thetechnologicalcharacterofthismachineprocesshasbeensetforthatsomelength。Themachineprocesspervadesthemodernlifeanddominatesitinamechanicalsense。Itsdominanceisseenintheenforcementofprecisemechanicalmeasurementsandadjustmentandthereductionofallmannerofthings，purposesandacts，necessities，conveniences，andamenitiesoflife，tostandardunits。Thebearingofthissweepingmechanicalstandardizationuponbusinesstrafficisalargepartofthesubject-matteroftheforegoingchapters。Thepointofimmediateinteresthereisthefurtherbearingofthemachineprocessuponthegrowthofculture，-thedisciplinaryeffectwhichthismovementforstandardizationandmechanicalequivalencehasuponthehumanmaterial。
Thisdisciplinefallsmoreimmediatelyontheworkmenengagedinthemechanicalindustries，andonlylessimmediatelyontherestofthecommunitywhichlivesincontactwiththissweepingmachineprocess。Whereverthemachineprocessextends，itsetsthepacefortheworkmen，greatandsmall。Thepaceisset，notwhollybytheparticularprocessesinthedetailsofwhichthegivenworkmanisimmediatelyengaged，butinsomedegreebythemorecomprehensiveprocessatlargeintowhichthegivendetailprocessfits。Itisnolongersimplythattheindividualworkmanmakesuseofoneormoremechanicalcontrivancesforeffectingcertainresults。Suchusedtobehisofficeintheearlierphasesoftheuseofmachines，andtheworkwhichhenowhasinhandstillhasmuchofthatcharacter。Butsuchacharacterizationoftheworkman’spartinindustrymissesthepeculiarlymodernfeatureofthecase。Henowdoesthisworkasafactorinvolvedinamechanicalprocesswhosemovementcontrolshismotions。Itremainstrue，ofcourse，asitalwayshasbeentrue，thatheistheintelligentagentconcernedintheprocess，whilethemachine，furnace，roadway，orretortareinanimatestructuresdevisedbymanandsubjecttotheworkman’ssupervision。Buttheprocesscompriseshimandhisintelligentmotions，anditisbyvirtueofhisnecessarilytakinganintelligentpartinwhatisgoingforwardthatthemechanicalprocesshasitschiefeffectuponhim。Theprocessstandardizeshissupervisionandguidanceofthemachine。Mechanicallyspeaking，themachineisnothistodowithitashisfancymaysuggest。Hisplaceistotakethoughtofthemachineanditsworkintermsgivenhimbytheprocessthatisgoingforward。Histhinkinginthepremisesisreducedtostandardunitsofgaugeandgrade。Ifhefailsoftheprecisemeasure，bymoreorless，theexigenciesoftheprocesschecktheaberrationanddrivehometheabsoluteneedofconformity。
Thereresultsastandardizationoftheworkman’sintellectuallifeintermsofmechanicalprocess，whichismoreunmitigatedandprecisethemorecomprehensiveandconsummatetheindustrialprocessinwhichheplaysapart。Thismustnotbetakentomeanthatsuchworkneedlowerthedegreeofintelligenceoftheworkman。Nodoubtthecontraryisnearerthetruth。Heisamoreefficientworkmanthemoreintelligentheis，andthedisciplineofthemachineprocessordinarilyincreaseshisefficiencyevenforworkinadifferentlinefromthatbywhichthedisciplineisgiven。Buttheintelligencerequiredandinculcatedinthemachineindustryisofapeculiarcharacter。Themachineprocessisasevereandinsistentdisciplinarianinpointofintelligence。Itrequirescloseandunremittingthought，butitisthoughtwhichrunsinstandardtermsofquantitativeprecision。Broadly，otherintelligenceonthepartoftheworkmanisuseless；oritisevenworsethanuseless，forahabitofthinkinginotherthanquantitativetermsblurstheworkman’squantitativeapprehensionofthefactswithwhichhehastodo。4*
Insofarasheisarightlygiftedandfullydisciplinedworkman，thefinaltermofhishabitualthinkingismechanicalefficiency，understanding“mechanical“inthesenseinwhichitisusedabove。Butmechanicalefficiencyisamatterofpreciselyadjustedcauseandeffect。Whatthedisciplineofthemachineindustryinculcates，therefore，inthehabitsoflifeandofthoughtoftheworkman，isregularityofsequenceandmechanicalprecision；andtheintellectualoutcomeisanhabitualresorttotermsofmeasurablecauseandeffect，togetherwitharelativeneglectanddisparagementofsuchexerciseoftheintellectualfacultiesasdoesnotrunontheselines。
