Chapter 7 Part II: The Effects of Democracy on American Feelings

Love of equality itself is a powerful emotion born of equality of status.And the complete freedom of all is more conducive to the realization of complete equality for all.The realization of complete equality and freedom for all is the highest ideal pursued by citizens of democratic countries, and it is also the best form that equality can take in the world.Although equality cannot be enforced in the political sphere, nor can people enjoy equality in government, equality can be achieved within civil society.People have the equal right to choose the same way of life and pursue wealth in the same way in society, and they also have the right to share the same happiness in society, engage in the same occupation, and choose the same place of residence.It can be said that equality of status is the most fundamental characteristic of a democratic society and the main passion that encourages people to move forward on the democratic road.Freedom came earlier than equality of status, and it has appeared in different forms and at different stages of human development.Therefore, freedom is not a product of social development at a certain stage or under certain social conditions, it will appear even in places other than democratic countries.

The benefits of freedom will only gradually appear after a long period of running-in, so it is not easy to be recognized by others.But the benefits that equality brings to people are immediate, and the moment people feel the benefits, they know where it comes from. Political liberty, though limited to some citizens and short-lived, is a consolation, albeit a limited one.But equality offers comfort to everyone all the time.Its benefits are universal and long-lasting. Political liberty comes at a price, and it requires great effort.Equality brings happiness to people unselfishly, and its benefits are automatically generated and run through people's life from beginning to end.

Therefore, the passion of men for equality is more fervent, more enduring, and more difficult to contain than liberty.Not only do they want to enjoy equality in freedom, but when they cannot have both, they would rather lose their freedom and enjoy equality in slavery.They may have tolerated poverty and barbarism, but not aristocracy. It destroys and overthrows all who try to oppose the power of the pursuit of equality, which is irresistible.Without equality, not only will freedom not be fully realized, but even the democratic system itself will be difficult to maintain. An excessive and partial love of oneself is what is called egoism.Among all things in the world, it only cares about its own affairs.Individualism is an emotion that makes each person take himself for granted, and it gradually alienates each person from others.Especially when each citizen creates his own small society, he loses contact with the whole big society.

This egoism is an instinct, but individualism is a person's wrong understanding of his relationship with society and others.Individualism has both an instinctive and an irrational side.Egoism can hinder the production of all virtues; individualism will first make social virtues disappear, and then damage all other virtues, and finally develop into egoism. Egoism is actually a bad habit that is inherent in human beings and survives with social forms.Individualism is a product of democracy, and it will spread with the development of equality of human status.Individuals in a democratic society have learned to think independently and like to control their own destiny. They neither ask for anything nor owe anything to others.With the increasing prevalence of individualism, it makes people only think of themselves when they encounter problems, become more and more alienated from other individuals in the society, and finally fall into the loneliness of body and mind.

Democracy was built on the ruins of aristocracy, and with it came the isolation of men by their egoism and equality.A democratic society transforms some citizens into new social subjects who enjoy independence and equal status. They have not yet come out of the joy that democracy has brought them, and their hearts are full of conceit. There is no need to ask others for help, and their vision and actions are increasingly only their own. It is precisely for this reason that the democratic revolution can only transform the hatred caused by social inequality into mutual avoidance and indifference in the new society, but cannot deepen people's intimacy.The newly established democratic society did not produce the closeness that compatriots should have. Instead, citizens chose to be alone and became isolated islands in society.

Americans didn't build their democracy through a democratic revolution, so they're a little bit luckier than most democracies.They are born equal, not made equal by hard work. While the democratic revolution brought individualism, it also stopped the rampant proliferation of individualism.The most effective way for Americans to resist individualism is freedom and political participation.When all citizens can participate in the work of governing the country, they will find that they cannot live independently without others as they imagined. Everyone needs the help of others, and if they want to get this help, they have to go to the helping others.In this way, citizens have abandoned the narrow thinking of only caring about personal interests, and stepped out of the small circle that they have created.

