Jarrold). 
 
 Pigou and Others (pamphlet) — The Re-organisation of In- 
 dustry (Ruskin College) ; The Banker's Part in Re
 
 258 
 
 construction (Headley Bros.) ; The Modern Midas 
 (Headley Bros.). 
 
 Industrial Peace, Vol. 1. September, 1917. to February, 
 1918 est. Catherine Press). 
 
 Hooker — The Handicap of British Trade (John Murray). 
 
 Rhodes — Workmen's Compensation (Macmillan). 
 
 Lawrence, F. W. P. — A Levy on Capital (Allen & Unwin). 
 
 Mrs. Pember Reeves — Round About a Pound a Week (Bell 
 & Sons). 
 
 Rowntree, B. S. — Poverty (Nelson Library).' 
 
 Rowntree, Maurice — Co-operation or Chaos? (Headley 
 Bros.). 
 
 Withers, Hartley — The Business of Finance (John Mur- 
 ray). 
 
 Kitson — A Fraudulent Standard (King & Son). 
 
 Withers, Hartley — Our Money and the State (Joliii Mur- 
 ray). 
 
 Farnam, H. W. — The Economic Utilisation of History 
 (Yale IJniversitj' Press). 
 
 Chapman, S. J. — Labour and Capital after tlie War ( John 
 Murray). 
 
 Sorel — Reflections on Violence. 
 
 Kropotkin — Fields, Factories and Workshops. 
 
 Robertson — The Economics of Progress (Fisher Unwin). 
 
 MacDonald, J. R. — Socialism after the War (National 
 Labour Press).
 
 259 
 
 PART VII. 
 
 The British Empire and the New Order.
 
 260. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 The Commerce of the Empire. 
 
 V 
 
 1. SCIENCE AND THE EMPIRE'S RESOURCES. 
 
 The war is over, but we have yet before us the stupen- 
 dous task of paying the greater part of the bill. 
 
 A great increase in the Empire's production of wealth 
 is essential. There is everything to be gained from the 
 fullest utilisation of science in every department of human 
 activity. In the past we have failed in two different direc- 
 tions : we have not availed ourselves to the full of what 
 science has to teach us, and we have been too prone to apply 
 our scientific knowledge for the increase of national wealth 
 more readily than for the promotion of national welfare. 
 It is quite practicable to 'combine the two. 
 
 We do not need to look any further afield than the 
 British Empire for evidence of neglect of our magnificent 
 opportunities to exploit unexampled resources on a plan 
 of scientific development. For half a century we have al- 
 lowed the wranglings of Freetraders and Protectionists 
 largely to divert our attention from the more important 
 problem of making the most of the immense supplies of 
 raw materials, the huge amount of capital seeking invest- 
 ment, and the skill and energy of our people. America and 
 Germany did not rely upon tariffs alone to develop their 
 latent resources. Neither should the Empire depend upon 
 either Freetrade or Protection as a main factor in economic 
 
 * See also Chapter XX., "The World's Commerce,"
 
 261 
 
 developmeut. We should take stock of our natural wealth 
 on the lines suggested by the Dominions Resources Com 
 mission, and direct its exploitation with scientific precision 
 and a constant eye to the future. Conmnittees are now be- 
 ing actually formed in London to co-operate to this end. 
 Arrangements are also being made for the more effective 
 application of the results of scientific research in the field 
 of imperial trade. The appointment of British Trade 
 Commissioners in every part of the world will do much to 
 bring our commercial organisation into line with that of 
 other modern nations. The encouragement of inventions, 
 immensely stimulated by tiie war, will also receive much- 
 needed attention. Of equal importance is the problem of 
 technical education, as yet in its infancy in Australia, aaid 
 by no means what it ought to be in Great Britain. Aus- 
 tralian Universities are steadily developing efificieut depart- 
 ments in the applied sciences. It is, however, a standing 
 disgrace to Australia that there is only one Chair of Eco- 
 nomics and Commerce in the whole Commonwealth, and. 
 until the formation of the Federal Bureau of Industry and 
 Commerce, there was not a single Government Department 
 of commercial information. The Commercial Intelligence 
 Department of the British Board of Trade is quite a re- 
 cent creation, and ''those who have had anything to do 
 with it have been forcibly struck b}- its complete ignorance 
 of commerce and utter lack of anything approaching intel- 
 ligence. The officials are most polite and attentive. They 
 will furnish blue books galore, statistics ad infinitum, and 
 circulars and pamphlets enough to get snowed under, but 
 for real, useful information and helpful advice the de- 
 partment is quite hopeless." Thus writes a correspondent 
 to "The Economist," and though the Editor is of opinion 
 that he somewhat overstates the case, commercial men are 
 thoroughly dissatisfied with the Board of Trad^e's com 
 mereial equipment. It is not enough, therefore, merely to 
 establish a department.
 
 262 
 
 If our official departments are defective in the supply of 
 commercial and scientific information, both private and 
 public enterprise must be held to be equally neglectful of 
 many of the most promising resources of India, Egypt antl 
 the lesser Crown colonies. In spite of her vast resources, 
 India raises an Imperial revenue of only 7/- per head, com- 
 pared with £11 in New Zealand. India's external trade is 
 only £1/1/- per head, while that of the United Kingdom is 
 £29. and that of New Zealand £42. The mineral resources 
 of India are largely undeveloped. One small district of 
 Burma can supply over half the world's demand for tung- 
 sten. The whole of this field's supply went to Germany be- 
 fore the war, though it is a most important alloy of high- 
 speed steel. The coconut industry is very little developed 
 by British capital, though its potentialities are enormous. 
 In 1912 its products were valued at £70,000,000. Com- 
 pare this with the world's gold output of £100.000,000. 
 And yet most of the Indian coconut industry is financed 
 by Chinese and Indian money-lenders, and four-fifths of 
 the yearly export of copra went to Germany. Equally im- 
 mense are the possibilities of bamboo, cane-sugar, and cot- 
 ton-growing. The British Cotton-growing Association has 
 (lone splendid work, but has still only touched the fringe of 
 the opportunities. These instances could be multiplied al- 
 most indefinitely for every part of the Empire. There is 
 no better way of paying the war debt than by the applica- 
 tion of scientific method and organisation to the develop- 
 ment of the incalculable resources of the Empire. In Aus- 
 tralia itself the opportunities are as great as anywhere. 
 In the smelting of our native ores, the building-up of the 
 industries dependent upon metals, in the further develop- 
 ment of our primary products, there is a limitless field for 
 scientific research and organisation. And yet, no sooner 
 does the Commonwealth Government lay the foundations 
 for such work than one or two newspapers shriek male- 
 dictions and pour ridicule upon all academic investigation
 
 263 
 
 and the pursuit of pure science. Such crass ignorance of 
 the history of science, such cynical disregard for the in- 
 terests of knowledge and progress, are a woeful witness to 
 the difficulty which the scientist experiences in winning 
 from a democracy the necessary financial support for his 
 work. If such reactionary journals had gained their ends 
 in the past, the most vital discoveries of medical science 
 and wealth-j)roduction would never have survived the 
 cheap ridicule of omniscient leader-writers. To such men 
 Archimedes would be a ''silly old crank," Newton, an 
 absent-minded professor lit for the jibes of schoolboys, Dar- 
 win a dangerous iconoclast, shaking the foundations of re- 
 ligious truth and social stability. Truly, science will fare 
 ill at the hands of democracy if these be the organs of its 
 opinion. 
 
 2. IMPERIAL PREFERENCE. 
 
 The British Government las announced its intention of 
 adopting a scheme of Imperial Preference. On grounds of 
 sentiment this policy must commend itself to all who 
 desire the closer association of the component parts of the 
 Rmpire. The economic practicability of the policy is a 
 matter for separate discussion. The first difficulty that 
 must strike the observer is the fact that the resolutions 
 of the Paris Conference already commit us to a similar 
 arrangement with our Allies. The practical difficulties of 
 framing a tariff that will answer the neetls of the Empire 
 and Allies alike are enormous, and probably insuperable. 
 The scale put forward by the London Chamber of Com- 
 merce, and accepted by the Imperial Council of ('ommercc. 
 suggests the "four-decker" tariff, presenting four different 
 levels of duties, the lowest to the Dominions, a grade 
 higher to the Allies, higher still to neutrals, and becoming 
 practically prohibitive to Gt»rmany and the rest of our ene- 
 mies. This tariff accepts the impossibility of taxing rav.- 
 materials at all, or foreign food-stuffs more than five per
 
 264 
 
 cent. The British Government itself does not propose to 
 place a duty on foodstuffs, or on the raw materials which 
 are the very foundation of her manufactures. Britain im- 
 ports the greater part of her raw materials from foreign 
 countries, including America, which has not accepted the 
 Paris resolutions. Preference is, therefore, offered to the 
 Dominions on British imports of wholly manufactured 
 goods, and by a lower duty on semi-manufactured goods. 
 Ill return for this advantage, the Dominions will be ex- 
 pected to lower their tariff against British manufactures. 
 Here we come to the crux of the practical difficulty of 
 arranging a scale of duties that will leave to the Dominions 
 the effective protection of their own manufactures, upon 
 which they have so far insisted, and at the same time offer 
 them any real compensation by way of encouragement of 
 the exports of their manufactures to England. But the 
 total export of, for example, Australian manufactured 
 goods to the United Kingdom, excluding prepared food- 
 stuffs, is too small to be worth considering from the point 
 of view of a tariff. I do not say that this makes Imperial 
 Preference impracticable, but it indicates the difficulty of 
 making it effective. So long as the United Kingdom is 
 mainly interested in increasing its manufacturing produc- 
 tion for export, and the Dominions are intent upon build- 
 ing up manufactures of their own, it will be very difficult 
 to satisfy both sides by a preferential tariff. Again. 
 British possessions take only one-third of the exports from 
 the United Kingdom. Although this proportion has re- 
 mained fairly constant for many years, it could undoubtedly 
 be increased if the Dominions would consent to lower their 
 duties upon British goods compared with those against 
 foreign imports which we are accustomed to buy. We 
 could, for example, encourage the purchase of British 
 goods, of kinds hitherto bought from Germany, by putting 
 a prohibitive tariff upon German imports. But it would be 
 dijfficult to do this without injury to some friendly coun-
 
