The teachings of economic science which are adopted, though without closely examining their details by all those of the well-to-do classes who consider themselves enlightened and advanced,3 seem on a superficial examination to be liberal and even radical, containing as they do attacks on the wealthy classes of society; but essentially that bteaching is in the highest degree conservative, gross and cruel.One way or another the men of science, and in their train all the well-to-do classes, wish at all cost to maintain the present system of distribution and division of labor, which makes possible the production of that great quantity of goods which they make use of.The existing economic order is, by the men of science and, following them, by all the well-to-do classes, called culture; and in this culture-railways, telegraphs, telephones, photographs, Roentgen rays, clinical hospitals, exhibitions, and, chiefly, all the appliances of comfort-they see something so sacrosanct that they will not allow even a thought of alterations which might destroy it all, or but endanger a small part of these acquisitions.Everything may, according to the teachings of that science, be changed except what it calls culture.But it becomes more and more evident that this culture can exist only while the workers are compelled to work.Yet men of science are so sure that this culture is the greatest of blessings that they boldly proclaim the contrary of what the lawyers once said, Fiat justitla, pereat mundus!
They now say, Fiat cultura, pereat justitia And they not only say it, but act accordingly.Everything may be changed in practice and in theory, but not culture; not all that is going on in workshops and factories, and certainly not what is being sold in the shops.
But I think that enlightened people, professing the Christian law of brotherhood and love to one's neighbor, should say just the contrary.
Electric lights and telephones and exhibitions are excellent, and so are all the pleasure-gardens, with concerts and performances, and all the cigars, and match-boxes, and braces, and motor cars, but they may all go to perdition, and not they alone, but the railways, and all the factory-made chintz stuffs and cloths in the world, if to produce them it is necessary that ninety-nine per cent.of the people should remain in slavery and perish by thousands in factories needed for the production of these articles.If, in order that London or Petersburg may be lighted by electricity, or in order to construct exhibition-buildings, or in order that there may be beautiful paints, or in order to weave beautiful stuffs quickly and abundantly, it is necessary that even a very few lives should be destroyed, or ruined, or shortened-and statistics show us how many are destroyed-let London or Petersburg rather be lit by gas or oil; let there rather be no exhibition, no paints, or materials, only let there be no slavery, and no destruction of human lives resulting from it.Truly enlightened people will always agree rather to go back to riding on horses and using pack-horses, or even to tilling the earth with sticks or with one's hands, than to travel on railways which regularly every year crush so many people as is done in Chicago-merely because the proprietors of the railway find it more profitable to compensate the families of those killed than to build the line so that it should not kill people.The motto for truly enlightened people is not, Fiat cultura, pereat justitia, but Fiat justitia, pereat cultura.
But culture, useful culture, will not be destroyed.
Let justice be done, though the world perish.It will certainly not be necessary for people to revert to tillage of the land with sticks or to lighting up with torches.It is not for nothing that mankind, in their slavery, have achieved such great progress in technical matters.If only it is understood that we must not sacrifice the lives of our fellow-men for our pleasure, it will be possible to apply technical improvements without destroying men's lives, and to arrange life so as to profit by all such methods giving us control of nature as have been devised and can be applied without keeping our brother men in slavery.The Slavery of Our Times -- Ch 8 -- Leo TolstoyFrom The Slavery of Our Times by Leo Tolstoy