The equality of political participation brings people the benefits of caring for each other, gradually dissolves the indifference and emotional barriers in people's hearts, and abandons the original arrogance and contempt, and is committed to helping each other and governing the country together.Thus, egoism loses ground. Most of the public offices in a democratic government come from elections in the society, which makes those self-confident and self-enclosed people have to seriously start to reflect, without the support and assistance of others, they will not be able to run for public office.American legislators believe that the best cure for individualism is to endow the organizations and institutions of the domestic political system with independent political power, and appropriately increase the opportunities for citizens participating in them to act together and trust each other.For example, when local autonomy is implemented and local affairs are completely managed by local residents, they must have frequent contact, discuss with each other, and rely on each other in order to manage the local area well.

A person can hardly feel the specific influence of the fate of the country on him personally, so it is difficult to forget the self and care about the fate of the whole country.However, when he participates in a meeting to discuss such a small matter as deciding to build a road leading to his house, he need not waste his time to find the connection between his personal interest and the interest of all people, especially the public interest. Closely connected.Therefore, the more citizens are allowed to participate in the management of small matters related to their interests, the more they will care about the public welfare and consciously cooperate with each other to realize the public welfare.While resisting the self-interested instinct in people's hearts, local autonomy also restores their good nature of mutual help and love, making them pay more attention to neighbor relations and cherish friendship.

Even the richest people in the United States realize that they also need help from the poor, so they pay close attention to the masses, stay close to them, try to get close to them, listen carefully to their opinions, and exchange opinions frequently.Because rich people know that the best way to win people's hearts is not to give favors, but to be kind and kind to people.The greater the favor bestowed, the more the gap between the rich and the poor is highlighted, and the easier it is to arouse the resentment of the poor. Americans use the free system and equal political rights to overcome individualism, allowing them to fully feel the warmth of a big social family.In the eyes of Americans, helping others not only fulfills their own obligations but also brings benefits to themselves.If their devotion to the public good was at first out of necessity, now it is purely instinctive.A habit formed by reason has grown into an instinctive hobby.

Americans organize associations all the time, regardless of age, status, or aspirations.The nature of their associations is also rich and varied. There are both business groups, religious groups, and moral groups; there are serious groups and boring and lively groups; Very special group.Societies vary in size and purpose. They may set up organizations for celebrations, seminaries, churches and hotels, or groups just to sell books.They set up public facilities such as hospitals, prisons, and schools by establishing associations.At the same time, use this method to spread the truth and influence people's hearts.

Association has become an indispensable means of action for Americans, even for a trivial matter.Clubs have become the only means of uniting like-minded people to work together towards a common goal. Citizens are both independent and weak in a democratic society.Because it is impossible to do a career with one's own ability alone, and he cannot force others to help him.Therefore, if he does not first learn to help others, he will be left alone. At the same time, if every citizen does not form associations for political purposes, their independent status will be endangered. Associations are an effective means for them to protect their political rights; if the habit of establishing associations cannot be formed in daily life, the existence of society will be itself will be threatened.A nation is in danger of a quick regression to barbarism if its members are neither capable of doing great things alone, nor of forming the habit of doing great things together. Some people may question that the government can perform some functions instead of associations, not to mention that this has already become a reality in some states of the United States.This kind of understanding is unscientific, and government authorities cannot completely replace the trivial things that Americans rely on associations to handle in their daily lives.It would be very dangerous if a country really had a phenomenon where the government replaced associations everywhere.Only through mutual assistance and love can the citizens purify and enhance their thoughts and emotions, broaden their minds, and fully mobilize and develop everyone's talents. As long as Americans have an idea or opinion that can or is intended to be broadcast to the society, they