The development of English thought; a study in the economic interpretation of history

Front matter

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Preface

The following pages attempt to present a theory of history through concrete illustrations. No endeavour is made, however, to relate in detail the events of any period. A knowledge of historical facts being assumed, certain salient features of each epoch will be thrown into relief, so that the main trend of events may be distinguished from the confusing maze into which the presentation of details often leads.

English history has been chosen to illustrate this theory, because the conditions and circumstances isolating England for many centuries have made English thought more normal and more uniform than that of her continental neighbours. The advantages of England's insular position are too well known to need restatement ; only the effects of this isolation require emphasis. It would be difficult to find another nation whose thought was so little influenced by foreign civilization as that of England from the Reformation to the middle of the present century. During all this time England had a vigorous, or at least an active, foreign policy, which, while it kept her in touch with external events, was the interest chiefly of those in court circles, or, at most, of the small aristocratic class that controlled the State and directed its policy. Although it would take volumes to narrate the story of the struggles, successes, and failures of England's foreign policy during this period, yet these events have no present interest because they affected but little the life and the thought of the people. The great mass of the people, unrepresented in Parliament, took slight interest in the topics it discussed, or the policies it pursued.

VI PREFACE

Foreign wars, were brought home to the people only through the tax-gatherer and the press-gang. So long as the taxes were paid, the governing class was satisfied, while the people were content to pay their taxes in order to be let alone. Thus the gulf between the official class and the people has never been more complete. This state of affairs has rendered the life and thought of the English people peculiarly favourable for study. The growth, propagation, and decay of ideas and modes of thought were unaffected by governmental interference or by foreign influence. Each new crop of ideas sprang up in virgin soil, matured, decayed, and gave way to its successor without any external interference to hinder its growth. If there are laws, therefore, governing the origin, growth, and modification of national thought, an examination of this period must be productive of results.

The theory presented is scarcely open to question, though some of its corollaries may not be evident. Survival is determined and progress created by a struggle for the requisites of which the supply is insufficient. These requisites are the goods for which men strive or the means by which they may avert evils. A group of such definite objects upon which the life and happiness of each race depends, always exists. The environment formed by this group of economic objects surrounding and supporting a given race changes with the several objects in which the interests of the race are centred. With the new objects come new activities and new requisites for survival. To meet these new conditions, the motives, instincts, and habits of the race are modified; new modes of thought are formed ; and thus by the modification of institutions, ideals, and customs all the characteristics of the civilization are reconstructed. These changes take place in a regular order ; the series repeats itself in each environment. In its amplification and illustration lies the economic interpretation of history.

PREFACE vii

A study like the present one has the advantage that the conclusions reached are definite and clear. How far they are applicable to the formation of a general theory of the progress of thought may be left for future discussion. Believing that concrete studies must precede broad generalizations, I shall be content if the reader accepts my interpretation of English thought, even if he regards the conditions so exceptional as to furnish an inadequate basis for a general history of thought. I am quite ready to admit that when other epochs and civilizations are studied with the same care and by the same methods, many of my conclusions will be modified and some of them, perhaps, reversed. I believe, however, that English civilization during the last three centuries has been freer from outside influences and therefore more normal than any other epoch of which we have the material for a thorough investigation. It must remain, /therefore, the best field for concrete studies until some new civilization arises under conditions still more normal and hence more easily analyzed and studied.

The first chapter contains an explanation of the psychological theories underlying the whole book. Logically this should precede the concrete applications of the theories. But readers who prefer to study theory and application together may begin with Chapter II. on " The Antecedents of English Thought."

Edinbubgh, September, 1S98.

Contents

CHAPTEK I The Theokt

1. National Character, pp. 1-5.

Adjustment to the environment is effected through the mental mechanism, whioh creates sensory and motor ideas (1). The sensory ideas are the basis of knowledge. They are arranged and classified so that any one of them is capable of arousing a series of mental images and appropriate motor reactions (2).* Races differ in their motor reactions more than in their sensory ideas (3). Character depends upon the habitual motor response to the stimuli caused by the requisites for survival which preserve the race (5).

