Thus, owing to our industrial system and to our laws of property,
inheritance, and the like, it often happens that a superior person
through sickness or other accident gets caught in a mesh of causes which
bring him down to the dependent classes, and on the other hand inferior
individuals, through inheritance or "social pull," oftentimes enjoy a
very large economic surplus all their lives. It may be admitted,
however, that slight defects in personal character or ability enter into
practically all cases of dependence. This is more apt to be the case
also in a progressive society like our own, where rising standards of
efficiency make the economic struggle more severe all the time.
Formerly, for example, any employee could drink and retain his position,
but now the drinker quickly loses his position in many industries and
gives place to the sober man. Oftentimes, however, such defects that
give rise to dependence are not inherent but are produced by social
conditions themselves, like faulty education, bad surroundings, and the
like.
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