Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 1.djvu/79

 Rh the principle that every discovery affecting man's welfare belongs to the race and not to the finder, and yet have suffered no detriment, why may not the like be possible in commerce, in mechanics, and in all the arts affecting man's social well being? It is not an unquestioned assumption that greatness comes from conditions necessitating a struggle for existence. Competency rather than poverty has been its origin. In either case it is seldom if ever the economic motive, but rather a complex of social motives, both egoistic and altruistic, that is the occasion of the effort that brings the social reward—"greatness." It is not necessary to substitute a mastery over persons for a mastery over things in order to preserve inducements to exertion; the highest master, that over self, is not without motive power. Praise, honor, fame, leadership are aims that exert strong attractions; but the pleasures of doing, of achieving, of serving are no less powerful and are capable of much higher development. The highest character is produced by social rather than by egoistic, especially economic motives. This is universally' recognized. Leaving out of consideration the loftiest, viz., the moral motives, evidences are not wanting to sustain the claim that other motives than the economic have decided the ascendancy of higher civilizations over lower. Political motives produced the Roman nation, æsthetic motives certain stages of Grecian civilization and the Renaissance period of the Italian cities. Intellectual aspirations have been sufficient incentives to greatness of character, and that even to entire groups. Colleges and universities are examples on a small scale and afford illustrations of greatest endeavor and ideal community life called forth by motives other than economic. Christian socialists have emphasized this general truth.

To recapitulate: considering only essentials, the ideals of Christian socialism are, objectively, a method of social cooperation effective through spiritual forces to realize a status of social life that will fulfill the conditions of organic existence and progress; and, subjectively, the brotherhood of the race, the preeminence of personality over all material conditions, and the effectiveness of other than economic motives. Greater stress has been laid