第101章 BENTHAM'S DOCTRINE(23)

VII.INDIVIDUALISM

'Individualism'in the first place is generally mentioned in a different connection.The 'ready-made'man of whom I have spoken becomes the 'economic man.'Bentham himself contributed little to economic theory.His most important writing was the Defence of Usury，and in this，as we have seen，he was simply adding a corollary to the Wealth of Nations.The Wealth of Nations itself represented the spirit of business；the revolt of men who were building up a vast industrial system against the fetters imposed by traditional legislation and by rulers who regarded industry in general，as Telford is said to have regarded rivers.Rivers were meant to supply canals，and trade to supply tax-gatherers.With this revolt，of course，Bentham was in full sympathy，but here I shall only speak of one doctrine of great interest，which occurs both in his political treatises and his few economical remarks.Bentham objected，as we have seen，to the abstract theory of equality.Yet it was to the mode of deduction rather than to the doctrine itself which he objected.He gave，in fact，his own defence；and it is one worth notice.(109)The principle of equality is derivative，not ultimate.Equality is good because equality increases the sum of happiness.Thus，as he says，(110)if two men have £1000，and you transfer £500from one to the other，you increase the recipient's wealth by one-third，and diminish the loser's wealth by one-half.You therefore add less pleasure than you subtract.The principle is given less mathematically(111)by the more significant argument that 'felicity'depends not simply on the 'matter of felicity'or the stimulus，but also on the sensibility to felicity which is necessarily limited.Therefore by adding wealth --taking，for example，from a thousand labourers to give to one king --you are supersaturating a sensibility already glutted by taking away from others a great amount of real happiness.With this argument，which has of late years become conspicuous in economics，he connects another of primary importance.The first condition of happiness，he says，is not 'equality'but 'security.'Now you can only equalise at the expense of security.If I am to have my property taken away whenever it is greater than my neighbour's，I can have no security.(112)Hence，if the two principles conflict，equality should give way.Security is the primary，which must override the secondary，aim.Must the two principles，then，always conflict？No；but 'time is the only mediator.'(113)The law may help to accumulate inequalities；but in a prosperous state there is a 'continual progress towards equality.'The law has to stand aside；not to maintain monopolies；not to restrain trade；not to permit entails；and then property will diffuse itself by a natural process，already exemplified in the growth of Europe.The 'pyramids'heaped up in feudal times have been lowered，and their 'débris spread abroad'among the industrious.Here again we see how Bentham virtually diverges from the a priori school.Their absolute tendencies would introduce 'equality'by force；he would leave it to the spontaneous progress of security.Hence Bentham is in the main an adherent of what he calls (114)the 'laissez-nous faire'principle.He advocates it most explicitly in the so-called Manual of Political Economy --a short essay first printed in 1798.(115)The tract，however，such as it is，is less upon political economy proper than upon economic legislation；and its chief conclusion is that almost all legislation is improper.His main principle is 'Be quiet'(the equivalent of the French phrase，which surely should have been excluded from so English a theory).Security and freedom are all that industry requires；and industry should say to government only what Diogenes said to Alexander，'Stand out of my sunshine.'(116)Once more，however，Bentham will not lay down the 'let alone'principle absolutely.His adherence to the empirical method is too decided.The doctrine 'be quiet，'though generally true，rests upon utility，and may，therefore，always be qualified by proving that in a particular case the balance of utility is the other way.In fact，some of Bentham's favourite projects would be condemned by an absolute adherent of the doctrine.The Panopticon，for example，though a 'mill to grind rogues honest'could be applied to others than rogues，and Bentham hoped to make his machinery equally effective in the case of pauperism.A system of national education is also included in his ideal constitution.

It is，in fact，important to remember that the 'individualism'of Benthamism does not necessarily coincide with an absolute restriction of government interference.The general tendency was in that direction；and in purely economical questions，scarcely any exception was admitted to the rule.Men are the best judges，it was said，of their own interest；and the interference of rulers in a commercial transaction is the interference of people inferior in knowledge of the facts，and whose interests are 'sinister'or inconsistent with those of the persons really concerned.Utility，therefore，will，as a rule，forbid the action of government：but，as utility is always the ultimate principle，and there may be cases in which it does not coincide with the 'let alone'principle，we must always admit the possibility that in special cases government can interfere usefully，and，in that case，approve the interference.

Hence we have the ethical application of these theories.The individualist position naturally tends to take the form of egoism.The moral sentiments，whatever they may be，are clearly an intrinsic part of the organic social instincts.They are intimately involved in the whole process of social evolution.

But this view corresponds precisely to the conditions which Bentham overlooks.