CHAPTER II The Antecedents op English Thought

1. Primal Economic Conditions, pp. 57-66.

Modern characteristics originated under primitive conditions. Land was scarce in some localities, water in others. An irregular rainfall and uncertain climate tended to develop hope, patience, and humility (57). More settled conditions taught men to oppose rather than to yield to nature. Wrath and a tendency to react vigorously against oppression or a source of pain resulted (58). Resistance taught men to cooperate, and this made them moral (59). Civilization demands a movable surplus, the desire for which caused most of the great migrations (60) . On it depended the existence of a ruling class (61) . A sociocracy exists when the more social elements in a community exploit the less social (62). It deems itself a chosen people and aims at peace rather than justice in its relations with inferiors (62). The instincts of primitive races are due to the conditions found in cold, wet countries, or hot, dry countries, or countries in which one race dominates another. The Germanic, the Semitic, and the Roman civilizations correspond to these three conditions. They were characterized respectively by morality, religion, and civil law (64) .

2. The Early Germans, pp. 65-68.

They lived in a cold, damp climate, which developed vigorous constitutions and strong appetites (65). Exposure was the chief check on population. The strong, who survived, were bound together by firm social bonds (66). Religious ideas were little developed (67).

3. The Catholic Supremacy, pp. 68-74.

Starting as a religious institution, the Church soon became a political power (68). The Roman Church put authority and submission above inspiration and freedom (69). Its supremacy in the North was due to economic necessity rather than conversion (70). The mediseval monasteries were great centres of industry (71) They taught native peoples how to get most from the land (72). Local religious organizations were quite independent (73). But the secular clergy kept them in touch with Rome (74) .

4. The Economic Influence of the Early Church, pp. 74-78.

The conception of a future life fostered forethought in the present life (75). The Church broke up the patriarchal family by making converts (76). It elevated women and freed slaves ; made trusts more sacred and broke down national boundaries (77).

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5. The Fifteenth Century, pp. 78-84.

Notable events were the invention of printing, the discovery of America, and the use of gunpowder and the magnet. The latter revolutionized ocean travel (78). Cheap salt and spices changed the diet of the Germans. Gunpowder broke down the feudal system (79). Other changes were the use of bricks, glass windows, beer, and woollen clothing (80). These inventions and changes made indoor life agreeable (81). The Protestant Keformers exalted family life and condemned communal pleasures (83).

6. Political Conditions, pp. 84-89.

The fifteenth century was a "golden age for the labourer." Fighting was less general than histories indicate (84). Germany was qxiite free from it except in private feuds (85). War became less horrible, because conducted by nobles instead of mercenaries (86). The Renaissance helped the Reformation, but these movements had little in common (87). The Church shrank from persecuting the new Reformers as it had Huss (88).

7. The Church Programme, pp. 89-91.

The ideal of the Church was peace through obedience (89). It realized its political and economic aims (90). It failed in the domain of morals (91).

8. Crime and Vice, pp. 91-95.

Primitive conditions developed greed and hate (91). Greed becomes vice where there is an abundant food supply (92) . Christian morality makes murder one of the worst crimes (93). To escape temptation the Church advised immolation (94). This did not prevent either vice or crime (95).

9. Indulgences, pp. 95-97.

Indulgences rested on principles antedating the Church (96). The German considered crime and vice social offences and revolted against a scheme of commutation (97).

10. Social Problems, pp. 97-101.

Vice was increasing at the same time the Church was becoming more lax, and this made a moral reaction inevitable (98). Protestantism could not check vice, but evolution did (99). Protestantism was superior, because it allowed free play to natural forces (100).

11. The New Wave of Sensualism, pp. 101-107.

The changes described threw many new careers open to adventurous sensualists (101). The sensual reversion that resulted was in no

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sense the result of the Reformation (102). Luther's mistake was to think that Hebrew morality would meet the needs of the Germans (103). The sensual reversion led to a rapid exploitation of the New World, which enriched and then destroyed the power of Spain (104). The religious wars of the sixteenth century killed off many of the sensualists, but left a breach in the Church still unhealed (106). Through the whole period development on the continent was complicated by abnormal tendencies ; but in England these were less active (107).

CHAPTER m

The dominance of the desire for peace and security yielded before three local tendencies: the aesthetic, the moral, and Calvinism (108). Calvinism took root where clannish sentiments were strong, — in the mountains and among city artisans (109-111). Its attitude was legal, not moral (111-112).