will look for people who share the same opinion and organize associations together.And once the association is established, they will be a powerful force, their actions will attract attention, and their opinions will have more people willing to listen.Associations have been used by Americans in all aspects of society. They not only have political associations and industrial associations, but also intellectual activities and moral associations.And some associations are unheard of in other countries. Association is a basic common sense for a democratic country, and the progress of all other knowledge depends on the understanding and application of this knowledge of association.If human beings want to maintain their own achievements in civilization and continue to move towards civilization, they must continue to develop and improve the rules and art of people's association with the expansion of identity equality. Convincing people that their union is more conducive to the realization of everyone's interests is an important guarantee for these people to work together.The newspaper has a very important persuasive effect, it can spread the same idea to every reader widely and smoothly at the same time.A newspaper is like a zealous advisor who takes the trouble to keep you updated on national events every day. As people become more equal and individualistic, the press becomes the dominant medium in society and becomes indispensable.In addition to maintaining freedom, it can also maintain stability.Although newspapers can also lead people to become negative and depressed, but its role is definitely more good than harm.The press not only proposes to people a common plan of action, but also provides people with the means of carrying out the plan.If there is no press, people may not have common action. Because people in democracies are isolated and weak as individuals, they need unity; and they want unity, and hope to find like-minded people.Newspapers just play the role of bridge and communication channel.Newspapers bring people together, and people need newspapers for lasting unity. For the above reasons, newspapers have become an important guarantee for maintaining the relationship between associations.The strength of an association lies in the large number of members, and the increase in the number of members increases the difficulty of their communication and the generation of consistent thoughts and actions.Only newspapers can overcome these difficulties and enable rapid and effective communication among community members. Therefore, it is impossible for any democratic association to exist without newspapers and periodicals.There is an inseparable and inevitable connection between associations and newspapers: newspapers and periodicals promote the emergence of associations and are also influenced by associations.If it is a truth that with the development of status equality, there will be more and more associations, then it is also a truth that with the increase of associations, the number of newspapers will also continue to increase. Therefore, it is only natural that the United States has become the country with the most associations and newspapers in the world. In this world, the United States is the only country whose citizens can exercise unlimited freedom of political association at any time, and only the United States has given its citizens the same thinking of exercising the right of association in social life.Americans have enjoyed from freedom of association all the benefits that a civilized society has to offer. There is an inevitable connection between associations, that is, between political associations and general associations: Generally speaking, in countries where political associations are not allowed, there are very few general associations; in countries where political associations are generally developed, general associations have also achieved success. Great progress has been made, and the extensive advancement of general associations will in turn contribute to the increasing perfection of political associations. While politics established tens of thousands of associations, it also popularized the knowledge of establishing associations.It is from political life that men learn the art of association and association.Political association has become a free university for the dissemination of the general principles of association. If the act of forming an association is permitted only under harsh and limited circumstances, it will be regarded as a special and exceptional measure, and will not be taken seriously.Only when citizens are free to associate at any time, will people regard association as a general or even the only means of achieving their ends.And only when association becomes people's inner need, people's association behavior will become conscious and instinctive. The good habit of using associations has been gradually developed under the influence of political associations, and the continuous strengthening of this habit has become an inherent concept of Americans. This concept has gradually penetrated into all aspects of daily life, leading to general associations. high development. It is better to convince Americans that virtue is useful than to convince them that virtue is beautiful.Precisely because they believe that virtue is