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Taine, Hippolyte, 1828-1893

"The French Revolution - Volume 3"

(S.R.)
[16] This is just what Lenin could not believe when he read this
around 1906. Even Taine did not see how much a French government
organization depended upon staff recruited from a hardworking, modest
and honest French population. We have now lived to see how the
nationalization of private property in Egypt, Argentina, Algeria not
to speak of Ethiopia and India proved disastrous and how 40 years of
government ownership should degrade and corrupt the populations of
Russia, China, Yugoslavia, Albania etc. (SR).
[17] When the function to be performed is of an uncertain or mixed
character the following rule may be applied in deciding whether the
State or individuals shall be entrusted with it; also in determining,
in the case of cooperation, what portion of it shall be assigned to
individuals and what portion to the State. As a general rule, when
individuals, either singly or associated together, have a direct
interest in, or are drawn toward, a special function, and the
community has no direct interest therein, the matter belongs to
individuals and not to the State. On the other hand, if the interest
of the community in any function is direct, and indirect for
individuals singly or associated together, it is proper for the State
and not for individuals to take hold of it.


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