not prejudice the like independence of others, or the welfare of the social organism. This is the conception of freedom written legibly on every page of English constitutional history and realized by our forefathers, who, without troubling themselves with metaphysical discussions, wrought out "the liberty of the subject" The phrase is felicitous, as indicating that the true condi- The laws of the political, as of the moral and physical order, are the expression of Divine Reason, which The stupidest of superstitions is that political Liberty is the necessary product of any constitutional machinery, It is to the ever-deepening apprehension of "the moral CHAPTER III. THE PEOPLE. The superstition that liberty is the inevitable result of government by numbers has embodied itself in the Shibboleth of The People The People's Gospel: "Every man to count for one and no man for more than one It is an a priori doctrine postulating that each individual "citizen' is entitled to an equal share of the national sovereignty, and attributing supreme authority to the majority of "citizens," that is to the representatives of the majority We have derived it mainly from the teachings of Jean- of the time Rousseau's doctrine of the natural goodness, rationality, equality, and sovereignty of the individual, and of the social contract were not original. His originality lay in his passionate enthusiasm In 1789 his new gospel reigned paramount in the general mind of France. "To make the constitution " meant, for the Revolutionary legislators, to translate his doctrines into institutions PAGE 74 75 76 76 77 81 His doctrine as to the individual is wholly untenable, being opposed to the most manifest facts 81 The same must be said of his doctrine as to the State, which is not a conventional institution, but the outcome of an order of necessary truths quite independent, in themselves, of human volition 84 Neither Rousseau nor Locke, in whose mechanical philosophy the political ideas of Rousseau are contained and justified, realized the organic nature of society, nor its ethical conditions, nor the real nature and limits of human authority So much as to the theoretical position of The People's In France, after a century of striving to realize its ideal of man and society, all the bonds of thought are loosened, all classes are in antagonism, all interests are jarring and antagonistic In the United States of America it has ostracised men of light and leading, deeply degraded public life, and made republican government little better than a form Such are the fruits of The People's Gospel, found in every country precisely in proportion as it has been received And it has been received very widely: the inspiration of the Liberalism of Continental Europe, and of the dominant school of Radicalism in this country is derived from it It is by no accident, but by a law issuing from the nature of things, that it produces these results But however false the theoretical positions of the People's Gospel, and however foul its fruits, it veils the truth that all men are equal as persons, and are entitled, in virtue of that equality, to the same share of political power. The proposition that every man should count for one is true PAGE Universal suffrage may be regarded as the expression of this truth in highly advanced states of civilization But in highly advanced states only: institutions need to be radically different according to the stage of advancement reached by a people 99 100 Absurd consequences of the forgetfulness of that truth 101 There is no immutably best form of polity: “the best government is that which teaches men to govern themselves " The true function of representative institutions is to assure to the community the permanence and inviolability of the rational will, and to educate the people at large in the consciousness of Right But if the proposition of The People's Gospel, that “every man should count for one," is true, its other proposition, that "no man should count for more than one," is false. It is a direct infringement of the most sacred rights of human personality: some men should count for many more than one: there is a fundamental democracy in human society: there is also a necessary hierarchy In so far as men are, in truth, equal, they are entitled to the same share of political power: in so far as they are, in truth, unequal, they are entitled to unequal shares of political power: justice is in a mean: it lies in the combination of equal and unequal rights There are elements in the body politic far more important than mere numbers. Civilization is bound up with "the classes," and with their tenure of their proper place and special function in the social organism 102 103 103 104 107 One consequence of the gravitation of power to the multitude, in these days, is the vast importance of Public Opinion to It has become a Shibboleth which all men are expected pronounce with due reverence, under pain of social reprobation Thoughtful men of different schools-Mr. Carlyle and Mr. Mill for example-have expressed impatience of its yoke The truth is that while Public Opinion, in its highest sense, is entitled to our veneration and obedience, what is commonly presented to us as Public Opinion is not so entitled What is commonly presented to us as Public Opinion is the accord of a number of private opinions upon a matter of common interest com The vast majority of these private opinions are paratively unwise. Is there any reason for supposing that from a large number of them, a wise Public Opinion can be formed? Let us look at the process of its formation, as daily exhibited in this country. On any question of current politics two diametrically opposed views are certain to be at once taken: one by the party in office and desirous not to go out, the other by the party out of office and desirous to come in. The PAGE . 108 110 110 112 112 112 |