obtrudes itself upon them, they console themselves with the maxim
that people do get used to the troubles they have to bear, whatever
they may be.

Indeed, as far as regards individuals at least, that is but too true,
so that we have as supporters of the present state of things, however
bad it may be, first those comfortable unconscious oppressors who
think that they have everything to fear from any change which would
involve more than the softest and most gradual of reforms, and
secondly those poor people who, living hard and anxiously as they do,
can hardly conceive of any change for the better happening to them,
and dare not risk one tittle of their poor possessions in taking any
action towards a possible bettering of their condition; so that while
we can do little with the rich save inspire them with fear, it is
hard indeed to give the poor any hope. It is, then, no less than
reasonable that those whom we try to involve in the great struggle
for a better form of life than that which we now lead should call on
us to give them at least some idea of what that life may be like.

A reasonable request, but hard to satisfy, since we are living under
a system that makes conscious effort towards reconstruction almost
impossible: it is not unreasonable on our part to answer, "There are
certain definite obstacles to the real progress of man; we can tell
you what these are; take them away, and then you shall see."

However, I purpose now to offer myself as a victim for the
satisfaction of those who consider that as things now go we have at
least got something, and are terrified at the idea of losing their
hold of that, lest they should find they are worse off than before,
and have nothing. Yet in the course of my endeavour to show how we