Evening star., 1922-12-26
NEW BOOKS
AT RANDOM
INDIvIDUALIsM. Her
bert Hoover. Doubleday, Page.h

| AMERICAN INDIvIDUALIsM. Her
bert Hoover. Doubleday, Page.k
Il am an individualist--an American
individualist"
Herbert Hoover, reaffirming his po-
litical faith.
But he does more than this, for he
! here goes back over the road by which
| he has reached this ultimate point.
Mr.. Hoover. moreover, is firm in the
| conviction that the time has come
| when every stanch American should
| declare himself. politically. in clear
| and positive terms.
X y x x
We are at the height of that emo
/ tional disturbance which follows, in
war. Overcharged feelings, accom-
panied by corresponding slackness
| in rational thinking, are expressing
discomfort. This is the soil and at
| mosphere i'm which every sort of
utopian plan thrives And. today,
[ socialism. communism. bolshevism-
| each projecting its own particular
utopia-are making specious appeals
|
| rest. Under the superficial differ
ences of these revolutionary isms lies
the double common purpose of a re-
distribution of the worlds wealth
| and doing away with existing gov
| ernmen:s. Beyond these two glitter
| ing points of agreement. the subse-
quent plans for carrying on diverge
| into contradictory, Impractical and
! elusive maZes of theory. Such po-
, liticai vagaries may not constitute
actual menace. They do. undoubtedly.
| however, weaken the solid front of
! practice of our republican govern
ment.
! Off against these various commu-
nistic theories Mr.. Hoover sets the
individualism which stands as the
| basic idea of American government.
| First. however he draws sharp con-
| trast between American individualism
| and that prevailing in the old world
The latter was based. primarily. upon
| physical force. upon conquest Later,
it settled to the dynastic idea of mo-
| narctiical succession. It's immediate
| effect was the creation of distinct
iclasses. each rigid in form. each exer-
! cising inhibitory power over the class
| below. This kind of individualism
1
ism on the one hand. and sets the
| chief barrier to human progress on
| the other. 1t was from such exercise
of the principle of indvidualism in
| the old world that our forefathers
| fled to the new world.
| The idea of individualism was not
abandoned in the new world. Instead
it was reconstruct in meaning. ex-
panded in application. 1t included all
men. This Interpretation automati-
| cally did away with the old class
| struct ture of society. Our first great
bill of rights formally crystallized
this new conception in the declaration
| that man. every man. has certain
| lunalienable rights-life, liberty, the
pursuit of happiness. And that
l against these no formally constituted
power may prevail. Herein lies the
| seed of all human progress. And
| when. later. the Constitution enun-
[ ciated the fundamental law of the
! monwealth. it was the spirit of
this new individualism that shaped
| and directed it. And Mr.. Hoover goes
on to remind US. in brief review. that
this fundamental law has proved big
| enough and flexible enough and dis
| corning enough to promote stupen-
dous national progress, largely s
| initiative anu
equal opportunity for all.
! From this general introduction the
author passes to special considera-
tion of the philosophy of our individ-
ualism to an estimate of its spiritual
| Significance. to discussion of its
economic and political aspects
! **
| Progress in a nation is the sum OF
progress in its individuals Intel
sligence. character. courage. asplra-
ltiors are individual possessions and
from these individual qualities rise
the impulses out of which all pro-
duction. either of mind or hand.
| springs Some of these impulses ar.
destructive as. for example. that .!
self interest. These must be restrain
ed The problem of the world is 10
restrain the destructive instincts
while strengthening and enlargin
those of altruistic character and con-
structive impulse. This progress To-
ward a true altruism is. however: q
matter of generations. And the Nv III
io'-the-wisp of all breeds of socialism
is to urge an immediate aitrulstic c
mechanism of government when the
fact of altruism itself is yet lar
AWAY in the future Leadership is y
quality of the individual. And ~
democracy is to secure its authorities
in morals. religion and statesmanship
it must stimulate leadership from Its
own mass.
"The idealsm of democracy in
| creases in proportion as each indi-
! vidual increases his own stock oil
spirituality" Here MIR. Hoover points
to the splendid vision of service that
out of personal voluntary initiative;
has, within the past few years. put
something new and glorious into the
! concept of human relations.
X i: x
1.-THE superlative value of individ-
ualism through it's impulse to produc-
ton. its stimulation to invention. has
so far as 1 know, never been denied
To such production and such inven-
| tion NAV be directly attributed tie
amazing economic development of IT,.
| last half century. lifting the genera
standard of living far beyond any
the dreams of former generations. IL
we throttle the fundamental Impulses
of man our production will decay. The
world in this hour is witnessing ths
most overshadowing tragedy of ten
/ centuries in the heart-breaking life
and-death struggle with starvation
by a nation with a hundred and fifty
| millions of people. In Russia under
| the new tyranny, a group. in pursuit
of social theories, have destroyed the
| primary self-interest impulse of the
| Individual to production" THE
| economic system which is the result
| of our individualism is not frozen
organism. 1t moves rapidly in its
form of organization under the i'm
pulse of personal initiative. of growing
science, of larger production and of
constantly cheapening distribution.
Despite the warnings of agitators