tes
him to go still further. It bids him consider that other men are, on the
whole, very like himself and look on life in much the same way, and when
it speaks within him of social duty it encourages him to aim not at a
position of superiority which will enable him to govern his fellow
creatures for their own good, but at a spirit of comradeship in which he
will stand shoulder to shoulder with them on behalf of common aims.

If, then, there be such a thing as a Liberal Socialism--and whether
there be is still a subject for inquiry--it must clearly fulfil two
conditions. In the first place, it must be democratic. It must come from
below, not from above. Or rather, it must emerge from the efforts of
society as a whole to secure a fuller measure of justice, and a better
organization of mutual aid. It must engage the efforts and respond to
the genuine desires not of a handful of superior beings, but of great
masses of men. And, secondly, and for that very reason, it must make its
account with the human individual. It must give the average man free
play in the personal life for which he really cares. It must be founded
on liberty, and must make not for the suppression but for the
development of personality. How far, it may be asked, are these objects
compatible? How far is it possible to organize industry in the interest
of the common welfare without either overriding the freedom of
individual choice or drying up the springs of initiative and energy? How
far is it possible to abolish poverty, or to institute economic equality
without arresting industrial progress? We cannot put the question
without raising more fundamental issues. What is the real meaning of
"equality" in economics? Would it mean, for example, that all should
enjoy equal rewards, or that equal efforts should enjoy equal rewards,
or that equal attainments should enjoy equal rewards? What is the
province of justice in economics? Where does justice end and charity
begin? And what, behind all this, is the basis of property? What is its
social function and value? What is the measure of consideration due to
vested interest and prescriptive right? It is impossible, within the
limits of a volume, to deal exhaustively with such fundamental
questions. The best course will be to follow out the lines of
development which appear to proceed from those principles of Liberalism
which have been already indicated and to see how far they lead to a
solution.

We saw that it w