luxurious living,
immorality, injustice, and loss of sense of duty, as in some of the
ancient nations, it will prove the downfall of Western civilization.
If the leisure and strength it offers are utilized in raising the
standard of living, of establishing higher ideals, and creating a will
to approximate them, then they will prove a blessing and an impulse to
progress. Likewise, the freedom of the mind and freedom in
governmental action furnish great opportunities for progress, but the
final result will be determined by use of such opportunities in the
creation of a higher type of mind characterized by a well-balanced
social attitude.

_The Balance of Social Forces_.--There are two sources of the origin of
social life, one arising out of the attitude of the individual toward
society, and the other arising out of the attitude of society toward
the individual. These two attitudes seem, at first view, paradoxical
in many instances, for both individual and society must survive. But
in the long run they are not antagonistic, for the good of one must be
the good of the other. The perfect balancing of the two forces would
make a perfect society. The modern social problem is to determine how
much choice shall be left to individual initiative and how much shall
be undertaken by the group.

In recent years the people have been doing more and more for themselves
through group action. The result has been a multiplication of laws,
many of them useless; the creation of a vast administrative force
increasing overhead charges, community control or operation of
industries, and the vast amount of public, especially municipal,
improvements. All of these have been of advantage to the people in
common, but have {502} greatly increased taxation until it is felt to
be a burden. Were it not for the great war debts that hang heavily on
the world, probably the increased taxation for legitimate expenses
would not have been seriously felt. But it seems certain that a halt
in excessive public expenditures will be called until a social
stock-taking ensues. At any rate, people will demand that useless
expenditures shall cease and that an ample return for the increased
taxation shall be shown in a margin of profit for social betterment. A
balance between social enterprise and individual effort must be secured.

_Restlessness Versus Happiness_.--Happiness is an active principle
arising from the satisfaction of individual desires. It do