The Next Step: A Plan for Economic World FederationNearing, Scott
History
The Next Step: A Plan for Economic World Federation
Nearing, Scott
Economic history
Society has striven for ages to devise a successful method of picking
executives, and of keeping a watchful eye on them after they assume the
reins of government. There are three general ways in which the selection
may be made:
1. Through heredity--the leadership descending from one generation to
the next in the line of blood relationship.
This is the method practiced in all countries that have kings,
aristocrats, plutocrats or others who automatically inherit power from
their ancestors.
2. Through self-selection--the leadership being assumed by those who
are the quickest to seize it.
Primitive, disorganized or unorganized societies or associations pick
their leaders in this way. The strongest, the most courageous, the most
cunning, press to the front in an emergency, and their leadership is
accepted as a matter of course by those who are less strong or
courageous or cunning. The leaders of a miscellaneous mob are apt to be
thus self-selected. The leaders of new activities, like the organized
business of the United States and Canada, have been, for the most part,
self-selected. Seeing opportunities for economic advantage, they have
grasped them before their fellows realized what was happening. The great
accumulations of economic power that were made in this way during the
past generation are now being passed from father to son, and the
leadership in American economic life is therefore tending to fall into
an hereditary caste or class. There is still, however, a considerable
margin of self-selection of American economic leadership.
3. Through social selection--the right and duty of leadership being
assigned by the group, after some form of deliberation to a
designated individual.
This is the method common to all highly organized and self-conscious
societies that are not dominated by a system of hereditary caste rule.
Public officials in most of the countries of the world, officials of
trade unions and other voluntary associations are usually selected in
this manner.
The selection of executive leadership in any organized society must be
through heredity or through group choice. Self-selection is necessarily
confined to new or temporary or loosely organized groups.
9. _The Details of Organization_
These general principles of economic self-government may be applied to
local, district, divisional and to world economic groupings. To be sure
the application, in each instance, will be varied in accordance with the
peculiar needs in question, but a general scheme of procedure may be
suggested somewhat as follows:
1. SUGGESTIONS FOR THE ORGANIZATION OF A LOCAL ECONOMIC UNIT IN A
GIVEN INDUSTRY--A MINE, FACTORY, STORE--
a. The entire working force would meet at regular intervals, in a
shop meeting, or colliery meeting, or store meeting, to transact
general business.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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