that free competition has been thwarted or
destroyed.

The opposing doctrine of societism holds that the waste in the
production of wealth and the inequities in its distribution, which
afflict mankind to-day, are due to the extreme application of the
doctrine of individualism. Its adherents analyze competition and declare
it to be but another expression of a law of savage nature, tersely
expressed as "the survival of the fittest." A system which brutally
forces the weaker to the wall, say they, is unfit to govern the
inter-relations of civilized human beings. Condemning thus the
principles and practice of their opponents, they would go to the
opposite extreme and place the control of the production and
distribution of wealth in the hands of organized society or of local and
central governments, to be by them administered for the common benefit.

The first and most obvious commentary upon these two opposing doctrines
is that either of them is impracticable; and that if either of them were
given the entire control of our industries, the whole people would unite
in condemning it. Lest there should be any mistake as to what is meant
by this, it is well to say that we now refer to neither the
individualism nor the societism which is practically advocated at the
present day, but rather to the essence of the two opposing principles.

To see most clearly the practical failure of either of these principles
when applied without modification by the other, consider our present
social system, which is based on both individualism and societism. If
the principle of individualism were to be fully applied and societism
were to be entirely abolished, a first step would be the relinquishment
by the government of all the enterprises it now carries on; and they
would be left for private enterprise to take up or leave alone as it
chose. This means, for one thing, to bring the matter plainly home, that
the whole national postal system would be wiped out, and we should
depend on some private company or companies to collect, carry, and
distribute our mails. The government would also abandon all its work in
keeping clear and safe the natural waterways of the country, as well as
all the harbors, light-houses, etc. Municipal governments would give up
all their systems of water supply to private companies, as well as their
sewerage systems, and even paving, street cleaning, etc. Indeed, the
maintenance of our whole system of highways would be gi