IX 



GOVERNMENT : ANARCHY OR 

 REGIMENTATION 



As a problem of political philosophy, Government 

 presents three principal aspects. We may ask in 

 whom is the sovereign authority vested ? Or by 

 what machinery should that authority be exer- 

 cised ? Or in respect of what matters is its 

 exercise legitimate ? 



The first two of these questions have been dis- 

 cussed by philosophers and fought over by factions 

 from the earliest times. Innumerable battles have 

 been waged about the rival claims of kings, nobles 

 and popular leaders to the " right divine to govern 

 wrong ; " and for, or against, the excellence of this 

 or that legislative and administrative apparatus. 

 The third question, on the other hand, has come 

 to the front only in comparatively recent times. 

 But its importance has increased and is increasing 

 rapidly; indeed, at present, it completely over- 



