Ladd, Horatio Oliver. (Clergyman. Author and Educator.)
I do not favor Socialism because it is an effort to reform society against the nature of man.
No man is created equal to another, or every other man. He is an individual who makes his place in the world by his special individual traits and powers. By these he uses the powers of others, and material and moral instruments and forces around him to accomplish his ends. He concedes to others what he cannot or does not wish to hold or acquire for himself in the influence and possessions of this life.
The inequality of man in this world is everywhere manifest. The advantages won in this life are the result of effort and character, not of any distribution based upon the principle of equality of man.
The differences in man's condition, make the interest and the incitements of life. Collectivism is an absurd theory of distribution of the good of life, because it cannot preserve equal conditions, even in one generation. The weak, the lame and the lazy must fall behind the strong, the able, the ambitious. The apples on a tree are of different sizes, and soundness, because of the vigor of the buds, leaves, branches and location which have contributed to their growth. So it is in all Nature, and in man.
The prizes of life belong to those who win them by merit of their powers, their diligence and their effort.
A common opportunity is the highest condition Nature and society can offer to the individual.
Life is rich in and through its varieties. Religion and common sense stand for these principles of individualism in the development and conduct of human life and government.
Levermore, Charles Herbert. (Educator and Author.)