Chapter V The Central Truth

In the short space to which this latter part of our inquiry is necessarily confined, I have been obliged to omit much that I would like to say, and to touch briefly where an exhaustive consideration would not be out of place.

This last part of our inquiry has had to stay short. I have left out much that I would like to say, and touched briefly on matters that deserve exhaustive treatment.

Nevertheless, this, at least, is evident, that the truth to which we were led in the politico-economic branch of our inquiry is as clearly apparent in the rise and fall of nations and the growth and decay of civilizations, and that it accords with those deep-seated recognitions of relation and sequence that we denominate moral perceptions. Thus have been given to our conclusions the greatest certitude and highest sanction.

Still, one thing is clear. The truth we reached in the economic part of our inquiry shows just as plainly in the rise and fall of nations and the growth and decay of civilizations. It also agrees with the deep-seated recognitions of relation and sequence that we call moral perceptions. That gives our conclusions the greatest certainty and the highest sanction.

This truth involves both a menace and a promise. It shows that the evils arising from the unjust and unequal distribution of wealth, which are becoming more and more apparent as modern civilization goes on, are not incidents of progress, but tendencies which must bring progress to a halt; that they will not cure themselves, but, on the contrary, must, unless their cause is removed, grow greater and greater, until they sweep us back into barbarism by the road every previous civilization has trod. But it also shows that these evils are not imposed by natural laws; that they spring solely from social mal-adjustments which ignore natural laws, and that in removing their cause we shall be giving an enormous impetus to progress.

This truth holds both a threat and a promise. The evils of unjust and unequal distribution of wealth grow more apparent as modern civilization advances. They are not incidents of progress but tendencies that must bring progress to a halt. They will not cure themselves. Unless their cause is removed, they must grow until they sweep us back into barbarism by the road every earlier civilization has taken. But natural laws do not impose these evils. They spring solely from social maladjustments that ignore natural laws, and removing their cause will give progress an enormous impetus.

The poverty which in the midst of abundance pinches542 and imbrutes men, and all the manifold evils which flow from it, spring from a denial of justice. In permitting the monopolization of the opportunities which nature freely offers to all, we have ignored the fundamental law of justice—for, so far as we can see, when we view things upon a large scale, justice seems to be the supreme law of the universe. But by sweeping away this injustice and asserting the rights of all men to natural opportunities, we shall conform ourselves to the law—we shall remove the great cause of unnatural inequality in the distribution of wealth and power; we shall abolish poverty; tame the ruthless passions of greed; dry up the springs of vice and misery; light in dark places the lamp of knowledge; give new vigor to invention and a fresh impulse to discovery; substitute political strength for political weakness; and make tyranny and anarchy impossible.

The poverty that pinches and brutalizes men542 amid abundance, and all the evils that flow from it, spring from a denial of justice. By allowing the monopolizing of the opportunities nature offers freely to all, we have ignored the fundamental law of justice. On a large scale, justice seems to be the supreme law of the universe. If we sweep away this injustice and assert the rights of all men to natural opportunities, we shall conform to the law. We shall remove the great cause of unnatural inequality in wealth and power. We shall abolish poverty and tame the ruthless passions of greed. We shall dry up the springs of vice and misery and light the lamp of knowledge in dark places. We shall give invention new vigor and discovery a fresh impulse, replace political weakness with strength, and make tyranny and anarchy impossible.

The reform I have proposed accords with all that is politically, socially, or morally desirable. It has the qualities of a true reform, for it will make all other reforms easier. What is it but the carrying out in letter and spirit of the truth enunciated in the Declaration of Independence—the “self-evident” truth that is the heart and soul of the Declaration—“That all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness!”

The reform I have proposed fits everything politically, socially or morally desirable. It has the mark of a true reform, because it will make all other reforms easier. It simply carries out, in letter and spirit, the “self-evident” truth that is the heart and soul of the Declaration of Independence: “That all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness!”

