The Socialistic Method. 287 



capital greatly strengthens the position of the laborer by 

 increasing competition among the capitalists. 



The avowed object of the Socialist is of course to 

 ameliorate the condition of the less prosperous part of 

 mankind and to establish equality, and his main argument 

 for the policy of Collectivism is that it will stimulate pro- 

 duction to the highest point and greatly cheapen it, as well 

 as eqvialize distribution. Equality is his ideal, not liberty. 

 I<"ow, I think it is sufficient to say in regard to this matter 

 of cheap production that we have got past that star. Tlie 

 enormous improvements in processes which have come with 

 the inventions of the past hundred years, together with 

 those now in progress will, I think, within twenty-five 

 years have forever removed from the field of debate the 

 question of production sufficient in amount for the needs 

 of all. The questions that remain are, (1) "What shall be 

 the character of the products, good or bad, durable or 

 otherwise, artistic or slovenly and commonplace? which 

 can only be settled by individual development; and (2) 

 Equitable distribution in such manner as shall promote 

 and not repress this development. 



And is it true that through equality progress is to be 

 made, and that without it the lower must remain the lower 

 to tlie end of time ? To me history tells exactly the oppo- 

 site story. 



The effort of the Socialist is directed toward the establish- 

 ment of uniformity, while the whole drift of the universe is, 

 and always has been, from uniformity toward diversity. In 

 my judgment the proposed cure for the ills of mankind is 

 impossible of application, and if it were possible the cure 

 would be twenty times worse than the disease. 



Mr. Henry George is not a Socialist excepting in the 

 matter of the ownership of real estate, and in that he is 

 prepared to make a compromise and simply take the A^alue 

 of land instead of taking the land itself. These are his 

 words : 



"The Standard advocates the abolition of all taxes upon in- 

 dustry and the i)ioducts of industry, and the taking, hy taxation 

 upon land values, irrespective of improvements, of the annual 

 rental value of all those various forms of natural opportunities 

 embraced under the general term Land. 



"We hold that to tax labor or its products is to discourage 

 industry. We hold that to tax land values to their full anuiunt 

 Avill render it impossible for any man to exact from others a ])rice 

 for the privilege of using those bounties of Natiu'e in -which all 



