the man versus the state-第25章

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　but　hard　justice。　Every　man　with　sympathy　in　him　must　feel　that　hunger　and　pain　and　squalor　must　be　prevented；　and　that　if　private　agencies　do　not　suffice；　then　public　agencies　must　be　established。〃　　　　　Such　is　the　kind　of　response　which　I　expect　to　be　made　by　nine　out　of　ten。　In　some　of　them　it　will　doubtless　result　from　a　fellow…feeling　so　acute　that　they　cannot　contemplate　human　misery　without　an　impatience　which　excludes　all　thoughts　of　remote　results。　Concerning　the　susceptibilities　of　the　rest；　we　may；　however；　be　somewhat　sceptical。　Persons　who；　now　in　this　case　and　now　in　that；　are　angry　if；　to　maintain　our　supposed　national　〃interests〃　or　national　〃prestige；〃　those　in　authority　do　not　promptly　send　out　some　thousands　of　men　to　be　partially　destroyed　while　destroying　other　thousands　of　men　whose　intentions　we　suspect；　or　whose　institutions　we　think　dangerous　to　us；　or　whose　territory　our　colonists　want；　cannot　after　all　be　so　tender　in　feeling　that　contemplating　the　hardships　of　the　poor　is　intolerable　to　them。　Little　admiration　need　be　felt　for　the　professed　sympathies　of　people　who　urge　on　a　policy　which　breaks　up　progressing　societies；　and　who　then　look　on　with　Cynical　indifference　at　the　weltering　confusion　left　behind；　with　all　its　entailed　suffering　and　death。　Those　who；　when　Boers　asserting　their　independence　successfully　resisted　us；　were　angry　because　British　〃honour〃　was　not　maintained　by　fighting　to　avenge　a　defeat；　at　the　cost　of　more　mortality　and　misery　to　our　own　soldiers　and　their　antagonists；　cannot　have　so　much　〃enthusiasm　of　humanity〃　as　protests　like　that　indicated　above　would　lead　one　to　expect。　Indeed；　along　with　this　sensitiveness　which　they　profess　will　not　let　them　look　with　patience　on　the　pains　of　〃the　battle　of　life〃　as　it　quietly　goes　on　around；　they　appear　to　have　a　callousness　which　not　only　tolerates　but　enjoys　contemplating　the　pains　of　battles　of　the　literal　kind；　as　one　sees　in　the　demand　for　frustrated　papers　containing　scenes　of　carnage；　and　in　the　greediness　with　which　detailed　accounts　of　bloody　engagements　are　read。　We　may　reasonably　have　our　doubts　about　men　whose　feelings　are　such　that　they　cannot　bear　the　thought　of　hardships　borne；　mostly　by　the　idle　and　the　improvident；　and　who；　nevertheless；　have　demanded　thirty…one　editions　of　The　Fifteen　Decisive　Battles　of　the　World；　in　which　they　may　revel　in　accounts　of　slaughter。　Nay；　even　still　more　remarkable　is　the　contrast　between　the　professed　tender…heartedness　and　the　actual　hard…heartedness　of　those　who　would　reverse　the　normal　course　of　things　that　mediate　miseries　may　be　prevented；　even　at　the　cost　of　greater　miseries　hereafter　produced。　For　on　other　occasions　you　may　hear　them；　with　utter　disregard　of　bloodshed　and　death；　contend　that　in　the　interests　of　humanity　at　large　it　is　well　that　the　inferior　races　should　be　exterminated　and　their　places　occupied　by　the　superior　races。　So　that；　marvellous　to　relate；　though　they　cannot　think　with　calmness　of　the　evils　accompanying　the　struggle　for　existence　as　it　is　carried　on　without　violence　among　individuals　in　their　own　society；　they　contemplate　with　contented　equanimity　such　evils　in　their　intense　and　wholesale　forms；　when　inflicted　by　fire　and　sword　on　entire　communities。　Not　worthy　of　much　respect　then；　as　it　seems　to　me；　is　this　generous　consideration　of　the　inferior　at　home　which　is　accompanied　by　unscrupulous　sacrifice　of　the　inferior　abroad。　　　　　　Still　less　respectable　appears　this　extreme　concern　for　those　of　our　own　blood　which　goes　along　with　utter　unconcern　for　those　of　other　blood；　when　we　observe　its　methods。　