I knew that the great disparity
was wrong--even as we are taught that it is wrong.
ANABEL. Yes, I believe that the great disparity is a mistake. But
take their lives, Mr. Barlow. Do you thing they would LIVE more, if
they had more money? Do you think the poor live less than the rich?
--is their life emptier?
MR. BARLOW. Surely their lives would be better, Anabel.
OLIVER. All our lives would be better, if we hadn't to hang on in the
perpetual tug-of-war, like two donkeys pulling at one carrot. The
ghastly tension of possessions, and struggling for possession, spoils
life for everybody.
MR. BARLOW. Yes, I know now, as I knew then, that it was wrong. But
how to avoid the wrong? If I gave away the whole of my income, it
would merely be an arbitrary dispensation of charity. The money would
still be mine to give, and those that received it would probably only
be weakened instead of strengthened. And then my wife was accustomed
to a certain way of living, a certain establishment. Had I any right
to sacrifice her, without her consent?
ANABEL. Why, no!
MR. BARLOW. Again, if I withdrew from the Company, if I retired on
a small income, I knew that another man would automatically take my
place, and make it probably harder for the men.
ANABEL. Of course--while the system stands, if one makes self-
sacrifice one only panders to the system, makes it fatter.
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