The primitive man's idea of self was synthetic, embracing whatever arms, tools, lands, etc., were necessary to his independent position as warrior, weaver, farmer, etc. (112-114). Instances of this mental attitude may yet be found, although goods are now generally viewed merely as capital (115). This synthetic or enlarged idea of self is a characteristic of the frugalist, and was prevalent in the days of Calvin (116-117).

3. Word Visualism, pp. 117-122.

The art of printing placed the written word, because representative of the Holy Writ, above custom and tradition (117-118). The reader requires a higher order of mental mechanism than the observer ; the stimuli are weaker, and the power to visualize must be developed. The Cavalier was an observer, the Puritan a reader and visualizer (118-119). Visualization was the Puritan's test of truth (121). The Puritan was the first modern stalwart, and his method of visualization has transformed modern life (122).

4. Puritan Opposition to Vice, pp. 122-126.

Character and vice are concepts or word pictures, and the power to visualize is necessary to their perception. The Church had opposed crime, which was a concrete act ; the Puritans attacked vice, for it defiled their ideals, especially that of home, which was opposed to the coarse pleasures of communal life (123-124). The Puritans put

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to a new use the clan concept (124). Believing that the innei man was objectified in his acts, they sought to impose their standards upon the nation (125). They denounced especially the two leading sins of the sensualists : adultery and profanity (126).

5. Merry England, pp. 126-130.

The conditions of a progressive civilization were reached later in England than in other European countries, but progress, when it began, was much more rapid there than elsewhere (126-127). When the environment suddenly improved, gross indulgence of the appetites resulted, similar to that now seen in a mining camp (128-129). Germany furnished a marked contrast to England. Progress in the former was slow but continuous and all the people rose, whereas in England progress was spasmodic (129-130).

6. Primitive Traits, pp. 130-134.

England's severe climate permitted the survival in early times of only the most vigorous, those with strong appetites (130-131). The sudden improvement in the environment plunged the natural Englishman into dissipation, in which he vented the excess of his animal spirits (131). The Puritans, who lived much indoors, did not comprehend the primitive exhibitions of passion and called them idolatrous, their effects being summed up as adultery (132). The Puritans misunderstood early marriage relations. Primitive women dreaded barrenness. Not until after the disintegration of clans under the influence of economic progress, did chastity become a dominant virtue (132-133). The Church had not sharply condemned sensual indulgences (133- 134).

7. Public Amusements, pp. 134-139.

The amusements of Cavalier England were crude, brutal, and silly. Festival days occupied nearly half the year, so eager were the sensualists to utilize the advantages of the economic revolution (134- 136). Woman's virtue was lightly held because of the desire for ' an increase of population, the plagues having caused a scarcity of labor (138). The regularity of the Puritan's life saved him from the plague and widened the gulf between him and the sensualist (138-139).

8. The Disappearance of the Puritans, pp. 139-142.

It was impossible that either the Puritan or the sensualist should triumph, for the Tories and the Church party sided now with the one, now with the other, in opposition to change (139-140). Furthermore, the Puritans, lacking the idea of comfort, followed a defective economic programme and were annihilated by consumption. Their fate was hardly analogous to that of the Hebrews after

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the Babylonian exile (140-141). The Puritan and his creed both paid the penalty of a neglect of economic conditions (141-142).

9. On the Interpretation of Great Writers, pp. 142-144.

A great thinker does not present truth in the same way that he finds it. The road to discovery is inductive, but in the presentation of truth a thinker usually adopts the methods of the popular science of the day and expresses his ideas in deductive form (142-143). The reader who wishes to know a writer's real development must not accept his own statements, but must carefully note minor details, especially variations in his forms of expression (143-144).

10. Thomas Hobbes, pp. 144-157.

Hobbes upheld the divine right of kings in a social theory made mechanical by a love for mathematics. The body of his books was thought out in his youth ; the dogmatic form was imposed later as a result of his passion for mathematics (144-145). His idea of a state of war, commonly assumed to be his starting-point, was really an afterthought (146). Hobbes's doctrines furnished no solution of the social difficulties (147-149). In the Leviathan the order of his early essays is reversed (149-152). He did not study nature, and was careless about facts. His definitions of the virtues are parodies on the Puritan character (153-157).

