Before a gas corporation has a soul, it would be American for a government to treat it in one way. After it has one it would be American to treat it in another. There are two complete sets of conduct, principles, and visions in dealing with a corporation before and after its having a soul.
Preserving the females of the species and killing males as a method of discrimination has been applied to all animals except human beings. This is suggestive of a method of discrimination in dealing with corporations. A corporation that has a soul and that is the most likely to keep reproducing souls in others should be treated in one way, and a corporation that has not should be treated in another.
There are two assumptions underneath everybody's thought, underneath every action of our government: Which is the American assumption?
People are going to be bad if they can.
People are going to be good if they can.
Men who want to arrange laws and adjust life on the assumption that business men will be bad if they can, it seems to some of us, are inefficient and unscientific. It seems to us that they are off on the main and controlling facts in American human nature. It is not true that American business men will be bad if they can. They will be good if they can.
This is my assertion. I cannot prove it.
What we seem to need next in this country in order to be clear-headed and to go ahead, is to prove it. We want a competent census of human nature.
Lacking a census of human nature, the next best thing we can do is to watch the men who seem to know the most about human nature.
We put ourselves in their hands.