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The Altruist in Politics







by Benjamin Cardozo























There comes not seldom a crisis in the life of men; of nations;



and of worlds; when the old forms seem ready to decay; and the



old rules of action have lost their binding force。  The evils of



existing systems obscure the blessings that attend them; and;



where reform is needed; the cry is raised for subversion。  The



cause of such phenomena is not far to seek。  〃It used to appear



to me;〃 writes Count Tolstoi; in a significant passage; 〃it used



to appear to me that the small number of cultivated; rich and



idle men; of whom I was one; composed the whole of humanity; and



that the millions and millions of other men who had lived and are



still living were not in reality men at all。〃  It is this spirit…



the spirit that sees the whole of humanity in the few; and throws



into the background the millions and millions of other men…it is



this spirit that has aroused the antagonism of reformers; and



made the decay of the old forms; the rupture of the old



restrictions; the ideal of them and of their followers。  When



wealth and poverty meet each other face to face; the one the



master and the other the dependent; the one exalted and the other



debased; it is perhaps hardly matter for surprise that the



dependent and debased and powerless faction; in envy of their



opponents' supremacy; should demand; not simple reform; but



absolute community and equality of wealth。  That cry for



communism is no new one in the history of mankind。  Thousands of



years ago it was heard and acted on; and; in the lapse of



centuries; its reverberations have but swelled in volume。  Again



and again; the altruist has arisen in politics; has bidden us



share with others the product of our toil; and has proclaimed the



communistic dogma as the panacea for our social ills。  So today;



amid the buried hopes and buried projects of the past; the



doctrine of communism still lives in the minds of men。  Under



stress of misfortune; or in dread of tyranny; it is still



preached in modern times as Plato preached it in the world of the



Greeks。







Yet it is indeed doubtful whether; in the history of mankind; a



doctrine was ever taught more impracticable or more false to the



principles it professes than this very doctrine of communism。  In



a world where self…interest is avowedly the ruling motive; it



seeks to establish at once an all…reaching and all…controlling



altruism。  In a world where every man is pushing and fighting to



outstrip his fellows; it would make him toil with like vigor for



their common welfare。  In a world where a man's activity is



measured by the nearness of reward; it would hold up a



prospective recompense as an equal stimulant to labor。  〃The more



bitterly we feel;〃 writes George Eliot; 〃the more bitterly we



feel the folly; ignorance; neglect; or self…seeking of those who



at different times have wielded power; the stronger is the



obligation we lay on ourselves to beware lest we also; by a too



hasty wresting of measures which seem to promise immediate



relief; make a worse time of it for our own generation; and leave



a bad inheritance for our children。〃  In the future; when the



remoteness of his reward shall have weakened the laborer's zeal;



we shall be able to judge more fairly of the blessings that the



communist offers。  Instead of the present world; where some at



least are well…to…do and happy; the communist holds before us a



world where all alike are poor。  For the activity; the push; the



vigor of our modern life; his substitute is a life aimless and



unbroken。  And so we have to say to communists what George Eliot



might have said: Be not blinded by the passions of the moment;



but when you prate about your own wrongs and the sufferings of



your offspring; take heed lest in the long run you make a worse



time of it for your own generation; and leave a bad inheritance



for your children。







Little thought has been taken by these altruistic reformers for



the application of the doctrines they uphold。  To the question



how one kind of labor can be measured against another; how the



labor of the artisan can be measured against the labor of the



artist; how the labor of the strong can be measured against the



labor of the weak; the communists can give no answer。  Absorbed;



as they are; in the principle of equality; they have still



forgotten the equality of work in the equality of pay; they have



forgotten that reward; to be really equal; must be proportionate



to effort; and they and all socialists have forgotten that we



cannot make an arithmetic of human thought and feeling; and that



for all our crude attempts to balance recompense against toil;



for all our crude attempts to determine the relative severity of



different kinds of toil; for all our crude attempts to determine



the relative strain on different persons of the same kind of



toil; yet not only will the ratio; dealing; as it does; with our



subjective feelings; be a blundering one; but a system based upon



it will involve inequalities greater; because more insidious;



than those of the present system it would discard。







Instances; indeed; are not wanting to substantiate the claim that



communism; by unduly exalting our altruistic impulses; proceeds



upon a false psychological basis。  Yet if an instance is to be



chosen; it would be hard to find one more suggestive than that



afforded by the efforts of Robert Owen。  The year 1824 saw the



rise of Owen's little community of New Harmony; and the year of



1828 saw the community's final disruption。  Individuals had



appropriated to themselves the property designed for all; and



even Owen; who had given to the enterprise his money and his



life; was obliged to admit that men were not yet fitted for the



communistic stage; and that the moment of transition from



individualism to communism had not yet arrived。  Men trained



under the old system; with its eager rivalry; its selfish



interests; could not quite yet enter into the spirit of self…



renunciation that communism demands。  And Owen; therefore; was



led to put his trust in education as the great moulder of the



minds of men。  Through this agency; he hoped; the eager rivalry;



the selfish interests; the sordid love of gain; might be lost in



higher; purer; more disinterested ends; and; animated by that



hope…the hope that in the fullness of time another New Harmony;



free from contention and the disappointments of the old one;



might serve to immortalize his name…animated by that hope; Owen



passed the last thirty years of his life; and with that hope



still before his eyes he died。







But years now have passed since Owen lived; the second New



Harmony has not yet been seen; the so…called rational system of



education has not yet transformed the impulses or the aims of



men; and the communist of today; with a history of two thousand



years of failure behind him; in the same pathetic confidence



still looks for the realization of his dreams to the communism of



the future。







And yet; granting that communism were practicable; granting that



Owen's hopes had some prospect of fulfillment; the doctrine still



embodies evils that must make it forever inexpedient。  The



readers of Mr。 Matthew Arnold's works must have noticed the



emphasis with which he dwells on the instinct of expansion as a



factor in human progress。  It is the refutation alike of



communism and socialism that they thwart the instinct of



expansion; that they substitute for individual energy the energy



of the government; that they substitute for human personality the



blind; mechanical power of the State。  The one system; as the



other; marks the end of individualism。  The one system; as the



other; would make each man the image of his neighbor。  The one



system; as the other; would hold back the progressive; and; by



uniformity of reward; gain uniformity of type。







I can look forward to no blissful prospect for a race of men



that; under the dominion of the State; at the cost of all freedom



of action; at the cost; indeed; of their own true selves; shall



enjoy; if one will; a fair abundance of the material blessings of



life。  Some Matthew Arnold of the future would inevitably say of



them in phase like that applied to the Puritans of old: 〃They



entered the prison of socialism and had the key turned upon their



spirit there for hundreds of years。〃  Into that prison of



socialism; with broken enterprise and broken energy; as serfs



under the mastery of the State; while human personality is



preferred to unreasoning mechanism; mankind must hesitate to



step。  When they shall once have entered within it; when the key



shall have been turn

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