These rights are denied when the equal right to land—on which and by which men alone can live—is denied. Equality of political rights will not compensate for the denial of the equal right to the bounty of nature. Political liberty, when the equal right to land is denied, becomes, as population increases and invention goes on, merely the liberty to compete for employment at starvation wages. This is the truth that we have ignored. And so there come beggars in our streets and tramps on543 our roads; and poverty enslaves men whom we boast are political sovereigns; and want breeds ignorance that our schools cannot enlighten; and citizens vote as their masters dictate; and the demagogue usurps the part of the statesman; and gold weighs in the scales of justice; and in high places sit those who do not pay to civic virtue even the compliment of hypocrisy; and the pillars of the republic that we thought so strong already bend under an increasing strain.

These rights are denied when we deny the equal right to land, on which and by which alone men can live. Equal political rights cannot make up for denying the equal right to nature’s bounty. Without it, political liberty becomes, as population grows and invention goes on, only the liberty to compete for jobs at starvation wages. This is the truth we have ignored. So beggars come into our streets and tramps onto543 our roads. Poverty enslaves men we boast of as political sovereigns. Want breeds an ignorance our schools cannot cure. Citizens vote as their masters dictate. The demagogue replaces the statesman. Gold weighs down the scales of justice. In high places sit men who do not pay civic virtue even the compliment of hypocrisy. And the pillars of the republic, which we thought so strong, already bend under the growing strain.

We honor Liberty in name and in form. We set up her statues and sound her praises. But we have not fully trusted her. And with our growth so grow her demands. She will have no half service!

We honor Liberty in name and in form. We raise her statues and sing her praises. But we have not fully trusted her. As we grow, so do her demands. She will have no half service!

Liberty! it is a word to conjure with, not to vex the ear in empty boastings. For Liberty means Justice, and Justice is the natural law—the law of health and symmetry and strength, of fraternity and co-operation.

Liberty! It is a word to conjure with, not to wear out in empty boasting. For Liberty means Justice, and Justice is the natural law, the law of health, symmetry and strength, of fraternity and cooperation.

They who look upon Liberty as having accomplished her mission when she has abolished hereditary privileges and given men the ballot, who think of her as having no further relations to the everyday affairs of life, have not seen her real grandeur—to them the poets who have sung of her must seem rhapsodists, and her martyrs fools! As the sun is the lord of life, as well as of light; as his beams not merely pierce the clouds, but support all growth, supply all motion, and call forth from what would otherwise be a cold and inert mass all the infinite diversities of being and beauty, so is liberty to mankind. It is not for an abstraction that men have toiled and died; that in every age the witnesses of Liberty have stood forth, and the martyrs of Liberty have suffered.

Some think Liberty has finished her mission once she has abolished hereditary privilege and given men the ballot, and that she has nothing more to do with everyday life. They have not seen her real grandeur. To them the poets who sang of her must seem rhapsodists, and her martyrs fools! The sun is lord of life as well as light. His beams not only pierce the clouds. They support all growth and supply all motion. They call all the infinite diversity of being and beauty out of what would otherwise be a cold, inert mass. Liberty is that to mankind. Men have not toiled and died for an abstraction. In every age the witnesses of Liberty have stood forth and her martyrs have suffered.

We speak of Liberty as one thing, and of virtue, wealth, knowledge, invention, national strength and national independence as other things. But, of all these, Liberty is the source, the mother, the necessary condition. She is to virtue what light is to color; to wealth what sun544shine is to grain; to knowledge what eyes are to sight. She is the genius of invention, the brawn of national strength, the spirit of national independence. Where Liberty rises, there virtue grows, wealth increases, knowledge expands, invention multiplies human powers, and in strength and spirit the freer nation rises among her neighbors as Saul amid his brethren—taller and fairer. Where Liberty sinks, there virtue fades, wealth diminishes, knowledge is forgotten, invention ceases, and empires once mighty in arms and arts become a helpless prey to freer barbarians!

