CO-OPEBATION. 5 



Individual sovereignty is the ripe fruit of Democracy. The 

 opposite is a theocracy. One appeals to the equal liberty of 

 all; the other, to a despotic infallibility. In the one case, 

 God created man, in the other, Man is creating God. One 

 is from the Orient, the other is Occidental. One is the Pope, 

 the other, Private Judgment. One is the Kingdom of heav- 

 en, the other is the CommonAvealth of Man. Already, piety 

 and the Church rest upon voluntary support. It inevitably 

 follows that morality and the State must; for the same argu- 

 ments adduced in favor of the one are equally as applicable 

 in favor of the other. 



FUNCTION AND SCOPE OF GOVERNIMENT. 



. * • 



Now the sovereignty of each individual implies the sover- 

 eignty of all. This then gives ground for government, to guar- 

 antee this equcil sovereignty. It exists to stop a crime by a crime, 

 but by a defensive, and therefore justifiable one, on the ground 

 that force can withstand force and make way for liberty. But 

 this sphere of government needs to be very jealously guarded, 

 for the moment it goes a step farther, outside of its specific, in- 

 dividual function, it becomes an offensive criminal. The gov- 

 ernmental machine, like any other, from its very nature, can do 

 but 07ie kind of work. If it attempts everything, it must leave 

 its own proper work undone. Then, its influence is most dis- 

 astrous. It not only becomes a thief and a criminal, but the 

 father of them. Its administration is artificial, arbitrary, ineffi- 

 cient, costly and cumbersome. And did not government orig- 

 inate in the offensive? does it not now live by and for aggres- 

 sion? and however pervasive the government of nature is, when 

 the ear marks of authority fade, will not government as a^/>gc'- 

 ialized administration entirely disappear? In every atom, or- 

 gan and star, do we see the egoistic and altruistc balaiu-e; shall 

 man, with his sense of justice, constitute the only exception? 

 Certainly, liberty can be entrusted to stand guard over herself. 



Now over-government isarelic of the god-idea. For a while, 

 he ruled direct, then delegated his powers to demi-gods, then 

 to kings, by divine right, then to majorities, who could do no 

 wrong. It arises in the worship of power. Offices, officers, le- 

 gal forms, coins, stamps, 'Be it enacted,' as a 'Thus saith the 



