But it is easier to disregard all this and to go on in what appears to be the natural and, indeed, inevitable course. We must take the world as it is, is the common cry, not as it ought to be, and unless we are prepared to be submerged and trodden under, we must follow in the throng and push forward and struggle with the rest. Some of us are able to feel resentment at A’s riches, but, alas! it is not because he is _rich_, but because _he_ is rich. It is said that the craving to satisfy material wants is as inseparable a part of human nature as any other appetite. This may be so to some extent, but it is clearly a matter of proportion. After the appetite has reached a certain point it is no more natural than gluttony, drunkenness, or any other form of debauchery. In far too many cases that point has long been passed and a state of society has been evolved to suit the new order, and not only to excuse, but to extol and strengthen the power of money. Let men live, whatever kind of life they choose, without interference, let them indulge their hobbies and amuse themselves within bounds; but let them recognise that there _are_ bounds, and that the inter-cohesion of the isolated atoms in the whole mass of human life is such that every step they take over those bounds they are depriving someone else of living the life _they_ choose, indulging _their_ hobbies, and amusing _themselves_. The rich are mostly unconscious of the harm they are doing. There is no deliberate intention in any of their actions. They travel carelessly along the broad road laid down for them by custom, and they never count the costs or examine the consequences. Their lives, more especially those of their women, are entirely aimless and certainly devoid of any determined motive. As long as they are allowed to pursue their course undisturbed, making or spending the money which they look on as their own in any way that suits their fancy, they make no complaint. They ask the State to guard them securely in the enjoyment of their great possessions, and they employ the energy they derive from them in poisoning the springs of national prosperity. The moment it is suggested that some small share of their gains should be taken by the State for the general benefit and for safeguarding the security of others besides themselves, they, including even those of them who have declared their wealth to be a burden, send up a wail of execration and protest with all the force they have at their command. This condition of things, as it has been shown, brings no happiness to the rich and it brings great mischief to the State. Individual energy is dissipated and human capacity is misapplied in a society where effort is so ill-directed in the extremes of riches and poverty; while the social power of the community is wasted in a society where capitalists control so many of the sources of wealth.