rightly be left unmolested, but is the performance of the part marked out for the Teutonic nations in the world's development.1

Closely related to the theory of liberty is the doctrine as to the purpose or function of the state. In the days of the Revolution, it was thought that the end of the political society is to protect the life, liberty, and property of its citizens, and beyond this nothing more. The duty of the state was summed up in the protection of individual rights, in harmony with the individualistic character of the philosophy of that day. In the theory of Lieber, this idea was broadened out, and, as he phrased it, the duty of the state is to do for man: first, what he cannot do alone; second, what he ought not to do alone; and third, what he will not do alone. In more recent times there has been in America a decided tendency to react against the early "protection theory" of government, and to consider that the aim of the state is not limited to the maintenance of law and order in the community and

1 It is a striking fact that within less than a decade the United States embarked on a colonial policy, invoking in justification the very principles which have just been analyzed. In the extended discussions of the colonial policy of the United States during the past four years, there has been no clearer formulation of the dominant theory than this. Burgess himself believes that the United States is not yet ready for the propaganda of political civilization, but should devote itself to its own problems of government and liberty. See infra, p. 318.

2 Political Ethics, I, Chap. V.

defence against foreign foes. In the new view, the state acts not only for the individual as such, but in the interests of the community as a whole. It is not limited to the negative function of preventing certain kinds of action, but may positively advance the general welfare by means and measures expressly directed to that end. This opinion is shared by such authorities as Woolsey, Burgess, Wilson, Willoughby and others. To these thinkers it appears that the duty of the state is not and cannot be limited to the protection of individual interests, but must be regarded as extending to acts for the advancement of the general welfare in all cases where it can safely act, and that the only limitations on governmental action are those dictated by experience or the needs of the time.

Woolsey took the position that the state cannot be limited to restraining individuals from injuring each other, but may justly act positively for the general welfare. "The sphere of the state,” he said, "may reach as far as the nature and needs of man and of men reach;" and this each people decides for itself in accordance with its own peculiar conditions. In general the action of the state falls under four groups: I, the redress of wrongs; 2, the prevention of wrongs; 3, a degree of care for the outward welfare of the community, as in respect to industry, roads, and health; 4, the cultivation of the spiritual nature, "by educating the religious nature, the moral sense, the taste, the in

tellect." 1 The general limitation on the power of the state is that there shall be no act in restraint of the individual, except where there is imperative reason for such restriction. He also enumerates a series of individual rights which no just government ought to take away.

Woodrow Wilson asserts that the objects of government are the objects of organized society. The great end for which society exists is "mutual aid to self-development," and this purpose, therefore, is the proper function of government. With particular reference to modern industrial conditions, a distinction is drawn between what is termed "interference" on the part of the state, and what is called "regulation," by which is meant an “equalization of conditions in all branches of endeavor." The limit of state activity is that of "necessary coöperation -the point at which such enforced coöperation becomes a convenience rather than an imperative necessity. This line is difficult to draw, but may nevertheless be drawn. In gen

eral, we may lay down the rule that "the state should do nothing which is equally possible under equitable conditions to optional associations.”2

These may

A still broader view is that taken by Burgess in his discussion of the ends of the state. be considered, he says, under three heads: the

1 Political Science, Book II, Chap. IV, "Sphere and Ends of the State."

2 The State, Sec. 1273 ff.

primary, the secondary, and the ultimate. The ultimate end of the state is defined as the "perfection of humanity, the civilization of the world; the perfect development of the human reason and its attainment to universal command over individualism; the apotheosis of man."1 This end can be realized, however, only when a world-state is organized, and for this, mankind is not yet ready. Men must first be organized into national states, based on the principle of nationality. The proximate ends of the state are the establishment of government and liberty. The state must first of all establish peace and order; and in the next place mark out a sphere of liberty for the individual and later for associations. These are then the great ends of the state; the establishment of government and of liberty, so that the national genius may find proper expression; and, finally, the perfection of humanity. These objects must be followed, moreover, in an historical order which cannot be successfully reversed. Government must precede liberty, government and liberty must precede the final purpose for which the state exists. In the present stage of development, only the realization of government and liberty through the national state are proper objects of state activity. Beyond this broad outline Burgess makes no other attempt to mark out the limits of the operation either of state or of government.

1 Political Science, Vol. I, Book II, Chap. IV.

An interesting study in this direction has been made by Willoughby. The functions of the state are classified into three groups, of which the first contains those powers which concern the life of the state and the preservation of internal order, the second those which are concerned with human liberty, and the third those which have to do with the general welfare. A second method of classifying the aims of the state is to divide them into the essential and the non-essential functions. The essential functions concern the protection of the state against foreign interference, the preservation of the national life, and the maintenance of internal order. The non-essential functions include the "economic, industrial, and moral interests of the people." They are assumed by the state not because they are necessary but because they are advisable. The non-essential functions are subdivided into the socialistic and the non-socialistic. The first class, the socialistic, includes only activities which could be exercised by the people if left to private initiative, as the ownership and operation of railroads, or telegraph and telephone systems. The non-socialistic functions are "those which, if not assumed by the state, would not be exercised at all;" as, for example, such work as that performed by educational and labor bureaus. It is denied that any limit can be set to governmental

1 The Nature of the State, Chap. XII. See also Social Justice, Chap. IX.