Principles of western civilisation

III THE POSITION IN MODERN THOUGHT 69

What we see at once is that nearly all the current theories of democracy resemble each other in one respect. The idea of the nature of the modern state, the conceptions underlying the practice of universal suffrage, the ideal of the end of government in the greatest good of the greatest number, are all, we perceive, tacitly accepted as proceeding from the same fact, namely, the conception of society as comprised within the limits enclosing the interests of the existing individuals. The outlook in nearly all the accepted philosophy of society to which modern democracy has given rise closes down, therefore, along a clearly defined line, namely, that which marks the horizon bounding the interests included within the limits of political consciousness.

Yet if the principle of Projected Efficiency be taken as applying to human society, the first and clearest conviction with which the evolutionist must set out, is that in every system of social order destined to maintain its place in the stress of the world, there must exist a deep-seated line of demarcation completely separating the interests of the “ State,” considered as an organisation of existing individuals, from those of “Society” in process of evolution, considered as an aggregate of individuals in whose welfare these existing individuals have simply not the slightest interest. Nay more, the first and central principle of the continued existence of such a system of social order, in the stress of evolution, must of necessity be that conduct contributing to the welfare of “Society ” in this second sense—however onerous it may be to existing individuals—must in the end everywhere, and in all things, control and overrule conduct contributing merely to the welfare of the