Economic Futility of Force 223 



operation will come a weakening of the old mer- 

 cantilist conception of the nations as rival trade 

 units, while a recognition of the community of 

 economic interests of the family of nations will lead 

 to a gradual undermining of the fallacy that the 

 prosperity of one State can only be obtained at the 

 cost of the disadvantage of another State. 



The realization of the economic futility of force 

 is important because economic facts are the 

 foundations of social well-being and, as we shall 

 see in a later chapter, the welfare of society 

 constitutes the rational and scientific standard of 

 morality.^ The realization of the social futility 

 of force will lead inevitably to a recognition of the 

 true nature of social struggles, which always take 

 place by means of psychic processes. In recent 

 years there has been a marked tendency towards 

 an increasing recognition of the futility of physical 

 force to achieve social results. Illustrations of 

 this tendency are found in the partial abandon- 

 ment, after repeated failure, of Prussian and 

 Russian methods of denationalizing the Polish 

 people; in the grant of a constitution to Alsace 

 and Lorraine, and in the granting of Home Rule 

 to South Africa. The passing of the Home Rule 

 bill for Ireland is especially significant because it 

 marks the tiirning away from the old methods of 

 force tried in vain for more than three hundred 

 years. 



'See Chapter XL, "The Relation of Morality and Self- 

 interest." 



