| I: | Political Ideals |
| II: | Capitalism and the Wage System |
| III: | Pitfalls in Socialism |
| IV: | Individual Liberty and Public Control |
| V: | National Independence and Internationalism |
In dark days, men need a clear faith and a well-grounded hope; and asthe outcome of these, the calm courage which takes no account ofhardships by the way. The times through which we are passing haveafforded to many of us a confirmation of our faith. We see that thethings we had thought evil are really evil, and we know moredefinitely than we ever did before the directions in which men mustmove if a better world is to arise on the ruins of the one which isnow hurling itself into destruction. We see that men's politicaldealings with one another are based on wholly wrong ideals, and canonly be saved by quite different ideals from continuing to be a sourceof suffering, devastation, and sin.
Political ideals must be based upon ideals for the individual life.The aim of politics should be to make the lives of individuals as goodas possible. There is nothing for the politician to consider outsideor above the various men, women, and children who compose the world.The problem of politics is to adjust the relations of human beings insuch a way that each severally may have as much of good in hisexistence as possible. And this problem requires that we should firstconsider what it is that we think good in the individual life.
To begin with, we do not want all men to be alike. We do not want tolay down a pattern or type to which men of all sorts are to be made bysome means or another to approximate. This is the ideal of theimpatient administrator. A bad teacher will aim at imposing hisopinion, and turning out a set of pupils all of whom will give thesame definite answer on a doubtful point. Mr. Bernard Shaw is said tohold that Troilus and Cressida is the best of Shakespeare's plays.Although I disagree with this opinion, I should welcome it in a pupilas a sign of individuality; but most teachers would not tolerate sucha heterodox view. Not only teachers, but all commonplace persons inauthority, desire in their subordinates that kind of uniformity whichmakes their actions easily predictable and never inconvenient. Theresult is that they crush initiative and individuality when they can,and when they cannot, they quarrel with it.