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reasonable humanity, Mr. Ruskin has amply justified his claim as a pioneer in the theory of social economics.
Mr. Ruskin's "humanizing" of the term "wealth" takes the form of asking with regard to the value of goods : (i) What good human purpose can they serve ? (2) What kind of persons will get them ? (3) How much will each of these persons get ? He also analyzes the problem of cost to correspond with his analysis of value, first inquiring as to the "intrinsic nature of the work in relation to the worker;" and second, "this determination of intrinsic cost requires to be supple- mented by consideration of the capacities of the. workers ; " third, "in estimating the cost as we estimate the utility of a quantity of goods, we require to know how the labor is distributed."
Mr. Hobson does not fail to point out Mr. "Ruskin's exaggerations and failure to see some of the merits in modern competitive industry, but he defends him against the charges made of totally ignoring the value of machinery and modern improvements, showing that these criticisms usually arise from a consideration of isolated observations, instead of following Mr. Ruskin's qualifications of his own statements. There is also pointed out Mr. Ruskin's inadequate appreciation of the significance of interest, shewing that he fails to see the importance of making money serviceable where most needed. This recognition of Mr. Ruskin's weakness gives all the more force to Mr. Hobson's vigor- ous defense of Mr. Ruskin's constructive teachings which have seemed to so many chimerical. In spite of Tory politics and an undue confi- dence in the voluntary devotion of the upper classes to the lower, Mr. Ruskin's state socialism has largely triumphed thus far both over indi- vidualism and social democracy. His emphasis of the physiological basis of the social question, his admirable conception of education, his denial of equality while demanding equality of opportunity, his empha- sis of the importance of agriculture, and his insistence on the general provision of employment, are obtaining more recognition every day. The strength and weakness of Mr. Ruskin's state socialism give Mr. Hobson an opportunity of, at the same time, criticising him and many current reformers, but show the futility of depending on the voluntary action of the upper classes and the necessity of constantly resorting to democratic action.
Mr. Hobson's closing chapters give a concise account of the indus- trial experiments which Mr. Ruskin undertook, and a final tribute to his work and influence, concluding with this paragraph :
To clarify the vision, to elevate the aim, to humanize, and so to dignify,