Locke was in reality an economist on the upward curve from observation to philosophy (157-159). He was a Puritan plus the ideal of comfort (160). His philosophy begins with the idea that there are "things in their own nature indifferent," in which he differed from the Puritans (161-162). This principle of indifference, which led him to attack enthusiam and superstition, was his most important contribution to thought (163-165). Analysis of his Essay on the Human Understanding shows that his method was at first altrospective (165-166). " New discoveries " led him to adopt the introspective method, and despite his opposition to the " inner light " of the enthusiasts, he finds in his own mind an "internal sense," modifies his views, and recognizes reflection as a source of ideas (167-170) .

12. Results of Locke's Analysis, pp. 170-175.

Contemporary thought was affected by Locke's two great principles of indifference and correspondence, but its development was forced into unexpected channels by the discovery of the principle of the association of ideas, which had not been clearly perceived by Locke (170-172). This principle rendered Locke's analysis worthless when applied to social affairs, and furnishes an explanation of his frequent

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revision of the chapter on "Power," in which he confronted the same difiaculty that faces every one who analyzes a race ideal (172-173). Locke subjected race ideals to a process analogous to that of the chemist or distiller. His method is well illustrated in his Reasonableness of Christianity, which provoked great opposition because it destroyed the concrete pictures of the Bible (173-175).

Viewed in connection with the practical work of Locke, deism is a stage in the development of religious thought beginning with Locke and ending with Wesley (175). The Deists were not attacking Christianity, but superstition, their premises being derived from Locke's principle of correspondence (176). The Reformation had changed ideas with regard to the New Testament, but had not altered the primitive concept of God, and it was this which the Deists attacked (177-179). The Old Testament emphasizes a God of Wrath ; the New Testament, a God of Love (179-180). Locke's emphasis of the New Testament started a revolution in religious thought, which was continued by the Deists. A concept of God in harmony with new economic conditions was the result (180-181). God was now viewed as Father of men, rather than as God of Wrath (181-184).

Morality was placed upon an independent basis ; and the Puritans were split into two classes: stalwarts and mugwumps (184-185). The mugwumps, of whom Locke was a type, for a long time ruled by the power of compromise (186). There was an important separation of law from morality and religion (186-187). In contrast to France, England has been stable and unrational in government, but unstable and rational in religion (187-188). Since the time of Locke, there has been practically no development of political thought in England (188-190).

CHAPTER IV The Mokalists

1. Picture of the Eighteenth Century, pp. 191-204. Progress ceased to be a struggle against foreign influence, and resulted from internal conditions and ideas (191-192). The decline of communal life brought forward complementary home comforts (192-193) . There was an important revolution in agriculture and in the condition of rural labouring classes, their diet being improved by the use of ovens and their clothing by the use of wool and cotton (193-196). The transference of industries from the cities also helped the country, especially since it tended to make women independent (197-198).

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Except In the towns England was prospering, yet because old industries languished people talked of hard times (198-200). Meantime, commercial development was lowering the morals of cities, although it was ridding the nation of its sensualists (200-201). In the seventeenth century reform had started in the cities ; in the eighteenth its origin was in the country (202-204).

2. Bernard Mandeville, pp. 204-212.

The new epoch began with The Fable of the Bees, the work of an observer, giving crude utterance to new ideas suited to the new environment (204-205). Contending that private vices are public benefits, because the pursuit of wealth was beneficial, he forced his opponents to make a new definition of vice and a new concept of human nature (205-207). His main thought — that spending, not saving, promotes prosperity — was bitterly opposed (207). Adam Smith's doctrine of self-interest is a refined statement of Mandeville's paradox (208). He was contemptuous, not of moral, but of social virtues, and was a genuine economist, though not an "orthodox" one (210-212).

Hume was the successor of Mandeville (212-213). His Treatise on Suman Nature shows that he designed a work on social psychology, following Mandeville, and not on individual psychology, following Locke (213-215). A comparison of the Treatise with the revised and castigated Inquiry gives a clue to his development, shovring that he regretted the expression of his youthful views on the Passions (216-219). Mandeville's tirade against physicians doubtless influenced young Hume and started the train of thought which led to his denial that reason had any influence upon the will, and then to the general denial of any unseen connection between cause and effect, which was to give "an everlasting check to all kinds of superstitious delusions" (219-222). Bishop Butler's .Evidences led him away from the scepticism of Mandeville (223-224). Hume's development had four distinct stages, and for each there was in reality an edition of the Treatise (225).

