*

In human society, all its members are bound to one another by a thousand
threads; and these threads are all the more numerous in proportion to a
people's grade of culture. If disturbances set in, they are forthwith
felt by all. Disturbances in production affect distribution and
consumption; and _vice versa_. The feature of capitalist production is
the concentration of property into ever fewer hands and into ever larger
establishments. In distribution, on the contrary, an opposite current is
noticeable. Whoever, due to the destructive effect of competition, is
stricken from the list of independent producers, seeks, in nine cases
out of ten, to squeeze himself as a dealer between the producer and the
consumer, and thus to earn his livelihood.

Hence the striking phenomenon of the increase of the middleman--dealers,
shopkeepers, hucksters, commissioners, brokers, agents, saloonkeepers,
etc. Most of these, among whom women are strongly represented, lead a
life of worries and a needy existence. Many are compelled, in order to
keep their heads above water, to speculate upon the lowest passions of
man and to promote them in all manner of ways. Hence the marvelous swing
of the most repulsive advertisements, particularly in all matters the
object of which is the gratification of sexual pleasures.

It is undeniable, and, viewed from a higher viewpoint, it is also
cheering, that the current for a greater enjoyment of life runs deep in
modern society. Man begins to understand that, in order to be human, a
life worthy of human beings is requisite, and the feeling is expressed
in such form as corresponds with the respective conceptions of the
enjoyment of life. As far as the distribution of its wealth is
concerned, society has become much more _aristocratic_ than at any
previous period. Between the richest and the poorest, the chasm is wider
to-day than ever before. On the other hand, with regard to its ideas and
laws, society has become more _democratic_.[169] Hence the masses strive
after greater equality; and, seeing that in their ignorance they know
not yet the path by which to attain their wishes, they seek equality in
the imitation of the upper classes by furnishing themselves with
whatever pleasures are within their reach. All possible artificial means
are resorted to in order to exploit this tendency; the consequences are
often serious. The gratification of a justified desire thus leads in a
number of cases to wrong pa