 J6.S 
 
 tries supplying the same kinds of goods. The question of 
 Imperial preference as a whole cannot be adequately dealt 
 with unless we bear in mind the differences and similarities 
 of the commercial and manufacturing policies of Britain 
 and the Dominions. If food-products from the Dominions 
 were given preference, English farmers would probably 
 suffer, and the British consumers would complain of higher 
 prices. If raw materials were taxed, the British manufac- 
 turer would raise a storm of protest. Thus, food and raw 
 materials are almost completely excluded from the 
 schemes. Further, Britain can only buy Colonial products 
 with her manufactures, yet these are the very goods whose 
 importation is largely opposed by Dominion manufacturers 
 and v>-orkers. Thus the field of Imperial preference ap- 
 pears too narrow to offer scope for a really effective fiscal 
 change. Nor does it seem likely that the Empire can be 
 made self-supporting within any reasonable period. Britisii 
 possessions normally supply the United Kingdom with only 
 one-fifth of its total foodstuffs, and less than 30 per cent, 
 of its raw materials, foreign countries supplying the rest. 
 Again, Colonial trade with Britain remains fairly constant, 
 whereas the Dominions are finding their foreign custom 
 more and more profitable. It is unlikely either that they 
 will risk its great reduction, or find an equivalent in in- 
 creased trade with Britain. 
 
 .^.—MATERIAL BASIS OF AUSTRALIAN LIFE. 
 
 It is too often forgotten that all measures of recon- 
 struction and cultural development are severely conditioned 
 by the material resources at the immediate disposal of 
 civilisation. We cannot spend more than we have got. 
 though the finance of more than one Government seems to 
 be a direct challenge to that fact. It is, however, true that 
 the exigencies of finance and commerce set the limits, to a 
 greater degree than any other factor, to the growth of a 
 highly civilised life. The common idea that there is avail- 
 
 k2
 
 266 
 
 able and in actual existence an abundant supply of good 
 tilings for everybody, and that it is only the distribution 
 of wealth that is at fault, is sharply countered by reliable 
 statistics of wealth production, which show that the aver- 
 age income per head of population per annum is £40 for 
 Great Britain, and less than £50 for Australia. Though 
 it is impossible to arrive at absolutely accurate figures, there 
 is little doubt that those quoted are very near the mark. 
 The cost of social reforms and a progressive rise in social 
 welfare can be met, therefore, only out of an increasing 
 pool of national production. Such a suggestion awakes the 
 over-hasty indignation of the worker, who scents "speed- 
 ing-up" and other industrial horrors. But this is to take 
 a very narrow view of national efficiency. What is neces- 
 sary is not increased muscular effort on the part of the 
 working-man, but improvements in every department of 
 the national organisation for the production of wealth. 
 America has shown that the training of business men gives 
 the nation an immense economic advantage. The needs of 
 the war have brought about the adoption of the best 
 machinery in Great Britain and elsewhere, resulting in a 
 most remarkable increase in productivity. Improvements 
 in workshop organisation, in mechanical devices, in trans- 
 port and the provision of cheap power, have made possible 
 an enormous increase in the world's wealth-production, 
 quite apart from the efficiency of the individual working- 
 man. Increases in the efficiency of the mechanical side of 
 production and commerce are now of much greater econo- 
 mic importance than improvements in the skill of individual 
 workers. 
 
 A young country like Australia always has before it a 
 much heavier economic task than an older industrial country 
 like England. The extensive commercial development of Aus- 
 tralia and its higher standard of social welfare cause it to 
 be more heavily taxed and indebted than most other coun- 
 tries. It is often urged that the heavy national debt of
 
 267 
 
 Australia is largely represented by assets which are or 
 will be reproductive. While this is broadly true, the 
 undertaking by the State of such large business enterprises 
 as are in most countries left to private ownership has a 
 tendency to limit the expenditure upon education and 
 other social activities. The very generous endowment of 
 education in America is explained, in part at least, by the 
 fact that the States do not have to raise large amoujits by 
 taxation for the foundation of public enterprises. While 
 we have by no means reached the limits of taxation in 
 Australia, the unpopularity of taxation in general severely 
 limits the powers of a Government to raise revenue. They 
 could never go much farther than they do at present with- 
 out provoking a great outcry. Since State enterprises 
 absorb such a large proportion of the loans and taxes raised 
 in Australia, the tendency is to economise on the less 
 material activities of the State, such as education and social 
 reform. 
 
 It is clear, therefore, that the development of Australian 
 industry is the essential basis for the raising of the Aus- 
 tralian standard of civilisation. The report of the Inter- 
 state Commission in 1915 upon the new industries that 
 might be established in the Commonwealth mentions a large 
 number of highly profitable forms of production, from 
 steel to margarine, which might be enormously developed 
 in the near future. The reports of the Advisory Council of 
 Science and Industry have made a further survey, and 
 present a list of subjects for research, the results of which 
 could not but be profitable to the Conunonwealtli. It is 
 little use talking about "our magnificent resources" unless 
 we make a deliberate, well-planned and scientific effort to 
 develop them. We have been far too casual and opportu- 
 nist in our developmental work. Here, as in England, too 
 much of our energj^ has gone to waste in the strife of fiscal 
 controversy. A sound policy of development would be far 
 more effectual than anv fiscal device. The Freetraders and
 
 268 
 
 Protectionists have so successfully confined our attention to 
 the tariff that the "Law and the Prophets" of economic 
 progress have been submerged in the flood of fiscal contro- 
 versy. 
 
 4. AUSTRALIAN TRADE AND PRODUCTION/ 
 
 The value of Australian production has increased from 
 about £28 per head per annum in 1871 to nearly £45 in 
 1913. More than one-third of the total production is now 
 manufacturing, while mining and manufacturing together 
 comprise nearly one-half the total, and this in spite of the 
 huge increase in pastoral and agricultural products. Be- 
 fore the discovery of gold, manufactures had but little pros- 
 pect of progress, and even agriculture was negligible com- 
 pared with sheep and cattle raising. The smallness of the 
 population, and the consequent limitation of the home 
 market, the distance of Australia from the great commer- 
 cial centres of the world, together hindered agricultural 
 progress and also that of manufactures for a long period, 
 while pastoral pursuits, being much more easily conducted 
 and carrying far higher values, overcame these natural 
 disadvantages. Manufacturing was, therefore, long limit- 
 ed to flour-mills, tanning and kindred establishments, 
 breweries, soap and candle-works, iron foundries, brick and 
 pottery works and boat-building — all crude and elementary 
 industries. 
 
 The progress of manufactures since Federation has been 
 naturally very great, for all Australian markets were open- 
 ed to the manufactures of every State through the adop- 
 tion of inter-State free trade, and a protective tariff was 
 framed against a large number of foreign imports. From 
 1908 to 1913 the total value of wages and salaries earned 
 shewed an increase of 40 per cent. Many industries show 
 
 * See Official Commonwealth Year Book, and Federal 
 Handbook for Australia, published by the British Association 
 Congress in 1914,
 
 269 . 
 
 a considerable advance. E.g., saw-milling has almost 
 doubled the value of its total output since 1908, and en- 
 gineering and other metal works very nearly equal its re- 
 cord. Textile mills show an increase in value of output 
 from over half a million pounds to nearly one million since 
 1908. 
 
 Pastoral production, though greatly chequered by 
 droughts, has shown an enormous increase in the past 
 twejity years, though the rate of recuperation from 
 droughts is much more remarkable than the net increase 
 in stock. The increase in the exports of frozen mutton 
 and lamb has been very rapid, being £492,114 in 1908. 
 £2,161.513 in 1910, and £2,244,455 in 1912-13. The United 
 Kingdom takes 94.1 per cent, of the total. Australia is the 
 foremost sheep-raising country of the Vorld, the Argentine 
 coming second, Russia third, and the United States fourth. 
 Australian wool production is of the utmost and ever-in- 
 creasing importance. Even its pre-war values totalled 
 £30,000,000, in 1914. Here again Australia is easily firsl. 
 and accounts for over 33 per cent, of the United Kingdom's 
 total import. 
 
 In agricultural production, wheat-growing is by far the 
 most important, the hay-crop coming next, and nuiize and 
 oats next. The total wheat yield of Australia is about 
 2^ per cent, of the world s production. The average Lon- 
 don price of Australian wheat before the war was liigher 
 than that of any other imported. During the previous 
 five years 72 per cent, of the total wheat export had gone to 
 Britain. The most noteworthy feature of Australian wheal 
 production is the success with which Farrar's principles 
 concerning the growth of wheat in dry areas have been 
 applied. There has also been a considerable increase in 
 the production of butter and cheese, and in spite of the 
 distance from Europe these commodities have an assured 
 future.
 
