|
| hereditary | Ministers | | | D |
| wealth | of religion | | | |
+------------+-------------+-------------+------------+------------+
\___________ ____________/ \___________ ___________/
\/ \/
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How the things produced by the people in division 4 are 'shared
out' amongst the different classes of the population.

'Now you mustn't run away with the idea that the people in three and
four take their share quietly and divide the things equally between
them. Not at all. Some get very little, some none, some more than a
fair share. It is in these two divisions that the ferocious "Battle of
Life" ranges most fiercely; and of course in this battle the weak and
the virtuous fare the worst. Even those whose exceptional abilities or
opportunities enable them to succeed, are compelled to practise
selfishness, because a man of exceptional ability who was not selfish
would devote his abilities to relieving the manifest sufferings of
others, and not to his own profit, and if he did the former he would
not be successful in the sense that the world understands the word.
All those who really seek to "Love their neighbour as themselves", or
to return good for evil, the gentle, the kind, and all those who
refrain from doing to others the things they would not like to suffer
themselves; all these are of necessity found amongst the vanquished;
because only the worst--only those who are aggressive, cunning, selfish
and mean are fitted to survive. And all these people in numbers three
and four are so fully occupied in this dreadful struggle to secure a
little, that but few of them pause to inquire why there are not more of
the things they are fighting for, or why it is necessary to fight like
this at all!'

For a few minutes silence prevailed, each man's mind being busy trying
to think of some objection to the lecturer's arguments.

'How could the small number of people in number one and two consume as
much as you've given 'em in your drorin'?' demanded Crass.

'They don't actually consume all of it,' replied Owen. 'Muc