Copyright, 1919, by PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS Princeton, N. J. Published, 1919 Printed in the United States of America PRINCETON CONTENTS PAGE SPECIFIC POLITICAL TENDENCIES. The Growth of Popular Government. The Changing Relations of the State to the The Growth of the Spirit of Nationality.. 31 TENDENCIES TOWARD CENTRALIZATION AND A LARGER NATIONAL LIFE........... OBJECTIONABLE OR DANGEROUS TENDENCIES... TENDENCIES TOWARD REMOVAL OF INEQUALITIES INCREASING TAXES AND THEIR UTILIZATION FOR ..... 344363 MODERN POLITICAL TENDENCIES GENERAL FACTS Dominant political tendencies centre around four important questions of fundamental importance. 1. The relation of governments to the governed. For illustration, is the system one of autocratic or of popular rule? 2. The relation of the governed each to the other. Are there privileged classes, or is the aim to secure the greatest possible equality of rights and opportunities? 3. The relation of the central government to its constituent parts. Is there a loosely joined confederation or a strongly centralized organization? For seventy-five years this was a principal source of controversy in the United States. 4. International relations. The dividing line between the relations of the first and second classes is often a shadowy one. In recent years the question of the relation of the government to the governed has assumed greater prominence in countries of virtually autocratic rule, like Russia or Germany, while the second, that of the governed each to the other, has been more prominent in countries of liberal institutions such as the United States, Great Britain, and France. Manifestly, the fourth question, that of international relations, is now attracting much more general consideration than formerly. Shall the position of a country be one of isolation? Do its international policies look to aggression and repulsion or to goodwill and cooperation? Political tendencies have certain well defined characteristics and have to do with an almost infinite variety of proposed changes or reforms, the agitation for which may continue for a decade, a generation, or even for a century. During these periods certain issues are constantly under discussion, such as the pow |