Publisher's Synopsis
Excerpt from Democracy and Character
Yet, of all forms of government, democracy is, at first sight, the most absurd and impossible. To the mass of the people is entrusted the ultimate decision of all questions of public policy. These questions are, as a rule, complex in their nature. They require a knowledge of historical causes to explain their origin, and a knowledge of human nature to foresee their probable results. They involve an acquaintance with economic principles, if their material bearings are to be intelligible, and with ethics, if the decision is to be morally justified. Suppose, for example, such a simple question as that of a land tax is under consideration. Before we can form an Opinion of any value, we must know some thing of the history of the landlord system in Anglo Saxon communities. We must have some ideas as to the incidence of taxes, and understand that the burden of a tax is not always felt most heavily by the classes that pay it. We must recognise the existence and gauge the strength of the desire for landed property. We must consider delicate questions of morals, such as are involved in the social obligations of property owners or the rights of vested interests. All this implies knowledge and thought; and com petent observers tell us that on such questions.
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