useful, they do it every day. It is precisely because the moralists in the United States are very familiar with the truth in their hearts, so they never lead people to sacrifice themselves in order to show their greatness, but only gradually instill in people a concept: this kind of sacrifice is important to the victim himself. and beneficiaries are necessary.They understand that people cannot be made to give up individualism, all they can do is try to make the most of the situation.They do not object to people's pursuit of personal interests, but advise people to use honest methods to obtain legitimate interests, and help people have a correct understanding of interests, that is, "correctly understood interests." Today, Americans generally recognize a basic principle, that is, "rightly understood interests", which have penetrated into people's daily life and become a part of people's ideas.This principle does not require people to dedicate themselves to great sacrifices, nor does it aim at greatness.It only requires people to do some things around them that they can do every day, and requires people to learn to follow the rules, self-restraint, prudence, foresight and strict self-discipline in life.It does not directly give people morality, but makes people embark on the path of moral cultivation.In today's society, status equality is developing day by day, and it is impossible to completely stop people's utilitarianism.And self-interest is the chief, if not the sole, motive force of human action.Therefore, the key is to guide people to learn to have a correct understanding of interests, establish the awareness of "correctly understood interests", and act in accordance with the principle of "correctly understood interests". Application of the principle of "rightly understood benefit" The above-mentioned "rightly understood benefit" principle cannot be used only in this life, because there are many sacrifices that can only be compensated in the next life.You can't convince a person who has never thought about dying to do good deeds without proving that the merits are also useful in the next life.Therefore, it is necessary to make the principle of "rightly understood interest" applicable to religious beliefs. Philosophers who advocate this principle tell the world: learn to control your emotions to live a happy life, and keep it within a moderate limit at all times; give up temporary enjoyment to have lasting happiness; think better To protect yourself, you must learn self-restraint and restraint.And so did the founders of all religions, who taught that the reward for making sacrifices lies in the life to come, and not in this life.Therefore, I believe that interest is an important means used by religion to win people's hearts and guide people's actions. The principle of "rightly understood interests" is not only applicable to religious beliefs, but also makes people want to be closer to religious beliefs. If a person, in order to be happy in his life, always restrains his instincts and emotional impulses, considers every move in daily life rationally, and develops the habit of giving up temporary benefits in exchange for long-term benefits in life, then he chooses to believe in a certain When he has a religion, he will not feel pain for observing the religious commandments. His obedience is not only a habit, but also a correct understanding of interests.You can't find any compulsive or blind factors in Americans' devotion to religion, because it is completely voluntary and conscious.It should even be said that it is not faith but reason that guides Americans to carry out religious activities.Not only do they believe in religion because of their interests, but they also put the benefits they get from religion in the present world as much as possible. Americans generally love material welfare. Even the satisfaction of the slightest needs of the body makes them ecstasy, and the small conveniences provided for life will arouse people's widespread attention.Similarly, the poor here are full of infinite envy and longing for the rich. They are always yearning for wealth to favor themselves one day; They were poor in the past, and it was their long-term struggle and dedication that got them out of poverty. They indulged in the joy of suffering all the time.Even those who can live a prosperous life relying on inheritance have an instinctive preference for material enjoyment. To sum up, the enjoyment and liking for a rich material life is becoming a universal trend that dominates the United States, and it has swept everyone into it. In a democratic society, the enjoyment of material life between wealthy citizens and ordinary citizens is almost the same, because the wealthy are also members of ordinary citizens, and they have the same hobbies as ordinary citizens.Everyone's desire for enjoyment will be expressed in a relatively restrained form, and no one wants to deviate from the routine. The main goal of the rich is only to meet the needs of daily life, and they will not deliberately pursue excessive pleasure.They only want to satisfy countless small wishes, and they will never let themselves indulge in lust and indulge in a life of luxury and money. The satisfaction of material life enjoyment is inseparable from order, which is common sense to citizens in a democratic