the new machiavelli-第68章

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repudiate　frontage；　claim　to　be　pure　hinterland。　　That　is　what　

bothered　me　about　Codger；　about　those　various　schoolmasters　who　had　

prepared　me　for　life；　about　the　Baileys　and　their　dream　of　an　

official　ruling　class。　　A　human　being　who　is　a　philosopher　in　the　

first　place；　a　teacher　in　the　first　place；　or　a　statesman　in　the　

first　place；　is　thereby　and　inevitably；　though　he　bring　God…like　

gifts　to　the　pretencea　quack。　　These　are　attempts　to　live　deep…

side　shallow；　inside　out。　　They　produce　merely　a　new　pettiness。　　To　

understand　Socialism；　again；　is　to　gain　a　new　breadth　of　outlook；　to　

join　a　Socialist　organisation　is　to　join　a　narrow　cult　which　is　not　

even　tolerably　serviceable　in　presenting　or　spreading　the　ideas　for　

which　it　stands。　。　。　。



I　perceived　I　had　got　something　quite　fundamental　here。　　It　had　

taken　me　some　years　to　realise　the　true　relation　of　the　great　

constructive　ideas　that　swayed　me　not　only　to　political　parties；　but　

to　myself。　　I　had　been　disposed　to　identify　the　formulae　of　some　one　

party　with　social　construction；　and　to　regard　the　other　as　

necessarily　anti…constructive；　just　as　I　had　been　inclined　to　follow　

the　Baileys　in　the　self…righteousness　of　supposing　myself　to　be　

wholly　constructive。　　But　I　saw　now　that　every　man　of　intellectual　

freedom　and　vigour　is　necessarily　constructive…minded　nowadays；　and　

that　no　man　is　disinterestedly　so。　　Each　one　of　us　repeats　in　

himself　the　conflict　of　the　race　between　the　splendour　of　its　

possibilities　and　its　immediate　associations。　　We　may　be　shaping　

immortal　things；　but　we　must　sleep　and　answer　the　dinner　gong；　and　

have　our　salt　of　flattery　and　self…approval。　　In　politics　a　man　

counts　not　for　what　he　is　in　moments　of　imaginative　expansion；　but　

for　his　common　workaday；　selfish　self；　and　political　parties　are　

held　together　not　by　a　community　of　ultimate　aims；　but　by　the　

stabler　bond　of　an　accustomed　life。　　Everybody　almost　is　for　

progress　in　general；　and　nearly　everybody　is　opposed　to　any　change；　

except　in　so　far　as　gross　increments　are　change；　in　his　particular　

method　of　living　and　behaviour。　　Every　party　stands　essentially　for　

the　interests　and　mental　usages　of　some　definite　class　or　group　of　

classes　in　the　exciting　community；　and　every　party　has　its　

scientific…minded　and　constructive　leading　section；　with　well…

defined　hinterlands　formulating　its　social　functions　in　a　public…

spirited　form；　and　its　superficial…minded　following　confessing　its　

meannesses　and　vanities　and　prejudices。　　No　class　will　abolish　

itself；　materially　alter　its　way　of　life；　or　drastically　reconstruct　

itself；　albeit　no　class　is　indisposed　to　co…operate　in　the　unlimited　

socialisation　of　any　other　class。　　In　that　capacity　for　aggression　

upon　other　classes　lies　the　essential　driving　force　of　modern　

affairs。　　The　instincts；　the　persons；　the　parties；　and　vanities　sway　

and　struggle。　　The　ideas　and　understandings　march　on　and　achieve　

themselves　for　allin　spite　of　every　one。　。　。　。



The　methods　and　traditions　of　British　politics　maintain　the　form　of　

two　great　parties；　with　rider　groups　seeking　to　gain　specific　ends　

in　the　event　of　a　small　Government　majority。　　These　two　main　parties　

are　more　or　less　heterogeneous　in　composition。　　Each；　however；　has　

certain　necessary　characteristics。　　The　Conservative　Party　has　

always　stood　quite　definitely　for　the　established　propertied　

interests。　　The　land…owner；　the　big　lawyer；　the　Established　Church；　

and　latterly　the　huge　private　monopoly　of　the　liquor　trade　which　has　

been　created　by　temperance　legislation；　are　the　essential　

Conservatives。　　Interwoven　now　with　the　native　wealthy　are　the　

families　of　the　great　international　usurers；　and　a　vast　

miscellaneous　mass　of　financial　enterprise。　　Outside　the　range　of　

resistance　implied　by　these　interests；　the　Conservative　Party　has　

always　shown　itself　just　as　constructive　and　collectivist　as　any　