We speak of Liberty as one thing, and of virtue, wealth, knowledge, invention, national strength and independence as others. But Liberty is the source of them all, their mother and necessary condition. She is to virtue what light is to color, to wealth what sunshine544 is to grain, and to knowledge what eyes are to sight. She is the genius of invention, the brawn of national strength, the spirit of national independence. Where Liberty rises, virtue grows, wealth increases, knowledge expands and invention multiplies human powers. The freer nation rises among its neighbors in strength and spirit as Saul did among his brethren, taller and fairer. Where Liberty sinks, virtue fades, wealth shrinks, knowledge is forgotten and invention ceases, and empires once mighty in arms and arts fall helpless prey to freer barbarians!

Only in broken gleams and partial light has the sun of Liberty yet beamed among men, but all progress hath she called forth.

The sun of Liberty has shone among men only in broken gleams and partial light, yet she has called forth all progress.

Liberty came to a race of slaves crouching under Egyptian whips, and led them forth from the House of Bondage. She hardened them in the desert and made of them a race of conquerors. The free spirit of the Mosaic law took their thinkers up to heights where they beheld the unity of God, and inspired their poets with strains that yet phrase the highest exaltations of thought. Liberty dawned on the Phœnician coast, and ships passed the Pillars of Hercules to plow the unknown sea. She shed a partial light on Greece, and marble grew to shapes of ideal beauty, words became the instruments of subtlest thought, and against the scanty militia of free cities the countless hosts of the Great King broke like surges against a rock. She cast her beams on the four-acre farms of Italian husbandmen, and born of her strength a power came forth that conquered the world. They glinted from shields of German warriors, and Augustus wept his legions. Out of the night that followed her eclipse, her slanting rays fell again on free cities, and a lost learning revived, modern civilization began, a new world was unveiled; and as Liberty grew, so grew art, wealth, power, knowledge, and refinement. In the his545tory of every nation we may read the same truth. It was the strength born of Magna Charta that won Crecy and Agincourt. It was the revival of Liberty from the despotism of the Tudors that glorified the Elizabethan age. It was the spirit that brought a crowned tyrant to the block that planted here the seed of a mighty tree. It was the energy of ancient freedom that, the moment it had gained unity, made Spain the mightiest power of the world, only to fall to the lowest depth of weakness when tyranny succeeded liberty. See, in France, all intellectual vigor dying under the tyranny of the Seventeenth Century to revive in splendor as Liberty awoke in the Eighteenth, and on the enfranchisement of French peasants in the Great Revolution, basing the wonderful strength that has in our time defied defeat.

Liberty came to a race of slaves crouching under Egyptian whips and led them out of the House of Bondage. She hardened them in the desert and made them conquerors. The free spirit of the Mosaic law lifted their thinkers to heights where they beheld the unity of God. It gave their poets strains that still voice the highest exaltations of thought. Liberty dawned on the Phoenician coast, and ships passed the Pillars of Hercules to plow the unknown sea. She shed a partial light on Greece. Marble grew into shapes of ideal beauty and words became instruments of the subtlest thought. The countless hosts of the Great King broke like surges against the scanty militia of free cities. She cast her beams on the four-acre farms of Italian husbandmen, and from her strength came a power that conquered the world. They glinted from the shields of German warriors, and Augustus wept for his legions. Out of the night that followed her eclipse, her slanting rays fell again on free cities. A lost learning revived, modern civilization began, a new world was unveiled, and as Liberty grew, so did art, wealth, power, knowledge and refinement. In the history545 of every nation we may read the same truth. The strength born of Magna Charta won Crecy and Agincourt. The revival of Liberty from the despotism of the Tudors glorified the Elizabethan age. The spirit that brought a crowned tyrant to the block planted here the seed of a mighty tree. The energy of ancient freedom made Spain the mightiest power in the world the moment it gained unity, only to fall to the lowest weakness when tyranny succeeded liberty. See all intellectual vigor in France die under the tyranny of the Seventeenth Century and revive in splendor as Liberty awoke in the Eighteenth. See the enfranchised French peasants of the Great Revolution, on whom rests the strength that has defied defeat in our time.

Shall we not trust her?

Shall we not trust her?

