But there are two different
things that may be meant by democracy: we may mean the system of
Parliamentary government, or we may mean the participation of the
people in affairs. The discredit of the former is largely deserved,
and I have no desire to uphold Parliament as an ideal institution. But
it is a great misfortune if, from a confusion of ideas, men come to
think that, because Parliaments are imperfect, there is no reason why
there should be self-government. The grounds for advocating
self-government are very familiar: first, that no benevolent despot
can be trusted to know or pursue the interests of his subjects;
second, that the practice of self-government is the only effective
method of political education; third, that it tends to place the
preponderance of force on the side of the constitution, and thus to
promote order and stable government. Other reasons could be found, but
I think these are the chief. In Russia self-government has
disappeared, except within the Communist Party. If it is not to
disappear elsewhere during a Communist revolution, it is very
desirable that there should exist already important industries
competently administered by the workers themselves.
The Bolshevik philosophy is promoted very largely by despair of more
gradual methods. But this despair is a mark of impatience, and is not
really warranted by the facts. It is by no means impossible, in the
near future, to secure self-government in British railways and mines
by constitutional means.
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