Economic development -- Social aspects; Social evolution; Social problems; Work
Organic relation of any sort is mutual, involving mutual obligation,
duty, and, if necessary, sacrifice. When a physical body is starving to
death, it is impressive to note the gradual surrender of its constituent
parts in the order of their importance. First, he calls in all his
savings,—the fat. Then the muscles slowly feed in their store. Lastly
the “vital organs.” And all this is unconscious, managed by the
long-established mechanism inside, without any dictation from the
cerebral consciousness the man calls “self.”
Our internal social functions, the immediately necessary economic
processes, may proceed unconsciously to quite a degree of development
under the direction of egoism, because, as the social life is the main
protection of the individual, so the interests of the individual and of
society are in many ways identical, and the individual may serve society
very fully and never dream that he is doing anything more than to “take
care of himself.” But Society cannot proceed far in development before
the interests of the whole may involve a temporary subversion of the
interests of the past, and here a beneficial social conduct requires
social consciousness.
Our carefully preserved ego concept acts mischievously in proportion to
the progress of society. The more complex the social process, the larger
the social interests involved, the more injurious is this primitive
spirit of egoism. The selfishness of a peasant is far less harmful than
the selfishness of a railroad-owner. In the orderly development of
social economics this would have been taken care of by the natural
extension of feeling accompanying the extension of action, but that has
been checked, as usual, by our mental heirlooms. Nevertheless we can
observe this natural relation of action and feeling in spite of our
opposition.
The growth of altruism in certain special industries is most instructive
to study, as showing precisely what conditions most regularly and
rapidly develop it. Look, for instance, at the distinctive
characteristics educed by the industries of agriculture and navigation.
Sailors, as a class, are generous, quick in heroism, licentious,
intemperate, and profane.
Farmers, as a class, are by no means generous—frequently stingy; you
never heard of a sailor who was a miser, but often of farmers who are
such. The farmer is not quick to heroism, but, on the contrary, is slow
to recognise his class-needs, hard to organise, prone to the most
primitive individualism. On the other hand the farmer is comparatively
chaste, and temperate, and guarded in speech.
Why these obvious distinctions, in men of the same race, class, and
time, often of the same families? As obviously from the difference in
their industries.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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