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Page 8
Of late years _Socialism_ and _Individualism_ have come into prominence
as theories of life. Eucken attributes the movements in the first
instance to the receding into the background of the idea of an overworld
which gave meaning and value to life. When doubt was thrown upon
religion and idealism, when confidence in another world was shaken, man
lost to an extent his moral support. Where could he turn now for a firm
basis to life? He might, of course, turn from the invisible world to the
world of sense, to nature. But the first result of this is to make man
realise that he is separate from nature, and again he fails to find
support. He is an alien in the world of nature, and disbelieves the
existence of a higher world. When both are denied him he turns naturally
to his fellow-men--here at least he can find community of interest--here
at least he is among beings of his own type. Hence he confines his
attention to the life of humanity, and in this, the universe of
mankind, he hopes to find an explanation of his own life, and a value
for it.
The progress of humanity, then, must become the aim of life--all our
strength and effort must be focussed upon human nature itself. But an
immediate difficulty arises. Where are we to find Man? "Is it in the
social community where individual forces are firmly welded together to
form a common life, or among individuals as they exist for themselves in
all their exhaustless diversity?" If we put the community first, then
the social whole must be firmly rooted in itself and be independent of
the caprice of its members. The duty of the individual is to subordinate
himself to the community--this means socialism. If, on the other hand,
the great aim is to develop the individual and to give him the maximum
of opportunity to unfold his special characteristics, we arrive at an
opposing theory--that of individualism.
In the history of society we find an age of socialistic ideas followed
by one of individualistic ideas, and vice versa, and there is much that
is valuable in each, in that it tends to modify and disprove the other's
extreme position.
The present wave in the direction of _socialism_ arises, to an extent,
in reaction from the extremely individualistic position of previous
ages. Man is now realising that the social relations of life are of
importance as well as the character of his own life. He realises the
interdependence of members of a community, and the conception of the
State as a whole, a unit, instead of a mere sum of individuals, grows
up. The modern industrial development and the organisation of labour
have, too, emphasised the fact that the value of the individual depends
largely upon his being a part of society. His work must be in
co-operation with the work of others to produce the best effect; for in
such co-operation it produces effects which reach far beyond his own
individual capacity. Hence his life appears to receive value from the
social relations, and the social ideal is conceived. The development of
the individual no longer becomes the aim but rather the development of
the community. In setting out the development of society as his aim, the
individual makes considerable sacrifices. All that is distinctly
individual must go, in character, in work, in science, and art, and that
which is concerned with the common need of society must receive
attention. This means undoubtedly a limitation of the life of the
individual, and often entails a considerable sacrifice; but the
sacrifice is made because of the underlying belief that in the sum of
individual judgments there is reason, and that in the opinion of the
majority there is truth. This socialistic culture finds in the present
condition of society, plenty of problems to hand, and in its treatment
of these problems a vigorous socialistic type of life is developed. The
most pressing problem is concerned with the distribution of material and
spiritual goods. Material goods and the opportunity for spiritual
culture that go with them have been largely a monopoly of the
aristocracy. Now arises a demand for a more equal distribution, and this
is felt to be a right demand, not only from the point of view of
justice, but also for the sake of spiritual culture itself. So it is
that the movement for the social amelioration of the masses starts. The
welfare of humanity is its aim, and all things, religion, science, and
art, must work towards this end, and are only of value in so far as they
contribute towards it.
Now it is a fundamental principle of a logical socialistic system that
truth must be found in the opinions of the masses, and the average
opinion of mankind must be the final arbiter of good and evil. The
tendency of the masses as such is to consider material advancement the
most cherished good. Hence, inevitably, a thorough-going socialism must
become materialistic, even though at an earlier stage it was actuated by
the desire for opportunities of spiritual culture.
A genuinely socialistic culture, too, makes the individual of value only
as a member of society. This, Eucken affirms, is only true in the most
primitive societies. As civilisation progresses, man becomes conscious
of himself, and an inner life, which in its interests is independent of,
and often opposed to society, develops. His own thought becomes
important to man, and as his life deepens, religion, science, art, work
&c., become more and more a personal matter.
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