“Imagine Two Nations”

“Let us imagine two nations as nearly identical as we can picture them, one of which had a business system which was based upon and supported by the service it rendered to the community. Let us imagine that the other nation, having the same degree of civilization, had a business system run primarily to give profits to those who controlled that system, which rendered service when such service increased its profits, but failed to render service when such service did not make for profits. To make the comparison more exact, let us further imagine a large portion of the most capable men of the latter community engaged continually in a pull and haul, one against the other, to secure the largest possible profits. Then let us ask ourselves in what relative state of economic development these two nations would find themselves at the end of ten years? It is not necessary to answer this question.

I say again, then, we have come to the Parting of the Ways, for a nation whose business system is based on service will in a short time show such advancement over one whose business system is operated primarily with the objective of securing the greatest possible profits for the investing class, that the latter nation will not be long in the running.”