August 30, 1895.] 



SCIENCE. 



259 



thouglit of outside of organized association, 

 and so all ' the altruistic and ideal aspira- 

 tions of the best and most advanced apos- 

 tles of humanity, which have in view the 

 improvement of the conditions of the fu- 

 ture, the advancement of the race, are not 

 of an individualistic but of communist na- 

 ture, possible only in society and attainable 

 only by associated effort. 



Government then, the instrument of as- 

 sociated action, the expedient of organized 

 society, the brain and hand of the nation, 

 becomes the means not only of securing so- 

 cial existence, but social progress, and out 

 of this object of government arises what I 

 have called the providential functions of 

 government, which have in view the future 

 of the nation, as contrasted with the cur- 

 rent functions of government, which refer to 

 the more immediate needs of social, poli- 

 tical, commercial and economic intercourse. 



Government becomes the representative 

 not only of communal interests as against 

 individual interests, but also of future inter- 

 ests as against those of the present. Its ob- 

 ject is not only for the day, but includes the 

 perpetuity of the well-being of society and 

 the perpetuity of such favorable conditions 

 as will conduce to the continued welfare and 

 improvement of the same; in short, its ac- 

 tivity mu.st be with regard to continuity, 

 must provide for the future, must be provi- 

 dential. 



Mark, we do not create this special prov- 

 idence for the individual, but for society ; 

 the individual will have to work out his 

 own salvation to a large extent with the 

 opportunities for advancement offered by 

 society, but society itself can only act 

 through the state or government, and as 

 the representative of the future the state 

 cannot, like the individual, ' let the future 

 take care of itself.' 



In our present state activity and legisla- 

 tion there is as j^et but little realization of 

 its providential character. Even the ques- 



tion of education, which partakes of that 

 character providing in part for future im- 

 provement, is only imperfectly considered 

 from this point of view. The questions of 

 the franchise as well as that of imigi'ation, 

 both of which are of greatest influence 

 upon the future composition and condition 

 of our society, are much more often dis- 

 cussed with reference to the rights of pres- 

 ent members than with reference to the 

 future of society. 



The one condition of social life in which 

 the action of the present influences the fu- 

 ture almost more than in any other direc- 

 tion, namely, the condition of the means of 

 material existence and their economical 

 use (the economy of resources) has re- 

 ceived perhaps the least recognition in 

 practice as well as in theoretical discussion; 

 and especially is this absence of attention 

 to this most important branch of economics 

 noticeable in English literature. 



The reason probably is that the need of 

 careful analysis of this factor of social life 

 has as yet not been pressing. But as the 

 world has been explored in all corners and 

 the extent of its resources has become more 

 nearly known, and as it is being rapidly 

 peopled everywhere and the causes of de- 

 population are becoming less, the warnings 

 of Malthus and Mill come home to us with 

 new force and the studj^ of the nature, re- 

 lation to social life and development, and 

 the economy of resources becomes a most 

 important branch of social science, which 

 will overshadow some of the other branches 

 now appearing all important. When the 

 questions of the extension of suffrage to 

 women, of tariff, of taxation, of coinage and 

 currency, which are all merely incidents, 

 will have sunk into the background ; the 

 question of the economy of the resources 

 which constitute and sustain the political, 

 commercial and social power of the nation, 

 long neglected, will still claim attention, 

 for only those nations who develop their 



