Political Science Of The State

534 POLITICAL SCIENCE.
former equals, as if reminded by them of the past. But the
general spirit is quite unlike this.
7. The love of show, of making an outward display with
one's wealth is more a characteristic of democracy than of
other polities. Equality makes the attainment of distinctions
possible for all, and the love of superiority always exists.
Where a man or a family is conscious of a high position, there
is no great motive to make outward demonstrations of opu-
lence, and where ranks exist, the lower classes either have it
not in their power, or would laugh at their own set for mak-
ing a display. In a democracy the show of wealth by house,
style, equipage, is a kind of coat of arms—a man thinks to
climb into a superior station by it; it is not the pleasure of
the comforts, but the pleasure of the show, and above all, of
the feeling that he is equal to others. It is remarkable how the
humbler class of emigrant women in this country will be smit-
ten by the desire to appear in the streets on a level in dress
with the wealthier of their sex. So also, gains which are saved
in order to found a family in communities where ranks and
titles exist, are spent extravagantly where there are no such
distinctions, and there is a reckless want of thrift introduced
into society which often sinks such families after the second
generation. Frugality is considered meanness, expensiveness
is gentility. A cause concurrent with the polity may be found
in the ease with which fortunes are made in a new country
like ours, but to this cause alone this unfortunate state of
things cannot be ascribed.
8. Patriotism and public spirit are virtues which all free
institutions foster, but those most, where the individual most
closely identifies himself with the country or the state, and
where permanent divisions into ranks or orders do not pre-
vent the public feeling from reaching the widest circle of the
community. Where the desire to found a family is strong,
as in aristocratic republics, or where, as in feudal societies,
there is no great idea of a nation before the mind of the indi-
vidual, something of the edge will be taken off from patriot-
ism. It may be said that in small communities, where the