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

THEORY OF DEMOCRACY 779
society, and that he would disapprove of them, if they were
brought to his notice, does not, however, mean that the
State can remain indifferent to them. As I have already
pointed out in the case of actions proceeding from economic
motives, 1 the individual's will is more limited than his
effective environment, and for this reason and in this sense
the effects of ethical teaching may be "blind", just as the
effects of economic action may be "blind." Ethical beliefs
may in fact be regarded from a double point of view;
from that of the extent to which they satisfy the individual,
and from that of their effect upon the lives and conduct
of other individuals. It is from this second point of view
that the State takes cognizance of ethical beliefs; that is
to say, it takes cognizance of their social effects, and
because these may be unintended, subversive and antisocial,
it may be the business of the State to set bounds
to their spread. Obvious examples are the effects of
anarchist teaching upon policemen and civil servants,
and of pacifist teaching upon the armed forces ofthe Crown.
Now most States, including democratic States, would
regard these effects as matters of which the State is bound
to concern itself in its own defence.
Difficulty of Drawing the Line of State Interference*
It may be granted that the line where State interference'
is justified is hard to draw. Most democrats would urge that
in recent years it has been drawn too tightly, and assert
that even in democratic countries there has been an
unjustifiable restraint of individual liberty in the fancied
interests of the welfare of the State. The English, for
example, aresupposed toset store by liberty, and Great Britain
is generally regarded as a stronghold of individualism.
Yet reflecting upon the tendency of such post-war legis-
lation as the Public Order Act which seeks to prohibit
uniforms, the Incitement to Dis-
the wearing of political
affection Act knbwn as the Sedition Act, the Trade Disputes
Ac* regulating the use of Trade Union funds for political
*See above, pp. 773. 774-