You would
urge the sufferings of the criminal class under punishment? I
balance against it the misery of the rich under the scourge of their
own excesses. It is a mistake due to mere thoughtlessness, or
ignorance, to imagine the labouring, or even the destitute,
population as ceaselessly groaning beneath the burden of their
existence. Go along the poorest street in the East End of London,
and you will hear as much laughter, witness as much gaiety, as in
any thoroughfare of the West. Laughter and gaiety of a miserable
kind? I speak of it as relative to the habits and capabilities of
the people. A being of superior intelligence regarding humanity with
an eye of perfect understanding would discover that life was enjoyed
every bit as much in the slum as in the palace.'
'You would consider it fair to balance excessive suffering of the
body in one class against excessive mental suffering in another?'
'Undoubtedly. It is a fair application of my theory. But let me
preach a little longer. It is my belief that, though this equality
of distribution remains a fact, the sum total of happiness in nations
is seriously diminishing. Not only on account of the growth of
population; the poor have more to suffer, the rich less of true
enjoyment, the mass of comfortable people fall into an
ever-increasing anxiety.
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