The Ideal State 287 



impossible to imagine the working of a great industrial 

 concern depending upon the governmental machine 

 of a great nation for its own security and protection, 

 and for the regulation of the food supply and safety of 

 the homes and physical well-being of the workers, un- 

 less its own actions and proceedings are controlled in 

 similar fashion by the central Parliament. There must 

 always be a central, controlling, guiding body maintain- 

 ing the scheme of government and securing the method 

 which the common sense and ethical development of 

 the people have decided shall be the rule of life and 

 conduct. No doubt in such a State it is inconceivable 

 that compulsion would be necessary, as all men shall 

 have come to realise the beauty and delight of the 

 altruistic life ; but in order, particularly in the earlier 

 phases of evolution, to guard against chaos or tumults, 

 or failure in individual cases to conform to the ideals of 

 the State, a central body must always be maintained. 



A barter system may require to come into force 

 during the transition period until the evolution shall 

 have attained to completion, but such a system would 

 be difficult to control, and jealousies would tend to 

 arise as to the amount of goods to be given for so much 

 work done. The progress of the altruistic tempera- 

 ment would solve this difficulty very soon. 



In a country such as our own, with steamships and 

 colonies which can provide all our needs, it would be 

 comparatively easy to secure our food supply and raw 

 material without purchase or expenditure of money, 

 but these could not be secured in a country without 

 colonies and supplies of their own. In such a case no 

 doubt the State would require gold to pay for these, 

 and would require to raise money by taxation of the 

 people in order to go on. In such circumstances the 

 abolition of the gold standard could not be accom- 

 plished until territory was conceded to this particular 



