按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页，按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页，按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部！
————未阅读完？加入书签已便下次继续阅读！
were once framed to uphold a system of neighborly good…will have
now begun to run counter to one another and are working mischief
to the common good。
Any impartial survey of the past one…hundred…fifty years will
show that the constituent principles of this modern point of view
governing the mutual rights and obligations of men within the
civilised nations have held their ground； on the whole； without
material net gain or net loss。 It is the ground of Natural
Rights； of self…help and free bargaining。 Civil rights and the
perquisites and obligations of ownership have remained
substantially intact over this interval of a hundred and fifty
years； but with some slight advance in the way of Live and let
live at certain points； and some slight retrenchment at other
points。 So far as regards the formal stipulations； in law and
custom； the balance of class interests within these countries
has； on the whole； not been seriously disturbed。 In this system
of Natural Rights； as it has worked out in practice； the rights
of ownership are paramount； largely because the other personal
rights in the case have come to be a matter of course and so have
ceased to hold men's attention。
So； in the matter of the franchise； e。g。； the legal
provisions more nearly meet the popular ideals of the modern
point of view today than ever before。 An the other hand the
guiding principles in the case at certain other points have
undergone a certain refinement of interpretation with a view to
greater ease and security for trade and investment； and there
has； in effect； been some slight abridgement of the freedom of
combination and concerted action at any point where an unguarded
exercise of such freedom would hamper trade or curtail the
profits of business； for the modern era has turned out to be
an era of business enterprise； dominated by the paramount claims
of trade and investment。 In point of formal requirements； these
restrictions imposed on concerted action 〃in restraint of trade〃
fall in equal measure on the vested interests engaged in business
and on the working population engaged in industry。 So that the
measures taken to safeguard the natural rights of ownership apply
with equal force to those who own and those who do not。 〃The
majestic equality of the law forbids the rich as well as the poor
to sleep under bridges or to beg on the street corners。〃 But it
has turned out on trial that the vested interests of business are
not seriously hampered by these restrictions； inasmuch as any
formal restriction on any concerted action between the owners of
such vested interests can always be got around by a formal
coalition of ownership in the shape of a corporation。 The
extensive resort to corporate combination of ownership； which is
so marked a feature of the nineteenth century； was not foreseen
and was not taken into account in the eighteenth century； when
the constituent principles of the modern point of view found
their way into the common law。 The system of Natural Rights is a
system of personal rights； among which the rights of ownership
are paramount； and among the rights of ownership is the right of
free disposal and security of ownership and of credit
obligations。
The same line of evasion is not available in the same degree
for concerted action between persons who own nothing。 Still； in
neither case； neither as regards the owners of the country's
wealth nor as regards the common man； can these restrictions on
personal freedom of action be said to be a serious burden。 And
any slight mutilation or abridgement of the rule of self…help in
their economic relations has been offset by an increasingly broad
and liberal construction of the principles of self…direction and
equality among men in their civil capacity and their personal
relations。 Indeed； the increasingly exacting temper of the common
man in these countries during this period has made such an
outcome unavoidable。 By and large； in its formal vindication of
personal liberty and equality before the law； the modern point of
view has with singular consistency remained intact in the shape
in which its principles were stabilised in the eighteenth
century； in spite of changing circumstances。 In point of formal
compliance with their demands； the enlightened ideals of the
eighteenth century are； no doubt； more commonly realised in
practice today than at any earlier period。 So that the modern
civilised countries are now； in point of legal form and perhaps
also in practical effect； more nearly a body of ungraded and
masterless men than any earlier generation has known how to be。
In this modern era； as well as elsewhere and in other times；
the circumstances that make for change and reconstruction have
been chiefly the material circumstances of everyday life；
circumstances affecting the ordinary state of industry and
ordinary intercourse。 These material circumstances have changed
notably during the modern era。 There has been a progressive
change in the state of the industrial arts； which has materially
altered the scope and method of industry and the conditions under
which men live in all the civilised countries。 Accordingly； as a
point of comparison； it will be to the purpose to call to mind
what were the material circumstances； and more particularly the
state of the industrial arts； which underlay and gave character
to the modern point of view at the period when its constituent
principles were found good and worked out as a stable and
articulate system； in the shape in which they have continued to
be held since then。
The material conditions of industry； trade and daily life
during the period of transition and approach to this modern
ground created that frame of mind which we call the modern point
of view and dictated that reconstruction of institutional
arrangements which has been worked out under its guidance。
Therefore the economic situation which so underlay and
conditioned this modern point of view at the period when it was
given its stable form becomes the necessary point of departure
for any argument bearing on the changes that have been going
forward since then； or on any prospective reconstruction that may
be due to follow from these changed conditions in the calculable
future。 An this head； the students of history are in a singularly
fortunate position。 The whole case is set forth in the works of
Adam Smith； with a comprehension and lucidity which no longer
calls for praise。 Beyond all other men Adam Smith is the approved
and faithful spokesman of this modern point of view in all that
concerns the economic situation which it assumes as its material
ground； and his description of the state of civilised society；
trade and industry； as he saw it in his time and as he wished it
to stand over into the future； is to be taken without abatement
as a competent exposition of those material conditions which were
then conceived to underlie civilised society and to dictate the
only sound reconstruction of civil and economic institutions
according to the modern plan。
Bu