Given a reasonable degree of stability, guaranteed by a combination of the best instruments of government yet devised, we may expect a very rapid progress. What direction will this progress take, and what will be the fruits of it? Do not listen to those futile people who say there is no progress, and that there is “nothing new under the sun”! So far from maintaining that what is has been and ever shall be I should assert that nothing that is has ever been before, that there are new things evolved every day, and that every child born is a unique personality, unprecedented in the annals of creation. And not only are things new, but the new things are, on the general average, a bit more advanced than the last. Advanced towards what? Towards perfection, towards greater happiness, a fuller and more enduring life. Who will dare deny that life in England――to take the nearest example――is happier now than it was even fifty years ago? Some people will sigh for the good old times of the Victorian reign, when money and employment were plentiful, when there was ample leisure for the rich, with pleasant ways of spending it, when masters were masters indeed and servants were loyal, respectful, and dutiful. But in recent times, apart from the tragedy of the Great War, there has been an immense improvement in the life of the average Englishman and his dependents. The general level of education has risen, infectious diseases have been successfully fought, schooling has become brighter and more effective, clothing has become more rational. There is more fresh air and less drudgery. The workman draws a larger share of the product of his effort, and often drives his motor car while his employer goes by train. The workman draws his bloated wage under the protection of his trade union, while the employer lies awake at night wondering how best to keep the works running and find new markets for old. That is nearly all to the good, since there are many more workmen than employers, and the general level of contentment is raised. Even the aged, instead of being thrown on the scrap heap, are guarded from destitution by pensions honourably drawn from a wise government. It will, I hope, be put to my credit that I have not carolled the blessings of the cinema theatre or even of wireless broadcasting. The optimist who emphasizes these is usually met with the reply that these do more harm than good, and spoil young people for ordinary life. Whatever may be said concerning the dull hotch-potch turned out “in bulk” by the American film industry, nobody can deny that an element of romance has been brought into the lives of countless poor people by Edison’s and Berliner’s great invention.