Smith's work continued the scheme of Hume (226). The doctrines in the Wealth of Nations are all found in the fragmentary literature of the preceding epoch (227). Smith's unique service was the application of certain principles of human nature to economic discussions, whereby morals were robbed of much of their traditional field (228). The notion that he borrowed his doctrines from the Physiocrats is not supported by evidence ; revenue was apparently the only subject in

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which he had common interest with the Physiocrats (228-229). The Wealth of Nations was not thought out or written in France ; it grew out of English facts and conditions, and it represents two widely separated stages in the author's development (230-235). A bank failure forced home on him the difference between money and capital (235-236). Patriotism and his belief in the "divine plan" led him to develop Dean Tucker's theory as to the advantages of abundant capital (286-237). His theory of distribution originated in discussions about the improvement of land (237-238). His theory of productive labour was bom of his opposition to the views of Mandeville and Steuart in favour of prodigality (239-242). The Wealth of Nations was a new type of natural theology (242-243).

5. The Religious Revival, pp. 243-248.

The important features of Methodism are those which affected other religious bodies (243) . The Puritans and the plagues had disappeared together, and religion needed a new reenf orcement of its claims. Old restraints had been removed and society had been forced below the normal level (244-245). The downfall of the Puritans had been followed by a suppression of religious activity and enthusiasm. Yet English labourers, their economic life having narrowed, craved intense activity in other fields (246-248).

6. Whitefield and Wesley, pp. 248-251.

These two men took advantage of the economic situation and gave Englishmen in religion an outlet for their suppressed motor tendencies (248). "Wesley was superstitious and could not have succeeded alone (248-249). He was supplemented by Whitefield, a visualizer, who did not, like Wesley, rely on earthquakes, plagues, and wars to enforce his warnings. Whitefield alone would have caused only a temporary excitement and reaction toward earlier ideals (250-251).

7. The Manly and Womanly Elements in Religion, pp. 251-256.

One reason for the failure of Calvinism was that its controlling principle, predestination, induces resignation, a characteristic of women. Arminianism emphasizes man's power over the environment. The mental attitude of women is reflected in religion when society must submit to evils beyond human control (251) . Women strove to break up the old communal pleasures and to substitute those of the home (252) . Their eagerness for economic goods and home life added to their social importance, but their new work and activity intensified their suffering as mothers and increased their natural spirit of resigna^ tion (253). Those families throve best in which the men reflected the feelings that inspired their wives, and thus a new type of men arose that accepted the standards of women (254). The Puritans were

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"womanly men" in the sense that they strove for purity and other womanly virtues. Whitefield belonged to this class. But the new epoch demanded manly qualities, for the few evils existing were surmountable. So Methodism brought to the front manly men of strong wills, Wesley being their leader (255).

Wesley was an observer and emphasized psychic manifestations of conversion (256-258). Methodism utilized motor reactions for which there had been no outlet since the abandonment of communal pleasures. Revivals and love-feasts, substitutes for the old pleasures, were conducted by men, while women took a new position in the home (259). Wesley's emphasis of psychic standards created new religious ideals : the sympathetic Christ, and God as an active and interested Father (259-260). The psychic standard divided the Church into two parts, Wesley heading a quasi-clan inside the Church (261-263). Psychic standards destroy fine distinctions. So Methodism marks the decline of creed-making and sect-building (263-264).

9. The Joint Influence of Adam Smith and Wesley, pp. 264-274.

To comprehend the change in English thought it is necessary to unite the work of Wesley and Adam Smith. Smith transferred from morals all principles except that of sympathy, and this Wesley appropriated for religion (264-265) . Morals are rationalized customs, habits, and traditions, and often prompt men to actions out of harmony with their environment (266) . Of the three elements of civilization, the life and heart can be brought into harmony with new conditions, but the intellect resists adjustment (267-268). The real basis of morals is wrath, which is a result of violent reactions against pain. The "manly man ' ' feels wrath ; the ' ' womanly " or " good ' ' man feels sympathy (268-269). Methodism and economics both tended to create a non-moral state of mind, which has remained a marked characteristic of English civilization (270-271). While the new ideals made people non-moral, they did not make them less conscientious (273). Englishmen now ceased to be cosmopolitan, and became more individual and forceful (273-274).