Ofcourse，innocaseandwithnoclassdoesthedisciplineofthemachineprocessmouldthehabitsoflifeandofthoughtfullyintoitsownimage。Thereispresentinthehumannatureofallclassestoolargearesidueofthepropensitiesandaptitudescarriedoverfromthepastandworkingtoadifferentresult。Themachine’sregimehasbeenoftooshortduration，strictasitsdisciplinemaybe，andthebodyofinheritedtraitsandtraditionsistoocomprehensiveandconsistenttoadmitofanythingmorethanaremoteapproachtosuchaconsummation。
Themachineprocesscompelsamoreorlessunremittingattentiontophenomenaofanimpersonalcharacterandtosequencesandcorrelationsnotdependentfortheirforceuponhumanpredilectionnorcreatedbyhabitandcustom。Themachinethrowsoutanthropomorphichabitsofthought。Itcompelstheadaptationoftheworkmantohiswork，ratherthantheadaptationoftheworktotheworkman。Themachinetechnologyrestsonaknowledgeofimpersonal，materialcauseandeffect，notonthedexterity，diligence，orpersonalforceoftheworkman，stilllessonthehabitsandpropensitiesoftheworkman’ssuperiors。
Withintherangeofthismachine-guidedwork，andwithintherangeofmodernlifesofarasitisguidedbythemachineprocess，thecourseofthingsisgivenmechanically，impersonally，andtheresultantdisciplineisadisciplineinthehandlingofimpersonalfactsformechanicaleffect。Itinculcatesthinkingintermsofopaque，impersonalcauseandeffect，totheneglectofthosenormsofvaliditythatrestonusageandontheconventionalstandardshandeddownbyusage。Usagecountsforlittleinshapingtheprocessesofworkofthiskindorinshapingthemodesofthoughtinducedbyworkofthiskind。
Themachineprocessgivesnoinsightintoquestionsofgoodandevil，meritanddemerit，exceptinpointofmaterialcausation，norintothefoundationsortheconstrainingforceoflawandorder，exceptsuchmechanicallyenforcedlawandorderasmaybestatedintermsofpressure，temperature，velocity，tensilestrength，etc。5*Themachinetechnologytakesnocognizanceofconventionallyestablishedrulesofprecedence；itknowsneithermannersnorbreedingandcanmakenouseofanyoftheattributesofworth。Itsschemeofknowledgeandofinferenceisbasedonthelawsofmaterialcausation，notonthoseofimmemorialcustom，authenticity，orauthoritativeenactment。Itsmetaphysicalbasisisthelawofcauseandeffect，whichinthethinkingofitsadeptshasdisplacedeventhelawofsufficientreason。6*
Therangeofconventionaltruths，orofinstitutionallegacies，whichittraversesisverycomprehensive，being，indeed，all-inclusive。Itisbutlittlemoreinaccordwiththenewer，eighteenthcenturyconventionaltruthsofnaturalrights，naturalliberty，naturallaw，ornaturalreligion，thanwiththeoldernormsofthetrue，thebeautiful，andthegoodwhichthesedisplaced。Anthropomorphism，underwhateverdisguise，isofnouseandofnoforcehere。
Thedisciplineexercisedbythemechanicaloccupations，insofarasitisinquestionhere，isadisciplineofthehabitsofthought。Itis，therefore，asprocessesofthought，methodsofapperception，andsequencesofreasoning，thattheseoccupationsareofinterestforthepresentpurpose；itisassuchthattheyhavewhateverculturalvaluebelongstothem。Theyhavesuchavalue，therefore，somewhatinproportionastheytaxthementalfacultiesofthoseemployed；andthelargesteffectsaretobelookedforamongthoseindustrialclasseswhoarerequiredtocomprehendandguidetheprocesses，ratherthanamongthosewhoservemerelyasmechanicalauxiliariesofthemachineprocess。
Notthatthelatterareexemptfromthemachine’sdiscipline，butitfallsuponthemblindlyandenforcesanuncriticalacceptanceofopaqueresults，ratherthanatheoreticalinsightintothecausalsequenceswhichmakeupthemachineprocess。Thehigherdegreeoftraininginsuchmatter-of-facthabitsofthoughtisaccordinglytobelookedforamongthehigherranksofskiedmechanics，andperhapsstillmoredecisivelyamongthosewhostandinanengineeringorsupervisoryrelationtotheprocesses。
Itcountsmoreforciblyandfarthestamongthosewhoarerequiredtoexercisewhatmaybecalledamechanicaldiscretionintheguidanceoftheindustrialprocesses，who，asonemightsay，arerequiredtoadministerthelawsofcausalsequencethatrunthroughmaterialphenomena，whothereforemustlearntothinkinthetermsinwhichthemachineprocesseswork。7*Themetaphysicalground，theassumptions，onwhichsuchthinkingproceedsmustbesuchaswillholdgoodforthesequenceofmaterialphenomena；thatistosay，itisthemetaphysicalassumptionsofmodernmaterialscience，-thelawofcauseandeffect，cumulativecausation，conservationofenergy，persistenceofquantity，orwhateverphrasebechosentocovertheconcept。
