398 GRAND STRATEGY OF EVOLUTION 



ceases to exist. Hence, with growth, the system inev- 

 itably disintegrates, broken down by its unbalanced 

 growths, the clearer consciousness of unequal justice, 

 and the lack of mutual benefit. 



The Democratic State. Democracy is the inevi- 

 table reaction to autocracy. It seeks to protect the rights 

 of the individual, rather than force him to perform his 

 obligations. But the resultant over-emphasis of selfish- 

 ness and freedom, and the lack of a spirit of subordina- 

 tion and self-sacrifice, are incompatible with a coopera- 

 tive organization. Rights and obligations are theoreti- 

 cally equalized; in reality, they are not and can not be 

 equalized, because the demands for rights and the abil- 

 ity and the desire to serve, are never equally strong 

 in the same or in different individuals. 



Moreover, the equality of social rights, and the 

 maximum power of the individual citizen, are not at- 

 tainable in an imperfectly organized state. And where 

 civic service is voluntary and sporadic, its necessity ob- 

 scure and unimperative, an efficiently organized state 

 is impossible. 



In its external relations, the democratic state may be 

 tolerant of the rights of other states, but it is slow to 

 meet its international obligations because it lacks both 

 the vision essential to a sufficient motive, and the organ- 

 ized power essential to constructive action. 



In democracy, great improvement is possible 

 through better education and organization. Improve- 

 ments in autocracy merely exaggerate its basic evils and 

 hasten its inevitable collapse. 



