MAY 14, 19 03.
THE NEBRASKA INDEPENDENT.
7
SELFISHNESS
Th EaMntlal SlfisfaaM f th Slngl Tax
Proposition Of rltm Egoism
, " ; AltruUin-FUtUm
(An: address by John R. Waters,
delivered . before the Brooklyn, N. Y.,
Single : Tax league, April 10, 1903 ;
manuscript 't furnished for Henry
George Edition of The Independent by
E. B. Swinney, secretary of the
league.) - . : -
In view of the somewhat peculiar
and, perhaps to some of you repellent
title of my lecture, and of the fact
that I am personally not as well
known to you as are most of the
speakers who have addressed your
league, I will preface what I have to
say by briefly defining my personal
economic aDDreciation of the so-called
single tax proposition, thus enabling
you, as I think, to follow, without too
much doubt or ambiguity, the argu
ment and object of my discourse.
I am in favor of the expropriation
by the commonwealth of all ground
rent value. I would not except from
this expropriation any valuable land
whatsoever, whether owned or con
trolled by nation, state, county, mu
nicipality, religious or charitable or
ganization, corporation, association,
partnership or individual. If, after
providing for legitimate communal
expenses, there should be left unex
pended any of the proceeds of thl J
expropriation, the surplus should be
paid out in cash, per capita, to thy
men, women and children of the com
mdhwealth, for their own personal,
absolute use.
There was a time when such a
scheme as this would have been most
repugnant to my mind. There may
come a time, hereafter, when some
otbfi plan of raising funds for com
monwealth uses may seem to me to
be preferable to this one. If ever
man should arrive at a point where
hid Intellectual progress or conversion
is ro longer possible, he will have
ceased to be man, for the essence of
iamanity ' is - free agency in the do
main of the intellect.
I am not a single taxer In the strict
definition of that term, for I am not
sure that I would approve the wiping
out of all taxation other than the
ground rent value levy. For exam
ple direct , taxes aimed at the sup
pression or abatement of nuisances,
as a superfluity, of dogs or organ
gjinders, might righteously and ad
vantageously continue to be imposed.
With this preamble I will proceel
to my subject: "The essential selfish
ness of the single tax proposition."
My object is iu delivering this address
to satisfy a craving which possesses
me to be helpful, if I can, in a prac
tical way, in imbuing my fellows yrith
the desirableness of the single tax
movement as a corrective of social
and economic disorder.
Different persons appear to be de
cided by" different influepces in their
acceptance of single tax teachings.
This one admires them from the re
ligious standpoint, and still another
from a standpoint of physical wel
fare. What I shall try to demonstrate
is that whatever the apparent or os
tensible incentive, it is, and in the
very 'fundamental nature of things
must be, an absolutely selfish one.
Unselfishness as a motive for action
does not and cannot exist in sane
minds. Moods generally alluded ' to
as unselfish are, when analyzed, per
ceived to be selfish in the highest de
gree, inasmuch as the subject of these
moods are found to be aiming, in
variably for the finest satisfactions.
To use a common expression, "the
best is. good enough" for them. For
example, the Scriptures say of the
Almighty that for His pleasure we are
and were created. And why not? It
Is not reasonable to suppose that He
created us with His pain or regret,
rather than His pleasure, as the ob
jective. Jesus declared that all power
in heaven and earth and a seat at
the right hand of the Father would
accrue to Him as some of the results
of His mission. The Christian of to
day hugs the New Testament text
which assures him that his afflictions
in the flesh are only momentary and
that they will be compensated here
after by a far more exceeding and
eternal weight of glory, and sings
with unction of the good time when
he will come into the possession of
mansions in the skies and revel in a
land of pure delight, where pleasures
banish pain. - Egoistic selfishness
thinks that it can best achieve hap
piness by looking out first and always
for "number one;" altruistic selfish
ness i has discovered that happiness
comes rather reflectively than direct
ly, and that greater satisfaction - can
be-realized by and through the satis
faction of others. Both' are essential
ly selfish, although on different
planes.
