Besides personality梠r rather correlative with it there must be an adequate mechanism of communication and organization.In small groups the requirements of structure are so simple as to make little trouble， but in proportion as the web of relations extends and diversifies， they become more and more difficult to meet without sacrificing human nature；so that， other things equal， the freedom and real unity of the system are likely to vary inversely with its extent.It is only because other things have not remained equal， because the mechanism has been improved， that it has become possible， in a measure， to reconcile freedom with extent.
Communication must be full and quick in order to give that promptness in the give-and-take of suggestions upon which moral unity depends.Gesture and speech ensure this in the face-to-face group； but only the recent marvellous improvement of communicative machinery makes a free mind on a great scale even conceivable.If there is no means of working thought and sentiment into a whole by reciprocation， the unity of the group cannot be other than inert and unhuman.This cause alone would account for the lack of extended freedom previous to the nineteenth century.
There must also be forms and customs of rational organization， through which human nature may express itself in an orderly and effective manner.Even children learn the need of regular discussion and decision， while all bodies of adults meeting for deliberation find that they can think organically only by observance of the rules which have been worked out for such occasions.
And if we are to have great and stable nations， it is easy to see that these rules of order must become a body of law and custom including most， if not all， of the familiar institutions of society.These are a product of progressive invention， trial， and survival as much as the railroad or the factory， and they have in the long run the same purpose， that of the fuller expression of human nature in a social system.
As might be expected from these conditions， there is a principle of compensation at work in the growth of the larger mind.The more betterment there is， the more of vital force， of human reason， feeling， and choice， goes into it； and， as these are limited， improvement in one respect is apt to be offset， at least in part or temporarily， by delay or retrogression in others.
Thus a rapid improvement in the means of communication， as we see in our own time， supplies the basis for a larger and freer society， and yet it may， by disordering settled relations， and by fixing attention too much upon mechanical phases of progress， bring in conditions of confusion and injustice that are the opposite of free.
A very general fact of early political history is deterioration by growth.The small state cannot escape its destiny as part of a larger world， but must expand or perish.It grows in size， power， and diversity by the necessities of its struggle for existence梐s did Rome， Athens， and a hundred other states梑ut in so doing sacrifices human nature to military expediency and develops a mechanical or despotic structure.This， in the long run， produces weakness， decay， and conquest， or perhaps revolt and revolution.The requirements of human nature梑oth direct， as expressed in social idealism， and indirect， as felt in the ultimate weakness and failure of systems which disregard them梐re irrepressible.Gradually， therefore， through improvement and through the survival of higher types in conflict， a type of larger structure is developed which less sacrifices these requirements.
Much of what is unfree and unhuman in our modern life comes from mere inadequacy of mental and moral energy to meet the accumulating demands upon it.In many quarters attention and effort must be lacking， and： where this is the case social relations fall to a low plane？just as a teacher who has too much to do necessarily adopts a mechanical style of instruction.So what we call "red tape" prevails in great clerical offices because much business is done by persons of small ability， who can work only under rule.And great bureaucratic systems， like the Russian Empire， are of much the same nature.
In general the wrongs of the social system come much more from inadequacy than from ill intention.It is indeed not to be expected that all relations should be fully rational and sympathetic； we have to be content with infusing reason and sympathy into what is most vital.
Society， then， as a moral organism， is a progressive creation， tentatively wrought out through experiment， struggle， and survival.Not only individuals but ideas， institutions， nations， and races do their work upon it and perish.Its ideals， though simple in spirit， are achieved through endless elaboration of means.
It will be my further endeavor to throw some light upon this striving whole by considering certain phases of its organization， such as Communication， Public Opinion， Sentiment， Classes， and Institutions；always trying to see the whole in the part， the part in the whole， and human nature in both.