Did　it　prompt　personal　effort　to　relieve　the　suffering；　it　would　rightly　receive　approving　recognition。　Were　the　many　who　express　this　cheap　pity　like　the　few　who　patiently；　week　after　week　and　year　after　year；　devote　large　parts　of　their　time　to　helping　and　encouraging；　and　occasionally　amusing；　those　who；　in　some　cases　by　ill…fortune　and　in　other　cases　by　incapacity　or　misconduct；　are　brought　to　lives　of　hardship；　they　would　be　worthy　of　unqualified　admiration。　The　more　there　are　of　men　and　women　who　help　the　poor　to　help　themselves　　the　more　there　are　of　those　whose　sympathy　is　exhibited　directly　and　not　by　proxy；　the　more　we　may　rejoice。　But　the　mense　majority　of　the　persons　who　wish　to　mitigate　by　law　the　miseries　of　the　unsuccessful　and　the　reckless；　propose　to　do　this　in　small　measure　at　their　own　cost　and　mainly　at　the　cost　of　others　　sometimes　with　their　assent　but　mostly　without。　More　than　this　is　true；　for　those　who　are　to　be　forced　to　do　so　much　for　the　distressed；　often　equally　or　more　require　something　doing　for　them。　The　deserving　poor　are　among　those　who　are　burdened　to　pay　the　costs　of　caring　for　the　undeserving　poor。　As；　under　the　old　Poor　Law；　the　diligent　and　provident　labourer　had　to　pay　that　the　good…for…nothings　might　not　suffer；　until　frequently　under　this　extra　burden　he　broke　down　and　himself　took　refuge　in　the　workhouse　　as；　at　present；　it　is　admitted　that　the　total　rates　levied　in　large　towns　for　all　public　purposes；　have　now　reached　such　a　height　that　they　〃cannot　be　exceeded　without　inflicting　great　hardship　on　the　small　shopkeepers　and　artisans；　who　already　find　it　difficult　enough　to　keep　themselves　free　from　the　pauper　taint；〃（26*）　so　in　all　cases；　the　policy　is　one　which　intensifies　the　pains　of　those　most　deserving　of　pity；　that　the　pains　of　those　least　deserving　of　pity　may　be　mitigated。　In　short；　men　who　are　so　sympathetic　that　they　cannot　allow　the　struggle　for　existence　to　bring　on　the　unworthy　the　sufferings　consequent　on　their　incapacity　or　misconduct；　are　so　unsympathetic　that　they　can；　without　hesitation；　make　the　struggle　for　existence　harder　for　the　worthy；　and　inflict　on　them　and　their　children　artificial　evils　in　addition　to　the　natural　evils　they　have　to　bear！　

And　here　we　are　brought　round　to　our　original　topic　　the　sins　of　legislators。　Here　there　comes　clearly　before　us　the　commonest　of　the　transgressions　which　rulers　commit　　a　transgression　so　common；　and　so　sanctified　by　custom；　that　no　one　imagines　it　to　be　a　transgression。　Here　we　see　that；　as　indicated　at　the　outset；　Government；　begotten　of　aggression　and　by　aggression；　ever　continues　to　betray　its　original　nature　by　its　aggressiveness；　and　that　even　what　on　its　nearer　face　seems　beneficence　only；　shows；　on　its　remoter　face；　not　a　little　maleficence　　kindness　at　the　cost　of　cruelty。　For　is　it　not　cruel　to　increase　the　sufferings　of　the　better　that　the　sufferings　of　the　worse　may　be　decreased？　　　　　　It　is；　indeed；　marvellous　how　readily　we　let　ourselves　be　deceived　by　words　and　phrases　which　suggest　one　aspect　of　the　facts　while　leaving　the　opposite　aspect　unsuggested。　A　good　frustration　of　this；　and　one　germane　to　the　mediate　question；　is　seen　in　the　use　of　the　words　〃protection〃　and　〃protectionist〃　by　the　antagonists　of　free　trade；　and　in　the　tacit　admission　of　its　propriety　by　free…traders。　While　the　one　party　has　habitually　ignored；　the　other　party　has　habitually　failed　to　emphasize；　the　truth　that　this　so…called　protection　always　involves　aggression；　and　that　the　name　aggressionist　ought　to　be　substituted　for　the　name　protectionist。　For　nothing　can　be　mor