284 



The Ideal State 



their art treasures for the enjoyment of the nation as 

 a whole. If this is possible for one, is it not for all ? 

 And in a further stage of evolution it will be the only 

 thinkable way of fostering and developing Art. 



As we continue it becomes more and more evident 

 that such a state is only possible by the subordination 

 to the utmost of all selfish interests. Before this can be 

 secured, the State must take steps to prevent the 

 accumulation of wealth, and this can only be done by 

 the abolition of the gold standard. This is necessary 

 not only in the interests of the lower strata of society, 

 but in that of the clever, the greedy, and unscrupulous, 

 who take their chief pleasure in the hoarding of gain 

 and the acquiring of property ; for nothing is more 

 deteriorating to man's higher nature and productive 

 of the greatest evil to his own physical condition 

 and mental capacity than the gross satisfaction of 

 luxurious and sensual tastes which the power of money 

 enables him to gratify. We are therefore entitled to 

 conclude that such a system is the only one which can 

 do anything to alleviate the present " la miser e." As 

 long as gold is the vehicle of exchange, the burdens of 

 industrialism must continue to weigh upon the shoul- 

 ders of the poor to a greater or less extent. And such a 

 system is quite as workable as the present, and brings 

 with it what the other does not — the peace which 

 passeth all understanding — to all who have seen beyond 

 the mere material aspect to the light which enlightens 

 the darkness of the world. 



No doubt it will be maintained that even with the 

 abolition of the gold standard and the negation of 

 private property the greedy individual will always 

 be able to appropriate more of the goods common to 

 the State than is his proper and fair share, and in this 

 way will acquire possessions even although the amount 

 be limited. In regard to this objection one cannot 



