46 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



The class-bias, like the bias of patriotism, is a reflex egoism ; and, 

 like it, has its uses and abuses. As the strong feelings enlisted on 

 behalf of one's nation cause that enthusiastic cooperation by which its 

 integrity is maintained in presence of other nations, severally tending 

 to spread and subjugate their neighbors ; so the esprit de corps, more 

 or less manifest in each specialized part of the body politic, prompts 

 measures to preserve the integrity of that part in opposition to other 

 parts, all more or less antagonistic. The egoism of individuals be- 

 comes an egoism of the class they form ; and, besides the separate 

 efforts, generates a joint effort to get an undue share of the aggregate 

 proceeds of social activity. The aggressive tendency of each class, so 

 produced, has to be balanced by like aggressive tendencies of other 

 classes. The class-feelings do, in short, develop one another ; and the 

 respective organizations in which they embody themselves develop 

 one another. Large classes of the community, marked off by rank, 

 and sub-classes marked off by special occupations, everywhere form 

 their defensive combinations, and set up organs advocating their inter- 

 ests ; and the reason assigned is in all cases the same the need for 

 self-defence. 



Along with the good which a society derives from this self-assert- 

 ing and self-preserving action, by which each division and subdivision 

 keeps itself strong enough for its functions, there goes, among other 

 evils, this which we are considering the aptness to contemplate all 

 social actions in their bearings on class-interests, and the resulting ina- 

 bility to estimate rightly their effects on the society as a whole. The 

 habit of thought produced perverts not merely the judgments on ques- 

 tions which directly touch class-welfare, but it perverts the judgments 

 on multitudinous questions which touch class-welfare very indirectly, 

 if at all. It fosters an adapted theory of social relations of every kind, 

 with sentiments to fit the theory ; and a characteristic stamp is given 

 to the beliefs on public matters in general. Take an instance : 



Whatever its technical ownership may be, Hyde Park is open for 

 the public benefit : no title to special benefit is producible by those 

 who ride and drive. It happens, however, that those who ride and 

 drive make large use of it daily ; and extensive tracts of it have been 

 laid out for their convenience : the tracts for equestrians having been 

 from time to time increased. Of people without cai-riages and horses, 

 a few, mostly of the kind who lead easy lives, use Hyde Park fre- 

 quently as a promenade. Meanwhile, by the great mass of Londoners, 

 too busy to go so far, it is scarcely ever visited : their share of the 

 general benefit is scarcely appreciable. And now what do the few 

 who have a constant and almost exclusive use of it think about the 

 occasional use of it by the many ? They are angry when, at long in- 

 tervals, even a small portion of it, quite distant from their haunts, is 

 occupied for a few hours in ways disagreeable to them nay, even 

 when such temporary occupation is on a day during which Rotten 



