the import trade of Russia has been with Germany. To suppose that that
immense volume of trade can suddenly be transferred after the war from
a neighbouring country which has intelligently and systematically
adapted itself to its requirements to a remote country which has never
shown the slightest aptitude to meet those requirements argues a
simplicity of mind which in itself may be charming, but when translated
into practical affairs it is stupendous folly.
[4] Sir Valentine Chirol remarks of Bismarck, in an Oxford Pamphlet on
"Germany and the Fear of Russia":--"Friendship with Russia was one of
the cardinal principles of his foreign policy, and one thing he always
relied upon to make Russia amenable to German influence was that she
should never succeed in healing the Polish sore."
[5] In making these observations on the Russians and the Prussians, I
do not, of course, overlook the fact that all nations, like
individuals,
"Compound for sins they are inclined to
By damning those they have no mind to,"
and the English treatment of the conscientious objector in the Great
War has been just as odious as Russian treatment of the Finns or
Prussian treatment of war prisoners, and even more foolish, since it
strikes at our own most cherished principles.
[6] There is, indeed, another school which would like to shut off all
foreign countries by a tariff wall and make the British Empire mutually
self-supporting, on the economic basis adopted by those three old ladies
in decayed circumstances who subsisted by taking tea in one another's
houses.
[7] Even if partially successful, as has lately been pointed out, the
greater the financial depression of Germany the greater would be the
advantage to Russia of doing business with Germany.
[8] It may be proper to point out that I by no means wish to imply
that democracy is necessarily the ultimate and most desirable form of
political society, but merely that it is a necessary stage for those
peoples that have not yet reached it. Even Treitschke in his famous
_History_, while idealising the Prussian State, always assumes that
movement towards democracy is beneficial progress. For the larger
question of the comparative merits of the different forms of political
society, see an admirable little book by C. Delisle Burns, _Political
Ideals_ (1915). And see also the searching study, _Political Parties_
(English translation, 1915), by Robert Michels, who, while accepting
democracy as the highest political form, argues that practically it
always works out as oligarchy.
[9] Professor D.S. Jordan has quoted the letter of a German officer to
a friend in Roumania (published in the Bucharest _Adverul_, 21 Aug.,
1915): "How difficult it was to convince our Emperor that the moment had
arrived for letting loose the war, otherwise Pacifism, Internationalism,
Anti-Militarism, and so many other noxious weeds would have infected our
stupid people. That would have been the end of our dazzling nobility. We
have everything to gain by the war, and all the chimeras and stupidities
of democracy will be chased from the world for an infinite time."
[10] "Let us be patient," a Japanese is reported to have said lately,
"until Europe has completed her _hara-kiri_."
VIII
FEMINISM AND MASCULINISM
During more than a century we have seen the slow but steady growth of the
great Women's movement, of the movement of Feminism in the wide sense of
that term. The conquests of this movement have sometimes been described
by rhetorical feminists as triumphs over "Man." That is scarcely true.
The champions of Feminism have nearly as often been men as women, and the
forces of Anti-feminism have been the vague massive inert forces of an
order which had indeed made the world in an undue degree "a man's world,"
but unconsciously and involuntarily, and by an instrumentation which was
feminine as well as masculine. The advocates of Woman's Rights have
seldom been met by the charge that they were unjustly encroaching on the
Rights of Man. Feminism has never encountered an aggressive and
self-conscious Masculinism.
Now, however, when the claims of Feminism are becoming practically
recognised in our social life, and some of its largest demands are being
granted, it is interesting to observe the appearance of a new attitude.
We are, for the first time, beginning to hear of "Masculinism." Just as
Feminism represents the affirmation of neglected rights and functions of
Womanhood, so Masculinism represents the assertion of the rights and
functions of Manhood which, it is supposed, the rising tide of Feminism
threatens to submerge.
