276 ADMINISTRATIVE NIHILISM VI 



in ro promote tin satisfaction of those 



which arc conducive to progres^~ 



The groat metaphysician, Immanuel Kant, who 

 is at his greatest when he discusses questions 

 which are not metaphysical, wrote, nearly a century 

 ago, a wonderfully instructive essay entitled "A 

 Conception of Universal History in relation to 

 Universal Citizenship," l from which I will br \v 

 a few pregnant sentences : 



"The means of which Nature has availed herseK 

 bring about the development of all the capacities i 

 antagonism of those capacities to social organisatio 

 the latter does in the long run necessitate their defin. 

 tion. By antagonism, I here mean the unsocial soci 

 mankind that is, the combination in them of an in^ 

 enter into society, with a thorough spirit of opposition 

 \ constantly threatens to break up this society. The groin 

 this lies in human nature. Man has an inclination to ei 

 into society, because in that state he feels that he becomes me. 

 a man, or, in other words, that his natural faculties develop. 

 ISut he has also a great tendency to isolate himself, because he 

 is, at the same time, aware of the unsocial peculiarity of 

 ing to have everything his own way ; and thus, being coii> 

 * of an inclination to oppose others, he is naturally led to 

 opposition from them. 



"Xow it is this opposition which awakens all the dormant 

 powers of men, stimulates them to overcome their inclination to 

 be idle, and, spurred by the love of honour, or powi r. or wealth, 

 tn make ti B place among their fellows, whom thi ; 



neither do with, nor do without 



1 Idee zu cimr alii fUchtr 



Absicht, 1784. This paper lias been translated by De Qnincey, 

 and attention has been recently drawn to its " signal i 

 by the Editor of the Fortnightly Review in 1 

 dorcet (FortaiglUly J> .xxviii. X.8. pp. 136, 137.) 