 270 
 
 The pressing need now felt by so many countries for 
 food-stuffs and raw materials makes Australia's prosperity 
 absolutely assured for at least the next few years. Even 
 nations financially exhausted by the war must have the 
 wool, wheat, meat and minerals which we are pre-eminently 
 able to furnish. Moreover, the intensity of the demand will 
 probably maintain values at a fairly high level. Aus- 
 tralia's economic prospects are probably, therefore, the most 
 fortunate in the world, though we shall have to suffer our 
 r,hare of the natural disturbance and insecurity due to the 
 war. We also stand to gain very greatly through immi- 
 gration. The magnificent achievements of the Anzacs have 
 proved the finest advertisement that Australia could have 
 desired. We shall probably soon be visited by a stream 
 of general immigration, and a special flow of fine types of 
 British soldier. Only a good policy of land settlement and 
 manufacturing development is needed to absorb these new- 
 tomers in the healthiest fashion.
 
 271 
 
 CHAPTER. XXVII. 
 
 Australia and the New Social Order. 
 
 l.-TIiE AUSTRALIAN OUTLOOK. 
 
 It lias been said tliat the Australian people are essen- 
 tially British in character and outlook, and are just what 
 might be expected of a British people imported into a more 
 favourable environment. While this is probably true in 
 the main, the characteristic differences between the Aus- 
 tralian and the I^nglishman are becoming more and more 
 apparent, and have developed far eiiougli to entitle them 
 to be regarded as fundamental in several essentials. The 
 most prominent feature of the Australian character is in- 
 dependence in spirit and action. This peculiarly Australian 
 quality strikes the average visitor as being somewhat aggres- 
 sive. It certainly has the defect of its quality, since the 
 over-emphasis of independence can amount to rudeness, 
 and shows a lack of that social grace which is a very dif- 
 ferent thing from the affectation which the Australian 
 rightly despises. Those who speak of the want of discipline 
 in the Australian youth do not realise that his independence 
 is a proper re -action against the depressing servility of the 
 English village boy. Though it is apt to be exaggerated, 
 this spirit is infinitely to be preferred, as the basis of 
 national character, to the undue tendency 1o depend upon 
 the will of others shown in older countries.
 
 272 
 
 "The moral education of the Australian youth has been 
 uui'avourably criticised by visitors, who hud what they 
 sometimes describe as a lack of reverence. This is, in most 
 cases, a facile phrase for explaining to themselves an in- 
 definable change in the social atmosphere as compared with 
 that of older countries, where the rules of manners as well 
 as of moral duty are imposed by tradition and secured by 
 convention and habit. At any rate, the lack of reverence, 
 if it exists in Australia, is a social characteristic not pecu- 
 liar to the Australian school boy or girl. An Australian 
 might himself prefer to describe it as a lack of servility, 
 and a humorous disregard of social ritual and conventions, 
 which do not appeal to his intelligence or his sense of 
 utility. Judged by standards which are not merely sub- 
 jective and individual impressions, Australian adult autl 
 juvenile morality compares favourably with that of other 
 countries. ' '* 
 
 In art, literature and science, Australia has produced a 
 number of distinguished men and women far beyond what 
 niiglit have been expected of so small a population. But it 
 must be regretfully admitted that there is much more ap- 
 preciation of distinguished Australians outside their 
 country than in it. The average Australian holds in slight 
 regard achievements in the sphere of the intellect. Some- 
 thing of tliis is due to the materialism natural to a young 
 country, but more is traceable to the absence of the highly 
 cultured society, intense social life and great educational 
 institutions of Europe and America. In their anxiety to 
 repudiate the bad social conditions and undemocratic 
 thought of the Old World. Australians often make the mis- 
 take of neglecting the high cultural value of European 
 civilisation. They speak disparagingly of things from 
 abroad, and are too complacent in claiming for Australia 
 
 •Federal Handbook of Australia. 1914. Cli. xii.. "Educational 
 Policy and Development," p. 537. By Francis Anderson, Professor 
 of Logic and Mental Philosophy in the University of Sydney.
 
 27.^ 
 
 the foremost place iii every activity. There is nothing more 
 fatal to the intellectual and social progress of a nation than 
 hostility to the thought and methods of other peoples. It 
 must be admitted, however, that the Australian iiiuis much 
 excuse for his attitude in the assumption of superiority by 
 those from other lands. ""A persistent preference for the 
 foreign article so discouraged local genius that it grew 
 timid and deprecatory, or else fell a prey to a melancholy 
 which re-acted upon all aesthetic output. The cultivation 
 of a distinctive Australian sentiment was not encouraged 
 by our higher schools and universities. The tendenc}' was 
 to import all our professors and educational experts, our 
 scientists, editors, and specialists, many of whom were 
 entirely unfamiliar with Australia's mental outlook, an- 
 tagonistic by environment and early training towards our 
 social and political ambitions, and unsympathetic to native 
 ideals."* 
 
 While this is a true description of an attitude too com- 
 mon and to be deplored, it is unreasonable to oppose the 
 importation of experts before Australia can produce her 
 own or the equal of the stranger. The work of those experts 
 in the past has undoubtedly laid the foundations of true 
 Australian institutions, and Australia would be ungrateful 
 indeed if she slighted their contribution. Tlu^ rational 
 plan, from the national point of vieAv, is to secure the best 
 man. whether imported or native. Such a policy will not 
 • fail to prepare Australians to fill the higher posts on their 
 own merits. It should also be added that many of the most 
 fervent Australian nationalists were importations from 
 England. 
 
 2.— AUSTRALIAN SOCIAL LEGISLATION. 
 
 Australia has often been called "the social laboratory of 
 the world.'* Though its achievements in the domain of 
 social legislation are very noteworthy, they are commonly 
 
 *"Australia UnlimiLed,'' p. 123. E. J. Brady.
 
 274 
 
 exaggerated, both in their scope and their novelty. There 
 is nothing really new in the State Socialism of Australia. 
 Many other countries — Germany, for example — have gone 
 much further in this direction. Nor is Industrial Arbitra- 
 tion at all new in principle, though its Australian form is 
 a striking contribution to the machinery for regulating in- 
 dustrial conditions. Australians probably go much fur- 
 ther than any other people in regarding the State as being 
 themselves in social community, and in believing that the 
 powers and resources of the State are properly utilised 
 when they are directed to the positive promotion of the 
 welfare of the people as a whole. It is this view, combined 
 with the hopefulness inspired by the possession of a rich 
 young country, that makes Australian social legislation 
 remarkable. Through Factory Acts, Public Health Acts, 
 Wages Boards and Arbitration Courts, Australia has in- 
 sisted more than any other country in the world upon the 
 minimum standard of industrial and social welfare. Though 
 conditions are far from perfect, it is certainly true to say 
 that the average welfare is higher than that enjoyed by 
 any other people, with the exception of New Zealand. The 
 amount of poverty and squalor to be found in Australasia 
 is very small compared with that of any other country. 
 
 Though much is due to a better social outlook, Austra- 
 lians are apt to forget their great debt to fortune. A com- 
 bination of circumstances over which they have no control 
 laid the foundations of their success. "In the first place, 
 Australia was a virgin country, very little spoiled in the 
 earlier half-century of its' development. It had inherited 
 no feudal landlordism, with its traditions of servility and 
 homage to outworn institutions. It escaped the worst 
 afflictions of an old industrial system, and soon abolished 
 the more unseemly features of modern industrialism. The 
 democratic franchise was gained in time to place the im- 
 press of the people's will upon all Australia's youthful 
 institutions. It is none the less remarkable, however, that
 
 275 
 
 this land flowing with milk and honey was not given over 
 entirely to exploitation by that intense form of individual- 
 ism which characterises the early progress of almost everj^ 
 new colony."* 
 
 Had Australia done nothing more than save itself from 
 the grosser social evils that afflict older nations, it would 
 deserve a foremost place amongst the civilised peoples of 
 the world; for, after all, what finer achievement could be 
 claimed for a nation than that it has raised its people to 
 a higher standard of Avelfare than that of any other 
 country ? 
 
 This success must not, however, blind us to less admirable 
 developments. One of these is undoubtedly over-reliance 
 upon State action The people have learned to lean upon 
 the State to a degree altogether subversive of the finer spirit 
 of positive effort and social idealism which animated the 
 earlier reformers. The lack of voluntary co-operation can 
 only be explained by the ingrained habit of waiting upon 
 State action. Again, over-centralisation is at once the 
 cause and the effect of this want of intense social and 
 political activity on the part of the individual citizen. In 
 addition to civic education, the encouragement of local 
 government and of various forms of co-operative effort is 
 the surest means of preventing the evils that arise from 
 too much dependence upon the State machine, and of pro- 
 moting a more active citizenship. 
 
 The system of industrial arbitration and wages boards, 
 though it has probably done more than anything else to 
 abolish sweating, and has raised the economic status of large 
 numbers of workers, has its own inherent faults. f The 
 Wages Board system has already produced a race of Union 
 Secretaries who are little more than expert advocates of the 
 cas2 for their members before Boards or Courts. It seems 
 
 * " Trade rnionism in Australia," Ed. Atkinson, p. 21. 
 t See Chapter XXIV., par 2.
 
 276 
 
 not unfair to say that these men have been driven to become 
 officials instead of leaders. Their life of specialised routine 
 unfits them for the spacious vision and keen study ab- 
 solutely essential to right leadership. 
 
 In the industrial reforms of the future it is likely that 
 Australia will be out-distanced by Great Britain. The war 
 has made imperative the trial in British industries of ex- 
 periments in organisation and control hardly dreamt of be 
 fore the war. And yet there is quite as much need in Aus- 
 tralia for a bold and comprehensive treatment of the in- 
 dustrial problem. The antagonism between the classes is 
 greater in Australia than in . England. Our remote- 
 ness from the educational and social influences that play 
 upon public opinion in the Old World leaves us dangerously 
 open to the advocacy of sweeping and single schemes of 
 change. We are, therefore, more likely to meet with indus- 
 trial troubles, while much less prepared for a re-organisa- 
 tion that will cure them. We are doing little or nothing 
 when we should be setting up industrial councils, workshop 
 committees, and revising the administration of State enter- 
 prises, with a view to giving the workers some share in the 
 control of at least the labour side of their departments. 
 
