Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 5.djvu/430

 4l6 THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY

Old-Age Pensions. — Except in Denmark, which has a population of only about one-half that of London, schemes for providing old-age pensions are not working well ; and the laboring classes, for whose benefit the proposals have been made, are having their faith in legislative methods much weakened by the fact. In Germany old-age pension laws have taken the form of compulsory insurance, and make the employers, as well as the workmen, liable for disablements.

Many schemes have recently been brought forward in England to solve the problem, notably that of .Mr. Booth, which amounted in fact to " poor relief," and reduced itself logically to the principle that people shall eat, not because they have worked, but because they happen to have been born. But none of these measures have passed.

The cause of the failures is that " we have tried to encourage thrift by pouring into it that poison which destroys thrift." "AH attempts by the state to relieve pov- erty by supplementing inadequate incomes must fail," declared the poor-law commis- sion of 1834; "the only hope for the futuremustbe looked forfrom the improvement of earning power in the laboring classes, and their own greater love of independence and sense of responsibility." This must be the guiding principle in any sound legislation on the subject.

The first thing to be done is to ascertain the nature and extent of the distress to be dealt with. Statistics show that old-age indigence is less now in England than formerly, and is steadily decreasing ; while friendly societies, cooperative institutions, and the like are already measurably successful in dealing with the problems of provid- ing for superannuates.

Secondly, we must ask as to the proper scope of the scheme. A national scheme promises to equalize burdens on the different parts of the country ; but would be likely to be extravagant, through the relaxation of the vigilance and economy of pri- vate or local interest ; and immoral through affording candidates for political power the means of bidding for votes.

Thirdly, we need to take stock of the instruments at hand for solving the prob- lem without calling in state action, (i) Every corporation can be made an insurance society, and many of them are being so adapted by large employers. This promotes the continuous service and efficiency of the employi5s. (2) The labor societies, under the stimulus of the democratic motive to independence and equality of rights, are pro- moting self-help on the part of their members by old-age benefits. (3) The friendly societies are, upon the authority of the chief registrar of England, becoming safe depositories. (4) The accumulations in the national debt office, resulting from the people's savings, might be used, as similar funds are being used in some countries, to assist in the multiplication of workingmen's dwellings. (5) The poor law itself ought to be revised.

Thus the taxing of employment to make some reparation for its wear and tear ; the utmost development of self-help and thrift ; the reorganization of charity ; and a thorough reform of the poor laws — those appear to be the methods by which we ought to proceed. — Henry W.Wolff, "Old Age Pensions," in Economic Review, July 15, 1899.

The Relation of Ethics to Sociology. — It is for the true good of any depart- ment of knowledge or inquirv to understand as thoroughly as may be its relation to other sciences and studies, to see clearlv what elements of its reasonings it has taken from them, and what in its turn it may claim to give them ; and the value of this insight becomes greater in proportion as the growth of human knowledge, the steady exten- sion of the range of human inquirv, brings with it a continually more urgent need for a clear and rational division of intellectual labor. If, therefore, the relation of ethics to sociology is truly one of subordination, it is important that students of ethics should fully recognize this truth and render due obedience to the superior authority. In order to examine cioselv the relations between these two studies we ought to be able to bring the general character and outline of each in turn clearly before us. In the narrow sense ethics may be designated an inquiry into the principles and methods of determining what is right and wrong in human action, the content of the moral law, and the proper object of rational choice and avoidance. This inquiry may be combined with the scientific study of the actual relations of men, regarded as members