Those who proclaim the necessity of an assertion of the rights of
Masculinism usually hold up America as an awful example of the triumph of
Feminism. Thus Fritz Voechting in a book published in Germany, "On the
American Cult of Woman," is appalled by what he sees in the United
States. To him it is "the American danger," and he thinks it may be
traced partly to the influence of the matriarchal system of the American
Indians on the early European invaders and partly to the effects of
co-education in undermining the fundamental conceptions of feminine
subordination. This state of things is so terrible to the German mind,
which has a constitutional bias to masculinism, that to Herr Voechting
America seems a land where all the privileges have been captured by Woman
and nothing is left to Man, but, like a good little boy, to be seen and
not heard. That is a slight exaggeration, as other Germans, even since
the War, have pointed out in German periodicals. Even if it were true,
however, as a German Feminist has remarked, it would still be a pleasant
variation from a rule we are so familiar with in the Old World. That it
should be put forward at all indicates the growing perception of a
cleavage between the claims of Masculinism and the claims of Feminism.
It is not altogether easy at present to ascertain whom we are to
recognise as the champions and representatives of Masculinism. Various
notable figures are mentioned, from Nietzsche to Mr. Theodore Dreiser.
Nietzsche, however, can scarcely be regarded as in all respects an
opponent to Feminism, and some prominent feminists even count themselves
his disciples. One may also feel doubtful whether Mr. Dreiser feels
himself called upon to put on the armour of masculinism and play the part
assigned to him. Another distinguished novelist, Mr. Robert Herrick,
whose name has been mentioned in this connection, is probably too
well-balanced, too comprehensive in his outlook, to be fairly claimed as
a banner-bearer of masculinism. The name of Strindberg is most often
mentioned, but surely very unfortunately. However great Strindberg's
genius, and however acute and virulent his analysis of woman, Strindberg
with his pronounced morbidity and sensitive fragility seems a very
unhappy figure to put forward as the ideal representative of the virtues
of masculinity. Much the same may be said of Weininger. The name of Mr.
Belfort Bax, once associated with William Morris in the Socialistic
campaign, may fairly be mentioned as a pioneer in this field. For many
years he has protested vigorously against the encroachment of Feminism,
and pointed out the various privileges, social and legal, which are
possessed by women to the disadvantage of men. But although he is a
distinguished student of philosophy, it can scarcely be said that Mr. Bax
has clearly presented in any wide philosophic manner the demands of the
masculinistic spirit or definitely grasped the contest between Feminism
and Masculinism. The name of William Morris would be an inspiring
battle-cry if it could be fairly raised on the side of Masculinism.
Unfortunately, however, the masculine figures scarcely seem eager to put
on the armour of Masculinism. They are far too sensitive to the charm of
Womanhood ever to rank themselves actively in any anti-feministic party.
At the most they remain neutral.
Thus it is that the new movement cannot yet be regarded as organised.
There is, however, a temptation for those among us who have all their
lives been working in the cause of Feminism to belittle the future
possibilities of Masculinism. There can be no doubt that all civilisation
is now, and always has been to some extent, on the side of Feminism.
Wherever a great development of civilisation has occurred--whether in
ancient Egypt, or in later Rome, or in eighteenth-century France--there
the influence of woman has prevailed, while laws and social institutions
have taken on a character favourable to women. The whole current of
civilisation tends to deprive men of the privileges which belong to brute
force, and to confer on them the qualities which in ruder societies are
especially associated with women. Whenever, as in the present great
European War, brute force becomes temporarily predominant, the causes
associated with Feminism are roughly pushed into the background. It is,
indeed, the War which gives a new actuality to this question. War has
always been regarded as the special and peculiar province of Man, indeed,
the sacred refuge of the masculine spirit and the ultimate appeal in
human affairs. That is not the view of Feminism, nor yet the standpoint
of Eugenics. Yet, to-day, in spite of all our homage to Feminism and
Eugenics, we witness the greatest war of the world. It is an instructive
spectacle from our present point of view. We realise, for one thing, how
futile it is for Feminism to adopt the garb of masculine militancy. The
militancy of the Suffragettes, which looked so brave and imposing in
times of peace, disappeared like child's play at the first touch of real
militancy. That was patriotic of the Suffragettes, no doubt; but it was
also a necessary measure of self-preservation, for non-combatants who
carry bombs about in time of war, when armed sentries are swarming
everywhere, are not likely to have much time for hunger-striking.