society.Of course, it is also inseparable from the good public sentiment that is conducive to social stability.Therefore, they cherish the sentiments of the people, abide by religious ethics, hope to enjoy this life, and do not give up the opportunity of the next life. Americans are not completely addicted to the pursuit of real happiness, although they are very eager to obtain these happiness.When this longing temporarily ceases, their hearts will break through the material shackles of this world and rush to heaven.Some people's pursuit of spiritualism has reached the point of madness.They are obsessed with spiritualism, hoping to open up a smooth path connecting the enjoyment of this world and the enjoyment of the afterlife. This kind of religious fanaticism is commonplace in the United States. The love for eternal life and happiness is completely human instinct, it cannot be controlled by human will, and its basis is rooted in human nature.Although people can restrain their excessive development or change their manifestations, they cannot fundamentally eliminate them: this is the inner demand of the human mind.Even if you try to draw the mind's attention to them, it immediately struggles with annoyance, restlessness, and agitation. While many people are keen on the enjoyment of material life, there are always some people who focus on the spiritual world. They are afraid that their souls will be burdened by the flesh, and they will be trapped in the world and cannot extricate themselves. It is not unreasonable for those spiritualists who yearn for heaven to appear on earth, on the contrary, it is inevitable. Today, in some remote corners of the European continent, there are still some small villages and towns that have been forgotten but are always in turmoil.They remain the same in the fast-moving world around them.People living here are extremely ignorant and poor, do not pay attention to national affairs, and are often oppressed by the local government.But even so, they are still contented, and they always seem to be in a good mood. The citizens of the United States have the happiest living environment in the world, as well as the freest and most civilized customs and customs.But this does not alleviate the hidden worries and uneasiness they often have in their hearts. Even when they are happy, you can feel their looming heaviness.Even so, where did such diametrically opposed situations originate?This is very obvious. The residents in the remote village don't know that their situation is unfortunate, but those Americans have been planning how to get what they don't have as quickly as possible.They are afraid that they will not find a shortcut to seek wealth and obtain money, and they are afraid that they will not be able to pursue welfare.In their hearts, they want to take all the good things in this world for themselves, but because they are too impatient and restless, because they are afraid that they will not be able to fully enjoy the joy of life in their limited life, they dream of immortality.They want everything, but they have nothing they can really have.After acquiring an object, they are quick to throw it away in hopes of something new.While conditions like this have existed since the dawn of man, it is rare for an entire nation to be caught in it. Obviously, those who only dream of keeping all happiness in themselves will always feel restless because of the short time. The inner anxiety and restlessness exposed by Americans are caused by their fanatical love for material life enjoyment . As I have stated before, people who have achieved equality can only obtain all the benefits they want by association.People's learning and application of association technology first comes from political freedom and political life.Liberty, therefore, is especially favorable to the production of wealth, while despotism is especially harmful to it. Autocracy, under democratic conditions, is no longer just tyranny and cruelty, but red tape and interference. Although it does not trample on human nature, it destroys people's business genius and ability to do business.Therefore, only freedom can guarantee people's pursuit of material life enjoyment. In America, you rarely see people hanging around with nothing to do.Because those who have the ability to work are running around in pursuit of wealth.But despite their relentless pursuit of material comforts, they are rarely arbitrary, and their reason guides their passions well. When an American is pursuing his own interests, he seems to have only himself in his eyes; but when he is keen on public activities, he seems to be impartial.The strong selfish desire of egoism and the lofty patriotism seem to control him alternately.Generally speaking, it is difficult for people to integrate these two completely opposite things, but Americans have unified the two passions in their hearts. The best instrument and greatest guarantee of American happiness is liberty.Because they love happiness, they love freedom; they love freedom, so they never think that taking part in public affairs is an extra thing; they are enthusiastic about public affairs because public affairs can enable them to obtain and securely enjoy the wealth they have been pursuing. Every Sunday, it seems that all industrial and commercial activities in the