The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1871-06-22


present economic system, which is not un-
natural among theorists and the men who |
teach the workmen from above, has grating |
effect for very sufficient reasons, upon the |
pupils. What the theorist admires and |
very Justly, is the perfection with |
which wealth is created and distributed by a
complicated and spontaneous machinery, by
which millions of human beings are supported
upon narrow room, the great majority in an ad-
yanced state of civilization compared with the
state of much fewer numbers not very many
centuries ago. The theorist, too, is appre-
hensive, and knows that any novel system, If
it could ever be tried, will be likely to break
down altogether. He may justly say, too,
that what the present system accomplishes
is nothing to what its triumphs would
be were workmen themselves more careful
that they have the game in their own hands
even now, and do not need to try any novel
experiments. And such views are naturally
echoed by successful individuals and classes.
But the difficulty is that the pupils to whom
this enthusiastic advocacy is applied are me-
cessarily so placed as to feel the pinch of the
failures where the system breaks down, and
cannot be expected to take them SO philoso-
phically, even if they could hold the wider
views as to the difficulty of any system which
the theorist entertains. People who may be
forced to starve by new invention which
destroys their means of living, or by COM
mercial crisis, cannot take the present system
calmly, and must necessarily give ex-
aggerated importance to these failures. No
doubt were they more careful, many of these
failures would be mitigated; but the imper-
fections of human nature are q necessary con-
dition of the problem, and because they are
imperfect we cannot suppose that the arti-
sans will be any the more content The late
insurrection, therefore, may be taken as q
formidable protest against the merely scien-
tifc and philosophic way of treating the
problems affecting the artisan classes. The
causes of the discomfort which lighted up so
tremendous a confagration cannot have been
slight and the easy and confident mode of
refuting socialist fallaces must be definitely
given up. 1t is significant enough that
the explosion should occur In a
country where the teaching of
orthodox political economy is always
given in its hardest form. French economists
will hardly make any allowances ut all. They
have labored to demonstrate that the system
of competition is so perfect as to leave no
deficiencies to be supplemented, and they
resent with scorn any notion of failure in its
working. t...
A second lesson is the error of the excess of
thrift, and jealousy of property y-rights, which
is the vice of French society. The enthusi-
astic advocacy of orthodox political economy
gravated by the neatness of French logic.
Now, whatever may be said for an
economic system founded upon COM
petition, it must be admitted to be
quite possible for the moral evils of
an unscrupulous use of it in all social rela-
tions TO exceed the material advantages. A
society in which there were no cordial rela-
tions between classes, no common pursuits,
no willing contributions towards common
aims, would really be society full of intes-
tine war; and it is to be feared both that
French society has nearly reached this stage,
and that it is danger of all industrial COM
munities. Different groups become strangers
to each other, and their only intercourse may
be one of competition, which is apt to take
its lowest shape. One corrective to this evil
is that of generous giving, and if society is
not to be destroyed, other correctives must
be found, chiefly, we believe, in the increase
of the functions of the State, and
the extension of its educational and
disciplinary agencies. The end should be
that while all classes are socially bound
together, competition should come to be
viewed mainly as means of distributing the
general wealth of society according to indi-
vidual tastes, and in proportion to individual
efforts, and not as an instrument of avarice
or greed
We conclude, then, that the result of the
lueuIIeCtlou iuusJ 10 W give new llI6 TO Ine
problem of the distribution of wealth-that
statesmen must seek more earnestly than
ever;to cover the lamentable failures of the
present economic system, whether they are
due to defective education or to other causes
The various remedies possible may be un-
doubtedly combined Legislation and the
general efforts of society In proper spirit
should promote in the masses disposition to
receive the first lesson of political economy,
which is the necessary imperfection of any
system for so complex a task as the distribu-
tion of wealth among imperfect human
beings. Nor can it be said that the expe-
dients possible to stat esmen for distributing
some portion of the whole wealth of q com
munity have been exhausted. None are
equal singly or collectively to what prudent
woTkmen could do for themselves, but they
will help a little, and as workmen improve
the aggregate result in country of in
creasing wealth may be great. Amongst
other means which might be suggested,
there is the regulation for the common
benefit of natural and artificial monopolies,
which has certainly not yet been carried in
any community to tolerable degree of per-
fection. It would hardly be possible to over
estimate, for instance, the amount of comfort
which would be conferred on the citizens of
crowded towns by the improved regulation of
the monopolies of SOIL water, light and loco
motion. Things which the poor must now
purchase dearly on account of defec-
tive regulation might be almost as free as
air, and common property which is
neglected might be appropriated to the
necessary expenditure of the community.
| Again, while private property remains the
rule, certain class of property which cannot
be removed from the country, which pos
sesses embarrassing monopoly value, may we'll