Hephæstus : $b or, The soul of the machineFournier d'Albe, E. E. (Edmund Edward)
Philosophy
Hephæstus : $b or, The soul of the machine
Fournier d'Albe, E. E. (Edmund Edward)
Machinery; Progress
Both the large capitalist and the trade union boss I should class
among the Commanders, and I should assign them a high rank in human
progressive elements. The former is often a Pathfinder in commerce and
industry, and the latter often points the way to the betterment of
manual workers. Both are in a position of great power, but are exposed
to the temptation to abuse it. The financier may succeed in restricting
the free market in an important human community for his own enrichment
and aggrandizement. The trade union boss may make a “corner” in a
certain form of labour and so deprive the community of some essential
commodity, such as housing accommodation. When this degeneration takes
place, both these types must be put into the Vulture class.
The same judgment must be passed on those who use the machinery of the
medium of exchange to further objects contrary to the interests of the
community, such as usurers, and purveyors of intoxicant drugs. These
also are among the Vultures.
When the first armed man transferred a method employed by nature into
a new medium, and derived his armour from the outer world instead
of growing it in his own organism, he took a step which led to many
similar re-interpretations. One of the most important of such steps
was Organization. The very word recalls its “organic” origin. The
organs of the human body form an interdependent community with a common
interest. The organs again are composed of tissues, and the tissues of
individual cells having, as many biologists believe, a rudimentary
consciousness of their own. All these――some millions of millions of
millions――form a vast and closely-organized community consisting of
many more distinct individuals than there are human beings on earth.
The human race is such an organized community. A swarm of bees is
another, but while the latter only deals with “natural” food-supplies
and housing materials, the human community, thanks primarily to the use
of fire, gathers its resources from realms utterly inaccessible to the
ordinary animal, and establishes an unassailable superiority. Thus the
human army, consisting of Pathfinders, Organizers, Rank and File, and
Stragglers, with a trail of Vultures behind, presses ever forward on
its victorious march of progress.
Its general procedure may be represented as follows:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account