 .^.--AUSTRALIAN POLITICS. 
 
 The political outlook of Australia, in the domestic sphere 
 at any rate, is less bright and satisfactory than it has been 
 for many years past. Though the condemnation of poli- 
 ticians is generally too sweeping and undiscriminating. tlio 
 quality of our average member of Parliament is not what 
 might be legitimately expected in an advanced democracy. 
 A similar development in America is generally explained 
 on the gTound that the careers open to talent in the sphere 
 of commerce attract the best men. The American poli- 
 ticians of the highest quality seem generally to be men who 
 have made a fortune and are led to devote their elder years 
 to political life. It is certainly true of Australia that busi-
 
 ness absorbs most of the able men. But this will not wholly 
 account for the deterioration of political life. I believe 
 the more serious causes are the intensive development of 
 party organisation, and the general decline of the principle 
 of representative government as against that of instructed 
 delegates. Representative government consists in the elec- 
 tion of persons committed to a certain broad policy, but al- 
 lowed to develop it in detail without interference. This 
 enables a comparatively small body of men to deliberate 
 effectively upon national problems and to pass their findings 
 into legislation. Steadily the growing poM'er of party 
 organisation limited the freedom of individual expression 
 within and without Parliament. The leaders elected by the 
 party still retained, however, considerable discretionary 
 power in the execution of the party policy. But successive 
 developments of the party machine have reduced this free 
 leadership almost to extinction. The workers, through re- 
 peated disappointments with their leaders, have, with some 
 justification, sought to tighten their hold upon them. The 
 result is the adoption of such devices as the Caucus, the 
 Referendum, the Undated Resignation, and the advocacy of 
 the Initiative, the Recall, and Elective Cabinets. 
 That all these devices have their utility is undeniable, but 
 they make effective leadership absolutely impossible. The 
 Conscription controversy has enormously increased these 
 tendencies to close control and suspicious vigilance. Mass 
 action is everywhere preached as a right substitute for 
 leadership. The result of this can easily be foreseen. The 
 political "leader" will become more than ever the feeble 
 tool. Political thought will become a welter of mob opinion. 
 It will be found that there is no real substitute for leader- 
 ship in human societ3^ and that reliance upon mass psycho- 
 logy will rush us towards social disaster. 
 
 In yet another respect leadership of political thought in 
 Australia is wanting. I refer to the almost entire absence 
 of an independent newspaper press. The party journals do
 
 278 
 
 little or nothing to help political thought. That would not 
 matter so much if Australia had its due proportion of such 
 independent and radical newspapers as are found in Britain. 
 But our party newspapers serve mainly as mental irritants 
 to their readers, intensifying party hostilities. It is, per- 
 haps, fortunate that the power of the press is not so great 
 as it used to be, but it is none the less lamentable that there 
 are so few journals devoted directly to political enlighten- 
 ment. During my frequent journeyings through the States 
 of Australia I hear almost universal expressions of contempt 
 for the opinions of the daily press. I am divided between 
 optimism as to the rising popular intelligence and pessimism 
 as to the inefficiency of the press.
 
 279 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 The Government of the Empire. 
 
 1.— THE GROWTH OF THE IMPERIAL PROBLEM. 
 
 Before the middle of the 19th Century, the British 
 Colonies were little more than an economic burden on the 
 mother-country. The Manchester School almost persuaded 
 the British nation that Colonies were useless, and should 
 be allowed to drop off, like ripe fruit, as soon as they be- 
 came self-supporting and capable of independent govern- 
 ment. Fortunately for the Dominions, as well as for the 
 world at large, that view weakened with the lapse of time. 
 Had absolute independence developed in place of the 
 present loose union. Australia and New Zealand at least 
 would have had a very small chance of maintaining their 
 independence against any aggressive Power The political 
 development of the Empire fortunately took a direction 
 consistent with British love of libert}^ but without any 
 breach in that Imperial unity which has saved the Dom- 
 inions from aggression and is helping to save civilisation. 
 
 The growth of the Empire has raised the problem of its 
 future government. The problem is actual, concrete; it 
 has to be faced now, whether we like it or not. The prin- 
 ciple of self-government for the Dominions, willingly eon-
 
 280 
 
 ceded and firmly established by the people of the United 
 Kingdom, can never be questioned. But the growth of the 
 p]mpire has made necessary a re-examination of the rela- 
 tions between the United Kingdom and other self-governing 
 nations of the British Commonwealth. The war has had 
 the effect of sharpening intensely the anomalies of tho 
 political relationship between Great Britain and the 
 Dominions. Long ago it was pointed out that the burden 
 of defending the Empire fell almost entirely upon the 
 United Kingdom. The enormous cost of the war is being 
 largely borne by the same body of taxpayers. The declara- 
 tion of war itself was made without consultation with the 
 self-governing Dominions. In the circumstances this was 
 unavoidable. The British Government has, however, freely 
 consulted the Governments of the Dominions upon the con- 
 duct of the war from time to time, and has undertaken to 
 continue this practice in the peace negotiations. Thus, the 
 pre-war condition was that the self-governing Dominions 
 had no voice in the control of foreign policy and in the 
 issues of peace and war, while now the force of events has 
 established the practice of close consultation and co-opera- 
 tion. The Dominions now realise that their own domestic 
 conditions are vitally affected by the relations of the United 
 Kingdom, and therefore of themselves, with foreign Powers. 
 Of all possible solutions of the Imperial problem the least 
 practical and reasonable is to return to the pre-war posi- 
 tion, for that would mean a British foreign policy in which 
 the Dominions have no part — a serious gap in their self- 
 government, and the imposition of the cost of Imperial de- 
 fence upon one portion of the Empire. 
 
 2.~P0LITICAL CONSTITUTION OF THE EMPIRE. 
 
 Apart from the strong bonds of sentiment, defence and 
 common interest, the political unity of the Empire is real 
 and substantial. The British Parliament retains ultimate
 
 .:281 
 
 sovereignty, and the Crown has the right to veto Colonial 
 legislation. The British Government never interferes witli 
 -the domestic legislation of self-governing Dominions, nor 
 does it impose any taxation. It intervenes or takes initiative 
 action only when Imperial interests are concerned. As 
 these interests grow in volume and complexity, the Govern 
 ment of the United Kingdom takes to itself more and more 
 of the powers that properly belong to all those affected by 
 their exercise. Thus the British Cabinet and Parliament 
 are the only Executive and Legislature in the Empire with 
 that dual character — they control the domestic affairs of 
 the United Kingdom and also Imperial affairs. The elector., 
 of the United Kingdoin, to whom they are responsible, there 
 fore control many of the most vital matters on which the 
 interests of the Dominions depend, and the British tax- 
 payers alone furnish the money for Imperial government. 
 
 The task before the British Empire is colossal. It in- 
 volves a quarter of the human race, including all sorts and 
 conditions of peoples, living on every conceivable level of 
 culture, distributed through every zone of climate and over 
 •nearly a quarter of the lands of the globe. The fact that 
 the population of India is 315 millions, while that of the 
 whole Empire is 435 millions, and that there is not a 
 coloured race in the world which does not supply its per- 
 centage of "13ritish subjects," suggests the immensity of 
 the task of the Empire in dealing with backward races. The 
 political problem of the British Empire may be regarded 
 as being that of promoting the effective unity of all its 
 self-governing nations, and. through them, leading the 
 backward races to tlie attainment of self-governnient within 
 •the Empire. 
 
 3.— THE ALTERNATIVES. 
 
 Tlie discussion of Imperial Federation by its advocates 
 and opponents has shown that there are four principal 
 alternative forms of political constitution for the Empire.
 
 282 
 
 They are: (1) Maintenance of the status quo ante helium. 
 (2) A Britannic alliance. (3) Complete independence. 
 (4) Closer Imperial union. The first would keep the self- 
 governing Dominions in a condition of dependence in all 
 matters of foreign affairs and the issues of peace and war. 
 It does not, as too commonly supposed, leave open to the 
 Dominions the possibility of repudiation of the decisions of 
 the Imperial Government. That would mean a revolt 
 against the Crown. The scheme for a Britannic alliance, 
 as put forward by certain Australian writers, suggests that 
 The self-governing nations of the Empire should contract 
 an alliance on similar lines to those of foreign Powers for 
 the purpose of mutual defence. Though this plan has 
 certain attractions, it does not really overcome the difR- 
 culty. The issues of peace and war must be placed in the 
 hands of some central body, representative of all the com- 
 ponents of the alliance, and the progressive conduct of 
 foreign affairs would be impracticable without such a body. 
 This differs little from most forms of Imperial Federation, 
 The problems of inter-Imperial defence, and the finance 
 upon which such defence is based, could not be left to the 
 chances of international politics. They would have to be 
 planned and ordered well ahead of contingencies. Further, 
 it would be hardly feasible to allow Australia, as one mem- 
 ber of the alliance, to pursue a certain fixed policy in the 
 Pacific Mnthout consulting the interests of the Empire as {> 
 whole. Indeed, Australia could not pursue such an inde- 
 pendent policA^, since she does not possess the military, 
 naval and financial strength that would enable her to bar 
 gain effectively with any great modern Power. 
 
