"You see, little person," he went on, "we have some very definite
requirements which come of the will to live that dominates all life.
We must eat, we must protect our bodies against the elements, and we
need for comfort some sort of shelter. But in securing these
essentials to self-preservation where is the difference, except in
method, between the banker who manipulates millions and the post-hole
digger on the farm? Not a darned bit, in reality. They're both after
exactly the same thing--security against want. If the post-hole
digger's wants are satisfied by two dollars a day he is getting the
same result as the banker, whose standard of living crowds his big
income. Having secured the essentials, then, what is the next urge of
life? Happiness. That, however, brings us to a more abstract question.
"In the main, though, that's my answer to your question. Here I can
secure myself a good living--as a matter of fact, I can easily get the
wherewithal to purchase any luxuries that I desire--and it is gotten
without a petty-larceny struggle with my fellow men. Here I exploit
only natural resources, take only what the earth has prodigally
provided. Why should I live in the smoke and sordid clutter of a town
when I love the clean outdoors? The best citizen is the man with a
sound mind and a strong, healthy body; and the only obligation any of
us has to society is not to be a burden on society.
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