other　party。　　The　great　landowners　have　been　as　well…disposed　

towards　the　endowment　of　higher　education；　and　as　willing　to　co…

operate　with　the　Church　in　protective　and　mildly　educational　

legislation　for　children　and　the　working　class；　as　any　political　

section。　　The　financiers；　too；　are　adventurous…spirited　and　eager　

for　mechanical　progress　and　technical　efficiency。　　They　are　prepared　

to　spend　public　money　upon　research；　upon　ports　and　harbours　and　

public　communications；　upon　sanitation　and　hygienic　organisation。　　A　

certain　rude　benevolence　of　public　intention　is　equally　

characteristic　of　the　liquor　trade。　　Provided　his　comfort　leads　to　

no　excesses　of　temperance；　the　liquor　trade　is　quite　eager　to　see　

the　common　man　prosperous；　happy；　and　with　money　to　spend　in　a　bar。　　

All　sections　of　the　party　are　aggressively　patriotic　and　favourably　

inclined　to　the　idea　of　an　upstanding；　well…fed；　and　well…exercised　

population　in　uniform。　　Of　course　there　are　reactionary　landowners　

and　old…fashioned　country　clergy；　full　of　localised　self…importance；　

jealous　even　of　the　cottager　who　can　read；　but　they　have　neither　the　

power　nor　the　ability　to　retard　the　constructive　forces　in　the　party　

as　a　whole。　　On　the　other　hand；　when　matters　point　to　any　definitely　

confiscatory　proposal；　to　the　public　ownership　and　collective　

control　of　land；　for　example；　or　state　mining　and　manufactures；　or　

the　nationalisation　of　the　so…called　public…house　or　extended　

municipal　enterprise；　or　even　to　an　increase　of　the　taxation　of　

property；　then　the　Conservative　Party　presents　a　nearly　adamantine　

bar。　　It　does　not　stand　for；　it　IS；　the　existing　arrangement　in　

these　affairs。



Even　more　definitely　a　class　party　is　the　Labour　Party；　whose　

immediate　interest　is　to　raise　wages；　shorten　hours　of　labor；　

increase　employment；　and　make　better　terms　for　the　working…man　

tenant　and　working…man　purchaser。　　Its　leaders　are　no　doubt　

constructive　minded；　but　the　mass　of　the　following　is　naturally　

suspicious　of　education　and　discipline；　hostile　to　the　higher　

education；　andexcept　for　an　obvious　antagonism　to　employers　and　

property　ownersalmost　destitute　of　ideas。　　What　else　can　it　be？　　

It　stands　for　the　expropriated　multitude；　whose　whole　situation　and　

difficulty　arise　from　its　individual　lack　of　initiative　and　

organising　power。　　It　favours　the　nationalisation　of　land　and　

capital　with　no　sense　of　the　difficulties　involved　in　the　process；　

but；　on　the　other　hand；　the　equally　reasonable　socialisation　of　

individuals　which　is　implied　by　military　service　is　steadily　and　

quite　naturally　and　quite　illogically　opposed　by　it。　　It　is　only　in　

recent　years　that　Labour　has　emerged　as　a　separate　party　from　the　

huge　hospitable　caravanserai　of　Liberalism；　and　there　is　still　a　

very　marked　tendency　to　step　back　again　into　that　multitudinous　

assemblage。



For　multitudinousness　has　always　been　the　Liberal　characteristic。　　

Liberalism　never　has　been　nor　ever　can　be　anything　but　a　diversified　

crowd。　　Liberalism　has　to　voice　everything　that　is　left　out　by　these　

other　parties。　　It　is　the　party　against　the　predominating　interests。　　

It　is　at　once　the　party　of　the　failing　and　of　the　untried；　it　is　the　

party　of　decadence　and　hope。　　From　its　nature　it　must　be　a　vague　and　

planless　association　in　comparison　with　its　antagonist；　neither　so　

constructive　on　the　one　hand；　nor　on　the　other　so　competent　to　

hinder　the　inevitable　constructions　of　the　civilised　state。　　

Essentially　it　is　the　party　of　criticism；　the　〃Anti〃　party。　　It　is　a　

system　of　hostilities　and　objections　that　somehow　achieves　at　times　

an　elusive　common　soul。　　It　is　a　gathering　together　of　all　the　

smaller　interests　which　find　themselves　at　a　disadvantage　against　

the　big　established　classes；　the　leasehold　tenant　as　against　the　

landowner；　the　retail　tradesman　as　against　the　merchant　and　the　

moneylender；　the　Nonconformist　as　against　the　Churchman；　the　small　

employer　as　against　the　demoralising　hospitable　publ