CONDITIONS OF PROGRESS 



tion at hand, and the " age of discussion " in- 

 augurated, at the very beginnings of recorded 

 history. Though society is still constructed on 

 the patriarchal type, there is nevertheless an 

 amount of relative mobility among the social 

 units such as is not witnessed either in Oriental 

 despotisms or among modern savages. 



I believe, therefore, that the character of the 

 dilemma is somewhat inadequately represented 

 by Mr. Bagehot. It is not quite true that in 

 a progressive society the " cake of custom " 

 must first be cemented as firmly as possible, and 

 then afterwards broken. For when the cement- 

 ing passes beyond a certain point, the breaking 

 becomes impracticable. The dilemma consists 

 rather in the fact that in a progressive society 

 the cementing and the breaking of the " cake of 

 custom*' must go on simultaneously. Observe 

 the seeming contradiction. 



While it is perfectly true that the power of 

 concerted action on a large scale gives to the 

 community possessing it a decided miHtary ad- 

 vantage, and while it is true that in early times 

 this power of cooperation can hardly be gained 

 save through the uniformity of discipline pre- 

 scribed by tyrannical custom, it is also true that 

 a considerable amount of individual variabil- 

 ity is, even in early times, a source of military 

 strength to the community. For in all stages 

 of progress the law holds good that, in order 

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