United States are silent, and those noisy voices can no longer be heard.The moment of quiet respite arrives at last, when men engage in self-reflection, like suddenly falling into solemn contemplation, when the soul regains dominion over the body. The market is deserted on this day, as citizens take their children to church to hear the sermons.The missionaries listed to them the endless harm caused by arrogance and greed, and asked them to learn to restrain their desires, practice virtue and do good deeds, and pursue true happiness.After returning home from the church, they will not check the business books, but open the "Bible", from which they can experience the greatness and goodness of God, find the responsibility and final destination of life, and look forward to a better life in the afterlife. Although Americans are all running around for commercial activities, they will temporarily stop talking about the desires and interests in life at this time, and squeeze out a little time to purify their hearts and imagine the happiness of a great, pure and eternal ideal world.Because they believe that only by relying on religion can the democratic system be virtuous and more humane. Generally speaking, religion is a tool used to propagate the theory of the immortality of the soul, which is universal and convenient.The reason why democratic countries can establish faith, the contribution of religion cannot be underestimated.Democracies, more than others, cannot be devoid of faith.Therefore, it must protect religion as a precious object.If religion cannot be used to occupy people's hearts, the passion for material pleasure will take advantage of it and control it. For humans and animals, the same thing is that neither can survive without material conditions, but the difference is that human beings create and use material conditions with their minds, while animals use instinct.The superiority of man over animals lies in his ability to go beyond physical enjoyment and further explore spiritual pleasure. If the human mind wants to accomplish things that have nothing to do with the mind, it needs to be enriched, satisfied and sublimated first, and then it can better pursue material welfare.Conversely, if man's heart is not satisfied, if man's spirit and soul are constantly suppressed and devalued, then he may not be able to accomplish anything.Therefore, only a person with a strong mind is strong, and he can act to satisfy the needs of the body at any time. If someone wants to pursue material wealth as the sole purpose of life, then we can draw a conclusion: not only will he gradually lose the ability to pursue material wealth, but he will eventually lose all human capabilities, and thus become no different from animals. The tool of religion has the greatest impact on people, that is, it gives people a concept of the afterlife in their thinking and actions. Concerns about the afterlife make people now exercise restraint and pursue happiness in this world with a longer-term perspective.This is also one of the main political roles of religion.However, if people no longer believe in the power of belief and no longer consider the situation in the afterlife, he will gradually stop paying attention to the future, which makes his vision gradually short-sighted until only the present goal of action is left in his eyes.Since then, he no longer puts his hope and focus on long-term goals, he just wants to satisfy some immediate desires as soon as possible.Eternal life has become a bubble for him, he just wants to seize the happiness of this life and muddle along.Today is an era of lack of faith and growing doubts. People's minds are easily tempted by immediate desires and interests and stay away from long-term goals, unwilling to do great and long-term careers.The instability of the democratic society and the intensification of competition make people more and more want to get rich overnight, and more and more fall into various fantasies. In the unpredictable fate, people have completely covered up the future with the present, People just stop thinking about tomorrow. The lack of religious faith combined with the fickleness of democracy is one of the most unfortunate things that can happen to a country, and it makes philosophers and rulers the first thing to do is to teach people to take a long view of life action target.Moralists should settle down to study well, and to publicize the spirit of the age and country to the public, helping people to divert their attention to planning and implementing long-term causes.They should let people understand that no matter how society develops and how living conditions change, people's desire for happiness must be at the price of restraint and giving up many small desires. Perhaps only when a strategic awareness and a long-term thinking method are deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and when long-term development considerations and careful planning become the first steps and habits before doing things, people can jump out of the quagmire of real life and pursue the purpose of life without distraction. main happiness.And when all this is possible, people will take the initiative to get close to religious beliefs without any encouragement. Labor is essential to a democracy without hereditary property.One of the necessary