Eugenics; Sexual ethics; Women -- Social and moral questions
It so happens, however, that the capacity of the human brain is limited,
and a single brain is not made to hold together the idea of Socialism
and the idea of Individualism. Ordinary people have, it is true, no
practical difficulty whatever in acting concurrently in accordance with
the ideas of Socialism and of Individualism. But it is different with
the men of ideas; they must either be Socialists or Individualists; they
cannot be both. The tendency in one or the other direction is probably
inborn in these men of ideas.
We need not regret this inevitable division of labour. On the contrary,
it is difficult to see how the right result could otherwise be brought
about. People without ideas experience no difficulty in harmonizing the
two tendencies. But if the ideas of Socialism and Individualism tended
to appear in the same brain they would neutralize each other or lead
action into an unprofitable _via media_. The separate initiative and
promulgation of the two tendencies encourages a much more effective
action, and best promotes that final harmony of the two extremes which
the finest human development needs.
There is more to be said. Not only are both alike indispensable, and
both too profoundly rooted in human nature to be abolished or abridged,
but each is indispensable to the other. There can be no Socialism
without Individualism; there can be no Individualism without Socialism.
Only a very fine development of personal character and individual
responsibility can bear up any highly elaborated social organization,
which is why small Socialist communities have only attained success by
enlisting finely selected persons; only a highly organized social
structure can afford scope for the play of individuality. The
enlightened Socialist nowadays often realizes something of the
relationship of Socialism to Individualism, and the Individualist--if he
were not in recent times, for all his excellent qualities, sometimes
lacking in mental flexibility and alertness--would be prepared to admit
his own relationship to Socialism. "The organization of the whole is
dominated by the necessities of cellular life," as Dareste says. That
truth is well recognized by the physiologists since the days of Claude
Bernard. It is absolutely true of the physiology of society. Social
organization is not for the purpose of subordinating the individual to
society; it is as much for the purpose of subordinating society to the
individual.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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