It seems to me that the greatness of this change is as yet by no means completely realized, either by those who opposed, or by those who effected our last constitutional reform. To say the truth, the perceptions of Englishmen are of late somewhat blunted as to the [9]tendencies of political changes. They have seen so many changes made, from which, while only in prospect5, vast expectations were entertained, both of evil and of good, while the results of either kind that actually followed seemed far short of what had been predicted, that they have come to feel as if it were the nature of political changes not to fulfil expectation, and have fallen into a habit of half-unconscious belief that such changes, when they take place without a violent revolution, do not much or permanently6 disturb in practice the course of things habitual7 to the country. This, however, is but a superficial view either of the past or of the future. The various reforms of the last two generations have been at least as fruitful in important consequences as was foretold8. The predictions were often erroneous as to the suddenness of the effects, and sometimes even as to the kind of effect. We laugh at the vain expectations of those who thought that Catholic emancipation9 would tranquilize Ireland, or reconcile it to British rule. At the end of the first [10]ten years of the Reform Act of 1832, few continued to think either that it would remove every important practical grievance10, or that it had opened the door to universal suffrage. But five-and-twenty years more of its operation had given scope for a large development of its indirect working, which is much more momentous11 than the direct. Sudden effects in history are generally superficial. Causes which go deep down into the roots of future events produce the most serious parts of their effect only slowly, and have, therefore, time to become a part of the familiar order of things before general attention is called to the changes they are producing; since, when the changes do become evident, they are often not seen, by cursory12 observers, to be in any peculiar manner connected with the cause. The remoter consequences of a new political fact are seldom understood when they occur, except when they have been appreciated beforehand.
This timely appreciation13 is particularly easy in respect to tendencies of the change made in our institutions by the Reform Act of 1867. [11]The great increase of electoral power which the Act places within the reach of the working classes is permanent. The circumstances which have caused them, thus far, to make a very limited use of that power, are essentially14 temporary. It is known even to the most inobservant, that the working classes have, and are likely to have, political objects which concern them as working classes, and on which they believe, rightly or wrongly, that the interests and opinions of the other powerful classes are opposed to theirs. However much their pursuit of these objects may be for the present retarded15 by want of electoral organization, by dissensions among themselves, or by their not having reduced as yet their wishes into a sufficiently16 definite practical shape, it is as certain as anything in politics can be, that they will before long find the means of making their collective electoral power effectively instrumental to the proportion of their collective objects. And when they do so, it will not be in the disorderly and ineffective way which belongs to a people not [12]habituated to the use of legal and constitutional machinery17, nor will it be by the impulse of a mere instinct of levelling. The instruments will be the press, public meetings and associations, and the return to Parliament of the greatest possible number of persons pledged to the political aims of the working classes. The political aims will themselves be determined18 by definite political doctrines19; for politics are now scientifically studied from the point of view of the working classes, and opinions conceived in the special interest of those classes are organized into systems and creeds22 which lay claim to a place on the platform of political philosophy, by the same right as the systems elaborated by previous thinkers. It is of the utmost importance that all reflecting persons should take into early consideration what these popular political creeds are likely to be, and that every single article of them should be brought under the fullest light of investigation24 and discussion, so that, if possible, when the time shall be ripe, whatever is right in them may be adopted, and what is wrong [13]rejected by general consent, and that instead of a hostile conflict, physical or only moral, between the old and the new, the best parts of both may be combined in a renovated25 social fabric26. At the ordinary pace of those great social changes which are not effected by physical violence, we have before us an interval27 of about a generation, on the due employment of which it depends whether the accommodation of social institutions to the altered state of human society, shall be the work of wise foresight28, or of a conflict of opposite prejudices. The future of mankind will be gravely imperilled, if great questions are left to be fought over between ignorant change and ignorant opposition29 to change.
