These advantages are lost by excessive unification of the
state. The exhibition of two virtues, besides, is visibly
annihilated in such a state: first, temperance towards women (for it
is an honorable action to abstain from another's wife for
temperance' sake); secondly, liberality in the matter of property.
No one, when men have all things in common, will any longer set an
example of liberality or do any liberal action; for liberality
consists in the use which is made of property.
Such legislation may have a specious appearance of benevolence;
men readily listen to it, and are easily induced to believe that in
some wonderful manner everybody will become everybody's friend,
especially when some one is heard denouncing the evils now existing in
states, suits about contracts, convictions for perjury, flatteries
of rich men and the like, which are said to arise out of the
possession of private property. These evils, however, are due to a
very different cause- the wickedness of human nature. Indeed, we see
that there is much more quarrelling among those who have all things in
common, though there are not many of them when compared with the
vast numbers who have private property.
Again, we ought to reckon, not only the evils from which the
citizens will be saved, but also the advantages which they will
lose.
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