IV

POLITICS

3°7

congeries of possessors and pursuers. Such asystem has to be immensely, not merely moder-ately, successful to survive. In the nineteenthcentury it was in a certain sense idealistic; atany rate it was a united and self-confidentsystem. It was not only immensely successful,but held out hopes of a continuing crescendo ofprospective successes. To-day it is only moder-ately successful. If irreligious Capitalism isultimately to defeat religious Communism, it isnot enough that it should be economically moreefficient—it must be many times as efficient.

We used to believe that modern capitalismwas capable, not merely of maintaining the exist-ing standards of life, but of leading us graduallyinto an economic paradise where we should becomparatively free from economic cares. Nowwe doubt whether the business man is leadingus to a destination far better than our presentplace. Regarded as a means he is tolerable;regarded as an end he is not so satisfactory.One begins to wonder whether the material ad-vantages of keeping business and religion indifferent compartments are sufficient to balancethe moral disadvantages. The Protestant andPuritan could separate them comfortably be-cause the first activity pertained to earth and thesecond to heaven, which was elsewhere. Thebeliever in progress could separate them com-fortably because he regarded the first as themeans to the establishment of heaven uponearth hereafter. But there is a third state ofmind, in which we do not fully believe either in