436 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY, 



body what Liberalism was in the past, that they may perceive its 

 unlikeness to the so-called Liberalism of the present. It would be 

 inexcusable to name these various measures for the purpose of point- 

 ing out the character common to them, were it not that in our day 

 men have forgotten their common character. They do not remember 

 that in one or other way all these truly Liberal changes diminished 

 compulsory co-operation throughout social life and increased voluntary 

 co-operation. They have forgotten that, in one direction or other, 

 they diminished the range of governmental authority, and increased 

 the area within which each citizen may act unchecked. They have 

 lost sight of the truth that in past times Liberalism habitually stood 

 for individual freedom versus state coercion. 



And now comes the inquiry. How is it that Liberals have lost 

 sight of this ? How is it that Liberalism, getting more and more into 

 power, has grown more and more coercive in its legislation ? How is 

 it that, either directly through its own majorities or indirectly through 

 aid given in such cases to the majorities of its opponents. Liberalism 

 has, to an increasing extent, adopted the policy of dictating the actions 

 of citizens, and, by consequence, diminishing the range throughout 

 which their actions remain free ? How are we to explain this spread- 

 ing confusion of thought which has led it, in pursuit of what appears 

 to be public good, to invert the method by which in earlier days it 

 achieved public good ? 



Unaccountable as at first sight this unconscious change of policy 

 seems, we shall find that it has arisen quite naturally. Given the un- 

 analytical thought ordinarily brought to bear on political matters, and 

 under existing conditions, nothing else was to be expected. To make 

 this clear, some parenthetic explanations are needful. 



From the lowest to the highest creatures, intelligence progresses by 

 acts of discriminations ; and it continues so to progress among men, 

 from the most ignorant to the most cultured. To class rightly — to 

 put in the same group things which are of essentially the same natures, 

 and in other groups things of natures essentially different — is the fun- 

 damental condition to right guidance of actions. Beginning with rudi- 

 mentary vision, which gives warning that some large opaque body is 

 passing near (just as closed eyes turned to the window, perceiving the 

 shade caused by a hand put before them, tell us of something moving 

 in front), the advance is to developed vision, which, by exactly-appre- 

 ciated combinations of forms, colors, and motions, identifies objects at 

 great distances as prey or enemies of this or that kind, and so makes 

 possible adjustments of conduct for securing food or evading death. 

 That progressing perception of differences and consequent greater cor- 

 rectness of classing constitutes under one of its chief aspects the de- 

 velopment of mind, is equally seen when we pass from the relatively 

 simple physical vision to the relatively complex intellectual vision — 



