The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1878-02-10

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faint Of communism let the historian OF demo-.
racv undertake to answer three or four inoui
| RIGS. Assuming, for example. that tho grcn,es,
| good OF the greatest number Is the aim Of d..
mocracy. and that wherever untrammellcd bya
written constitution. such polty has tho rich,
| and the power to compass that aim by Legislation
| let him proceed to weigh the following auos
tions: Is the greatest good of the greatest nun.
Der mt II given moment Incompatible with tho
| highest culture and highest achievement of the
| few? Granting that ii is. how far does thc iu.
turc moderation Of tho whole community hinge
on the intellectual progress of II minority
Again. would the greatest good ~ the greatest
number be best attained under communal sys.
tenn. such rs va sec in Russia. or under nm i'm.
proved scheme of individual ownership such
rs the revolution Of % gave to the French
| p"asantryP Allowing. for the sake " arg,l.
mcnt, that the former plan might bc fruitful %,
| wider good during u certain term Of Application
| VIZ come 10 the final and decisive query; Womb
the communal system Of property tend TO tho
peTnancncc OF democratic institutions or to
the gradual concentration II authority in tho
| hands OF the central administrators n ade-
puatc ground could be- made by argument and
precedent for expecting the latter alternative. il
would scarcely be- worth while 10 advocnte re-.
forms destined TO relcgatc MS presently to an
| autocralic or ogarchc regime. under which
our rulers would save us the trouble Of discuss
| ing the relative merits OF this and that social
| system. Even 60 the majority of voters IN n
| pOlity based on manhood suffrage II might an
| pear an act NJ folly thus to swing round iii. cir
| Gle from the oppression of capital to the opttes-
sion Of CTsarisn especially since. In tho lncvita-
bic friction Of that circuit the precious accumu-
lations OF ages might be swept away
| We need not say that among emil ghtened ma.
/ fiona th. of, democracy hna la.
Is accepted rs the consummate type Of polity,
and numerous applications of H. more or lass
uncompromsing ARE presented in consttu.
| tional monarchies and presidential common.
wcalths. Ii is fair b. add that in many Of these
States the existing restrictions upon the SUI
| fragc or limitations OF tbe scope OF legislation,
| are retained with view OF preventing dslo.
cation Of the social order. For II is plain enough
that tho question Of the future will relate not to
| the political. but th" social structure Now "a
to the consequences which may Doe looked for
| from this or that organization, from cooperative
! production. for instancc-from the periodic re.
distribution Of land and capal-wc have had
much thcori2ine hut nothing Ike Il demonsra.
ton fortified 10y historical lat. Yet there arc
not wanting data in ancient and modern times
which, rightly weighed and siftod. might 20 far
toward answering the weed questions comprc-
hendcd under the broad antthcsis Of indyid
ualism versus socialism. Certainly history y
| democracy whose Investigations should take
this direction would ofrer abundant reason for
It's existence. and W. could no, say that an au
thor had written wholly in vain who soughtto
prove from experience that communism was
not faint. but an inanity; not crime MS il
seems 10 Sir Thomas May. but something
worse a hlundcr.
In the field 81 view embraced by these two
volumes are to be found some constant typos Il
| society and not n few transient phases and ten.
| denotes. from which the socialist professors O,
Germany would assurclly draw one inference.
and John Stuart Mill another. But these are
| dismissed with n hasty. un1iscrrning word by
Sir Thomas May Thus tho twenty thousand
citizens who engrosscd tho electoral franchise
ut Athens had In tho half century following the
| Prloponnesian war made u substantial approx.
nation toward n community u goods through
the erauitous distribution of corn. the regular
allotment OF pay from the public funds for the
discharge At ordinary civic duties. through
gga'uitous amusenents. &c. But no attempt il
made In this work to inquire how far this state
/ Of things WAS responsible for the indiilercntisn
| which incapacita,ed the city for sef-dcfencc.
| On the other hand. the community Of Sparta
| although holding u sort II icudal relation
toward the rest Of Laconin. was itself admin
istered Oh socaisic principles. and assuredly
we are concerned to know whether the cXtraor.
binary longevity Of the Spartan commonwealth
should be- credited 10 this fact so too. the scal-
tered Information eNtant In Greek and Roman
writers regarding the snrial structure If
Carthage ought To- have been narrowly scru-
tlni2 81. since there is reason 10 believe that
something not unlike communal organization
II property existed there. Neither would tho
author have done III a. pause in his hurried
reference g. the village communities of India.