Paul Monroe

An American System of Labor Pensions and Insurance

THE two most ominous conditions confronting the laborer, acting as an incubus to his progressive efforts, are first the probability of loss of income through accident or sickness and second the certainty of a period of diminieshing returns to labor at a period in life in which the laborer becomes more dependent, this diminution resulting finally in complete cessation of income if the normal span of life is given. Whether based upon justice, duty, sympathy, enlightened self-interest or the idea of self-realization, proposals for the amelioration of indusstrial evils are essentially attempts to solve these two great problems. But with this as with other efforts to secure rational progress by control of social forces, the problem as presented to one people has quite a different form from that presented to neighboring people, even though of the same type of civilization and belonging to the same ethnic group. Those efforts to mitigate industrial evils which are adapted to one society, and therein promise to be effective, are not so adapted to other societies even though the general industrial organization may be the same. Compulsory state insurance and various paternalistic and socialistic efforts may be efficacious with the German people; profit-sharing and various forms of patronal institutions may succeed in France; in England cooperation, friendly societies and various forms of voluntary associations perform a somewhat similar service,-that of supplementing the individual efforts of the laborer in his handicapped struggle for existence. Yet none of these may be applicable to American conditions. Tradition, historical continuity, a strongly centralized bureaucracy, a people accustomed to await the collective initiative are all factors favoring the success of the compulsory insurance

Influence of the Growing Perception of Human Interrelationship on Education

The term education indicates both a science and an art. As a science, education is dependent upon the established generalizations of other sciences: psychology, physiology, ethics, politics, sociology; and the theory of education possesses scientific validity only in so far as these generalizations are valid. As an art, education is an application of such scientific generalizations, or of related ideas which have been tested empirically only and in a measure. As with logical method or with philosophies of conduct, the art of education was practiced long before any science of it was consciously formulated and long before the contributing sciences had formulated their conclusions. As an art, education has been determined largely by the opinion of the people as a whole, opinions often but vaguely formulated-never very scientificaLly determined. But it is theory or method in this sense that is the subject of this papertheory as the working conception of a social art held by the people as a whole. During the last two or three generations, education as a social art has become an entirely new process; it has become a tool or method of society of a very different character from the education of preceding centuries. This change in the character of education is due to the change in the way of thinking about society and social affairs-social processes, social progress, social aims. It cannot be said that this change is due to sociological thought, if by that is meant scientifically organized and tested ideas about society; it has been due to a growing perception of human relationships. This then is the subject under consideration-the influence of the perception of human interrelationships on the social method of

Insurance Against Non-Employment

No SOCIAL evil has assumed such acute form or such large proportions in so short a time as that of non-employment. The problem is not altogether recent. It seems to be a concomitant of the rapid changes incident to the present industrial system. The more rapid development of mechanical processes, the more extensive use of machine-made machinery, the tendency towards the elimination of the relatively inefficient workmen from industry, and the absorption of unoccupied lands, together with the recent commercial depression, have resulted in a really ominous condition. If it could be believed that the evil is due solely to the cause last mentioned, it need attract no particular attention, save to provide temporary palliatives. But this comforting explanation is hardly credible. It accounts for the present acuteness of the evil, but that which previous to the current depression was only sporadic promises to become chronic even when the epidemic has passed. Much attention has been given to palliation of this evil, but little to its permanent removal. In previous forms of social organization such evils have been met by some application of the principle of mutual aid, as in the mediaeval guilds, in their modern counterpart, the trade unions, and in benevolent societies. These alike fail to reach the difficulty. The functions performed by the mutual-aid principle in earlier forms of society are largely