Practicable Socialism - Essays on Social Reform #232519

The following Essays have been written at different intervals during our fifteen years' residence in East London. They were written out of the fulness of the moment with a view of giving a voice to some need of which we had become conscious. They do not, therefore, pretend to set forth any system for dealing with the social problem; they are simply the voice of the dumb poor, of whose mind it has been our privilege to get some understanding. They are published now in response to the requests of many to whom they have been some guide in the ways of service, and in the hope that the experience they offer may bring rich and poor together. It will be noticed that two or three great principles underlie all the reforms for which we ask. The equal capacity of all to enjoy the best, the superiority I of quiet ways over those of striving and crying, character as the one thing needful are the truths with which we have become familiar, and on these truths we take our I stand.