Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 2.djvu/837

 COLLECTIVE TELESIS 821

forces. There are physical forces that will secure it to a certain extent, but they are subject to the law of competition, which sets a limit to their action and soon chokes up the avenues of distri- bution. The kind of ingenuity needed to secure free circulation of products is social ingenuity, i. e. t collective telesis. A social machinery of free distribution must be invented and perfected by social ingenuity. The machinery of production is a product of physical science. The machinery of distribution will be a product of social science. Sociology stands in the same relation to the distribution of wealth that economics stands to its pro- duction. Most of the so-called overproduction is simply the choking of the avenues of distribution. It is the problem of social science to clear these avenues and let the products flow freely wherever they are attracted by human wants. The soci- ologist believes this possible through social ingenuity and social machinery.

This general social art, the scientific control of the social forces by the collective mind of society for its advantage, in strict homology with the practical arts of the industrial world, is what I have hitherto given the name Sociocracy. It has some- times been confounded with socialism, and I cannot perhaps bet- ter conclude this series of papers than by briefly pointing out wherein, so far as I understand what socialism is, this differs from it, and also from the prevailing competitive regime or individualism. This can only be done at this stage by a few antithetical propositions whose elaboration is for the present postponed :

1. Individualism has created artificial inequalities.

2. Socialism seeks to create artificial equalities.

3. Sociocracy recognizes natural inequalities and aims to abolish artificial inequalities.

4. Individualism confers benefits on those only who h.ur the ability to obtain them, by superior power, cunning, intelli- gence, or the accident of position.

5. Socialism would confer the same benefits on all alike, and aims to secure equality of fruition.