首页 >出版文学> The Theory of the Leisure Class>第28章
  Thegroundofselectionhaschanged,untiltheaptitudeswhichnowqualifyforadmissiontotheclassarethepecuniaryaptitudesonly。Whatremainsofthepredatorybarbariantraitsisthetenacityofpurposeorconsistencyofaimwhichdistinguishedthesuccessfulpredatorybarbarianfromthepeaceablesavagewhomhesupplanted。Butthistraitcannotbesaidcharacteristicallytodistinguishthepecuniarilysuccessfulupper-classmanfromtherankandfileoftheindustrialclasses。Thetrainingandtheselectiontowhichthelatterareexposedinmodernindustriallifegiveasimilarlydecisiveweighttothistrait。Tenacityofpurposemayratherbesaidtodistinguishboththeseclassesfromtwoothers;theshiftlessne’erdo-wellandthelower-classdelinquent。Inpointofnaturalendowmentthepecuniarymancompareswiththedelinquentinmuchthesamewayastheindustrialmancompareswiththegood-naturedshiftlessdependent。Theidealpecuniarymanisliketheidealdelinquentinhisunscrupulousconversionofgoodsandpersonstohisownends,andinacallousdisregardofthefeelingsandwishesofothersandoftheremotereffectsofhisactions;butheisunlikehiminpossessingakeenersenseofstatus,andinworkingmoreconsistentlyandfarsightedlytoaremoterend。Thekinshipofthetwotypesoftemperamentisfurthershowninaproclivityto“sport“andgambling,andarelishofaimlessemulation。Theidealpecuniarymanalsoshowsacuriouskinshipwiththedelinquentinoneoftheconcomitantvariationsofthepredatoryhumannature。Thedelinquentisverycommonlyofasuperstitioushabitofmind;heisagreatbelieverinluck,spells,divinationanddestiny,andinomensandshamanisticceremony。Wherecircumstancesarefavorable,thisproclivityisapttoexpressitselfinacertainserviledevotionalfervorandapunctiliousattentiontodevoutobservances;itmayperhapsbebettercharacterizedasdevoutnessthanasreligion。Atthispointthetemperamentofthedelinquenthasmoreincommonwiththepecuniaryandleisureclassesthanwiththeindustrialmanorwiththeclassofshiftlessdependents。
  Lifeinamodernindustrialcommunity,orinotherwordslifeunderthepecuniaryculture,actsbyaprocessofselectiontodevelopandconserveacertainrangeofaptitudesandpropensities。Thepresenttendencyofthisselectiveprocessisnotsimplyareversiontoagiven,immutableethnictype。Ittendsrathertoamodificationofhumannaturedifferinginsomerespectsfromanyofthetypesorvariantstransmittedoutofthepast。Theobjectivepointoftheevolutionisnotasingleone。
  Thetemperamentwhichtheevolutionactstoestablishasnormaldiffersfromanyoneofthearchaicvariantsofhumannatureinitsgreaterstabilityofaim——greatersinglenessofpurposeandgreaterpersistenceineffort。Sofarasconcernseconomictheory,theobjectivepointoftheselectiveprocessisonthewholesingletothisextent;althoughthereareminortendenciesofconsiderableimportancedivergingfromthislineofdevelopment。Butapartfromthisgeneraltrendthelineofdevelopmentisnotsingle。Asconcernseconomictheory,thedevelopmentinotherrespectsrunsontwodivergentlines。Sofarasregardstheselectiveconservationofcapacitiesoraptitudesinindividuals,thesetwolinesmaybecalledthepecuniaryandtheindustrial。Asregardstheconservationofpropensities,spiritualattitude,oranimus,thetwomaybecalledtheinvidiousorself-regardingandthenon-invidiousoreconomical。
  Asregardstheintellectualorcognitivebentofthetwodirectionsofgrowth,theformermayhecharacterizedasthepersonalstandpoint,ofconation,qualitativerelation,status,orworth;thelatterastheimpersonalstandpoint,ofsequence,quantitativerelation,mechanicalefficiency,oruse。
  Thepecuniaryemploymentscallintoactionchieflytheformerofthesetworangesofaptitudesandpropensities,andactselectivelytoconservetheminthepopulation。Theindustrialemployments,ontheotherhand,chieflyexercisethelatterrange,andacttoconservethem。Anexhaustivepsychologicalanalysiswillshowthateachofthesetworangesofaptitudesandpropensitiesisbutthemultiformexpressionofagiventemperamentalbent。Byforceoftheunityorsinglenessoftheindividual,theaptitudes,animus,andinterestscomprisedinthefirst-namedrangebelongtogetherasexpressionsofagivenvariantofhumannature。Thelikeistrueofthelatterrange。