In our time, as in times before, creep on the insidious forces that, producing inequality, destroy Liberty. On the horizon the clouds begin to lower. Liberty calls to us again. We must follow her further; we must trust her fully. Either we must wholly accept her or she will not stay. It is not enough that men should vote; it is not enough that they should be theoretically equal before the law. They must have liberty to avail themselves of the opportunities and means of life; they must stand on equal terms with reference to the bounty of nature. Either this, or Liberty withdraws her light! Either this, or darkness comes on, and the very forces that progress has evolved turn to powers that work destruction. This is the universal law. This is the lesson of the centuries. Unless its foundations be laid in justice the social structure cannot stand.

In our time, as before, insidious forces creep on that produce inequality and so destroy Liberty. Clouds begin to lower on the horizon. Liberty calls to us again. We must follow her further and trust her fully. Either we accept her wholly or she will not stay. It is not enough that men vote, or that they be theoretically equal before the law. They must be free to use the opportunities and means of life, and stand on equal terms with regard to the bounty of nature. Either this, or Liberty withdraws her light! Either this, or darkness comes on, and the very forces progress has produced turn to destruction. This is the universal law. This is the lesson of the centuries. Unless its foundations are laid in justice, the social structure cannot stand.

Our primary social adjustment is a denial of justice. In allowing one man to own the land on which and from which other men must live, we have made them his bondsmen in a degree which increases as material prog546ress goes on. This is the subtile alchemy that in ways they do not realize is extracting from the masses in every civilized country the fruits of their weary toil; that is instituting a harder and more hopeless slavery in place of that which has been destroyed; that is bringing political despotism out of political freedom, and must soon transmute democratic institutions into anarchy.

Our primary social adjustment is a denial of justice. We allow one man to own the land on which and from which other men must live. That makes them his bondsmen, more and more as material progress546 goes on. This is the subtle alchemy that, in ways people do not realize, extracts from the masses of every civilized country the fruits of their weary toil. It sets up a harder, more hopeless slavery in place of the one destroyed. It brings political despotism out of political freedom, and must soon turn democratic institutions into anarchy.

It is this that turns the blessings of material progress into a curse. It is this that crowds human beings into noisome cellars and squalid tenement houses; that fills prisons and brothels; that goads men with want and consumes them with greed; that robs women of the grace and beauty of perfect womanhood; that takes from little children the joy and innocence of life’s morning.

This turns the blessings of material progress into a curse. This crowds human beings into noisome cellars and squalid tenement houses. It fills prisons and brothels. It goads men with want and consumes them with greed. It robs women of the grace and beauty of perfect womanhood and takes from little children the joy and innocence of life’s morning.

Civilization so based cannot continue. The eternal laws of the universe forbid it. Ruins of dead empires testify, and the witness that is in every soul answers, that it cannot be. It is something grander than Benevolence, something more august than Charity—it is Justice herself that demands of us to right this wrong. Justice that will not be denied; that cannot be put off—Justice that with the scales carries the sword. Shall we ward the stroke with liturgies and prayers? Shall we avert the decrees of immutable law by raising churches when hungry infants moan and weary mothers weep?

A civilization built this way cannot continue. The eternal laws of the universe forbid it. The ruins of dead empires testify, and the witness in every soul answers, that it cannot be. Something grander than Benevolence, more august than Charity, demands that we right this wrong. It is Justice herself, who will not be denied and cannot be put off. She carries the sword with the scales. Shall we ward off the stroke with liturgies and prayers? Shall we avert the decrees of immutable law by building churches while hungry infants moan and weary mothers weep?

Though it may take the language of prayer, it is blasphemy that attributes to the inscrutable decrees of Providence the suffering and brutishness that come of poverty; that turns with folded hands to the All-Father and lays on Him the responsibility for the want and crime of our great cities. We degrade the Everlasting. We slander the Just One. A merciful man would have better ordered the world; a just man would crush with his foot such an ulcerous anthill! It is not the Almighty, but we who are responsible for the vice and misery that fester amid our civilization. The Creator showers upon us his gifts—more547 than enough for all. But like swine scrambling for food, we tread them in the mire—tread them in the mire, while we tear and rend each other!

