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hand an increased friction and opposition among these ele- 
ments. The full realization of the potential contrasts. and 
oppositions would not have resulted were it not for this!" 
compression within a unitary frame. In this way the world 
policy of the medieval empire stimulated the particularism 
of kings, tribes, and peoples. The attempted and partially 
realized synthesis created and stimulated the individual- 
ism which finally destroyed it.! 
The most suggestive example of this correlation be- 
tween social expansion and individual differentiation is to 
be found in economic history. The introduction of the 
money economy has had results both for the form and for 
the content of social and individual life which illustrate per- 
fectly the general correlation. The natural economy shows 
small, relatively self-contained economic circles. The dif- 
ficulty of transportation limits their size, and the tech- 
nique of the natural economy, therefore, does not permit 
a far-going differentiation in occupations. The introduc- 
tion of the money economy changes this situation in two 
aspects. The general acceptance of money, its easy trans- 
portation, and finally its transformation in a credit system 
enable it to function over an ever expanding area until it 
unites all peoples in one economic circle with interlocking 
interests, supplementary activities, and similar usages. 
On the other hand, the money economy permits a far-going 
differentiation and specialization. The money wage makes 
the worker more independent of his employer. The posses- 
sion of money gives the individual a greater freedom of 
movement. As the result of the full penetration of the 
money economy, the individual is brought into free com- 
petition with all other individuals within the larger circle 
and is allowed an amount of overspecialization and one- 
sidedness which is possible only within a very wide frame. 
t Soz., pp. 709-32.