342 Morality and Self-interest 



highest interests of the people for whom he acts 

 as trustee. From the practical point of view also, 

 the belief in the irreducible antagonism between 

 morality and the highest interests of the nation, 

 makes it necessary for the statesman to act in an 

 immoral fashion, under penalty of being dismissed 

 from office and being replaced by a statesman who 

 will serve what appear to be the highest interests 

 of the people. 



When Bismarck concluded the Treaty of Frank- 

 fort, which gave to Germany Alsace-Lorraine and 

 imposed a huge war fine of $1,000,000,000 upon 

 conquered France, he knew that he was not acting 

 in accordance with the moral law "Nations should 

 do unto nations as they would be done by." 

 Certainly Bismarck would not have wished to put 

 himself in the place of Jules Favre. It is even 

 stated that Bismarck was unwilling to impose 

 these unjust terms upon France and that he only 

 consented under pressure. What impelled Bis- 

 marck to act in this immoral fashion? The general 

 belief that the interests of his country were op- 

 posed to the moral law, and that in this conflict 

 the moral law ought to give way. Confronted 

 with the alternative of conducting themselves in 

 an immoral fashion or conducting themselves in 

 conformity with their highest interests, most 

 men shape their conduct to conform with their 

 own interests and sacrifice morality. 



But was there any real opposition between the 

 highest interests of the German people and the 



