Human Nature and World Democracy

Human Nature and World Democracy By Frank H. Knight Abstract Human nature is a manifold paradox. Man is a social animal, in the sense of "conventional," with antisocial traits equally prominent. Intelligent morality is a product of social evolution, partly uniform or convergent, partly the opposite of both. Custom, authority, and deliberate consensus are three distinguishable "stages" above instinctive animal society; the last is peculiar to recent western European civilization. Our individualistic, free, or democratic social ethic is largely limited to states by the facts of cultural and political differentation. The place of conflicting economic interests in international war is highly ambiguous. The common idea of deliberately changing human nature is a tissue of logical confusion. The changes necessary to eliminate war without destroying freedom are largely undesirable, since war arises from conflicts between ideals and rights rather than mere interests. A peaceable and free world order calls for a combination of agreement and toleration, and both have ethical limits. The visible issues in war are relatively unimportant in comparision with the inherent clash between quantity and quality and between different qualities, in human life; and survival in a struggle for existence is, for the visible future, the final test of higher and lower. But some changes are clearly worth working for, while "we" defend our own cultural achievement. Journal Information Current issues are now on the Chicago Journals website. Read the latest issue.Established in 1895 as the first US scholarly journal in its field, the American Journal of Sociology (AJS) presents pathbreaking work from all areas of sociology, with an emphasis on theory building and innovative methods. AJS strives to speak to the general sociology reader and is open to contributions from across the social sciences—political science, economics, history, anthropology, and statistics in addition to sociology—that seriously engage the sociological literature to forge new ways of understanding the social. AJS offers a substantial book review section that identifies the most salient work of both emerging and enduring scholars of social science. Commissioned review essays appear occasionally, offering the readers a comparative, in-depth examination of prominent titles. Publisher Information Since its origins in 1890 as one of the three main divisions of the University of Chicago, The University of Chicago Press has embraced as its mission the obligation to disseminate scholarship of the highest standard and to publish serious works that promote education, foster public understanding, and enrich cultural life. Today, the Journals Division publishes more than 70 journals and hardcover serials, in a wide range of academic disciplines, including the social sciences, the humanities, education, the biological and medical sciences, and the physical sciences.