INDIVIDUAL WORK FOR REFORM
In countries where rulers are chosen by popular vote
there is no likelihood that startlingly novel and unacceptable
reforms will be initiated by the central authority. In such
countries the movement for reform must always start at
the periphery and move towards the centre. Private
individuals, either alone or in groups, must formulate the
idea of reform and must popularize it among the masses.
When it has become sufficiently popular, it can be in-
corporated into the legislation of the community.
Lei the modern world, as we have seen, the great obstacle
to all desirable change is war. The cardinal, the indis-
pensable reform is therefore a reform in the present policy
of national communities in regard to one another. To-day
all nations conduct their foreign policy on militaristic
principles. Some are more explicitly, more noisily and
vulgarly militaristic than others; but all, even those that
call themselves democratic and pacific, consistently act
upon the principles of militarism. It is hardly conceivable
that any desirable reform in this direction should be
initiated by those who now hold political power. The
movement of reform must therefore come from private
individuals. It is the. business of these private individuals
to persuade the majority of their fellows that the policy of
pacifism is preferable to that of militarism. When and
only when they have succeeded, it will become possible
to change those militaristic national policies which make
the outbreak of another war all but inevitable and which,
by doing this, hold up the whole process of desirable
change.
It may be objected that the majority of men and women
all over the world ardently desire peace and that therefore
there is no need for private individuals to make propaganda
in favour of peace. In reply to this I may quote a pro-
foundly significant phrase from The Imitation^ 'All men
desire peace, but very few desire those things which make
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