THE STRUGGLE FOR EQUALITY 539 



and on the other hand, the specifics of those who not only have the cause 

 of society at heart but whose judgments are sure. 



The third difficulty is the perplexing problem of determining just 

 how far the self-interest of the individual is consistent with the general 

 good. How much shall freedom of contract be abridged? How much 

 social control shall be exerted over the individual in other directions? 

 How far shall combinations of labor and capital be permitted to go in 

 carrying out their purposes? Amid the complex conditions of modern 

 life, these questions are more difficult to answer than ever before. It is 

 all clear enough that restrictions here and there upon the liberty of the 

 individual make for the greater liberty of the whole. Without some re- 

 strictions there would be nothing to arrest the hand of the social ma- 

 rauder. But then again individual initiative has been the great factor 

 in human progress. Few things have done as much to advance man- 

 kind from the age of stone to the age of steel. If the individual is put 

 in leading strings, our civilization may become stagnant. Not to push 

 social restraint far enough is to invite anarchy. Selfishness is at once 

 the thing that makes for progress and makes the attainment of perfec- 

 tion impossible. Just where is the point to curb it so as to secure the 

 good without the evil that it works? 



A fourth difficulty is the danger of insisting too little upon the 

 fundamental principles of right conduct. Men do not do good because 

 their hearts are evil is an old saying still worthy of belief. The primary 

 need of every man is the reformation of his own life. It is well enough 

 at times to protest against the wrongs inflicted upon one by others. 

 No man worth the saving will consciously permit himself to be imposed 

 upon or taken advantage of by others. But it is still more important 

 that those who protest see to it that their own hearts conform to what 

 is right and true and of good report. Those who demand justice should 

 see to it that their own hands are clean. The first duty of organized 

 labor is to keep itself free of such leaders as the McNamaras. The pro- 

 testing spirit occasionally forgets the value of the heritage bequeathed 

 to us by the past and the fact that there is more of good than of evil 

 in the world. It at times runs dangerously near the point of revolt, as 

 in some of the doctrines openly proclaimed by the militant branch of the 

 Industrial Workers of the World. " I am come not to destroy, but to 

 fulfil " are words which should not be forgotten. There is a crying need 

 for more of the law-abiding spirit, for more men of high principle and 

 of a staunch adherence to the right because it is the right. 



A fifth difficulty is the tendency of the masterful element in human 

 nature to run to extremes. The desire for domination is strong. The 

 fighting instinct is covered with a thin veneer. An overbearing spirit 

 is sometimes not far removed from the spirit of fair play. The craving 

 for distinction within moderation is a wholesome desire, but snobbish- 



