The Tucson citizen., 1902-05-31
WHAT OF The FUTURE?

can peep INTO the IHtuTe anu deS'l lp
the social and economic condition.
which will prevail a century hence
perhaps earlier. This seer does no
claim supernatural powers. He hal
been reading history; he finds tha
history repeats itself; that mankind
moves in a circle. as it were. and al
regular periods gets back to the start
ing point Thus centuries ago we had
the feudal system. Then mankind pro-
gressed. The barons and the villeins
vanished as the world became enlight-
ened Now we are working back TO
feudalism- benevolent. it is true, but
feudalism nevertheless.
There is no law which can be in
yoked to prevent man of inquiring
mind from making discoveries of this
kind. 1t is utterly impossible 10 get
an injunction from our courts restrain
ing history from repeating itself In
such matters we are the puppets of
fate II the must of history takes ii
into her head to restore feudalism, we
must submit. There is no escape
from her tyranny. not even in univer-
sal intelligence The barons OF old
with their landed estates are dust
Enter the barons OF commerce and in
dustry and finance, That is what Mr.
". J. Ghent. social reformer of New
York in an essay published In a recent
issue of the Independent reveals to a
wondering world The Tolstoyan
utopia of a return to primitive pro-
duction is mere fantasy People do
not want to get back to primitive con-
ditions. krapOtkin's dream of COM
munistic union OF industry and agri-
culture allures neither farmer nor me-
chanic The individualism of ortho-
dox economists is apparently an i'm
possibility. The cooperative COM
monwealth is as remote as the miIlen-
mum. But feudalism is already in
sight 1t has not yet disclosed it's
identity. but it will soon throw of the
mask and reveal itself for what it Is.
What sort of monster will it be?
Bondage to the land" observes Mr.
Ghent, the prophet of feudalism. was
the basis of vlleinage in the old re-
gime; bondage to the job will be the
basis of villeinage in the new. w,
will have our Dukes of Copper, our
Marquises of Steel, our Earls of Oil
our Lords of Traffic and Transporta-
ton. our Viscounts of Lumber and
Glass. These will be at the top of the
caste in the new feudalism, each
Next will be the courtiers and court
agents, judges. professors of endowed
colleges and schools, the pastors OF
conservative" churches, the polti~
Clans of high degree. Then, in order.
will come the workers in pure and
applied science. artists and physicians;
the managers Of great industries;
the foremcn and superintendent;
the villeins of the cities and towns
who do skilled work and are partially
protected by organization; the viii
leins who do unskilled work-laborers
domestics and clerks; the villeins OF
the manorial estates. of the great
farms. the mines and forests the
small unit farmers; petty tradesmen
and manufacturers: the sub-tenants
on the memorial estates, corresponding
10 the class of free tenants in the old
feudalism; the cotters, living on the
margin OF cultivation; the wastrels-
the tramps the unemployed, the occa-
sionally employed.
Here. then, we have a scheme
worked out very prettily by our
prophet. 1t is a benevolent feudal-
ism, but the velvet glove will conceal
the hand of iron. The state will con-
tinue very much as now. Just as the
Roman Republic continued under Au-
gustus," but ''the mobiles will have at
"NANSN w NohpiCtc power anu the mo
time and operation of government will
have become simply the registering
and administering of their collective
will" The political and social con-
troll will be comprehensive and exact
and exercised over a multiplicity of
details There will be a great respect |
for power and little inclination toward |
bitter criticism of the upper classes.
The churches, the colleges. literature,
even the stage, will be skillfully util
lied in persuading mankind that the
new feudalism will prove the salvation
of the world. There will be no revo-