We witness another feature of war which has a bearing on Eugenics. It is
sometimes said that war is necessary for the preservation of heroic and
virile qualities which, without war and the cultivation of military
ideals, would be lost to the race, and that so the race would degenerate.
To-day France, which is the chief seat of anti-Militarism, and Belgium, a
land of peaceful industrialism which had no military service until a few
years ago, and England, which has always been content to possess a
contemptible little army, and Russia whose popular ideals are humane and
mystical, have sent to the front swarms of professional men and clerks
and artisans and peasants who had never occupied themselves with war at
all. Yet these men have proved as heroic and even as skilful in the game
of war as the men of Germany, where war is idolised and where the
practice of military virtues and military exercises is regarded as the
highest function alike of the individual and of the State. We see that we
need not any longer worry over the possible extinction of these heroic
qualities. What we may more profitably worry over is the question whether
there is not some higher and nobler way of employing them than in the
destruction of the finest fruits of civilisation and the slaughter of
those very stocks on which Eugenics mainly relies for its materials.
We can also realise to-day that war is not only an opportunity for the
exercise of virtues. It is also an opportunity for the exercise of vices.
"War is Hell" said Sherman, and that is the opinion of most great
reflective soldiers. We see that there is nothing too brutal, too cruel,
too cowardly, too mean, and too filthy for some, at all events, of modern
civilised troops to commit, whether by, or against, the orders of their
officers. In France, a few months before the present War, I found myself
in a railway train at Laon with two or three soldiers; a young woman came
to the carriage door, but, seeing the soldiers, she passed on; they were
decent, well-behaved men, and one of them remarked, with a smile, on the
suspicion which the military costume arouses in women. Perhaps, however,
it is a suspicion that is firmly based on ancient traditions. There is
the fatally seamy side of be-praised Militarism, and there Feminism has a
triumphant argument.
In this connection I may allude in passing to a little conflict between
Masculinism and Feminism which has lately taken place in Germany.
Germany, as we know, is the country where the claims of Masculinism are
most loudly asserted, and those of Feminism treated with most contempt.
It is the country where the ideals of men and of women are in sharpest
conflict. There has been a great outcry among men in Germany against the
"treachery" and "unworthiness" of German women in bestowing chocolates
and flowers on the prisoners, as well as doing other little services for
them. The attitude towards prisoners approved by the men--one trusts it
is not to be regarded as a characteristic outcome of Masculinism--is that
of petty insults, of spiteful cruelty, and mean deprivations. Dr. Helene
Stöcker, a prominent leader of the more advanced band of German
Feminists, has lately published a protest against this treatment of
enemies who are helpless, unarmed, and often wounded--based, not on
sentiment, but on the highest and most rational grounds--which is an
honour to German women and to their Feminist leaders.[1]
Taken altogether, it seems probable that when this most stupendous of
wars is ended, it will be felt--not only from the side of Feminism, but
even of Masculinism,--that War is merely an eruption of ancient barbarism
which in its present virulent forms would not have been tolerated even by
savages. Such methods are hopelessly out of date in days when wars may be
engineered by a small clique of ambitious politicians and self-interested
capitalists, while whole nations fight, with or without enthusiasm,
merely because they have no choice in the matter. All the powers of
civilisation are working towards the elimination of wars. In the future,
it seems evident, militarism will not furnish the basis for the
masculinistic spirit. It must seek other supports.
