What do you think?
Rate this book
The Moral Function of the State: A Paper Read Before the Oxford Branch of the Guild of St. Matthew, on May 17th, 1887
Excerpt from The Moral Function of the State
God probably took too little account Of the modifiable human agencies through which individuals are in?uenced for good and for evil. There are heroic souls that even in the most adverse surroundings keep on struggling towards noble ideals  they are the salt Of the earth; but most human beings are not heroic. The society in which we live, by its organization and the Opinions to which that organization gives rise, produces its regular crop Of narrow minded respectable persons rooted to existing institutions, Of wealthy idlers wasting their own lives and the lives Of others, Of weary toilers dulled into apathy by drudgery or liable to be thrown out Of work by the caprices Of the labour-market, Of helpless women driven by starvation and social pressure to sell themselves for a living, Of drunkards, thieves, swindlers and other habitual criminals, transmit ting their evil tendencies to coming generations. And for all this we are responsible as a community.
God probably took too little account Of the modifiable human agencies through which individuals are in?uenced for good and for evil. There are heroic souls that even in the most adverse surroundings keep on struggling towards noble ideals  they are the salt Of the earth; but most human beings are not heroic. The society in which we live, by its organization and the Opinions to which that organization gives rise, produces its regular crop Of narrow minded respectable persons rooted to existing institutions, Of wealthy idlers wasting their own lives and the lives Of others, Of weary toilers dulled into apathy by drudgery or liable to be thrown out Of work by the caprices Of the labour-market, Of helpless women driven by starvation and social pressure to sell themselves for a living, Of drunkards, thieves, swindlers and other habitual criminals, transmit ting their evil tendencies to coming generations. And for all this we are responsible as a community.
23 pages, Paperback
First published July 12, 2015
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
No one has reviewed this book yet.