If either can be said to be more
selfish than the other it is the altru
ist, for he is consciously striving for
what he considers to be higher and
more valuable results than he thinks
the egoist can reach. He has the
same sort of regard for the egoist as
the cultured musician who delights In
Wagner has for the boor whose musi
cal perception cannot soar above
Yankee Doodle. Nothing is clearer
to a candid mind than that all sane,
human effort is aimed either at the
direct satisfaction of human Irotincts;
desires and appetites, or else at the
frustration o! influences which appear
to be inimical to' that satisfaction. In
short, unselfishness pure and. Bimple
aoes not, cannot exist There is no
such thing.
We can see then that associated
inseparably with all sane human ef
fort there is an element of selfishness
C! self-interest Thi3 : is because in
the last analysis the pursuit of hap
piness, which our Declaration of Inde
pendence so stoutly stands for. Is'
what man Is made for and what he
exists and lives for; In other words,
it is his prme, orderly, rightful func.
tion. This element of selfishness Is
diverse in its motives and expressions,
and is susceptible of classification in
to degrees.
f have attempted to outline this
classification with the following re
sult: 1. Ogreism. The 'delight of the
pursuit of happiness through the suf
ferings of others, or in wanton de
struction. Examples of. this degree
are seen in Nero, in Jack the Ripper,
in children who tear the wings from
flies pr torture dogs and cats and
other children.
2. Egoism. The delight of the
pursuit, of happiness through minis
tering to one's - own desires or in
procuring others to minister to them,
with Indifference as to the result, one
way or the other, to the welfare of
others. Napoleon Bonaparte is an
extreme example of this degree.
3. Altruism. The delight of the
pursuit of happiness through minis
tering -to others from a perception
that satisfaction comes rather by way
of reflection through the welfare and
happiness of others than by the egois
tic way. This is the prevailing trend
of the human mind, the theological
doctrine of original depravity and the
present inverted state of society not
withstanding. !
. 4. Pietism. The delight of the pur
suit of happiness through altruism,
but enhanced by the perception that
this method is In accord with the will
of a supreme power and runs in the
channels of a divine order and desire
To Christian, peoples Jesus of Na
zareth, the Darwin of ethical science,
is the. most conspicuous , exemplar, of
this mood.. He is also the greatest
exponent in historv of the philosophy
of self-interest All His teachings aim
at the practical pursuit and. achieve
ment of beatific satisfaction, although
He points out that ogreism and egoism
are not without their rewards. We
are not yet trained to the fullest ap
preciation of His doctrines, but some'
of us feel that we can already per
ceive, by and through our own lim
ited experience in altruistic ways,
how His exhortations to resist not
evil, to turn the other cheek, and to
do good to them that hate us, may
indicate the very caviar of self-interest
...
To my attempt at gradation some
of you will doubtless retort that what
I have called , altruism and pietism
is the same as unselfishness, and that
I am juggling with terms to no use
ful purpose.
Henry George, the Darwin of po
litical economy, whose writings have
made delectable what was formerly a
dismal science, shows how the term
inology of thac science has been sad
ly mixed by its professors, with the
result that erroneous teachings in na
tional economics have been the. rule
rather than the exception. Simila;'
confusion and error exist in the do
main of religion and .ethics, keeping
men from a proper understanding of
themselves and of each other. Any
body who will contribute to the cor
rection of the disorder will surely per
form a useful work, although In doing
so he may play havoc with some of
the figments which masquerade as
Christian virtues.
If it can be generally understood
that self-interest is the righteous, or
derly incentive in all human effort,
and that a man can act from regard
to his Creator and at the same time
from regard for himself, it will bring
about a house-cleaning In the depart
ment of spiritual thought and ethics,
which will vastly help the human race
to ascertain their true relations to
Him, and intensify our love and af
fection for Him, inasmuch as the idea
that He demands of us a blind, un-.
conditional, unreasonable and purpose
less love and obedience, will be oblit
erated, and we may thenceforth be
called by Him not servants but
friends.
Governments may safely be con-
pUIHIIHiillllliiiH
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ducted on egoistical lines, or, what
is the same thing, on the plan of
everybody for himself and the devil
take the hindmost, provided only that
every human being i3 first guaranteed
equal access to natural resources, of
which our planet offers such a super
abundance that even the hindmost
could roll in wealth if he cared to.
Belief in this superabundance is what
makes men single taxers who desire
that governments shall assume the
function of guaranteeing and enforc
ing the right of each individual to this
equal . access. However much these
single taxers may plead justice, moral
ity or religion, their motives at bot
tom are purely selfish. .