That is what will probably happen. We must expect that the increasing
power of women and of the feminine influence will be met by a more
emphatic and a more rational assertion of the qualities of men and the
masculine spirit in life. It was unjust and unreasonable to subject women
to conditions that were primarily made by men and for men. It would be
equally unjust and unreasonable to expect men to confine their activities
within limits which are more and more becoming adjusted to feminine
preferences and feminine capacities. We are now learning to realise that
the _tertiary_ physical, and psychic sexual differences--those
distinctions which are only found on the average, but on the average are
constant[2]--are very profound and very subtle. A man is a man
throughout, a woman is a woman throughout, and that difference is
manifest in all the energies of body and soul. The modern doctrine of the
internal secretions--the hormones which are the intimate stimulants to
physical and psychic activity in the organism--makes clear to us one of
the deepest and most all-pervading sources of this difference between men
and women. The hormonic balance in men and women is unlike; the
generative ferments of the ductless glands work to different ends.[3]
Masculine qualities and feminine qualities are fundamentally and
eternally distinct and incommensurate. Energy, struggle, daring,
initiative, originality, and independence, even though sometimes combined
with rashness, extravagance, and defect, seem likely to remain qualities
in which men--_on the average_, it must be remembered--will be more
conspicuous than women. Their manifestation will resist the efforts put
forth to constrain them by the feminising influences of life.
Such considerations have a real bearing on the problem of Eugenics. As
I view that problem, it is first of all concerned, in part with the
acquisition of scientific knowledge concerning heredity and the
influences which affect heredity; in part with the establishment of sound
ideals of the types which the society of the future demands for its great
tasks; and in part--perhaps even in chief part--with the acquisition of a
sense of personal responsibility. Eugenic legislation is a secondary
matter which cannot come at the beginning. It cannot come before our
knowledge is firmly based and widely diffused; it cannot come until we
are clear as to the ideals which we wish to see embodied in human
character and human action; it cannot come until the sense of personal
responsibility towards the race is so widely spread throughout the
community that its absence is universally felt to be either a crime or a
disease.
I fear that point of view is not always accepted in England and still
less in America. It is widely held throughout the world that America is
not only the land of Feminism, but the land in which laws are passed on
every possible subject, and with considerable indifference as to whether
they are carried out, or even whether they could be carried out. This
tendency is certainly well illustrated by eugenic legislation in the
United States. In the single point of sterilisation for eugenic ends--and
I select a point which is admirable in itself and for which legislation
is perhaps desirable--at least twelve States have passed laws. Yet most
of these laws are a dead letter; every one of them is by the best experts
considered at some point unwise; and the remarkable fact remains that the
total number of eugenical sterilising operations performed in the States
_without any law at all_ is greater than the total of those performed
under the laws. So that the laws really seem to have themselves a
sterilising effect on a most useful eugenic operation.[4]
I refrain from mentioning the muddles and undesigned evils produced by
other legislation of a much less admirable nature.[5] But I may perhaps
be allowed to mention that it has seemed to some observers that there is
a connection between the Feminism of America and the American mania for
hasty laws which will not, and often cannot, be carried out in practice.
Certainly there is no reason to suppose that women are firmly
antagonistic to such legislation. Nice, pretty, virtuous little laws,
complete in every detail, seem to appeal irresistibly to the feminine
mind. (And, of course, many men have feminine minds.) It is true that
such laws are only meant for show. But then women are so accustomed to
things that are only meant for show, and are well aware that if one
attempted to use such things they would fall to pieces at once.
However that may be, we shall probably find at last that we must fall
back on the ancient truth that no external regulation, however pretty and
plausible, will suffice to lead men and women to the goal of any higher
social end. We must realise that there can be no sure guide to fine
living save that which comes from within, and is supported by the firmly
cultivated sense of personal responsibility. Our prayer must still be the
simple, old-fashioned prayer of the Psalmist: "Create in me a clean
heart, O God"--and to Hell with your laws!
