The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1857-08-27
REF0RMERs.

REFORMERs
In our article of last week, we spoke of two
classes of men devoted to the rectifcation of
the social and political life of communities,
through the method of reformed order and in
stitutions. To the merely theoretical properly
belong all that have ever thought and labored
speculatively for the demonstration of that bet
ter system which the apostle intended when he
said, We look for new heaven and a new
earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness +" under
very unlike conditions, indeed, but substantial.
ly answering to the same hope, and fulfilling
the same dumb oracle of the universal human
faith.
The purely practical reorganizers of society,
whose attempts stand recorded in the worlds
history as failures to this day, might be made
to embrace even the ten thousand political rev.
olutions, successful and unsuccessful, which
have had in their scope of purpose the same
ultimate good, or any considerable portion of it /;
but these ought, for greater clearness and a
better order, to be considered by themselves
We may hnd place for some consideration of
them in this drift of thought.
A third class of society architects-the theo-
retico practical-who have endeavored the real
ization of speculative systems in actual organ-
cations, is distinguished from the two former
which we have considered. Their principles,
critical and constructive, have a broader and
holder range than those of the theoretical class
They explore the sciences of cosmology, theol.
ogy, and psychology, as well as sociology-they
disregard history, because all experience in the
false order Of the past is fslsa aaa u del9aYsaTs
| the destiny of man, and design the immediate
realization of all the harmonies in the scheme
of the creation. They anticipate the religion.
morality. and economy, of the earth, reduced to
the obedience of first principles, in the belief
that all the possible is practicable, and that the
absolute right is the only expediency. Some of
them would embody the divine existence in hu.
man institutions some of them disembody the
Divinity, and find all the efficiency of the uni
verse in the laws which arise out of the nature
| OF fittings. Both refuse to allow anything for
the refractoriness of conditions; both believe
In the omnipotence of principles, and that or.
ganization and law, rightly adjusted, are suffi.
cient to control their subjects into perfect con.
formity. The THESIS claim the authority of
God for supplying him with a system of provi-
dence. The Atheists substitute the providence
of natural law for the authority of God. The
one as agents, the other as principals, propose
the salvation of the world from its evils by the
| harmonic adjustment of all the intrinsic apti.
tudes which they find in it.
Under this head, we may class st. Simon.
Owen, and Fourier.
The purely practical class may claim less of
theory, science, logic, and philosophy, as they
DO not really propose anything beyond their
own escape from the evils and disorders of go
ciety, nor provide, otherwise than by the exam.
pie of their expected success, for the regenera.
ton of the world around them. There is al.
ways something in this system which admits
the unmanageableness of human nature as it is !;
and they mar, cripple, and handcuff its inhe.
rent tendencies to subdue humanity and to con.
duct its experiences in safety. Theirs is not a
science OF the subject, but a compromise of its
| requirements, and an abandonment of the prob.
lem before them, for the demonstration of q yery
different one. Either the possessory feeling,
out OF which private property grows, or the
sexual which impels to marriage, or the parent
al which organizes the family, or the govern.
mental which confers authority according to
ability, or the esthetic which develops genius
and taste and seeks luxury, or the religious
which inspires the whole life, or all of them to.
gether, are thrown out of regard, or some one
or other of these social forces is seized as the
principal, and the rest are ignored, to the eff.
feet that not the man of nature, but the con.
ventional creature of their system, is taken in
its purview.
The Essenes, Shakers, Harmonists, Rappites,
and Communists generally, have this character.
st. Simon, in his "New Christianity" took
to the great question the attitude of Prophet
and Evangelist 1t was not another or a diff.
ferent, but revived Christianity. In princi.
pies, it was an exposure of the difference be-
tween the spirit of religion and its allowed
practice between the Master and his disci-
ples-between the Kingdom of Heaven which
| he preached and the Governments on the earth
| which profess his doctrines-a demonstration
not new or difficult; but he proposed remedy,
not by individual repentance with reference to
the souls future welfare, but new system of
life and society, of industry and order, in which
gospel righteousness would find fitting agencies,
opportunities, and inducements. He insisted
that the great aim of religion is to ameliorate
the earthly condition of man; by which is
meant, of the poor and the most numerous
| class, as signi6ed by the miracles of the Saw.
Jour, which were uniformly wrought for the re-
lief of hunger, disease, and restitution. He
called upon his countrymen, in the spirit and
strength of his faith, Young men, let us unite,
then poets, artisans, theologians, literary men,
men of industry, men of science, our career is
marked out for us, since today we can occupy
ourselves directly with the elevation of the
mass. Let us, according to the beautiful ex