Democracy an& IReltgton.

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public opinion to which both the majority-electedpresident and the majority party listen and whichthey follow, perhaps with attempts now to restrain,now to incite it. The fact of a public opinion asthe last resort in political life opens up unsuspectedvistas toward the better democracy of the future.

If public opinion is to be purified andstrengthened there is needed first of all the widerdissemination of knowledge, especially of know-ledge concerning the social sciences. How muchmore important it is for instance for the citizento know something about the fundamentals ofcurrency, as a safeguard against inflation, than toknow something about the Copernican system !Not less important is the reliable and rapiddissemination of news through the press, and thespread of the knowledge of geography, worldpolitics and world economics by means ofmagazines. No question is of greater moment forDemocracy than the possession of a serious-minded and incorruptible press. Furthermorethe citizen-elector needs more freedom to assimilateand digest this knowledge than the run and rushof the city allows the poor hunted office workerin particular. The hand worker is in this respectin a more advantageous position. Finally andmost of all, democracy needs an intensified feelingof responsibility, which shall make the individualbe as sensitive to questions which involve thewhole community as though they were his ownprivate concerns.

But State-democracy is only ensured if fromthe State above it lays hold on those smaller groups