THE IDEAL COMMONWEALTH

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXI, Issue 18861, 8 November 1924, Page 1 (Supplement)

THE IDEAL COMMONWEALTH

WHY IT TARRIES.

BY D.J.A.

The doctor's car stopped at the gate, and he came into my sanctum sanctorum. He seated himself, drew out his pouch, rolled a cigarette in an absent manner, while his eye searched my bookshelves. He had been reading Plato's " Republic," and had found the pastime of framing an ideal commonwealth very engrossing. He wanted to pursue the subject further, and I offered him Plutarch's " Lycurgus," More's " Utopia," Bacon's " New Atlantis," Campanella's " City of the Sun," Hall's " Mundus Alter et Idem," Dante's " Banquet," Macliiavelli's " Prince," Hobbes' " Leviathan," Harrington's "Commonwealth of Oceana," as well as several modern works such as Henry George's " Progress and Poverty," Carl Marx's " Capital," and a few others. I warned him, however, against expecting anything too definitely ideal in any or all of these. "It depends on your age," I said. "How? In what way?" 'he cried testily. " Well, when you and I were twentyfive half a dozen students gathered round a study fire were able to solve any great problem in twenty-five minutes. You may remember that we could even dispose of tho problem of evil in the course of two pipes of tobacco. To' us in those days the creation of an ideal commonwealth was a small matter, you may remember. Nothing had happened then to break our hearts, nor had the burdens of life settled firmly on our shoulders." " D.J., you are a villain," ho replied. "Heaven forbid that we should despise idealists and dreamers."

" True, but when dreams are purely fantastic and ideals are irrational, and divorced entirely from life, they become pernicious and lead to disaster," I replied. " The Communistic and Bolshevistic dream ideal is certainly of this character. Its ideal commonwealth is impossible because it ignores human nature. Which reminds me of something that occurred when I was medical superintendent of Hospital. One day a chaplain who was visiting the wards spoke to a big rough man who was a leader among the Communists. The man consigned him at once to Tophet, whereupon the chaplain sat down on the chair which stood by the bedsido and there ensued a conversation marked on one side by gentleness and restraint, and on the other by coarse insult, gross abuse and profane invective. After a time the chaplain withdrew, but in a day or so, greatly to the patient's surprise, returned to his bedside, which he approached with every sign of friendliness and goodwill.

The Soft Answer. " When he began with: ' I havo been thinking over the strong things you said to me the other day, and I thought I would liko to have another of our nice little chats,' saying this in a soft voice, and with a manner that was strangely kind and ingratiating, the big fellow on the bed could only stare in wonder, for he was smitten dumb. 11 4 The difficulty seems to be, said soft, curiously soothing voice, ' that you fellows are mere tyros and novices in the study of social questions. You say that ministers are indifferent, and forget that the ministry has been studying these questions for nearly two hundred years. In studying a problem in this exhaustive manner every stratum is cut through and examined, all factors that are irrelevant are at length discarded, and mere correlatives and concomitants are placed in their due order and relation to the main issue, when this is once discovered. Now, in the problem of society, we have come to understand that forms of government and social orders ar* merely concomitants, while many ' other much-discussed and belauded elements are actually irrelevant. In its essence the problem is neither industrial nor social, political nor commercial, but is the problem of human nature. The reason why we parsons decline to accept your solutions of the world problem is simply because we have seen farther, and know them to be no solutions. You will establish the ideal commonwealth when you have developed the perfect man. If you will do me the kindness of turning this view of the matter over in your mind, I shall be greatly obliged, and will call for your answer in a few days,' and the pale, ascetic face lit with a smile, while the slight, athletic figure moved on to another bed, leaving the big fellow dumbfounded and raging with wrath. "In due course the padre returned. ' Have you thought over my statement ? ' he asked with a smile. ' Yes,' the big fellow snapped, 'and it is all rot. Men are the product of their environment. Change their conditions and you transform men. If human nature is defective this is the direct result of the miseries and injustices they are compelled to endure.' " ' There is truth in that observation,' the chaplain replied, 'but it is only a half truth. If it were a whole truth every wealthy man would be a hero and a saint, while poverty and strain would always produce villainy and vice. On the whole probably improved conditions do tend to elevate and yet it is notorious that some of the best of men and women are found amid the worst environments. Tako your own case as an illustration. Are you not a better, more intelligent, and kinder man than many of those who hive enjoyed superior advantages. Would you like to become such a man as some of those are who have experienced a regimen of plenty ?'

Socialism and the Plain Girl.

" There was a curious twinklo in the padre's eye as he turned abruptly from the bedside and stepped across the ward, leaving his opponent with no opportunity of a reply. However, a few days later he returned again, and was informed that the patient was about to leave the hospital. He drew a chair to the bedside, and engaged in desultory conversation, but after a few moments rose to go. ' Good-bye,' the patient said, impulsively holding out his hand. 'I shall not forget you, but nevertheless the day will come when we shall establish our ideal communistic commonwealth.'

" They shook hands in perfect goodfellowship, then the chaplain said: 'When you do there is one matter which your literature, so far as I have read it, seems to have ignored, but which, unless you can deal with it, will prove the undoing of all your designs. It is a trifling injustice I know, but it has been the root of great misery, indeed it has led to life-long heartache on the part of some of the best people I have ever known. In order to prevent its perpetuation in your new state it will be necessary to enact a law making it a criminal offence to fall in love with a pretty girl while a single plain girl remains in the land. Unless you pass such a law all the men will court the pretty girls, and will contend with each other for the possession of clothes, jewels, furniture, and fine houses, in which to maintain them. And your idoal commonwealth will dissolve "into thin air. The only alternative to such a law is the development of a raco of perfect women, and even then you will only shift the difficulty to the other sex unless you have evolved a raco of perfect incn to match them,' and the padre turned away to speak to a nurse, while the patient lay back muttering something that sounded like.: 'Well, I'm blowpcL' "