“It must be gone into deep, broad and high, if we are going to handle it on the square,” said Palmer, who was a most intelligent freemason.
“In politely giving the masses possession of the universe,” said Elkhorn satirically, “how would you regulate people’s way of taking possession and working and sharing?”
“If once we rightly got hold of the principle at stake, that matter would regulate itself. I accept the natural distinctions which now actually exist, and which really will eventually control everything, in spite of all our artificial attempts to the contrary.”
“For instance,” said Elkhorn.
“Will you admit that as we go on now, it takes much of our time to make and enforce laws for building up and hedging in artificial distinctions? And the rest of it to crush out those real distinctions that inhere in the nature of things?”
“For instance,” said Elkhorn again.
“I see Mr. Palmer has made a note of my definition of commonwealth,” said Ethel. “So instead of giving instances of what I mean by artificial distinctions, I will repeat my definition of commonwealth, and go on. Commonwealth consists of the common-sense service which each can perform to the other, by releasing and distributing those natural commodities, which earth, air, water and the spiritual substance of the universe put potentially into the possession of each individual. This commonwealth, then, is divisible into three classes of valuables; namely, personal common-sense services; secondly, the natural ‘commodities’ of earth, water and air, and the spiritual substance-of-the-universe, and for the third class of values—‘credits.’
“Now my happy philosophy of the matter points to the fact, that one’s natural (not his artificial) desires are in the line of his ability, duty and destiny. So that if each man and woman is left free to follow intelligently his and her desires, each will attain the true development and best use of self, for self and others. Thus, a real civil service will come about, not by expending millions of dollars and days in arbitrarily dictating ways and measures by which individuals shall civilly be serviceable, but by leaving each individual intelligently and blithely free to use self-inherent possessions in a way which will occasion a self-adjusting supply of everything to the demands of everybody. This will naturally release and distribute first, personal services; second, the commodities which fill earth, air, water and the spiritual substance-of-the-universe, and will bring into play the third element in the class of values, recognized in the system of social economics; namely, credits.”
“But what will be your medium,” said Elkhorn dubiously, “of exchange?”
“Time,” said Ethel simply. “For of course to meet the orderly demands of each and all, with an orderly supply, will take a great deal of time. But then we each have all the time there is; and this, at the start, equalizes the distribution of that medium of exchange. And our bank can never fail us, for when our drafts on it are very large, we will still have reserves of it in eternity. So time is the medium of exchange for the common-sense services which will release and keep in distributive-circulation the commonwealth-commodities of which earth, water, air and the spiritual-substance-of-the-universe make each of us possessed. (Silence invited her to go on.) Time is a commodity, for as we all know, ‘commodities are a class of valuables organic and inorganic, which may be fitted by human effort to satisfy human desires.’