ure of property or the system of industry. It is,
indeed, implied that the State is vested with a certain overlordship
over property in general and a supervisory power over industry in
general, and this principle of economic sovereignty may be set side by
side with that of economic justice as a no less fundamental conception
of economic Liberalism. For here, as elsewhere, liberty implies control.
But the manner in which the State is to exercise its controlling power
is to be learnt by experience and even in large measure by cautious
experiment. We have sought to determine the principle which should
guide its action, the ends at which it is to aim. The systematic study
of the means lies rather within the province of economics; and the
teaching of history seems to be that progress is more continuous and
secure when men are content to deal with problems piecemeal than when
they seek to destroy root and branch in order to erect a complete system
which has captured the imagination.

It is evident that these conceptions embody many of the ideas that go to
make up the framework of Socialist teaching, though they also emphasize
elements of individual right and personal independence, of which
Socialism at times appears oblivious. The distinction that I would claim
for economic Liberalism is that it seeks to do justice to the social and
individual factors in industry alike, as opposed to an abstract
Socialism which emphasizes the one side and an abstract Individualism
which leans its whole weight on the other. By keeping to the conception
of harmony as our clue we constantly define the rights of the individual
in terms of the common good, and think of the common good in terms of
the welfare of all the individuals who constitute a society. Thus in
economics we avoid the confusion of liberty with competition, and see no
virtue in the right of a man to get the better of others. At the same
time we are not led to minimize the share of personal initiative,
talent, or energy in production, but are free to contend for their claim
to adequate recognition. A Socialist who is convinced of the logical
coherence and practical applicability of his system may dismiss such
endeavours to harmonize divergent claims as a half-hearted and illogical
series of compromises. It is equally possible that a Socialist who
conceives Socialism as consisting in essence in the co-operative
organization of industry by consumers, and is convinced that the full
s