COPYRIGHT, 1923,
By THE ATLANTICMONTHLY COMPANY.
COPYRIGHT, 1913,
By THE MACMILLANCOMPANY.
The first chapter of the following book was published, in substantially itspresent form, in the Atlantic Monthly for April, 1913. I have to thankthe editor for his courtesy in assenting to my wish to reprint. The otherchapters have not appeared before. I desire also to express my obligations to mylearned friend, Dr. M.M. Bigelow, who, most kindly, at my request, read chapterstwo and three, which deal with the constitutional law, and gave me the benefitof his most valuable criticism.
Further than this I have but one word to add. I have written in support of nopolitical movement, nor for any ephemeral purpose. I have written only toexpress a deep conviction which is the result of more than twenty years ofstudy, and reflection upon this subject.
BROOKS ADAMS.
QUINCY, MASSACHUSETTS, May 17, 1913.
CONTENTS
I. THE COLLAPSE OFCAPITALISTIC GOVERNMENT
II. THE LIMITATIONSOF THE JUDICIAL FUNCTION
III. AMERICAN COURTS AS LEGISLATIVE CHAMBERS
IV. THE SOCIALEQUILIBRIUM
V. POLITICAL COURTS
VI. INFERENCES
INDEX [not included in this etext]
THE COLLAPSE OF CAPITALISTIC GOVERNMENT
Civilization, I apprehend, is nearly synonymous with order. However much wemay differ touching such matters as the distribution of property, the domesticrelations, the law of inheritance and the like, most of us, I should suppose,would agree that without order civilization, as we understand it, cannot exist.Now, although the optimist contends that, since man cannot foresee the future,worry about the future is futile, and that everything, in the best possible ofworlds, is inevitably for the best, I think it clear that within recent years anuneasy suspicion has come in