GUIDE TO THE PHILOSOPHY 1938 - 1947.pdf - Rare Books at ...

759 ETHICS AND POLITICS: THE MODERNS
morality. A law-abiding citizen is not necessarily a moral
man, and a law-making citizen is frequently an immoral
man* No man would dream of voluntarily submitting his
intimate personal relations to the handling ofthe law; indeed,
it is widely felt that the morals of the individual axe not
only outside the State's concern, but above its level.
'Why should I,' argues the individual, 'who have a high
standard of moral obligation and a high ideal of personal
relations, conform to the law, which has a low one?"
Dissatisfaction with the ethics of the State has led to the
of all kinds of associations of individuals for ethical
growth
purposes which ignore the State in theory and transcend
its boundaries in practice. Theosophy, Christian Science,
the Society of Friends, and the Oxford Groups are all
representative movements which tend to substitute a loyalty
to groups for a loyalty to the State, and make claims
upon their members other than, and sometimes antithetic
to, the State's claims.
SUMMARY. Associations of individuals for economic
and ethical purposes embrace all that is most intimate in
the individual's life. Broadly speaking, every activity that
fills his pocket or enriches his soul is sponsored by associa-
tions non-coterminous with the State. Thus individuals
engaged in the pursuit of material profit or spiritual satis*
faction pay no heed to the pretensions of the Nation-State,
and ignore the divisions upon which it is based. It is
inevitable, therefore, that, when the claims imposed by
voluntary associations upon the individual are increasing
both in complexity and intensity, there should come a
dash. And the clash between the claims of the State and
those of voluntary associations is an expression of the dash
between the philosophy which regards the power and
perfection of the State as the only legitimate development
of social organization, and that which regards the State as
only one, and not necessarily the most important one, of
the forms which the more complete organization of society
may ultimately take.