THE FISCAL QUESTION 125 



with right and wrong, but whether they tend in the same 

 progressive direction. Moral significance those things 

 must have which propose to change the fundamental con- 

 ditions of our industrial and commercial life, and to alter 

 the relation of Britain both to its colonies and to foreign 

 states. The question is what is their moral significance : 

 Is it favourable or is it unfavourable to the better life of 

 the nation? 



It has been necessary to dwell at some length upon this 

 apparently preliminary matter. For, judging from the 

 great mass of opinions expressed in the present controversy, 

 two assumptions of cardinal importance have been tacitly 

 made : first, that moral considerations do not enter in a 

 vital way into the question of our material prosperity ; 

 second, that the State, being an end to itself, cannot be 

 regarded as a moral agent, nor its relations to other States 

 be subject to moral criteria. I propose to examine these 

 assumptions more closely, for the crux of the whole situa- 

 tion seems to me to lie in their truth or falsehood. And 

 I shall try to show that, on account of these assumptions, 

 the problem of our material prosperity has been wrongly 

 stated, and that, in consequence, the change proposed is in 

 some respects inadequate to secure our national welfare, 

 and in other respects directly contradictory to it. 



Now, it will be conceded at once that our national pros- 

 perity depends both upon material conditions and upon 

 our national character. But while the first truth has been 

 discussed in all its bearings, the second has been either 

 overlooked altogether or treated as a matter of little weight 

 in determining our future policy. It is no doubt true 

 that an occasional statesman has proposed to meet the 

 present crisis if, indeed, crisis there be by seeking to 



