REVIEWS 86l
give scarce room enough for the role of suggestion and the direct influence of strong personalities in the progress of society.
Perhaps too much stress is laid on government as guardian of col- lective interests and agent of progress. Surely the ideals and aims that come to reside in the church, the organization of science, the republic of letters, and many voluntary associations, are real safe- guards of the collective welfare and forces of progress. Nor can gov- ernment be clearly set off from other forms of association by its power of control. While it alone can apply physical coercion, the ideals, standards, and values that are gradually elaborated in religion, art, or literature certainly constrain individuals in the common interest, and constitute cases of "collective telesis."
But while the lines are not quite so clear to us as to him, the dis- tinctions Mr. Ward draws in the dynamic department of social science will last. In this work he has formulated the principles of his sys- tem more cautiously and justly than ever before, and thereby guaran- teed them a new measure of influence. The book should be in the hands of every mature student of society.
EDWARD ALSWORTH Ross.
