are causing destruction of morals and perversion of
characters. The community, on the contrary, ought day and night to strive
and endeavor with the utmost zeal and effort to accomplish the education
of men, to cause them day by day to progress and to increase in science
and knowledge, to acquire virtues, to gain good morals and to avoid vices,
so that crimes may not occur. At the present time the contrary prevails;
the community is always thinking of enforcing the penal laws, and of
preparing means of punishment, instruments of death and chastisement,
places for imprisonment and banishment; and they expect crimes to be
committed. This has a demoralizing effect.

But if the community would endeavor to educate the masses, day by day
knowledge and sciences would increase, the understanding would be
broadened, the sensibilities developed, customs would become good, and
morals normal; in one word, in all these classes of perfections there
would be progress, and there would be fewer crimes.

It has been ascertained that among civilized peoples crime is less
frequent than among uncivilized--that is to say, among those who have
acquired the true civilization, which is divine civilization--the
civilization of those who unite all the spiritual and material
perfections. As ignorance is the cause of crimes, the more knowledge and
science increases, the more crimes will diminish. Consider how often
murder occurs among the barbarians of Africa; they even kill one another
in order to eat each other's flesh and blood! Why do not such savageries
occur in Switzerland? The reason is evident: it is because education and
virtues prevent them.

Therefore, the communities must think of preventing crimes, rather than of
rigorously punishing them.

78: STRIKES

You have questioned me about strikes. This question is and will be for a
long time the subject of great difficulties. Strikes are due to two
causes. One is the extreme greed and rapacity of the manufacturers and
industrialists; the other, the excesses, the avidity and intransigence of
the workmen and artisans. It is, therefore, necessary to remedy these two
causes.

But the principal cause of these difficulties lies in the laws of the
present civilization; for they lead to a small number of individuals
accumulating incomparable fortunes, beyond their needs, while the greater
number remain destitute, stripped and in the greatest misery. This is
contrary to justice, to huma