And the discussion that is now required is one that must go down to the very first principles of existing society. The fundamental doctrines which were assumed as incontestable by former generations, are now put again on their trial. Until the present age, the institution of property in the shape in which it has been handed down from the past, had not, except by a few [14]speculative writers, been brought seriously into question, because the conflicts of the past have always been conflicts between classes, both of which had a stake in the existing constitution of property. It will not be possible to go on longer in this manner. When the discussion includes classes who have next to no property of their own, and are only interested in the institution so far as it is a public benefit, they will not allow anything to be taken for granted—certainly not the principle of private property, the legitimacy30 and utility of which are denied by many of the reasoners who look out from the stand-point of the working classes. Those classes will certainly demand that the subject, in all its parts, shall be reconsidered from the foundation; that all proposals for doing without the institution, and all modes of modifying it which have the appearance of being favorable to the interest of the working classes, shall receive the fullest consideration and discussion before it is decided31 that the subject must remain as it is. As far as this country is concerned, the [15]dispositions of the working classes have as yet manifested themselves hostile only to certain outlying portions of the proprietary32 system. Many of them desire to withdraw questions of wages from the freedom of contract, which is one of the ordinary attributions of private property. The more aspiring33 of them deny that land is a proper subject for private appropriation34, and have commenced an agitation35 for its resumption by the State. With this is combined, in the speeches of some of the agitators36, a denunciation of what they term usury37, but without any definition of what they mean by the name; and the cry does not seem to be of home origin, but to have been caught up from the intercourse38 which has recently commenced through the Labor23 Congresses and the International Society, with the continental39 Socialists40 who object to all interest on money, and deny the legitimacy of deriving41 an income in any form from property apart from labor. This doctrine20 does not as yet show signs of being widely prevalent in Great Britain, but the soil is well prepared to receive the seeds of [16]this description which are widely scattered42 from those foreign countries where large, general theories, and schemes of vast promise, instead of inspiring distrust, are essential to the popularity of a cause. It is in France, Germany, and Switzerland that anti-property doctrines in the widest sense have drawn43 large bodies of working men to rally round them. In these countries nearly all those who aim at reforming society in the interest of the working classes profess44 themselves Socialists, a designation under which schemes of very diverse character are comprehended and confounded, but which implies at least a remodelling45 generally approaching to abolition46 of the institution of private property. And it would probably be found that even in England the more prominent and active leaders of the working classes are usually in their private creed21 Socialists of one order or another, though being, like most English politicians, better aware than their Continental brethren that great and permanent changes in the fundamental ideas of mankind are not to be [17]accomplished by a coup47 de main, they direct their practical efforts towards ends which seem within easier reach, and are content to hold back all extreme theories until there has been experience of the operation of the same principles on a partial scale. While such continues to be the character of the English working classes, as it is of Englishmen in general, they are not likely to rush head-long into the reckless extremities48 of some of the foreign Socialists, who, even in sober Switzerland, proclaim themselves content to begin by simple subversion49, leaving the subsequent reconstruction50 to take care of itself; and by subversion, they mean not only the annihilation of all government, but getting all property of all kinds out of the hands of the possessors to be used for the general benefit; but in what mode it will, they say, be time enough afterwards to decide.