  Thetwomaybeconceivedasalternativedirectionsofhumanlife,insuchawaythatagivenindividualinclinesmoreorlessconsistentlytotheoneortheother。Thetendencyofthepecuniarylifeis,inageneralway,toconservethebarbariantemperament,butwiththesubstitutionoffraudandprudence,oradministrativeability,inplaceofthatpredilectionforphysicaldamagethatcharacterizestheearlybarbarian。Thissubstitutionofchicaneryinplaceofdevastationtakesplaceonlyinanuncertaindegree。Withinthepecuniaryemploymentstheselectiveactionrunsprettyconsistentlyinthisdirection,butthedisciplineofpecuniarylife,outsidethecompetitionforgain,doesnotworkconsistentlytothesameeffect。Thedisciplineofmodernlifeintheconsumptionoftimeandgoodsdoesnotactunequivocallytoeliminatethearistocraticvirtuesortofosterthebourgeoisvirtues。Theconventionalschemeofdecentlivingcallsforaconsiderableexerciseoftheearlierbarbariantraits。Somedetailsofthistraditionalschemeoflife,bearingonthispoint,havebeennoticedinearlierchaptersundertheheadofleisure,andfurtherdetailswillbeshowninlaterchapters。
  Fromwhathasbeensaid,itappearsthattheleisure-classlifeandtheleisure-classschemeoflifeshouldfurthertheconservationofthebarbariantemperament;chieflyofthequasi-peaceable,orbourgeois,variant,butalsoinsomemeasureofthepredatoryvariant。Intheabsenceofdisturbingfactors,therefore,itshouldbepossibletotraceadifferenceoftemperamentbetweentheclassesofsociety。Thearistocraticandthebourgeoisvirtues——thatistosaythedestructiveandpecuniarytraits——shouldbefoundchieflyamongtheupperclasses,andtheindustrialvirtues——thatistosaythepeaceabletraits——chieflyamongtheclassesgiventomechanicalindustry。
  Inageneralanduncertainwaythisholdstrue,hutthetestisnotsoreadilyappliednorsoconclusiveasmightbewished。
  Thereareseveralassignablereasonsforitspartialfailure。Allclassesareinameasureengagedinthepecuniarystruggle,andinallclassesthepossessionofthepecuniarytraitscountstowardsthesuccessandsurvivaloftheindividual。Whereverthepecuniarycultureprevails,theselectiveprocessbywhichmen’shabitsofthoughtareshaped,andbywhichthesurvivalofrivallinesofdescentisdecided,proceedsproximatelyonthebasisoffitnessforacquisition。Consequently,ifitwerenotforthefactthatpecuniaryefficiencyisonthewholeincompatiblewithindustrialefficiency,theselectiveactionofalloccupationswouldtendtotheunmitigateddominanceofthepecuniarytemperament。Theresultwouldbetheinstallationofwhathasbeenknownasthe“economicman,“asthenormalanddefinitivetypeofhumannature。Butthe“economicman,“whoseonlyinterestistheself-regardingoneandwhoseonlyhumantraitisprudenceisuselessforthepurposesofmodernindustry。
  Themodernindustryrequiresanimpersonal,non-invidiousinterestintheworkinhand。Withoutthistheelaborateprocessesofindustrywouldbeimpossible,andwould,indeed,neverhavebeenconceived。Thisinterestinworkdifferentiatestheworkmanfromthecriminalontheonehand,andfromthecaptainofindustryontheother。Sinceworkmustbedoneinordertothecontinuedlifeofthecommunity,thereresultsaqualifiedselectionfavoringthespiritualaptitudeforwork,withinacertainrangeofoccupations。Thismuch,however,istobeconceded,thatevenwithintheindustrialoccupationstheselectiveeliminationofthepecuniarytraitsisanuncertainprocess,andthatthereisconsequentlyanappreciablesurvivalofthebarbariantemperamentevenwithintheseoccupations。Onthisaccountthereisatpresentnobroaddistinctioninthisrespectbetweentheleisure-classcharacterandthecharacterofthecommonrunofthepopulation。
  Thewholequestionastoaclassdistinctioninrespecttospiritualmake-upisalsoobscuredbythepresence,inallclassesofsociety,ofacquiredhabitsoflifethatcloselysimulateinheritedtraitsandatthesametimeacttodevelopintheentirebodyofthepopulationthetraitswhichtheysimulate。
