The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1891-12-23
their own liberty Sarah Msfin
GAY, in The Standard.
The Scientific Method and tie Single
Tax.


Enthusiastic advocates of the single
tax are often rebuffed with the remark:
ooh! that is only Georges opinion.
You are advocating mere theory" To
persons of unscientific mental training
the objection seems to stop further argu7
ment
The golden rule Of science--that OF
Descartes-is: "Give unqualified assent
to no propositions but those the truth OF
which is so clear and distinct that they
can not be doubted" In other words,
through the exercise of doubt comes
positive knowledge. This rule Is the
foundation Of scientific logic, and its
adoption by few great thinkers and
investigators has produced what is
termed modern science" There could
indeed, be no exact science without tho
adoption of some such rule-no Oar
wins, Tyndalls, or Spencers 1t was
adopted consciously or unconsciously BY
the author of Progress and Poverty"
and he has made of political economy.
which was originally called Political
Arithmetic" science allied to srith-
metic. He could not have written the
work except by subjecting to doubt all
that had been accepted up to his period
as sound political economy. l venture
to assert that no objection has ever
been made to the single tax theory, ~
a theory, that has not been, or that could
not be, easily and convincingly
answered on basis Of scientific logic.
1t is their scientific habit Of investi.
ton which prevents many men of high
intellectual attachments from carefully
considering the irrefragible logic of
Progress and Poverty" To them
Georges theory" is merely a notion, .
belief or an opinion. and, of course.
they regard their notions, or opinions
as good or better than his The same
habit explains why the state papers OF
Blaine and President Harrison contain
economic doctrine that makes an or
binary, unpretending single taxer smile.
Such statesmen are quite unware, al
their self-confidence shows. that there
exists any scientific test by which the
faTrcy of their views may be clearly
demonstrated. Yet the new political
econ, ny furnishes that magic test, and
happil, it is being applied by rapidly
increasing numbers OF people in all
parts OF the world.
| A ma. of science, Herbert Spencer,
helped to lay the foundations of tho
new political economy when George
was mere boy. Whatever Spencer
may have since said in relation thereto
can not impair the severe scientific logic
of his earlier utterancea They stand
on their own Gndiminishable power Of
conviction. and it. is out of his power
torepudiate them.
Prof. Huxley, a maI Of scientific
methods, wrote an essay en- Capital.
the Mother of Labor"--important to
the single tax. From biological stand
point this essay is scientifically logicsl
and very interesting, but it has no bear
ing, as he imagines, upon the new po-
litical economy, whose concretions he
evidently knows nothing about He
may, however, some day pick mp
progress and Poverty" and really read
it. If he does, he is too sincere man,
though vain one, to withhold, not
necessarily change OF views, but new
views altogether.
Then there are the wise editors OF
great newspapers who may have had
time once to read and digest scientific
books, but who have no time now; they
dc,nolish Progress and Poverty" in q
few paragraphs The future historian
of this epoch will greatly wonder how,
in the midst of abundant wealth OF
scientific ideas relating to political
economy, there could have existed
among the educated and influential
such dire poverty Of information.
| However, there is much hope to be
derived from one Of Herbert Spencers
conclusions: 1.-THE belief of the scien-
tifc will eventually become the belief
of the world al large" I'D. E. Cronin.
in The Standard
|