The avowal51 of this doctrine by a public newspaper, the organ of an association (La Solidarite published at Neuchatel), is one of the most curious signs of the times. The leaders of the English working-men—whose delegates at the [18]congresses of Geneva and Bale contributed much the greatest part of such practical common sense as was shown there—are not likely to begin deliberately52 by anarchy53, without having formed any opinion as to what form of society should be established in the room of the old. But it is evident that whatever they do propose can only be properly judged, and the grounds of the judgment54 made convincing to the general mind, on the basis of a previous survey of the two rival theories, that of private property and that of Socialism, one or other of which must necessarily furnish most of the premises55 in the discussion. Before, therefore, we can usefully discuss this class of questions in detail, it will be advisable to examine from their foundations the general question raised by Socialism. And this examination should be made without any hostile prejudice. However irrefutable the arguments in favor of the laws of property may appear to those to whom they have the double prestige of immemorial custom and of personal interest, nothing is more natural than that a working [19]man who has begun to speculate on politics, should regard them in a very different light. Having, after long struggles, attained56 in some countries, and nearly attained in others, the point at which for them, at least, there is no further progress to make in the department of purely57 political rights, is it possible that the less fortunate classes among the "adult males" should not ask themselves whether progress ought to stop there? Notwithstanding all that has been done, and all that seems likely to be done, in the extension of franchises58, a few are born to great riches, and the many to a penury59, made only more grating by contrast. No longer enslaved or made dependent by force of law, the great majority are so by force of poverty; they are still chained to a place, to an occupation, and to conformity60 with the will of an employer, and debarred by the accident of birth both from the enjoyments61, and from the mental and moral advantages, which others inherit without exertion62 and independently of desert. That this is an evil equal to almost any of those against which [20]mankind have hitherto struggled, the poor are not wrong in believing. Is it a necessary evil? They are told so by those who do not feel it—by those who have gained the prizes in the lottery63 of life. But it was also said that slavery, that despotism, that all the privileges of oligarchy64 were necessary. All the successive steps that have been made by the poorer classes, partly won from the better feelings of the powerful, partly extorted65 from their fears, and partly bought with money, or attained in exchange for support given to one section of the powerful in its quarrels with another, had the strongest prejudices opposed to them beforehand; but their acquisition was a sign of power gained by the subordinate classes, a means to those classes of acquiring more; it consequently drew to those classes a certain share of the respect accorded to power, and produced a corresponding modification66 in the creed of society respecting them; whatever advantages they succeeded in acquiring came to be considered their due, while, of those which they had not yet attained, they [21]continued to be deemed unworthy. The classes, therefore, which the system of society makes subordinate, have little reason to put faith in any of the maxims67 which the same system of society may have established as principles. Considering that the opinions of mankind have been found so wonderfully flexible, have always tended to consecrate68 existing facts, and to declare what did not yet exist, either pernicious or impracticable, what assurance have those classes that the distinction of rich and poor is grounded on a more imperative69 necessity than those other ancient and long-established facts, which, having been abolished, are now condemned70 even by those who formerly71 profited by them? This cannot be taken on the word of an interested party. The working classes are entitled to claim that the whole field of social institutions should be re-examined, and every question considered as if it now arose for the first time; with the idea constantly in view that the persons who are to be convinced are not those who owe their ease and importance to the present [22]system, but persons who have no other interest in the matter than abstract justice and the general good of the community. It should be the object to ascertain72 what institutions of property would be established by an unprejudiced legislator, absolutely impartial73 between the possessors of property and the non-possessors; and to defend and to justify74 them by the reasons which would really influence such a legislator, and not by such as have the appearance of being got up to make out a case for what already exists. Such rights or privileges of property as will not stand this test will, sooner or later, have to be given up. An impartial hearing ought, moreover, to be given to all objections against property itself. All evils and inconveniences attaching to the institution in its best form ought to be frankly75 admitted, and the best remedies or palliatives applied76 which human intelligence is able to devise. And all plans proposed by social reformers, under whatever name designated, for the purpose of attaining77 the benefits aimed at by the institution of property without its [23]inconveniences, should be examined with the same candor78, not prejudged as absurd or impracticable.