Themenoccupiedwiththemodernmaterialsciencesare，accordingly，forthepurposeinhand，insomewhatthesamecaseasthehigherranksofthoseemployedinmechanicalindustry。8*
Leavingasidethearchaicvocationsofwar，politics，fashion，andreligion，theemploymentsinwhichmenareengagedmaybedistinguishedaspecuniaryorbusinessemploymentsontheonehand，andindustrialormechanicalemploymentsontheotherhand。9*Inearliertimes，andindeeduntilanuncertainpointinthenineteenthcentury，suchadistinctionbetweenemploymentswouldnottoanygreatextenthavecoincidedwithadifferencebetweenoccupations。Butgradually，astimehaspassedandproductionforamarkethascometobetheruleinindustry，therehasSupervenedadifferentiationofoccupations，oradivisionoflabor，wherebyoneclassofmenhavetakenovertheworkofpurchaseandsaleandofhusbandingastoreofaccumulatedvalues。Concomitantly，ofcourse，therest，whomay，forlackofmeansorofpecuniaryaptitude，havebeenlesswellfittedforpecuniarypursuits，havebeenrelievedofthecaresofbusinessandhavewithincreasingspecializationgiventheirattentiontothemechanicalprocessesinvolvedinthisproductionforamarket。Inthiswaythedistinctionbetweenpecuniaryandindustrialactivitiesoremploymentshascometocoincidemoreandmorenearlywithadifferencebetweenoccupations。Notthatthespecializationhasevenyetgonesofarastoexemptanyclassfromallpecuniarycare；10*foreventhosewhosedailyoccupationismechanicalworkstillhabituallybargainwiththeiremployersfortheirwagesandwithothersfortheirsupplies。Sothatnoneoftheactiveclassesinmodernlifeisfullyexemptfrompecuniarywork。
Buttheneedofattentiontopecuniarymattersislessandlessexacting，eveninthematterofwagesandsupplies。Thescaleofwages，forinstance，is，forthebodyofworkmen，andalsoforwhatmaybecalledtheengineeringforce，becomingmoreandmoreamatterofroutine，therebylesseningatleasttheconstancywithwhichoccasionsfordetailbargaininginthisrespectrecur。Soalsoasregardsthepurchaseofconsumablegoods。Inthecitiesandindustrialtowns，particularly，thesupplyingofthemeansofsubsistencehas，ingreatpart，becomeamatterofroutine。Retailpricesareinanincreasingdegreefixedbytheseller，andingreatmeasurefixedinanimpersonalway。Thisoccursinaparticularlyevidentandinstructivewayinthepracticeofthedepartmentstores，wherethesellerfixestheprice，andcomesincontactwiththebuyeronlythroughtheinterventionofasalesmanwhohasnodiscretionastothetermsofsale。Thechangethathastakenplaceandthatisstillgoingoninthisrespectissufficientlystrikingoncomparisonwiththepastinanyindustrialcommunity，orwiththepresentinanyofthosecommunitieswhichweareinthehabitofcalling“industriallybackward。“
Conversely，asregardsthemeninthepecuniaryoccupations，thebusinessmen。Theirexemptionfromtakingthoughtofmechanicalfactsandprocessesislikewiseonlyrelative。Eventhosebusinessmenwhosebusinessisinapeculiardegreeremotefromthehandlingoftoolsorgoods，andfromtheoversightofmechanicalprocesses，as，forexample，bankers，lawyers，brokers，andthelike，havestill，atthebest，totakesomecognizanceofthemechanicalapparatusofeverydaylife；theyareatleastcompelledtotakesomethoughtofwhatmaybecalledthemechanicsofconsumption。Whereasthosebusinessmenwhosebusinessismoreimmediatelyconcernedwithindustrycommonlyhavesomeknowledgeandtakesomethoughtoftheprocessesofindustry；tosomeappreciableextenttheyhabituallythinkinmechanicalterms。Theircogitationsmayhabituallyruntopecuniaryconclusions，andthetesttowhichtheforceandvalidityoftheirreasoningisbroughtmayhabituallybethepecuniaryoutcome；thebeginningandendoftheirmoreseriousthinkingisofapecuniarykind，butitalwaystakesinsomegeneralfeaturesofthemechanicalprocessalongtheway。Theirexemptionfrommechanicalthinking，fromthinkingintermsofcauseandeffect，is，therefore，materiallyqualified。