It is possible to advocate the sin
gle tax on the solidest ground and
thoroughly to uphold tho argument
If only selfish motives and aims are
set forth and justified, because selfish
ness is a universal instinct requiring
no demonstration, whereas justice,
morality and religion are not fixed
quantities, but largely matters of
geography, tradition, training and per
sonal opinion. Take, for example, my
own case. Although at present in
comfortable circumstances, I fear
poverty for myself and my children
in the future. The battle of life, the
struggle for existence, do not chime
with my intuitive estimate of the
proper order.- I do not like poverty
and squalor, even in other people; it
offends me to have a ragged, malodor
ous person intrude betwixt the wind
and my nobility. I am persuaded that
by the single tax involuntary poverty
can be abolished and every human
being enabled to possess not only an
abundance of the necessaries of-life,
but as much as he cares for of the
so-called luxuries as well. I do not
expect to live to see the single tax
in full force, but this does not take
away from the" selfishness of my mo
tives. I want it for my children, who
are my flesh and blood, and for whom
l am endowed, fn common with the
wolf and the anaconda, with an in
stinctive parental affection. Even if
I knew that my children could not en
joy the single tax in fruition, or If I
were childless, I would still be a sin
gle taxer for the sake of the minor
betterments which may result from
the propaganda, and for the delight
which my mind experiences in the ef
fort to uncover the truth. There is
nothing but selfishness in my heart,
some of it altruistic perhaps, but still
selfishness.
Unselfishness, duty, patriotism,
heroism, glory, merit , thrift, and
many similar expressions are simply
fetishes which have been evolved out
of our hereditary false training and
inverted social conditions. The cant
and gush which flow from them are
shrewdly employed by the egoist-mo-nopollst
in the furtherance of his
schemes for exploiting the " masses.
Before the single tax In action they
will banish as factors in civilization,
and eventually as words in our vocab
ulary.'. , . - ;v '
Shall we then, as single tax advo
cates, say to ourselves, let us throw
down all consecrated ideals of Jus
tice and morality, let us give up all
notion of an exalted mission, in short,
let us unhitch our wagon from , the
star? Not necessarily. But it will
be well for our cause and for our
selves . if we will realize and freely
admit that whatever our real or fan
cied inspiration or incentive, it ,. is,
and in the very fundamental, orderly
nature of things must be, and proper
ly, rooted In selfishness. So shall we
be the better equipped to sustain ."the
single tax proposition against its op
ponents, especlJJy such of them as
denounce it aC-ritopian or visionary,
and incidentally relieve ourselves of
a load of false, moist-eyed sentimen-
tality. . .
5iagle Tax la Nebraska
In Nebraska Is found a striking ex
emplification of the theory of th3
single taxers. In the constitution ot
the state there is a provision reserv
ing sections 16 and 36 of each town
ship for the benefit of the public
schools. Several years ago this school
land was withdrawn from sale, and
all school lands are leased, by the
state, to the highest bidder, for a terra
of years. The system has proven
successful and now hundreds of fam
ilies are now paying single tax rent
to the state. Most of these landa
have been leased, although in the
western part-of the state considerable
tracts yet remain. Deeded lands can
be purchased at very low prices;
leases can be made direct with the
Etate for any school lands not yet
leased and in many cases the leases
can be bought at a reasonable price.
There Is no place in America that of
fers such excellent opportunities for
men with small means to secure com
fortable homes and engage In profit
able business. It will pay any one
interested to write to Weber & Far
rls, Lincoln, Neb., and tell them about
what you want. . They will submit
some tempting bargains. v
The Post-Clark debate " in full may
be had by sending 25c for the Spring
Number of the Single Tax Review,
11 Frankfort st, New York, N. Y.
Literature explaining the single tax
Idea mailed free on request Address
F. H. Monroe, president Henry George
association, 356 Dearborn st, Chicago.
For. the republic which we have I
care nothing; it is the new republH
that is coming to which I bow. - Not.
a republic of millionaires and. tramps!
A republic where,, one man has the ,
power of the czar, where, women faint
and little children go hungry, is not.
worthy of the name. But a republic
of God; a republic of America; a re
public such as was founded by Thom
as Jefferson. Henry George.