The Census in Moscow by Leo Nikoleyevich Tolstoy
page 1 of 18 (05%)
page 1 of 18 (05%)
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THE MOSCOW CENSUS--FROM "WHAT TO DO?"
by Count Lyof N. Tolstoi Translated from the Russian by Isabel F. Hapgood ARTICLE ON THE CENSUS IN MOSCOW. [1882.] The object of a census is scientific. A census is a sociological investigation. And the object of the science of sociology is the happiness of the people. This science and its methods differ sharply from all other sciences. Its peculiarity lies in this, that sociological investigations are not conducted by learned men in their cabinets, observatories and laboratories, but by two thousand people from the community. A second peculiarity is this, that the investigations of other sciences are not conducted on living people, but here living people are the subjects. A third peculiarity is, that the aim of every other science is simply knowledge, while here it is the good of the people. One man may investigate a nebula, but for the investigation of Moscow, two thousand persons are necessary. The object of the study |
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