It may take the language of prayer, but it is blasphemy to blame the inscrutable decrees of Providence for the suffering and brutishness that come of poverty. It is blasphemy to turn with folded hands to the All-Father and lay on Him the blame for the want and crime of our great cities. We degrade the Everlasting. We slander the Just One. A merciful man would have ordered the world better. A just man would crush such an ulcerous anthill with his foot! The Almighty is not responsible for the vice and misery that fester in our civilization. We are. The Creator showers on us his gifts, more547 than enough for all. But like swine scrambling for food, we tread them in the mire, tread them in the mire while we tear and rend each other!

In the very centers of our civilization to-day are want and suffering enough to make sick at heart whoever does not close his eyes and steel his nerves. Dare we turn to the Creator and ask Him to relieve it? Supposing the prayer were heard, and at the behest with which the universe sprang into being there should glow in the sun a greater power; new virtue fill the air; fresh vigor the soil; that for every blade of grass that now grows two should spring up, and the seed that now increases fifty-fold should increase a hundred-fold! Would poverty be abated or want relieved? Manifestly no! Whatever benefit would accrue would be but temporary. The new powers streaming through the material universe could be utilized only through land. And land, being private property, the classes that now monopolize the bounty of the Creator would monopolize all the new bounty. Land owners would alone be benefited. Rents would increase, but wages would still tend to the starvation point!

The very centers of our civilization today hold want and suffering enough to sicken anyone who does not close his eyes and steel his nerves. Dare we turn to the Creator and ask Him to relieve it? Suppose the prayer were heard. At the command that called the universe into being, a greater power glows in the sun, new virtue fills the air, and fresh vigor fills the soil. Two blades of grass spring up where one grows now, and seed that now increases fifty-fold increases a hundred-fold. Would poverty be abated or want relieved? Plainly not. Any benefit would be temporary. The new powers could be used only through land. Land being private property, the classes that now monopolize the Creator’s bounty would monopolize all the new bounty. Land owners alone would benefit. Rents would rise, but wages would still tend to the starvation point!

This is not merely a deduction of political economy; it is a fact of experience. We know it because we have seen it. Within our own times, under our very eyes, that Power which is above all, and in all, and through all; that Power of which the whole universe is but the manifestation; that Power which maketh all things, and without which is not anything made that is made, has increased the bounty which men may enjoy, as truly as though the fertility of nature had been increased. Into the mind of one came the thought that harnessed steam for the service of mankind. To the inner ear of another was whispered the secret that compels the lightning to bear a message round the globe. In every direction have the laws of matter been revealed; in every department of industry have arisen arms of iron and fingers of steel,548 whose effect upon the production of wealth has been precisely the same as an increase in the fertility of nature. What has been the result? Simply that land owners get all the gain. The wonderful discoveries and inventions of our century have neither increased wages nor lightened toil. The effect has simply been to make the few richer; the many more helpless!

This is not merely a deduction of economics. It is a fact of experience, and we know it because we have seen it. In our own times, under our very eyes, that Power which is above all, and in all, and through all, that Power of which the whole universe is but the manifestation, that Power which maketh all things, and without which is not anything made that is made, has increased the bounty men may enjoy as truly as if nature’s fertility had grown. Into the mind of one came the thought that harnessed steam for mankind. To the inner ear of another was whispered the secret that makes lightning carry a message round the globe. The laws of matter have been revealed in every direction. In every industry arms of iron and fingers of steel have arisen,548 and their effect on the production of wealth has been exactly that of an increase in nature’s fertility. What has been the result? Simply that land owners get all the gain. The wonderful discoveries and inventions of our century have neither raised wages nor lightened toil. They have only made the few richer and the many more helpless!

Can it be that the gifts of the Creator may be thus misappropriated with impunity? Is it a light thing that labor should be robbed of its earnings while greed rolls in wealth—that the many should want while the few are surfeited? Turn to history, and on every page may be read the lesson that such wrong never goes unpunished; that the Nemesis that follows injustice never falters nor sleeps! Look around to-day. Can this state of things continue? May we even say, “After us the deluge!” Nay; the pillars of the state are trembling even now, and the very foundations of society begin to quiver with pent-up forces that glow underneath. The struggle that must either revivify, or convulse in ruin, is near at hand, if it be not already begun.