basic conditions for human survival and development is labor, and the most basic viewpoint in human thinking is the viewpoint of labor.For people, the glorious cause of labor has never been cheap.Under the condition that the public opinion of the whole society is in favor of labor, the gap between occupations that once existed in aristocratic society disappears here.Although people work in various industries, the essence is the same: people work to make money, and no matter what industry they work in, everyone needs to get paid from it to make a living. What has been said above is the attitude of Americans towards occupation and labor.In the United States, people don't think they are inferior even if they work in the service industry, because they know that everyone is giving labor.Getting a salary is also not so difficult to say, because the president of the United States will also get a salary for his labor.The difference is that the president is in the job of calling the shots, and people need to obey orders.Therefore, although various occupations are relatively hard, there is no distinction between high and low, and all legitimate occupations are noble. Agriculture is perhaps the industry in which technical progress is slowest in democracies, and it is more stagnant than some other industries that are advancing rapidly.Equality has had an important influence on the inclinations and habits of men, and has led them unconsciously into the paths of trade and industry.Democracy, which has increased not only the number of laborers, but also the number of those who enjoy business and industry, can scarcely induce any more people to engage in agriculture. The above phenomenon has become so common in democracies that even the wealthiest citizens have no objections.Because the sense of wealth will not be gradually satisfied because of his own wealth, he is not only afraid that he will not be as rich as his ancestors, but also afraid that his descendants will become poor, so the rich are always racking their brains to get rich.In their view, industry and commerce are the fastest and most effective industries for getting rich, so it is only natural that they turn their attention to industry and commerce.At this point, they are subject to the same instinctive needs as the poor, except that they want to increase their wealth, while the poor are first of all for food and clothing. At the same time, these wealthy people do not want to go into politics, so their energies are gradually attracted to business and industry, and all are drawn to it with enthusiasm and enthusiasm. There is no industry greater and more attractive than industry and commerce.Their enthusiasm and dedication have also created a great entrepreneurial spirit, and the entrepreneurial spirit has made them all wealthy businessmen, and finally doing business has become a part of the people's sentiments. The great development of American industry should be thanks to the enthusiasm and love of Americans for industry and commerce. The power of business for all conquers the whole nature and completely serves it.However, the biggest hidden danger in the United States is also hidden here.Because if the development of industry and commerce is suppressed by powerful obstacles and an industrial crisis occurs, they will become victims of their own fanatical passion, and the huge loss of personal property will also plunge the entire country into turmoil. In my opinion, the recurring industrial crisis is an inherent disease of modern democracies.Its emergence is entirely due to the nature of democratic countries, and its harm can only be mitigated, but it cannot be cured. The development of industry should be attributed to the democratic system, and similarly, the rapid increase in the number of industrialists and workers is also a result of the influence of the democratic system.In addition, it has a potential role that is easily overlooked: that is, industry will use the detour provided by the democratic system to regenerate aristocratic society. Looking at it now, we have to admit two increasingly obvious facts: one is the development of the principle of division of labor, which has led to a worker only being responsible for making one kind of parts, and his production efficiency and skills have been greatly improved, so that the products assembled from parts的生产变得更加有效率，成本也逐渐降低；二是一个企业的规模越来越大的同时，它的资本越来越多，信用价值提升，产品价格逐渐下滑，而逐步占据整个市场。这两种事实不但支配了今天一些最重要的工业部门，也支配了一些小的工业部门。从事政治活动的立法者更应当重视在工业领域出现的这两种事实，这是我的看法。因为虽然一个人的手艺会随着始终制作一种产品而日渐成熟，但他会逐渐丧失全面发展的能力。作为一个工人，他在技术上越来越进步；但作为一个人，他的本质和潜能却日益下降。 生产一种物品的手艺渐渐占据了工人毕生的绝大多数时间，这使得他不再是他自己，而是属于整个职业。民主条件下的法制和民情尽管在努力拆除围在他四周的篱笆，为他开辟更多的生活和致富的道路，但实业中新出现的事实却比法制更有力量，再次将他束缚于一种具体的职业之上，使他的活动圈子进一步萎缩，更加固定了他的社会地位。纵然整个世界都在飞速前进，但实业中新出现的事实却使他静止了。于是，随着工艺的进步，工人的力量却日益软弱，工人的活动空间日益缩小，工人的地位日益降低，工人的精神日益退化。 而相反的是，工业部门的扩张与资本的增加、产品层出不穷，使得老板这一层次的人们钱包越来越鼓，知识丰富，地位彰显。在工人越来越把智力用于专注小事时，他们却越来越重视全局，视野日渐开阔，知识日渐丰富，管理水平越来越高。在工人越来越像牛马的同时，老板们却越来越像工商帝国的统治者。 共同点逐渐在老板与工人之间消失，差距日显。他们像一条长链两端的圆环，各自的位置早已固定。工人这一方只能永远处于从属的地位，永远都要根据对方的意志而行动；而老板这一方永远都处于高高在上的地位，永远都是发号施令者。 这难道不是贵族制度获得了重生吗？ 这样的结果造成了工商业阶级日益贵族化，没有造福人民大众。一方面使得两个层次鲜明相互独立的社会阶级隔阂日益明显；另一方面在两个阶级内部，情形却越来越相似。因此，在人民大众内部，不平等现象是减少了，但少数人与大多数人之间的不平等现象却更加明显和扩大了。 工业活动提供的力量使得一个新的贵族集团孕育并萌生在民主制度之下，而凭借财富的力量，新的贵族小社会也开始逐渐在民主社会内部发育。这些实业贵族不但是有史以来最严酷的贵族，又是最会伪装和看似正当产生的贵族。作为民主的朋友，我非常遗憾，因为他们是借由民主这扇大门溜进来的。