 The defects of a mere alliance grow much more serious 
 when actual independence is proposed. Canada, through 
 its proximity to the United States, may be said to be 
 effectually protected from foreign aggression. Australia, 
 New Zealand and South Africa are by no means in so for- 
 tunate a position. The political independence of those
 
 283 
 
 communities would leave them seriously open to conquest 
 by any aggressive foreign Power. The peace of the world 
 is by no means sufficiently stable to render such a con- 
 tingency remote. So long as there are greedy Powers look- 
 ing for economic and political aggrandisement, the sparsely 
 populated lands of those Dominions will offer too tempting 
 a bait to be resisted. But the final argument against inde 
 pendence is that no substantial body of opinion throughout 
 the Empire favours it. 
 
 The last alternative, closer union, must be discussed at 
 greater length. Thus far we may perhaps agree that things 
 cannot be left exactly as they were. To what degree they 
 may be safely and effectively changed is a most difficult 
 question to answer, and in all probability does not admit of 
 a theoretical or complete solution. 
 
 4.— BRITISH CITIZENSHIP AND SOVEREIGNTY. 
 
 Citizenship in the larger modern nations, especially those 
 whose constitution is federal, is a series of relations rather 
 than one relation. The hunting savage finds the seat of 
 sovereignty within himself; he is isolated, unsocial. Ati 
 individual who is part of even the smallest possible group 
 renounces his individual sovereignty in favour of that of 
 the group,' receiving in return presumed social benefits. 
 With every enlargement of the group comes a further re 
 duction in individual sovereignty and an increase in the 
 social benefits conferred upon the individual. At last we 
 have the highly organised citizen of modern society, find- 
 ing his individual sovereignty qualified by concentri.' 
 sovereignties of HHinicipality. State, Federation and Em- 
 pire. A complete series of concentric sovereignties from 
 individuality to empirc-citizensliip would see the citizen 
 exercising his rights and fulfilling his duties within tho 
 successive circles naturally defined by the needs of tho 
 series of connnunities of which he was a citizen. Thus
 
 284 
 
 tLere is not one citizenship, but many, not one British 
 community, but a series. If we are to follow the cour^jo 
 of theory and logic. Imperial citizenship is essential to the 
 performance of Imperial functions. Unless we are sepa- 
 ratists we must agree that, in reason, all Imperial affairs 
 in the British democracy should be controlled by the peophi 
 through an Imperial franchise. The needs of defence alone 
 must keep the Empire together. Defence is intimately 
 linked up with political and economic relations. Not a 
 single British possession could defend itself without the 
 aid of the United Kingdom, and it has everything to gain 
 from close commercial and financial relations with the 
 mother-country. Some expression of Imperial citizenship 
 is, therefore, a rational extension of Dominion citizenship. 
 Some renunciation of Dominion sovereignty is the inevit- 
 able price of Imperial citizenship, just as a partial reduc- 
 tion of national sovereignty is essential to the successful 
 establishment of a "League of Nations." It is a curious in- 
 consistency that shews many Australian workers advocat- 
 ing complete and absolute self-government of Australia, 
 and a "Commonwealth of Nations" at the same time. The 
 British Empire offers at least the most promising aggre- 
 gation of nations for the foundation of a world-peace. The 
 true direction of progress towards a world-state is not to 
 cut up the world into smaller fragments, but to make the 
 most of existing aggregations which shew a sufficient 
 measure of unity, while safeguarding the domestic autono- 
 my of the separate parts. What is, of* course, at the root 
 of the Australian objection to Imperial Federation is tho 
 suspicion that it is designed to promote afresh the old ex- 
 ploiting Imperialism of the last century. This fear is only 
 too well-grounded. There is every sign of the growth of 
 large combines and trusts to exploit the resources of the 
 Empire after the war. The worker has no reason to regard 
 such developments with anything but hatred and fear. He 
 wishes to protect himself from this injurious form of
 
 European capitalism. At least we must save Australia 
 from such exploitation, he declares. This is a reasonable 
 and a humane attitude. But it must not be confused with 
 the newer definition of " self-government " which he has 
 adopted. His form of self-government gives him full Im- 
 perial privileges with the minimum of obligations. He 
 wants the world to be "self-governing," but that is only 
 possible if he is willing to take up the burdens of world 
 citizenship. Similarly, Imperial citizenship is impossible 
 without Imperial responsibilities. An increase in "political 
 intensity," through closer self-government, is no alterna- 
 tive to a widening citizenship. 
 
 5.— GROWTH OF DOMINION NATIONALISM. 
 
 With the expansion of the British Empire in North 
 America there gradually developed communities and 
 provinces, whose interests created a natural solidarity, 
 which was ever widening with the commercial progress of 
 the Colony and under the pressure of its political need.s. 
 Finally, these provincial communities realised that the ex- 
 pansion of their interests and the growth of their needs 
 must be accompanied by the enlargement of the sphere of 
 unified government. Hence Canada, South Africa and 
 Australia have all been driven, at corresponding stages in 
 their progress, to establish some degree of unity in indus- 
 trial, fiscal and political control. Though it will presently 
 be shown that the extent of this unity is apt to be exag- 
 gerated, and that there are still many anomalies and much 
 overlapping between the constituents of the various forms 
 of union, in every case the growth of national institutions 
 has been powerfully developed by the exercise of increasin<r 
 powers of self-government. The union of Canada in 1867, 
 of Australia in 1900, and of South Africa in 1910 are great 
 landmarks, not merely in the self-government of British 
 Dominions, but in the growth of democracy in the world at
 
 286 
 
 large. It is a most remarkable achievement of the political 
 genius of the British people that within an Empire of such 
 scattered and diverse parts there should have been de- 
 veloped with such deliberation and so little friction a num- 
 ber of British nations, each with its own strong national 
 consciousness, successfully asserting and exercising its right 
 to self-government, and yet bound together effectively, 
 though somewhat loosely, by a broader British citizenship. 
 "The inhabitants of all new countries aspire to produce a 
 distinctive nationality of their own, and are eminently 
 right in doing so. It is a healthy instinct which leads them 
 to despise those who have no liigher ambition than to re- 
 produce the nationality developed under the conditions of 
 a different land and a different climate. Canadians, Aus 
 tralians and South Africans are jealous of attempts to 
 anglicize their manners and institutions."* 
 
 Both political wisdom and natural generosity have led 
 the Imperial Government to acquiesce readily in this growth 
 of Colonial nationalism, and there is no doubt that it is en- 
 riching the world with some of the higliest types of civilised 
 communities. Australian nationalism seems to be of a 
 more distinctive and aggressive character than that of 
 other Dominions. No doubt several factors contribute tr. 
 this result. Onr isolation from the centre of the world 
 accounts for a certain insularity of view and remoteness 
 from foreign affairs. In spite of a strong sentimental at- 
 tachment to the mother-country, the Australian people 
 have shown something of the reluctance of the Americani^ 
 to be embroiled in the frictions and difficulties of the old 
 world. Though this attitude is something to our credit, a 
 continuance of ignorance of foreign affairs might one day 
 cost us dear. "Little Australianism, " as now freely ex- 
 pressed in the advocacy of separatism or blind antipathy 
 to any form of closer union, may well expose us to a kind 
 of isolation other than "splendid." Another factor in 
 
 * Curtis, "The Problem of the Commonwealth," pp. 68-69.
 
 287 
 
 Australian nationalism is the rise of the Labour Party. The 
 policies of "White Australia,'" the "New Protection," 
 State Socialism, industrial and social legislation, though by 
 no means entirely due to the Labour movement, are de- 
 cidedly of its spirit and its platform. It is in the Labour 
 movement also that we find strongest those elements which 
 oppose the new Imperialism and aspire to the creation of 
 a Labour Commonwealth, detached from the systems and 
 thought of the old world. The Australian workers in the 
 main oppose Imperial Federation as beiug but a new edition 
 of that early Imperialism which to them is Capitalism or- 
 ganised for the exploitation of the Empire. 
 
 It is the very intensity of this nationalism which renders 
 difficult, if not actually impracticable, any elaborate form 
 of Imperial Federation. The Australians, and indeed the 
 citizens of other Dominions, claim not merely self-govern- 
 ment in domestic affairs, but the right to remain aloof from 
 the commitments of Great Britain in matters of foreign 
 policy. That the Dominions have been very illogical and 
 inconsistent in their various acts and proposals relating to 
 British foreign policy can easily be shown. It is equally 
 certain that they have but the dimmest conception of their 
 actual and potential relationships to the Imperial Govern- 
 ment. It is necessary to urge further that this inconsistency 
 and vagueness must not continue, if the Dominions are to 
 play any effective part either in Imperial policy or in the 
 ordering of their relations with foreign countries. Over 
 and over again they have felt compelled to negotiate, 
 through the Imperial Government, arrangements with 
 foreign Powers essential to their interests. Just as fre- 
 quently the Imperial authorities have had to take action, 
 fraught with momentous consequences to the peoples of the 
 Dominions, without being able to test their attitude. To 
 leave things as they are is to perpetuate a real weakness in 
 Imperial relationships and a source of danger to Imperial 
 defence.
 
