The Acquisitive SocietyTawney, R. H. (Richard Henry)
Philosophy
The Acquisitive Society
Tawney, R. H. (Richard Henry)
Economics; Industries; Social problems
So the organization of society on the basis of function, instead of on
that of rights, implies three things. It means, first, that
proprietary rights shall be maintained when they are accompanied by the
performance of service and abolished when they are not. It means,
second, that the producers shall stand in a direct relation to the
community for whom production is carried on, so that their
responsibility to it may be obvious and unmistakable, not lost, as at
present, through their immediate subordination to shareholders whose
interest is not service but gain. It means, in the third place, that
the obligation for the maintenance of the service shall rest upon the
professional organization of those who perform it, and that, subject to
the supervision and criticism of the consumer, those organizations
shall exercise so much voice in the government of industry as may be
needed to secure that the obligation is discharged. It is obvious,
indeed, that no change of system or machinery can avert those causes of
social _malaise_ which consist in the egotism, greed, or
quarrelsomeness of human nature. What it can do is to create an
environment in which those are not the qualities which are encouraged.
It cannot secure that men live up to their principles. What it can do
is to establish their social order upon principles to which, if they
please, they can {181} live up and not live down. It cannot control
their actions. It can offer them an end on which to fix their minds.
And, as their minds are, so, in the long run and with exceptions, their
practical activity will be.
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.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account