struggle between
the privileged few and the unprivileged many. We see it in the peaceful
process of legislation as well as in the more violent contest of war.
After each success the masses have demanded still greater concessions,
until now, with a broader outlook and a larger conception of human
destiny, they demand the complete and untrammeled control of the state.

To the student of political science, then, the spirit and temper, the
aims and ideals of the new social order now coming into existence, are a
matter of supreme importance. That our industrial system will be
profoundly modified may be conceded. Other consequences more difficult
to foresee because less direct and immediate, but not necessarily less
important, may be regarded as not unlikely. That our ideas of right and
wrong, our conception of civic duty, and human character itself will be
modified as a result of such far-reaching changes in social relations,
may be expected. But while the more remote and indirect consequences of
democracy may not be foreseen, some of its immediate results are
reasonably certain.

The immediate aim of democracy is political. It seeks to overthrow every
form of class rule and bring about such changes in existing governments
as will make the will of the people supreme. But political reform is
regarded not as an end in itself. It is simply a means. Government is a
complex and supremely important piece of social machinery. Through it
the manifold activities of society are organized, directed and
controlled. In a very real sense it is the most important of all social
institutions, since from its very nature it is the embodiment of social
force, asserting and maintaining a recognized supremacy over all other
social institutions and agencies whatever, modifying and adapting them
to suit the purposes and achieve the ends of those who control the
state.

The form or type of government is all-important, since it involves the
question as to the proper end of government as well as the proper means
of attaining it. Our notion of what constitutes the best political
system depends on our general theory of society--our conception of
justice, progress and social well-being. As government by the few
inevitably results in the welfare of the few being regarded as the chief
concern of the state, the widest possible diffusion of political power
is the only guarantee that government will seek the welfare of the many.

The advocate of democrac