 288 
 
 6.— THE WEAKNESS OF A FEDERATION. - 
 
 "The essential characteristic of any federal system 
 springs from the fact that a federation must be a compro- 
 mise: it is a form of government which preserves multiplic- 
 ity in unitv, which admits that union is strength, but which 
 insists that individuality must not be swamped. A federa- 
 tion may claim to be an organism, in that it should exhibit 
 the moNC complete unity in diversity, each part being an 
 indispensable member in the whole, but at the same tim*' 
 deriving its real effectiveness from its conjunction with 
 other parts to form that whole."* The writer of these 
 words goes on to say that experience of such wide political 
 organisms exhibits certain failures of adjustment, which 
 show that federation possesses a practical tendency to 
 weakness that seriously limits the application of the theory. 
 The strength of a federal government is not the sum of the 
 strength of its individual constituents. Rather is it true to 
 say that its strength varies inversely with the intensity of 
 the individuality of its component parts. Unification is in 
 this respect superior to federation. In a federal State there 
 is a constant tendency to conflict between central and local 
 authorities, Federal and State powers. Tlie judiciary, 
 when appealed to, does not merely, as in a completely uni- 
 fied State, enforce the proper execution of the laws, but 
 also sits in judgment upon State and Federal powers with 
 regard to the respective fields of their jurisdiction. Thus; 
 the difSculty of a final definition of the powers of Parlia 
 ment and Executive is a most serious obstacle to the suc- 
 cess of a political federation. , •■ 
 
 In both Canada and Australia the federation movements 
 grew with extraordinary slowness. Only the serious threat 
 of a southern attack forced forward the movement in 
 Canada. In the Commonwealth, federation developed witu 
 far greater reluctance, arid the .present constitution, with 
 its numerous compromises, is eloquent of the obstacles to 
 
 *Keith, "Imperial Unity and the Dominions."
 
 28Q 
 
 union presented by localised sentiment and interest. Tliia 
 condition of arrested development in which Australian 
 federation stands to-day is the cause of many curious 
 anomalies. The much closer union of Canada, achieved 
 under the pressure of danger, combined with its proximity 
 to the United States and Europe, has led the Dominion 
 Government to take a much more positive part in the foreign 
 policy of the Empire than Australia has been able co at- 
 tempt. The separate States of the Commonwealth have 
 been able to insist on maintaining direct relations with the 
 Imperial Government. They possess, in fact, the limited 
 sovereignty of a self-governing Dominion, except for the 
 powers expressly handed over to the Commonwealth under 
 the Constitution. This is a most unsatisfactory state of 
 affairs, and exposes the great difficultj' caused by the in 
 complete federalisation of a dominion. On the other hand,, 
 the more perfect federalisation of Canada has had embar- 
 rassing and dangerous effects, in leading that Dominion '-j 
 Government to claim almost full sovereignty in dealing with 
 foreign Powers, with such unfortunate results as the crisis 
 provoked by the Tariff Treaty, negotiated by Canada with 
 the United States in 1911, without the full co-operation of 
 the Imperial Government. The experience of the last 
 twenty years, combined with the fine conciliatory spirit at 
 work between Britain and the Dominions, has nevertheless 
 led to the adoption of a working hypothesis, satisfactory to 
 all parties. The Dominions have renounced their tendency 
 to claim complete economic sovereignty, and are content to 
 negotiate commercial and political treaties with foreign 
 Powers only through the Imperial authorities, all difficul 
 ties being settled by full consultation. 
 
 7.— THE DOMINIONS AND BRITISH FOREIGN 
 POLICY. 
 
 "In practice, the Imperial Government has left the 
 people of the Dominions to control every one of the interests
 
 290 
 
 which they, through their parliaments, have finally in- 
 sisted upon controlling; and this includes two powers, the 
 control of commercial relations and of immigration, which, 
 to judge from all foreign examples, might be classed as 
 essential attributes of the central authority responsible for 
 the issues of peace and war. The inference that the Im- 
 perial Government has conceded every demand for further 
 powers advanced by Dominion Governments, is asserted so 
 often and so loudly that scarcely any one thinks of ques- 
 tioning it. Responsible government is habitually spoken 
 of as though it were completely achieved. Facts, however, 
 are directs at variance with that doctrine."* 
 
 Apart from their being naturally involved in the foreign 
 affairs of Britain, the Dominions are vitally interested iu 
 foreign policy through the dangers to which their geo- 
 graphical positions and sparseness of population expos^B 
 them. Over and over again they have watched develop- 
 ments within their own spheres of interests, on the part 
 of foreign Powers, which have filled them with alarm. This 
 is particularly true of Australian interests in the Pacific. 
 There are many incidents to show the anomaly and danger 
 of the ill-defined relation between Imperial and Dominion 
 authority. In 1883 the Queensland Government sought to 
 annex New Guinea on its own responsibility, after having 
 implored the Imperial Government to forestall a similar 
 action by a foreign Power. The British Government fool- 
 ishly refused, and repudiated the subsequent annexation, 
 which was indeed illegal . and inconsistent with Imperial 
 sovereignty. In 1883 also, a New Zealand Act, authorising 
 the annexation of any Pacific Island not claimed by foreign 
 Powers, was vetoed by the Imperial Government. "An- 
 other and more recent case may be noted. In 1910 the 
 Parliament of New Zealand passed a measure which would, 
 in effect, have excluded from New Zealand ports all ship.-? 
 but those registered in Australia and New Zealand. The 
 
 *Curtis, "Problem of the Commonwealth," p. 75.
 
 291 
 
 territorial waters of New Zealand would, in fact, have been 
 closed to all maritime States of Europe and America. Such 
 a step was without precedent, and was calculated to provoke 
 a retaliation by foreign Powers, of which Great Britain, 
 wiiose ships were also excluded under the Bill, would have 
 had to bear the brunt. The Bill was disallowed by the Im- 
 perial Government, and never became law."'* 
 
 Many other cases can be quoted in which action taken 
 by separate States or Provinces has not only clashed with 
 the authority of the Union of which they were a part, but 
 have also been inconsistent with the exercise of Imperial 
 authority by Great Britain, while placing new burdens and 
 responsibilities upon the British Government. There is 
 the case of South Australia refusing to arrest the crew of a 
 Dutch ship, and energetically declining to communicate 
 through the Commonwealtli Government with the Imperial 
 authorities on the matter. This is a grave invasion of the 
 unity presumed to exist under the Australian Constitution. 
 A Queensland Act of 1911 provided "that no land could be 
 leased to aliens, unless the alien could pass a dictation test." 
 In deference to representations from the Imperial Govern- 
 ment, it was expressly provided that nothing in tiie Act 
 should prejudice the rights of any of the subjects of ;: 
 foreign Power between which and the United Kingdom 
 there existed or should in future be contracted any com- 
 mercial treaty conveying reciprocal rights, and to which the 
 State of Queensland acceded. In 1912 a Land Act of 
 Nfew South Wales placed similar disabilities upon aliens in 
 legard to land-holding; this also was amended to consist 
 with British treaties of 1883 with Italy, and of 1859 with 
 Russia. This vagueness of definition of the relative poli- 
 tical powers of the separate States of the Dominions in 
 relation to their Federal Governments and the Imperial 
 authorities will have to be dealt with after the war. There 
 will be a vast number of matters, commercial and political, 
 
 * Curtis pp. 76-7.
 
 292 
 
 requiring re-adjustment and special treatment. Immigra- 
 tion policies, commercial treaties, fiscal regulations — all 
 have Imperial and international bearings, which prevent 
 their being treated as purely domestic questions. Still more 
 important in this regard will be the post-war situation of 
 shipping, raw materials and food-stuffs. The shortage of 
 these supplies and services makes action on an Imperial 
 scale urgent and inevitable. Such action will have equally 
 important international connections. All these matters 
 may easily become subjects of the Peace Treaty. Imperial 
 purchase and control of food-stuffs, wool and metals, and 
 the Admiralty control of shipping have created a situation 
 novel in many respects. We can never revert to the status 
 quo ante. 
 
 8.— THE BRITISH EMPIRE AND ECONOMIC POLICY. 
 
 While there may be common agreement that the issues of 
 peace and war, and the problems of foreign policy and 
 defence of the British Empire can no longer be left to the 
 decision of the people of the United Kingdom, questions of 
 economic policy are much more difficult and controversial. 
 In the . making of treaties with foreign Powers, the Do- 
 minion and Imperial Governments have, after long and 
 somewhat embarrassing experience, come to a working ar- 
 rangement. With some reluctance the Imperial Govern- 
 ment began about 1860 to concede to the Colonies fiscal 
 autonomy. Canada, always in the forefront in the move- 
 ment towards a kind of economic sovereignty, attempted to 
 take the initiative in contracting' commercial agreements 
 with foreign Powers. The result was the American- 
 Canadian crisis of 1911. The Imperial Government had 
 long ago learned that new commercial treaties affecting the 
 whole Empire should be qualified by a clause applying 
 them to the Dominions only after notice having been given. 
 Since 1882 no commercial treaties have bound the Do- 
 minions without their consent, and a large number have
 
 293 
 
 been revised or denounced on behalf of Uominion Govern- 
 ments. By many of those who advocate an effective form 
 of Imperial Government, it is held that tariff's belong to the 
 sphere of Dominion government, not to that of the Empire. 
 Mr. Curtis argues that experience lias shown that control 
 of commerce is an inseparable condition of Dominion self- 
 government. His statement of the case seems to me to 
 rest upon some confusion of thought. A communication 
 from the Canadian Government to the Imperial Govern- 
 ment on the fiscal issue contained these sentences: ''Self- 
 government would be utterly annihilated if the views oi 
 the Imperial Government were to be preferred to those of 
 the people of Canada. It is, therefore, the duty of the pre- 
 sent Government distinctly to affirm the right of the Cana- 
 dian Legislature to adjust the taxation of the people in the 
 way they deem best, even if it should unfortunately happen 
 to meet the disapproval of the Imperial ]\Iinistry. Her 
 Majesty cannot be advii^ui to disallow such Acts unless her 
 advisers are prepared to assume the administration of the 
 affairs of the Colony, irrespective of the views of its in 
 habitants." This passage seems to contain at once the 
 anomalies of Imperial and Dominion powers and the fallacy 
 underlying much of what is said both for and against Im- 
 perial Federation. If it were a question of domestic taxa- 
 tion pure and simple, no difficulty would arise. The prin 
 ciple of self-government would hold absolutely, partly on 
 grounds of principle and partly because there would be no 
 intrusion into the Imperial sphere. But as soon as any 
 action is in prospect which concerns the relations of any 
 Dominion with the rest of the Empire or a foreign power. 
 we are in the domain of external affairs. Logically, there- 
 fore, we have to choose between allowing to each Dominion 
 the sole control of its external relations, including com- 
 merce, and the control of all Imperial foreign relations by a 
 body Imperial in authority and representation. I said, 
 "logically" advisedly, for the argument for expediency
 