In other words, our aim must be to evolve a social order in which the
sense of freedom and the sense of responsibility are both carried to the
highest point, and that is impossible by the aid of measures which are
only beneficial for the children of Perdition. That there are such
beings, incapable alike either of freedom or of responsibility, we have
to recognise. It is our business to care for them--until with the help of
eugenics we can in some degree extinguish their stocks--in such refuges
and reformatories as may be found desirable. But it is not our business
to treat the whole world as a refuge and a reformatory. That is fatal to
human freedom and fatal to human responsibility. By all means provide the
halt and the lame with crutches. But do not insist that the sound and the
robust shall never stir abroad without crutches. The result will only be
that we shall all become more or less halt and lame.
It is only by such a method as this--by segregating the hopelessly feeble
members of society and by allowing the others to take all the risks of
their freedom and responsibility even though we strongly disapprove--that
we can look for the coming of a better world. It is only by such a method
as this that we can afford to give scope to all those varying and
ever-contradictory activities which go to the making of any world worth
living in. For Conflict, even the conflict of ideals, is a part of all
vital progress, and each party to the conflict needs free play if that
conflict is to yield us any profit. That is why Masculinists have no
right to impede the play of Feminism, and Feminists no right to impede
the play of Masculinism. The fundamental qualities of Man, equally with
the fundamental qualities of Woman, are for ever needed in any harmonious
civilisation. There is a place for Masculinism as well as a place for
Feminism. From the highest standpoint there is not really any conflict at
all. They alike serve the large cause of Humanity, which equally includes
them both.
[1] "Würdelose Weiber," _Die Neue Generation_, Aug.-Sept., 1914.
[2] Havelock Ellis, _Man and Woman_, fifth ed., 1914, p. 21.
[3] The conception of sexuality as dependent on the combined operation of
various internal ductless glands, and not on the sexual glands proper
alone, has been especially worked out by Professor W. Blair Bell, _The
Sex Complex_, 1916.
[4] H.H. Laughlin, _The Legal, Legislative, and Administrative Aspects of
Sterilisation_, Eugenics Record Office Bulletin, No. 1, OB, 1914.
[5] I have discussed these already in a chapter of my book, _The Task of
Social Hygiene_.
IX
THE MENTAL DIFFERENCES OF MEN AND WOMEN
The Great War, which has changed so many things, has nowhere effected
a greater change than in the sphere of women's activities. In all the
belligerent countries women have been called upon to undertake work
which they had never been offered before. Europe has thus become a great
experimental laboratory for testing the aptitudes of women. The results
of these tests, as they are slowly realised, cannot fail to have
permanent effects on the sexual division of labour. It is still too early
to speak confidently as to what those effects will be. But we may be
certain that, whatever they are, they can only spring from deep-lying
natural distinctions.
The differences between the minds of men and the minds of women are,
indeed, presented to all of us every day. It should, therefore, we
might imagine, be one of the easiest of tasks to ascertain what they
are. And yet there are few matters on which such contradictory and often
extravagant opinions are maintained. For many people the question has not
arisen; there are no mental differences, they seem to take for granted,
between men and women. For others the mental superiority of man at every
point is an unquestionable article of faith, though they may not always
go so far as to agree with the German doctor, Mobius, who boldly wrote a
book on "The Physiological Weak-mindedness of Women." For others, again,
the predominance of men is an accident, due to the influences of brute
force; let the intelligence of women have freer play and the world
generally will be straightened out.
In these conflicting attitudes we may trace not only the confidence we
are all apt to feel in our intimate knowledge of a familiar subject we
have never studied, but also the inevitable influence of sexual bias. Of
such bias there is more than one kind. There is the egoistic bias by
which we are led to regard our own sex as naturally better than any other
could be, and there is the altruistic bias by which we are led to find a
charming and mysterious superiority in the opposite sex. These different
kinds of sexual bias act with varying force in particular cases; it is
usually necessary to allow for them.