powellJ SOCIOLOGY, OR THE SCIENCE OF INSTITUTIONS 7 2 5
mankind was more potent with boon to man than the enlarge- ment of the theater of industrial enterprise.
Be this as it may, the new world became the home of repub- lics. The example of these republics has spread the egis of free institutions over much of western Europe, and the leaven of freedom works unrest for all monarchical governments of the world. The principles of representative government may seem to flourish best when republics are founded in due form, but they have an almost equal potency in reforming monarchical governments. Such governments may not formally adopt repub- lickism in terms of free institutions, but by a legal fiction they may engraft on the monarchy the substantial principles of repub- lickism, though nominally they are governed by an aristocracy with a kingly chief. Formal republickism and virtual republick- ism seem thus to be competing for universal dominion, though competition may in fact be cooperation.
The agencies at work to transmute monarchy into republick- ism may be summarily, though imperfectly, stated in the follow- ing manner:
First, the industries of the world are undergoing transmuta- tion. Inventions multiply with the scientific thought that was born with the discovery of Columbus. Brawn is governed by brain, and brain through brawn governs the forces of the world, and thus men are emancipated from toil. Through invention toil is raised to the dignity of industry sweetened with pleasure and rewarded with welfare.
The invention of machinery and the development of scien- tific processes of production have had potent effect on the recon- stitution of society. Handicrafts have been revolutionized by the introduction of a high degree of intellectual skill, as manual skill is relegated to the operation of machinery to which great precision is given. When manual skill was obtained only by long practice in a restricted number of manual operations, it was held to be necessary to serve a long apprenticeship to a trade ;
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