  Theseacquiredhabits,orassumedtraitsofcharacter,aremostcommonlyofanaristocraticcast。Theprescriptivepositionoftheleisureclassastheexemplarofreputabilityhasimposedmanyfeaturesoftheleisure-classtheoryoflifeuponthelowerclasses;withtheresultthattheregoeson,alwaysandthroughoutsociety,amoreorlesspersistentcultivationofthesearistocratictraits。Onthisgroundalsothesetraitshaveabetterchanceofsurvivalamongthebodyofthepeoplethanwouldbethecaseifitwerenotforthepreceptandexampleoftheleisureclass。Asonechannel,andanimportantone,throughwhichthistransfusionofaristocraticviewsoflife,andconsequentlymoreorlessarchaictraitsofcharactergoeson,maybementionedtheclassofdomesticservants。thesehavetheirnotionsofwhatisgoodandbeautifulshapedbycontactwiththemasterclassandcarrythepreconceptionssoacquiredbackamongtheirlow-bornequals,andsodisseminatethehigheridealsabroadthroughthecommunitywithoutthelossoftimewhichthisdisseminationmightotherwisesuffer。Thesaying“Likemaster,likeman,“hasagreatersignificancethaniscommonlyappreciatedfortherapidpopularacceptanceofmanyelementsofupper-classculture。
  Thereisalsoafurtherrangeoffactsthatgotolessenclassdifferencesasregardsthesurvivalofthepecuniaryvirtues。Thepecuniarystruggleproducesanunderfedclass,oflargeproportions。Thisunderfeedingconsistsinadeficiencyofthenecessariesoflifeorofthenecessariesofadecentexpenditure。Ineithercasetheresultisacloselyenforcedstruggleforthemeanswithwhichtomeetthedailyneeds;
  whetheritbethephysicalorthehigherneeds。Thestrainofself-assertionagainstoddstakesupthewholeenergyoftheindividual;hebendshiseffortstocompasshisowninvidiousendsalone,andbecomescontinuallymorenarrowlyself-seeking。
  Theindustrialtraitsinthiswaytendtoobsolescencethroughdisuse。Indirectly,therefore,byimposingaschemeofpecuniarydecencyandbywithdrawingasmuchasmaybeofthemeansoflifefromthelowerclasses,theinstitutionofaleisureclassactstoconservethepecuniarytraitsinthebodyofthepopulation。
  Theresultisanassimilationofthelowerclassestothetypeofhumannaturethatbelongsprimarilytotheupperclassesonly。
  Itappears,therefore,thatthereisnowidedifferenceintemperamentbetweentheupperandthelowerclasses;butitappearsalsothattheabsenceofsuchadifferenceisingoodpartduetotheprescriptiveexampleoftheleisureclassandtothepopularacceptanceofthosebroadprinciplesofconspicuouswasteandpecuniaryemulationonwhichtheinstitutionofaleisureclassrests。Theinstitutionactstolowertheindustrialefficiencyofthecommunityandretardtheadaptationofhumannaturetotheexigenciesofmodernindustriallife。Itaffectstheprevalentoreffectivehumannatureinaconservativedirection,1bydirecttransmissionofarchaictraits,throughinheritancewithintheclassandwherevertheleisure-classbloodistransfusedoutsidetheclass,and2byconservingandfortifyingthetraditionsofthearchaicregime,andsomakingthechancesofsurvivalofbarbariantraitsgreateralsooutsidetherangeoftransfusionofleisure-classblood。
  Butlittleifanythinghasbeendonetowardscollectingordigestingdatathatareofspecialsignificanceforthequestionofsurvivaloreliminationoftraitsinthemodernpopulations。
  Littleofatangiblecharactercanthereforebeofferedinsupportoftheviewheretaken,beyondadiscursivereviewofsucheverydayfactsasliereadytohand。Sucharecitalcanscarcelyavoidbeingcommonplaceandtedious,butforallthatitseemsnecessarytothecompletenessoftheargument,eveninthemeageroutlineinwhichitishereattempted。Adegreeofindulgencemaythereforefairlybebespokenforthesucceedingchapters,whichofferafragmentaryrecitalofthiskind。
  ChapterTenModernSurvivalsofProwessTheleisureclasslivesbytheindustrialcommunityratherthaninit。Itsrelationstoindustryareofapecuniaryratherthananindustrialkind。Admissiontotheclassisgainedbyexerciseofthepecuniaryaptitudes——aptitudesforacquisitionratherthanforserviceability。Thereis,therefore,acontinuedselectivesiftingofthehumanmaterialthatmakesuptheleisureclass,andthisselectionproceedsonthegroundoffitnessforpecuniarypursuits。Buttheschemeoflifeoftheclassisinlargepartaheritagefromthepast,andembodiesmuchofthehabitsandidealsoftheearlierbarbarianperiod。Thisarchaic,barbarianschemeoflifeimposesitselfalsoonthelowerorders,withmoreorlessmitigation。Initsturntheschemeoflife,ofconventions,actsselectivelyandbyeducationtoshapethehumanmaterial,anditsactionrunschieflyinthedirectionofconservingtraits,habits,andidealsthatbelongtotheearlybarbarianage——theageofprowessandpredatorylife。