Human Nature and World Democracy

Abstract

Human nature is a manifold paradox. Man is a social animal, in the sense of conventional, with antisocial traits equally prominent. Intelligent morality is a product of social evolution, partly uniform or convergent, partly the opposite of both. Custom, authority, and deliberate consensus are three distinguishable stages above instinctive animal society; the last is peculiar to recent western European civilization. Our individualistic, free, or democratic social ethic is largely limited to states by the facts of cultural and political differentation. The place of conflicting economic interests in international war is highly ambiguous. The common idea of deliberately changing human nature is a tissue of logical confusion. The changes necessary to eliminate war without destroying freedom are largely undesirable, since war arises from conflicts between ideals and rights rather than mere interests. A peaceable and free world order calls for a combination of agreement and toleration, and both have ethical ...