Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 4.djvu/719

 NOTES AND ABSTRACTS 699

and since this relation is expressed in terms of superstition, we ought to try to make this expression more reasonable and exact. Above all we ought not to try to con- struct a non-religious moral system. — Leon Tolstoi, L Humanite nouvelle, Septem- ber, i8g8.

The Application of the CoUectivist System. — Collectivism, as is well known, consists essentially in the resumption by the state of all means of production, and in the changes and adjustments necessitated by such resumption. That a society founded upon the principles of i-ollectivism would be far preferable to our modern individual- istic society is to be inferred from the following considerations: (i) all those now living in idleness, or non-productively employed, or employed in callings which would become useless under the new regime, would be set to work in productive pursuits; (2) all the forces now wasted under individual methods of production would be con- served andjiHlized ; (3) the hours of labor would be reduced, and the labor of women and children would be suppressed, save in rare cases; (4) many of the sources of the abuse of money would be removed, since the money of the collectivist state would have a fixed and unchanging value; (5) the social mobility of the individual would be an assured fact, while under the present system it is only an enticing promise; (6) education, according to fitness and needs, would be guaranteed to every child in the state ; (7) each would receive, as a salary, the whole of the value created by his labor. These are not all. Certain reforms in the laws relating to marriage, inheritance, the punishment of crime, etc., might be mentioned in addition as flowing indubitably from an adoption and application of the principles of collectivism. But surely the points enumerated are sufficient to suggest the immeasurable superiority of the col- lectivist over the individualistic society. — X, " L'Application du systfeme col-

lectiviste," La Revue socialiste, August, 1898.

Individualism and Social Feeling in England. — Individualism as here used may be defined as the tendency to develop in one's self with the greatest intensity possible, and to make dominate as far as possible one's own personality. In some respects the undisciplined and critical neo-Latin may seem more individualistic than the Anglo Saxon, but really energetic will does not exclude obedience to authority. On the other hand, lack of discipline, fickleness, a tendency to neglect authority, diffi- culty in obeying steadily and patiently, the habit of depending upon others, do not constitute individualism proper, but rather a kind of negative individualism charac- terized by lack of will, self-control, and cooperation with others. What are the psychological and ethnical sources of English individualism ? Ethnic explanations alone are insufficient; so are climatic explanations, though both are important. Insu- lar situation has also been important. The Germanic races are characterized by real- ism, mixed with a certain mystic idealism; the former reaches its highest development in England, but the latter does not disappear.

The English are also characterized by individualism, together with social subordi- nation. This latter is due to the Normans. The sensibility of the English is less fine and more limited than that of the French or the Italians. This is due to their phleg- matic temperament in harmony with the cold, damp climate of Great Britain. The character of the English has been influenced by the dark, cloudy sky, which inspires melancholy ; but race is more important than climate here, for we see the Irish in the same climate keeping something of their Gallic lightness. English sensibility is Ger- man sensibility, but, because of a life more active and utilitarian, it is less sentimental and less mystic. Because of its habitual calm and seriousness the English mind has greater power of attention and profound concentration. The English mind is prac- tical ; it loves facts. The firm, patient, persevering will of the English is where they most resemble the ancient Germans. They are not prudent, like the French, but earn money that they may spend it, leaving their children to do the same. In morality the Englishman is not governed by any sentiment, like honor or social instinct, but by reli- gious law or humane considerations. But the Englishman has his faults : his independ- ence exposes him to egoism, his spirit of originality to eccentricity, his power and riches to contempt for the weak and poor. His habit of associating for some end has been maintained for centuries. On the continent executive ability was always of capital importance ; on the British Isles, where security reigned, as far as neighbors were con-