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1
suffrage
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| n.投票，选举权，参政权 | |
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peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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motives
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| n.动机，目的( motive的名词复数 ) | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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permanently
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| adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地 | |
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habitual
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| adj.习惯性的；通常的，惯常的 | |
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foretold
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| v.预言，预示( foretell的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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emancipation
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| n.（从束缚、支配下）解放 | |
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grievance
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| n.怨愤，气恼，委屈 | |
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momentous
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| adj.重要的，重大的 | |
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cursory
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| adj.粗略的；草率的；匆促的 | |
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appreciation
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| n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨 | |
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essentially
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| adv.本质上，实质上，基本上 | |
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retarded
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| a.智力迟钝的，智力发育迟缓的 | |
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sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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machinery
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| n.(总称)机械，机器；机构 | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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doctrines
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| n.教条( doctrine的名词复数 )；教义；学说；（政府政策的）正式声明 | |
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doctrine
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| n.教义；主义；学说 | |
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creed
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| n.信条；信念，纲领 | |
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creeds
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| （尤指宗教）信条，教条( creed的名词复数 ) | |
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labor
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| n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦 | |
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investigation
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| n.调查，调查研究 | |
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renovated
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| 翻新，修复，整修( renovate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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fabric
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| n.织物，织品，布；构造，结构，组织 | |
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interval
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| n.间隔，间距；幕间休息，中场休息 | |
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foresight
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| n.先见之明，深谋远虑 | |
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opposition
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| n.反对，敌对 | |
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legitimacy
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| n.合法，正当 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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proprietary
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| n.所有权，所有的；独占的；业主 | |
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aspiring
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| adj.有志气的；有抱负的；高耸的v.渴望；追求 | |
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appropriation
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| n.拨款，批准支出 | |
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agitation
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| n.搅动；搅拌；鼓动，煽动 | |
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agitators
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| n.（尤指政治变革的）鼓动者( agitator的名词复数 )；煽动者；搅拌器；搅拌机 | |
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usury
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| n.高利贷 | |
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intercourse
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| n.性交；交流，交往，交际 | |
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continental
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| adj.大陆的，大陆性的，欧洲大陆的 | |
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socialists
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| 社会主义者( socialist的名词复数 ) | |
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deriving
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| v.得到( derive的现在分词 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取 | |
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scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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profess
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| v.声称，冒称，以...为业，正式接受入教，表明信仰 | |
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remodelling
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| v.改变…的结构[形状]( remodel的现在分词 ) | |
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abolition
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| n.废除，取消 | |
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coup
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| n.政变；突然而成功的行动 | |
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extremities
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| n.端点( extremity的名词复数 )；尽头；手和足；极窘迫的境地 | |
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subversion
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| n.颠覆，破坏 | |
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reconstruction
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| n.重建，再现，复原 | |
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avowal
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| n.公开宣称，坦白承认 | |
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deliberately
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| adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地 | |
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anarchy
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| n.无政府状态；社会秩序混乱，无秩序 | |
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judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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premises
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| n.建筑物，房屋 | |
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attained
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| （通常经过努力）实现( attain的过去式和过去分词 )； 达到； 获得； 达到（某年龄、水平、状况） | |
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purely
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| adv.纯粹地，完全地 | |
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franchises
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| n.（尤指选举议员的）选举权( franchise的名词复数 )；参政权；获特许权的商业机构（或服务）；（公司授予的）特许经销权v.给…以特许权，出售特许权( franchise的第三人称单数 ) | |
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penury
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| n.贫穷，拮据 | |
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conformity
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| n.一致，遵从，顺从 | |
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enjoyments
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| 愉快( enjoyment的名词复数 )； 令人愉快的事物； 享有； 享受 | |
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exertion
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| n.尽力，努力 | |
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lottery
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| n.抽彩；碰运气的事，难于算计的事 | |
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oligarchy
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| n.寡头政治 | |
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extorted
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| v.敲诈( extort的过去式和过去分词 )；曲解 | |
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modification
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| n.修改，改进，缓和，减轻 | |
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maxims
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| n.格言，座右铭( maxim的名词复数 ) | |
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consecrate
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| v.使圣化，奉…为神圣；尊崇；奉献 | |
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imperative
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| n.命令，需要；规则；祈使语气；adj.强制的；紧急的 | |
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condemned
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| adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词 | |
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formerly
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| adv.从前，以前 | |
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ascertain
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| vt.发现，确定，查明，弄清 | |
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impartial
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| adj.(in,to)公正的，无偏见的 | |
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justify
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| vt.证明…正当(或有理)，为…辩护 | |
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frankly
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| adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说 | |
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applied
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| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
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attaining
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| （通常经过努力）实现( attain的现在分词 )； 达到； 获得； 达到（某年龄、水平、状况） | |
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candor
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| n.坦白，率真 | |
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