 294 
 
 still remains, and it may prove to be very powerful. But 
 one cannot agree that "this document proved unanswer- 
 ably that no Canadian Government could control the 
 national affairs of Canada unless it controlled its commer- 
 cial system from first to last." No matter of policy is so 
 closely connected with international relations as that of com- 
 merce. Many of the wars of the past have occurred over re- 
 arrangements of tariffs, commercial competition and the ex- 
 ploitation of unoccupied areas of the globe. To say that ' ' all 
 previous experience could be adduced to prove that tlie 
 control of tariffs is an attitude inseparable from the cent- 
 ral government of a State" (Curtis, p. 52), seems to beg 
 the whole question. We must first satisfy ourselves what 
 is the ' ' State ' ' of which we are speaking. There is a sense 
 in which the British Empire may properly and conveniently 
 be regarded as one economic State, a community, that is, 
 whose wider economic relationships must be determined 
 with close reference to the wider economic interests of th;^ 
 whole Empire. This may not mean that every item of 
 every tariff would require revision by a properly consti- 
 tuted Imperial authority. But it certainl.y does mean that, 
 logically, any tariff which directly affects inter-Imperial 
 and international relations is the proper subject of Im- 
 perial control. I do not regard such a logical issue as en- 
 tirely feasible or desirable in the present stage of Imperial 
 development. But that it is inconsistent to exclude com- 
 mercial affairs from Imperial control, while advocating 
 Imperial control of political affairs, I am quite convinced. 
 i\Ir. Curtis admits* "True it is that tariffs may affect 
 foreign as well as domestic policy. . . . The practical 
 question is. Which of the two do tariffs affect most nearly ? ' ' 
 He concludes that, as they cannot be controlled by both, 
 the Government most nearly concerned should control thern 
 entirely. This is a non sequitur. The true position is that, 
 where tariffs affect external relations, they become a mat- 
 * Page 53.
 
 295 
 
 ter of Imperial concern. 1 do not believe that it is prac- 
 ticable at present to do more than keep an Imperial eye, so 
 to speak, on such a complexity of domestic and inter- 
 Imperial trading relations. But it is at least logical to 
 attempt to deal with such matters of Imperial scope, and 
 the post-war situation, as it affects shipping, raw materials 
 and food stuffs, will probably compel us to act Imperially 
 in the sphere of commerce to an unprecedented extent. 
 Thus, expediency has. in the past, determined the economic 
 polic}^ of the Empire on illogical though safe lines. In all 
 probability expediency will re-shape that policy on lines 
 still safer and ultimately logical. For it will be imprac- 
 ticable to go on exacth' as we were, and it is unlikely that 
 we shall attempt complete separation ; it is probable, there- 
 fore, that we shall follow the line of least resistance and 
 inaugurate an economic policy more nearly Imperial in 
 scope and authority. 
 
 In regard to immigration policies, the sheer logic of tha 
 position seems to be very similar to that of the tariff. But 
 expediency is here much more powerful, and will long ope- 
 rate to keep matters of immigration within the close con- 
 trol of the separate Dominions. Immigration has a much 
 more intimate connection with domestic conditions and 
 national policy. Its Imperial significance is that it in- 
 volves the subject races of the Empire, whose claims may be 
 set in opposition to those of the Dominions.* Solvitur 
 amhidando is the motto of safety, and it is practicable 
 without injury to any nation. t 
 
 0.- -THE POSSIBILITY OP IMPERIAL FEDERATION. 
 
 If it be agreed that the peoples of the Dominions suff'cr 
 both in their domestic conditions and their foreign rela- 
 tions from leaving all matters of foreign policy to the 
 
 * See Chapter II. 
 
 t For a full discussion of the "White Australia Policy," see 
 Chapter XII. in "Australia: Economic and Political Studies." 
 edited by M. Atkinson (Macmillan & Co. — in the press.)
 
 296 
 
 United Kingdom, we are then led to ask whether it is ex- 
 pedient or practicable to establish some new and elfective 
 form of Imperial Government. It is suggested that those 
 Imperial Departments which are concerned almost exclu- 
 sively with Imperial affairs, such as the Foreign Office, the 
 War Oftice, the Admiralty, the India Office and the 
 Colonial Office, should be re-organised as the basis of the 
 Executive of a widely representative Imperial Parliament. 
 The present Imperial Government would then become 
 merely the Home Government of the United Kingdom. The 
 new Imperial Cabinet would have powers of taxation for 
 Imperial purposes over the whole Empire, the United King- 
 dom being reduced more or less to the status of a Dominion. 
 The Dominions, in their turn, would give up their exclu- 
 sive right of taxation for domestic revenue, and would 
 forego that measure of their sovereignty inconsistent with 
 the wider sovereignty of Imperial Government. It is held 
 that we should thus merely organise and centralise powers 
 and functions already held and exercised, by a form of 
 Imperial Government, which is really the government of 
 one part of the Empire ruling the whole of the possession^ 
 of the Crown. The most ambitious scheme proposes an 
 Imperial Legislature, elected by all the self-governing parts 
 of the Empire. 
 
 The inherent difficulty arising from the creation of a 
 Federal Government, in place of a number of provincial 
 governments, has already been dwelt upon. Problems of 
 jurisdiction assume the greatest practical importance, and 
 aggravate existing jealousies and misunderstandings. How 
 much greater would be all these difficulties under a Con- 
 stitution for the whole Empire? Friction between British 
 Columbia and Canada, New South Wales and the Common 
 wealth, would be trifling compared with the difficulties 
 that would arise between Dominions widely separated by 
 the sea. Proximity and better communications have over- 
 come manv of the difficulties between States in the same
 
 297 
 
 Federation. But a vast extension of these facilities will 
 be necessary before we can maintain between the compo- 
 nent parts of an Imperial Federation that intimacy of un- 
 derstanding and facility of communication essential to the 
 passing of Imperial laws readily acceptable to all the con- 
 stituencies represented in the Legislature of the Empire. 
 If New Zealand and Australia find the Tasman Sea an in- 
 superable obstacle to their union, how much more difficult 
 must be the bridging of the mighty oceans that divide up 
 our far-flung Empire? It is possible, also, that to bring 
 together elected representatives without a safe degree of 
 understanding and realisation of common interest may pre- 
 cipitate the discussion of problems that had better be left 
 to the slower solution of experience. 
 
 The discussion of such proposals for federation as those 
 put forward by Sir Joseph Ward at the Imperial Confer- 
 ence in 1911 was unsatisfactory. It was not realised that 
 the primary proposal was for the establishment of an Exe- 
 cutive and a Legislature to control naval defence and 
 foreign relations in place of the present form of Imperial 
 Parliament. This suggests how far the British people ar'3 
 from understanding the nature and scope of federation. 
 
 No very elaborate scheme of Imperial Federation seems 
 to have any chance of immediate success. The British 
 people are characteristically opposed to any constitutional 
 change the case for which is not proved up to the hilt by 
 the pressure of concrete problems. It is highly unlikely 
 that they will set up an elaborate form of Imperial Legis- 
 lature, in face of the suspicion of the Dominions that their 
 autonomy is threatened, and the want of evidence, to the 
 British mind, of the immediate need for a complex Im 
 perial Constitution. The Dominions do not seriously feel 
 the disabilities of their lack of control of foreign policy, 
 and at the same time their freedom from such responsi 
 bility gives them a degree of self-government which they 
 much prefer to retain, as against its reduction in favor of
 
 298 
 
 the doubtful benefit of an official share in the control of 
 foreign policy. Further, the habit of the Imperial authori- 
 ties of frank consultation with the Dominions on the Ein 
 pire's foreign relations gives to the Dominion Governments 
 a position of remarkable strength. It enables them to 
 exercise an effective influence over Britain's foreign policy, 
 both by direct advice and through the possibility of repudi- 
 ating any British decision, while at the same time the}^ re- 
 tain the fullest possible measure of autonom}-. On grounds 
 of self-interest, therefore, there is not enough offering in 
 Imperial Federation to attract the Dominions at the pre- 
 sent time, though, as I have shown, the pressure of evenis 
 will almost certainly drive them towards a much closer 
 and more permanently official relation with the Imperial 
 authorities. It is at least quite impossible that the British 
 Government can continue to exercise sole authority. That 
 would mean that the international needs of the Dominions, 
 growing, as they must grow, every year in degree and com- 
 plexity, would at last compel their separation off into inde 
 pendent powers. The only alternative to dismemberment 
 of the Empire, is. therefore, the development of Federal 
 Government, at whatever rate and in whatever form. The 
 question remaining is the mode of its establishment. Since 
 the practical difficulties in the way of an elaborate scheme 
 seem at present insuperable, the wisest plan appears to be 
 to use the Imperial Conference of Ministers as a basis for 
 a progressive growth of an effective Executive, meeting at 
 least once a year and in emergency. Coupled with this, it 
 should be practicable to summon an Imperial Convention 
 immediately after the war, and every three years there 
 after, until the way is paved for community of understand- 
 ing and the establishment of an Imperial Legislature. In 
 the meantime, all recommendations should be referred to 
 the separate Parliaments. 
 
