THE SCOPE OF SOCIOLOGY 209
sense. So with each of the other interests. The fact that these two senses of the term are always concerned must never be ignored ; but, until we reach refinements of analysis which demand use for these discriminations, they may be left out of sight. Second, human interests pass more and more from the latent, subjective, unconscious state to the active, objective, conscious form. That is, before the baby is self-conscious the baby's essential interest in bodily well-being is operating in per- formance of the organic functions. A little later the baby is old enough to understand that certain regulation of his diet, certain kinds of work or play, will help to make and keep him well and strong. Henceforth there is in him a co-operation of interest in the fundamental sense, and interest in the derived, secondary sense, involving attention and choice. If we could agree upon the use of terms, we might employ the word "desire" for this development of interest ; i, e., physiological performance of function is, strictly speaking, the health interest ; the desires which men actually pursue within the realm of bodily func- tion may be normal, or perverted, in an infinite scale of variety. So with each of the other interests. Third, with these quali- fications provided for, resolution of human activities into pursuit of differentiated interests becomes the first clue to the combina- tion that unlocks the mysteries of society. We need not trouble ourselves very much in general about nice metaphysical dis- tinctions between the aspects of interest, because we have mainly to do with interests in the same sense in which the man of affairs uses the term. The practical politician looks over the lobby at Washington, and he classifies the elements that compose it. He says, " Here is the railroad interest, the sugar interest, the labor interest, the army interest, the canal interest, the Cuban interest, etc." He uses the term "interest" essentially in the socio- logical sense, but in a relatively concrete form, and he has in mind little more than variations of the wealth interest. He would explain the legislation of a given session as the final bal- ance between these conflicting pecuniary interests. He is right, in the main ; and every social action is, in the same way, an accommodation of the various interests which are represented in the society concerned.
