100 The General Sociolosrical Errors 



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The appearance of the bubonic plague in Asia 

 compels every country of Europe and America to 

 take precautions against its spread. When the first 

 Balkan War broke out in south-eastern Europe in 

 19 1 2 the scarcity of capital, the calling in of credits, 

 and the stagnation of trade in Europe caused 

 banks to fail in Brazil and other countries in South 

 America, and unemployed men to walk the streets 

 of Chicago and New York, so delicate is the 

 financial nervous system of the modern world. 

 The Austrian Archduke Ferdinand is assassinated 

 in the capital of Bosnia and men begin to murder 

 each other, not only all over Europe, but in the 

 heart of Africa, on the shores of Asia, and on the 

 islands of the Pacific. If the British Isles were 

 cut off from the vital circulation for any con- 

 siderable period of time, three-fourths of the Brit- 

 ish people would starve to death, since Great 

 Britain produces foodstuffs enough to supply only 

 one-fourth of her population. 



In the face of these concrete realities it is im- 

 possible to contend that the limits of association 

 are marked by the boundaries of the State. More- 

 over it can be shown that the State, far from 

 corresponding to any concrete realities, is an ab- 

 stract conception, clearly subjective in character. 

 The boundaries of the State change so rapidly that 

 a map of Europe, only a few years old is practically 

 worthless. The distinctive characteristic of a 

 State is sovereignty, but this is such an intangible 

 quality that it is impossible in many cases to 



