To judge about success or failure one must see things very simply; one must see them in masses, as the artist, half closing his eyes against details, sees light and shade.  That is the only way in which a just judgment can be formed as to whether any departure or development, such as Islam or the American Republic, has been a benefit upon the whole.  Seen close, such great erections always abound in ingenious detail and impressive solidity; it is only by seeing them afar off that one can tell if the Tower leans.

Now if we thus take in the whole tilt or posture of our modern state, we shall simply see this fact:  that those classes who have on the whole governed, have on the whole failed.  If you go to a factory you will see some very wonderful wheels going round; you will be told that the employer often comes there early in the morning; that he has great organising power; that if he works over the colossal accumulation of wealth he also works over its wise distribution.  All this may be true of many employers, and it is practically said of all.

But if we shade our eyes from all this dazzle of detail; if we simply ask what has been the main feature, the upshot, the final fruit of the capitalist system, there is no doubt about the answer.  The special and solid result of the reign of the employers has been—­unemployment.  Unemployment not only increasing, but becoming at last the very pivot upon which the whole process turns.

Or, again, if you visit the villages that depend on one of the great squires, you will hear praises, often just, of the landlord’s good sense or good nature; you will hear of whole systems of pensions or of care for the sick, like those of a small and separate nation; you will see much cleanliness, order, and business habits in the offices and accounts of the estate.  But if you ask again what has been the upshot, what has been the actual result of the reign of landlords, again the answer is plain.  At the end of the reign of landlords men will not live on the land.  The practical effect of having landlords is not having tenants.  The practical effect of having employers is that men are not employed.  The unrest of the populace is therefore more than a murmur against tyranny; it is against a sort of treason.  It is the suspicion that even at the top of the tree, even in the seats of the mighty, our very success is unsuccessful.

THE OTHER KIND OF MAN

There are some who are conciliated by Conciliation Boards.  There are some who, when they hear of Royal Commissions, breathe again—­or snore again.  There are those who look forward to Compulsory Arbitration Courts as to the islands of the blest.  These men do not understand the day that they look upon or the sights that their eyes have seen.