 Those who say, "It is unnecessary to do anything'' will 
 be proved foolish by the march of events. Those Avho in-
 
 2¥) 
 
 sist upon an elaborate theory being put into practice be- 
 fore the Imperial consciousness is fully awakened may ex- 
 pose us to many of the dangers we seek to avoid. Safety 
 and commonsense alike point to the middle path of building 
 upon what we knov/, of using experience, directed by the 
 pressure of events, to promote the even growth of a Federal 
 Constitution, which shall satisfy the needs of Empire witli 
 the least harmful reduction of Dominion autonomy, aiid so 
 prepare for that Commonwealth of British Nations whicli 
 shall make its complete contribution to a world-civilisation.
 
 300 
 
 Bibliography VI. 
 
 GREAT BRITAIN AND IMPERIAL AFFAIRS. 
 
 Olivier — White Capital and Coloured Labour. 
 
 Woodward — Expansion of the British Empire ( Cambridge ) 
 
 Lucas, Sir Charles — The British Empire (Maemillan). 
 
 Hobson, C. K. — The Export of Capital (Constable). 
 
 "Frankfurter Zeitung" — England's Financial Supremacy 
 (translation) (Maemillan). 
 
 Cramb — Origins and Destiny of Imperial Britain (Mur- 
 ray). 
 
 Problem of the Commonwealth (Maemillan). 
 
 Oxford Survey of British Empire. 
 
 The Empire and the Future (Lectures) (Maemillan). 
 
 Pollard — The Commonwealth at War (Longmans), 
 
 Hobson — Imperialism. 
 
 Keith — Imperial Unity and the Dominions (Oxford). 
 
 Newton — The Old Empire and the New (Dent). 
 
 "Round Table" — Special Reports. 
 
 P. Hurd and A. Hurd — The New Empire Partnership 
 (Murray). 
 
 Webster, R. G. — The Awakening of an Empire (Murray). 
 
 Gray and Turner — Eclipse or Empire (Nisbet). 
 
 Enock, C. R.— Can We Set the World in Order? (Grant 
 Richards). 
 
 Newton — The Staple Trades of the Empire (Dent). 
 
 Richardson, A. 0. — Britain's Awakening (Palmer New- 
 bould). 
 
 Bassett, H. H. — British Commerce (Nations Library). 
 
 Benn — Trade as a Science (Jarrolds). 
 
 Hooker — Britain's Commercial Dilemma (Effingham Wil- 
 son). 
 
 Saunders, Edward— A Self-supporting Empire (Nisbet).
 
 301 
 
 Benn — The Trade of To-morrow (Jarrolds). 
 
 Farrow and Crotch — The Coming Trade War (Chapman 
 & Hall). 
 
 Morgan — The Munitions of Peace (Nisbet). 
 
 Hon. Strutt and Others — British Agriculture : The Nation 's 
 Opportunity ( Murray ) . 
 
 Whetham, W. C. D.— The War and the Nation (Murray). 
 
 Strong, Archibald — Australia and the War (Geo. Robert- 
 son). 
 
 Scott — Short History of Australia. 
 
 Evatt, H. V. — Liberalism in Australia (Law Book Co. of 
 Aus.). 
 
 Russell — Industrial Problems (Butterworth, Sydney). 
 
 Northcott, C. H. — Australian Social Development (Colum- 
 bia Universit}^ Press). 
 
 Encck — The Tropics (Grant Richards). 
 
 Fletcher — The New Pacific (Macmillan). 
 
 Greenwood, H. — Canada as an Imperial Factor (Nations 
 Library). 
 
 Barker, J, E. — The Great Problems of British Statesman- 
 ship (John Murray). 
 
 The Hon. Staniforth Smith (compiled by) — Handbook of 
 The Territory of Papua (Govt. Printer, Melb.). 
 
 The War Cabinet— Report for the Year 1917 (His Majes- 
 ty's Stationery Office). 
 
 The Pacific Islands — A Handbook by McCarron, Stewart 
 & Co. of Sydney. 
 
 Atkinson, M. (Ed.) — Australia: Economic and Political 
 Studies (Macmillan — in the press). 
 
 Heaton — Economic History of Australia (Macmillan — 
 W.E.A. Series — forthcoming).
 
 The Workers' Educational Association. 
 
 WHAT IT IS AND WHAT IT DOES. 
 
 THE WORKERS' EDUCATIONAL ASSOCIATION is a 
 Federation of Working Class, Social and Educational 
 organisations, united for the purpose of promoting the 
 Higher Education of the People. It endeavours to promote 
 the Education of the people in any and every way possible, 
 whether of the child, the adolescent, or the adult. It seeks 
 to impress upon our Educational systems the point of view 
 and the Educational interests of the wage-earners, both men 
 and women. Our principal work, however, is, and must al- 
 ways be, to promote adult education, particularly on these 
 subjects of broad human interest, such as ''Industrial His- 
 tory," "Economics," "Sociology," "Political Science," "Psy- 
 chology," "Biology," or "Literature." Our work in this 
 direction is not designed to have a technical value, but aims 
 at giving to students a mental training and a knowledge of 
 the subjects they are studying, which will enable them to 
 become worthier and better citizens by equipping them for 
 more efficient social service. It is the desire to serve the 
 community which, in the eyes of the Association, constitutes 
 the real hallmark of true citizenship. 
 
 The Association believes that the only way by which it 
 can provide such a training is to encourage absolute freedom 
 of thought and freedom of discussion on all phases of what- 
 ever subject any particular group of students may be inter- 
 ested in, at the same time giving each student free access to 
 all the latest books and sources of knowledge that are avail- 
 able, and also the assistance of a skilled tutor, who has 
 specialised in that particular subject, to assist him in his 
 search for knowledge, and to discuss the subject with him. 
 
 THE ESSENTIAL CONDITIONS. 
 
 In order to ensure that freedom which is essential in our 
 class work, the Association must itself be absolutely free from 
 any bias on sectarian or partisan questions. It must confine 
 itself to Educational work alone, and can only demand the 
 allegiance of its members on inatters affecting Educational 
 policy and nothing more. Students are welcome to our 
 classes, and members to our ranks, no matter what their 
 religious beliefs or opinions on public questions may be, pro- 
 vided they endorse the principles on which the movement is 
 founded. The danger which all educational movements and 
 institutions have to fear is the danger that they may become 
 too aloof from the life of the people, that they may, by con- 
 centration on the purely academic side of their work, come to 
 live in a world of their own which has little -or nothing to do 
 with the world of reality. The Workers' Educational Asso- 
 ciation is insured against this danger by the fact that the
 
 controlling body, termed the Central Council, is composed of 
 representatives from all affiliated bodies. Those delegates, 
 meeting month by month to guide the affairs of the movement, 
 bring with them the spirit and the ideals of the organisations 
 they represent, and impress that spirit, so far as it is of edu- 
 cational value, upon the policy of the Association, at the same 
 time using the machinery of the Association to further the 
 educational ideals of the organisation they may represent. 
 
 THE METHOD OF A CLASS. 
 
 The principal work of the Association is the organisation 
 of University Tutorial Classes. A Tutorial Class consists of 
 from 15 to 30 students, who meet once a week during the 
 Winter months, usually for three consecutive years, at a time 
 and place convenient to themselves. The University comes to 
 the people; it does not ask the people to sacrifice more than a 
 portion of their leisure. Each meeting last for two hours, the 
 first hour being usually devoted to a conversational lecture 
 by the tutor, the second being taken up with questions and 
 discussions, when tutor and students thoroughly canvass the 
 subject in all its bearings. The spirit of good-fellowship that 
 soon arises makes this hour most fruitful in educational re- 
 sults. Attached to each class is a select library of books on 
 the subject of study. Each student purchases a text-book at 
 a cost of a few shillings. Besides giving a pledge to attend 
 regularly to the best of his or her ability, every member of 
 the class is expected to write one essay a fortnight (twelve es- 
 says a session). To many people this condition seems impos- 
 sible, but the most wonderful results have been achieved by 
 students who had no preliminary training whatever in written 
 composition. It has been proved that what the people lack 
 is not intelligence, but facility of expression. A sympathetic 
 tutor, giving private help to all who need it, can produce 
 remarkable progress in all cases. 
 
 Further information concerning the development of the 
 movement in their respective States may be had from any of 
 the following State or District Secretaries: — 
 
 New South Wales — D. STEWART, Educational Buildings, 
 Bridge St., Sydney. 
 
 Victoria — S. D. THOMPSON. Department of Education, 
 Melbourne. 
 
 South Australia — V. E. CROMER, University, Adelaide. 
 
 Queensland — J. B. ROBERTS, W.E.A. Rooms, Edward St., 
 Brisbane. 
 
 Tasmania — R. PATTERSON, Claude St., Newtown, Hobart. 
 
 New Zealand — Auckland, W. MANSON. Dexter Avenue, Mt. 
 Eden. Wellington, F. CORNWELL. Trades Hall. Wel- 
 lington. Christchurch, J. B. STRUTHERS, W.E.A. 
 Rooms, Trades Hall. Otago, G. McCRACKEN, 13 Coun- 
 sil Street. St. Kilda, Dunedin.
 
 Sydnev: 
 
 liurrows & Co., Printers, Etmiore Road, 
 
 Newtown.
 
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