r to that of the shopkeeper, has its own characteristic form of the
one problem of _meeting, adjusting and fulfilling interests_. The
desire to be successful or to attain eminence in one's station exerts a
constant pressure in the direction of the invention, trial, and
selection of methods that will solve this problem. And such methods
once devised are at once supported by the interests they serve, and
become necessary to the life of the community.

Now the wise leader anticipates the needs and wishes of his followers,
and so enjoys their continued support without ever seeming to depend on
it. But there are very few such wise leaders. The reason for their
scarcity lies in the natural inertia of profitable activities. There
is a universal propensity to let well enough alone. So methods are
allowed to outlive their usefulness, or remain unmodified when more
provident and fruitful methods could be devised. When leadership {139}
thus fails to be statesmanlike and far-sighted, there occurs that
uprising of the disaffected interests which is called _revolution_.

_Revolution_, then, is the self-assertion of the various constituent
interests which do not find room or fair measure within the existing
organization. The evidence of the insufficiency of present methods
being neglected by those in charge, that evidence _makes itself known_.
In the long run this is the surest principle of progress, because it is
brought into operation by those who have a nearer or more indispensable
interest at stake. It is unquestionably to the interest of the
individual who heads an enterprise to conduct it rationally, that is,
to make it always as productive as possible for all the interests which
it serves. But if he fails he may not at once incur the penalty, or be
conscious of it if he does; he may only forfeit an increase of power,
or render his position precarious. On the other hand, to the
constituent interest which is sacrificed, this same failure may mean
loss of bread or even loss of life. Hence the latter is more sure to
move in the matter. Justice is more urgently needed by the slave who
rebels, than by the master who may be brought through enlightenment to
liberate him. Thus neglected interests have been the conscience of
every great human reform. Let me cite the two greatest cases of this
in the history of {140} European civilization, Christianity and the
French Revolution.

Christianity as a social revolution was a