Can the Creator’s gifts be misappropriated like this with impunity? Is it a light thing that labor should be robbed of its earnings while greed rolls in wealth, and the many want while the few are surfeited? Turn to history. Every page teaches that such wrong never goes unpunished, and that the Nemesis that follows injustice never falters or sleeps! Look around today. Can this state of things continue? May we even say, “After us the deluge!” No. The pillars of the state are trembling even now. The very foundations of society begin to quiver with pent-up forces glowing underneath. The struggle that must either revivify us or convulse us in ruin is near at hand, if it has not already begun.

The fiat has gone forth! With steam and electricity, and the new powers born of progress, forces have entered the world that will either compel us to a higher plane or overwhelm us, as nation after nation, as civilization after civilization, have been overwhelmed before. It is the delusion which precedes destruction that sees in the popular unrest with which the civilized world is feverishly pulsing only the passing effect of ephemeral causes. Between democratic ideas and the aristocratic adjustments of society there is an irreconcilable conflict. Here in the United States, as there in Europe, it may be seen arising. We cannot go on permitting men to vote and forcing them to tramp. We cannot go on educating boys and girls in our public schools and then refusing them the right to earn an honest living. We cannot go on549 prating of the inalienable rights of man and then denying the inalienable right to the bounty of the Creator. Even now, in old bottles the new wine begins to ferment, and elemental forces gather for the strife!

The fiat has gone forth! With steam and electricity and the new powers born of progress, forces have entered the world. They will either compel us to a higher plane or overwhelm us, as nation after nation and civilization after civilization have been overwhelmed before. Only the delusion that precedes destruction sees in the popular unrest, with which the civilized world is feverishly pulsing, a passing effect of ephemeral causes. Democratic ideas and aristocratic social arrangements are in irreconcilable conflict, and we can see it arising here as in Europe. We cannot go on letting men vote and forcing them to tramp. We cannot go on educating boys and girls in our public schools and then refusing them the right to earn an honest living. We cannot go on549 prating of the inalienable rights of man and then denying the inalienable right to the Creator’s bounty. Even now the new wine begins to ferment in old bottles, and elemental forces gather for the strife!

But if, while there is yet time, we turn to Justice and obey her, if we trust Liberty and follow her, the dangers that now threaten must disappear, the forces that now menace will turn to agencies of elevation. Think of the powers now wasted; of the infinite fields of knowledge yet to be explored; of the possibilities of which the wondrous inventions of this century give us but a hint. With want destroyed; with greed changed to noble passions; with the fraternity that is born of equality taking the place of the jealousy and fear that now array men against each other; with mental power loosed by conditions that give to the humblest comfort and leisure; and who shall measure the heights to which our civilization may soar? Words fail the thought! It is the Golden Age of which poets have sung and high-raised seers have told in metaphor! It is the glorious vision which has always haunted man with gleams of fitful splendor. It is what he saw whose eyes at Patmos were closed in a trance. It is the culmination of Christianity—the City of God on earth, with its walls of jasper and its gates of pearl! It is the reign of the Prince of Peace!

But if, while there is still time, we turn to Justice and obey her, if we trust Liberty and follow her, the dangers that now threaten must disappear, and the forces that now menace will become agencies of elevation. Think of the powers now wasted, the infinite fields of knowledge yet to be explored, and the possibilities that this century’s wondrous inventions only hint at. Want destroyed. Greed changed to noble passions. The fraternity born of equality replacing the jealousy and fear that now set men against each other. Mental power loosed by conditions that give even the humblest comfort and leisure. Who can measure the heights to which our civilization might soar? Words fail the thought! It is the Golden Age of which poets have sung and high-raised seers have told in metaphor! It is the glorious vision that has always haunted man with gleams of fitful splendor. It is what he saw whose eyes at Patmos were closed in a trance. It is the culmination of Christianity, the City of God on earth, with its walls of jasper and its gates of pearl! It is the reign of the Prince of Peace!