第 39 节
作者:一意孤行      更新:2021-10-16 18:41      字数:9321
  if it adopted a liberal policy toward those who preferred to work less than
  the     usual    number      of    hours    at   recognized       occupations;       might     be
  immeasurably   preferable   to   anything   that   is   possible   under   the   rule   of
  capitalism。 There are dangers; but they will all vanish if the importance of
  liberty  is   adequately  acknowledged。   In   this   as   in   nearly  everything   else;
  the road to all that is best is the road of freedom。
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  CHAPTER VIII
  THE WORLD AS IT COULD BE MADE
  IN the daily lives of most men and women; fear plays a greater part
  than   hope:   they  are   more   filled   with   the  thought   of   the   possessions   that
  others may take from them; than of the joy that they might create in their
  own lives and in the lives with which they come in contact。
  It is not so that life should be lived。
  Those whose lives are fruitful to themselves; to their friends; or to the
  world are inspired by hope and sustained by joy: they see in imagination
  the things that might be and the way in which they are to be brought into
  existence。 In their private relations they are not pre…occupied with anxiety
  lest they should lose such affection and respect as they receive: they are
  engaged in giving   affection   and   respect   freely;  and   the   reward   comes   of
  itself without their seeking。 In their work they are not haunted by jealousy
  of competitors; but concerned with the actual matter that has to be done。 In
  politics; they do not spend time and passion defending unjust privileges of
  their class or nation; but they aim at making the world as a whole happier;
  less   cruel;   less   full   of   conflict   between   rival   greeds;   and   more   full   of
  human      beings     whose     growth    has   not   been    dwarfed     and    stunted    by
  oppression。
  A  life   lived   in   this   spiritthe   spirit   that   aims   at   creating   rather   than
  possessinghas   a   certain   fundamental   happiness;   of   which   it   cannot   be
  wholly      robbed     by   adverse     circumstances。      This    is  the   way     of   life
  recommended in the Gospels; and by all the great teachers of the world。
  Those   who   have   found   it   are   freed   from  the   tyranny  of   fear;   since   what
  they value most in their lives is not at the mercy of outside power。 If all
  men could summon up the courage and the vision to live in this way in
  spite   of   obstacles   and   discouragement;   there   would   be   no   need   for   the
  regeneration of the world to begin by political and economic reform: all
  that   is   needed   in   the   way   of   reform   would   come   automatically;   without
  resistance;     owing     to  the   moral    regeneration      of   individuals。    But    the
  teaching   of   Christ   has   been   nominally   accepted   by   the   world   for   many
  centuries;   and   yet   those   who   follow   it   are   still   persecuted   as   they   were
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  before the time of Constantine。 Experience has proved that few are able to
  see   through   the   apparent   evils   of   an   outcast's   life   to   the   inner   joy   that
  comes      of   faith  and    creative    hope。    If  the  domination       of  fear   is  to  be
  overcome; it is not enough; as regards the mass of men; to preach courage
  and indifference to misfortune: it is necessary to remove the causes of fear;
  to make a good life no longer an unsuccessful one in a worldly sense; and
  to diminish the harm that can be inflicted upon those who are not wary in
  self… defense。
  When we consider the evils in the lives we know of; we find that they
  may  be   roughly  divided   into   three   classes。 There   are;   first;   those   due   to
  physical nature: among these are death; pain and the difficulty of making
  the soil yield a subsistence。 These we will call ‘‘physical evils。'' Second;
  we may put those that spring from defects in the character or aptitudes of
  the sufferer: among these are ignorance; lack of will; and violent passions。
  These   we   will   call   ‘‘evils   of   character。''   Third   come   those   that   depend
  upon the power of one individual or group over another: these comprise
  not    only    obvious     tyranny;    but   all  interference     with   free   development;
  whether by force or by excessive mental influence such as may occur in
  education。 These   we will   call ‘‘evils   of   power。'' A social system  may   be
  judged by its bearing upon these three kinds of evils。
  The     distinction    between      the   three   kinds    cannot    be   sharply    drawn。
  Purely   physical   evil   is   a   limit;   which   we   can   never   be   sure   of   having
  reached: we cannot abolish death; but we can often postpone it by science;
  and   it   may   ultimately   become   possible   to   secure   that   the   great   majority
  shall live till old age; we cannot wholly prevent pain; but we can diminish
  it indefinitely by securing a healthy life for all; we cannot make the earth
  yield   its   fruits   in   any  abundance   without   labor; but   we  can   diminish   the
  amount of the labor and improve its conditions until it ceases to be an evil。
  Evils   of   character   are   often   the   result   of   physical   evil   in   the   shape   of
  illness;   and   still   more   often   the   result   of   evils   of   power;   since   tyranny
  degrades   both   those   who   exercise   it   and   (as   a   rule)   those   who   suffer   it。
  Evils   of   power   are   intensified   by   evils   of   character   in   those   who   have
  power; and by fear of the physical evil which is apt to be the lot of those
  who   have   no   power。   For   all   these   reasons;   the   three   sorts   of   evil   are
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  intertwined。   Nevertheless;   speaking   broadly;   we   may   distinguish   among
  our   misfortunes   those   which   have   their   proximate   cause   in   the   material
  world; those which are mainly due to defects in ourselves; and those which
  spring from our being subject to the control of others。
  The   main   methods   of   combating   these   evils   are:   for   physical   evils;
  science; for evils of character; education (in the widest sense) and a free
  outlet for all impulses that do not involve domination; for evils of power;
  the reform of the political and economic organization of society in such a
  way as to reduce to the lowest possible point the interference of one man
  with the life of another。 We will begin with the third of these kinds of evil;
  because it is evils of power specially that Socialism and Anarchism have
  sought to   remedy。 Their  protest   against   Inequalities   of   wealth has   rested
  mainly upon their sense of the evils arising from the power conferred by
  wealth。 This point has been well stated by Mr。 G。 D。 H。 Cole:
  What; I want to ask; is the fundamental evil in our modern Society
  which we should set out to abolish?
  There   are   two   possible   answers   to   that   question;   and   I   am   sure   that
  very many well…meaning people would make the wrong one。 They would
  answer   POVERTY;   when   they  ought to   answer   SLAVERY。   Face   to   face
  every     day   with   the  shameful     contrasts    of  riches   and   destitution;   high
  dividends and low wages; and painfully conscious of the futility of trying
  to   adjust   the   balance   by  means   of   charity;   private or   public;   they  would
  answer unhesitatingly that they stand for the ABOLITION OF POVERTY。
  Well and good!  On that issue  every Socialist is   with them。 But   their
  answer to my question is none the less wrong。
  Poverty  is   the   symptom:   slavery  the   disease。 The   extremes   of   riches
  and     destitution    follow    inevitably    upon    the   extremes     of   license   and
  bondage。 The many are not enslaved because they are poor; they are poor
  because they are enslaved。 Yet Socialists have all too often fixed their eyes
  upon the material misery of the poor without realizing that it rests upon
  the spiritual degradation of the slave。'59'
  '59' ‘‘Self…Government in Industry;'' G。 Bell & Sons; 1917; pp。 110…
  111。
  I do not think any reasonable person can doubt that the evils of power
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