COLLECTIVISM  AND  LAND  NATIONALIZATION  25  I

selves,  society  should  take  care  of  them.  In  the  intellectual
world  there  should  be  a  social  distribution  of  knowledge  to  all,
and  in  the  material  world  a  social  appropriation  of  the  land  and
of  a  large  portion  of  the  wealth  acquired  by  past  generations,
and  transformed  into  capital.
Society  should  give,  at  the  expense  of  all,  a  thorough  theoretical ­
  and  practical  education  to  the  young,  who  would  thus  be
enabled  to  learn,  by  means  of  the  physical  sciences,  how  to  act
upon  matter,  so  as  to  turn  it  to  the  best  advantage,  and,  by
lueans  of  the  moral  sciences,  how  to  behave  towards  their
fellow-men.  When  they  leave  the  establishments  of  public
education,  on  coming  of  age,  the  youths  should  go  through  a
sort  of  probation  or  apprenticeship  for  active  life,  by  passing  a
certain  period  in  the  service  of  the  State,  thus  repaying  for  the
protection  accorded  to  them  during  their  minorities.  When
those  of  full  age  enter  into  society  as  active  members,  each  of
them  should  receive  as  a  portion  a  sum  of  money  taken  from
the  State  surplus.  At  this  time  three  different  careers  would
open  before  the  worker  :  he  could  either  work  on  his  own
account,  or  in  association  with  others,  or,  if  he  should  wish  to
avoid  all  risks,  he  could  hire  himself  to  another  worker  who
Would  direct  the  enterprise.  If  he  should  choose  either  of  the
first  two  careers,  society  should  give  him  either  land  or  capital
to  turn  to  account.  For  this  purpose,  the  land  would  be
divided  into  farms  of  greater  or  less  dimensions  according  to
the  locality,  the  wants  of  the  inhabitants,  and  the  requirements
of  agriculture.  The  farms,  with  the  plant  necessary  to  work
them,  should  be  let  to  the  highest  bidder,  who  should  be  forhidden
  to  sublet  Society  should  also  lend  capital,  so  as  to
oblige  private  capitalists  not  to  exact  a  higher  rate  of  interest
than  that  fixed  by  law.
Colins  further  designed  certain  other  measures  intended
oither  to  assure  the  predominance  of  labour  over  capital—in
other  words,  to  raise  wages  as  high  as  possible—or  to  stimulate
the  activity  of  each  individual  member  of  society  to  the  highest
degree.  Measures  of  the  former  kind  were,  the  abolition  of
perpetual  interest,  and  the  substitution  of  annuities  during  the
life  of  the  creditor  as  a  means  of  repaying  debts  ;  the  prohibi-