The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-02-15

geddons no less renowned thar
politics.
Culture levels enter into the vocabu-
larry and philosophy Of the Rifieman
They are varying and interactint
quantities" and they are knitted uI
with economic forces; the maintenance
by one country Of high culture Level
depends upon the maintenance OF bal
ance among the culture levels OF the
other countries with which 1t Is eco
nomicaiiy bound up. There are refine
ments of these distinctions: England
is in the "major Industrial, minor agri-
cultural" phase; Germany and France
are in the agricultural cum Industrial
period; Russia and India In the "major
agricultural, minor INDUSTRIAL" stage;
"a new lingo for facts OF exceedingly
common observation. England Is the
dominant" culture level, and the de-
velopment Of those Of Germany, Russia
and America, mot to speak Of possible
analogous development Of China under
I European and American influences.
must "cut into" Englands economic
resources. Therefore In the end Eng
land will have either to fight or submit
4
| OF her commercial empire.
And when this foreshadowed war
comes, what war II will be: more
/; savage. cruel, terrible than any war OF
! the past. And then:
f, A nomentary recrudescence OF oarbarism
viii check the ethical development Of Man
kind. d recoil from a highly developed civ
ilization to the crude animallsm OF strife
will unlock the gates OF q savage blood
lust which from the ethical standpoint Will
throw Mankind hundreds Of years back III
. the plane OF civilization.
The programme seems complete In
every detail; except perhaps for the
omission Of "A few SOCIAL" forces that
may even yet Justify adherence to the
classic instead Of the romantic" view
of history.
Tie economic type o; history 10 not
an Improvement over the heroic type,
except that 1t helps define the opposite
extremes midway between which lies
the happy solution. To the Ritieman
the independent existence Of the United
States OF America Is due simply and
solely ito u revolt OF tho mercantile
classes Of the American Colonies
against the economic policy OF the
mother country, the attempts
of the mother country to exploit her
colonies for her own economic advan-
tayc. II was against the navigation
laws, not against the stamp acts. that
the American colonies in reality re-
VOTED. and had the stamp acts never
been passed the Americans would
! merely have seized upon another pre-
text for revolt" What is ethics: Noth-
Ing but the reflection of economic cir
l
! and sex morality not only reflect the
economic interests Of property holders
and married men. but they have no
+ other bearing at all. Popular ethics is
"c,aptrap." Tic Golden Rule simply
: reflects Il high STANDARD OF enlightened
se.tishness. Itself q reaction from TIE
high economic level reached by Greco-
Roman civilization" AZ the organizing
class grows weather ethics becomes
increasingly !deal.zeu. The Reforma-
| ton In northern Europe reflected the
! economic phenoiaeua Of the Ecnais-
sance. In our oua country tho funds-
menta! economic antagonism between
/ North and South must have cventuated
n civil war quite Independently OF any
| question OF State rights and slavery"
Taking the heart out OF history and
4
| ceiling the old war cry OF freedom"
anu substituting for 1t the slogan" Of
economies" the juggernaut OF pure
! !ntcllec: pursues a relentless course
over the .asp.ng bodies OF hard won
| ideas and cherished Ideals:
| Tho system OF society under which We a.,
| present 1--we is not In any degree superior
from the stsndpo!u, OF pure ethics to the
system OF society % the days OF the Casars;
/ 5o,h systems OF society are equally de-
! pendent upon the buying and selling OF the
commodity OF labor power. ye, tho average
Engl.shman Of to-day does not consider the
! institution OF wage slavery an abhorrent III
s,tut.on. he does not In the least repudiatr
the economic system upon which is bs1ed
, our present social system.
What OF socialism: WHY. Il Is q
, system Of ethics that reflects the eco
monte circumstances Of the early nine
teenth century. the formation Of a
wealthy lcisured class. the triumph OF
| bourgeois ideals and the concentration
OF Industry into the hands OF large pro-
ducers. While capitalism Is ratura,
/ outgrowth OF economics, socialism re-
verses the natural order by endeayor-
ing 10 make ethical sentiment the
mould IN which economic development
shall be shaped. Where individual
desires have been the handspring of
other systems OF ethics and politics.
socialism seeks the millennium through
cndeavors 10 apply a theory that re-
pudiates the dominant Instincts of
mankind. Were socialist Ideals to be
realized asks the Riileman, what Wi,
remain for man bit to curse God and
die?"
The mind s'r!nks from tile vista OF uHut-
terable duness opened on; by SO awful Il
prospect ono feels that In sheer refuge
from an Internal monotony It reaction to
primitive animal instincts will plunge man
once more into unnatural forms OF Vice
and that finally with the ruling ciass thus
weakened in physical v!xor aud morale, with
a civilization ia genera! devoid Of vixor and
energy. with weapons OF war and nipple
uents OF production reduced to stereotype
half-undorstood oegencrated reproductions
of the more early forms It Will DO incvi, hi,
that the barbarian peoples AZ yet UNI
touched BY civtil1lng influences. shall teas
DOWN the who c decadent ipht.c IN Z cata.
ciysm OF Invasion. which vii. get civ!lisa-
tion in ths melting pc: anew.
Whatever the merit Of these fine spun
theories and whatever the quality of
these gloomy prophecies of The COM
ing Crash. 1t t. reasonably certain that
men will 80 along as they have these
.t..tn 81 -.