Chapter V

1. The Decline of Prance, pp. 275-286. In the eighteenth century the rapid economic development of England placed France in a subordinate position (275-276). The resulting internal disorder in France was used by English prophets and moral-

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ists to combat reforms they disliked (277). The struggle for command of the wheat supply was the real cause of the shifting of national power (278). This struggle was intensified by the prevalence of the theory that individual and national welfare were measured by the consumption of bread (280-281). In England the struggles for liberty, for comfort, and for equality took place in different epochs, and development therefore was orderly (281). In France the attempt to satisfy these three popular demands in one epoch led to a sharp break with the environment, and resulted in instability and revolution (281-282). The slow increase of productive power in Prance caused the masses to confiscate the funded income of the wealthier classes ; but as this was insuflicient to satisfy the new standards of comfort, attempts were made to obtain the surplus of other nations (283-285). The greater resoittces and prosperity of England prevented the success of this movement (285) .

2. The Utopists, pp. 286-296.

The Calvinistic view of life was essentially feminine, fostering the "home" ideal and regarding the world as a place for trial and tribulation (286-287). The philosophy of the Utopists and the utilitarians was masculine, making human happiness the end of action (288). They believed in a far-distant social Utopia, and in the possibility of preparing every one for this ideal state through reasoning, religion, and art (289-290). The Utopists were foreign-hearted and cosmopolitan (290-291). The success of the Kicardian programme, upon which the Benthamites and the economists united, combined with the lack of sympathy with popular movements, prevented the Utopists from making any positive contributions to social progress (292-294). By increasing the definiteness of the popular bread philosophy, the economic utilitarians succeeded in convincing men intellectually (295-296). Their materialism was, however, repugnant to the Utopists, who drifted into visionary schemes for social betterment (296).

3. Thomas Malthus, pp. 296-303.

The application of Utopian ideals to concrete governmental problems led to a conflict between the Utopists and the defenders of the existing social order (296-297). The Malthusian law of population was repugnant to the religious feelings, because it reflected on God's plan of the Universe (298-299). It was repugnant to the moral feelings because it taught that progress meant increase of poverty (299). Thus a conflict between the moralists and the economists was aroused (299-300). The position of the economists , was strengthened by the acceptance of the " bread philosophy," by the doctrine that an increase of the food supply required capital as well as land.

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and finally by the formulation of the law of diminishing returns (300-301). The logical result of the general acceptance of these doctrines was the conviction that equality and progress were incompatible (302). Progress being the higher law, the English, as a progressive nation, had to favour non-moral standards, leading to the eradication of the inefficient (302-303).

4. David Bicardo, pp. 303-311.

In Ricardo's reasoning the presuppositions of natural religion are absent (303). Like Mandeville, he saw only the objective England, eliminating the ideal environment to which Englishmen clung (304). His real service was in turning men's attention to new schemes of social progress more in harmony with the actual conditions of English civilization (305). He had in mind an industrial society, whereas MaJthus viewed national prosperity from an agricultural standpoint (306-308). The law of rent and of diminishing returns led to the conclusion that nations are brought to a stationary state before the essentials of a high civilization are acquired (309). The adoption of Ricardo's ideas by Bentham and James Mill led to the creation of a new economic philosophy, for which Ricardo furnished the practical programme (310-311).

6. The Economic Philosophy, pp. 311-318. The general acceptance of the Newtonian principles gave to the concrete propositions of the social sciences a philosophic basis which they had hitherto lacked (311-312). Bentham was the first to give to pleasure and pain a place in social reasoning similar to that of gravitation in physical science (312). Ricardo was able to supplement Bentham's negative utilitarianism because of his acquaintance with urban industrial conditions (813). The creation of the new economic philosophy through a combination of the ideas of Bentham and Ricardo was the work of James Mill (313-314). He revived the mental attitude of a pure pain economy, characteristic of the primitive philosophy of earlier days (315-316). As a radical and a democrat, his hatred for the aristocracy was increased through his acceptance of Ricardo's economic doctrines (316-317). The shifting of political power from the landlords to the capitalists caused Mill's economic creed to be turned against the labouring classes (317).