.." [Footnote:
_Leviathan_, Ch. XIII. Of the Natural Condition of Mankind as
concerning their Felicity and Misery.]
2
To circumvent this conclusion one great branch of human thought, which
had and has many schools, proceeded in this fashion: it conceived an
ideally just pattern of human relations in which each person had well
defined functions and rights. If he conscientiously filled the role
allotted to him, it did not matter whether his opinions were right or
wrong. He did his duty, the next man did his, and all the dutiful
people together made a harmonious world. Every caste system
illustrates this principle; you find it in Plato's Republic and in
Aristotle, in the feudal ideal, in the circles of Dante's Paradise, in
the bureaucratic type of socialism, and in laissez-faire, to an
amazing degree in syndicalism, guild socialism, anarchism, and in the
system of international law idealized by Mr. Robert Lansing. All of
them assume a pre-established harmony, inspired, imposed, or innate,
by which the self-opinionated person, class, or community is
orchestrated with the rest of mankind. The more authoritarian imagine
a conductor for the symphony who sees to it that each man plays his
part; the anarchistic are inclined to think that a more divine concord
would be heard if each player improvised as he went along.
But there have also been philosophers who were bored by these schemes
of rights and duties, took conflict for granted, and tried to see how
their side might come out on top.
Pages:
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
262
263
264
265
266
267
268
269
270
271
272
273
274
275