Explore "Human Work" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman on Textopian. Read with annotations and highlights.
To be-to re-be-and to be better, none can deny this order of duties; and the last is the highest.
To become better as individuals has long been preached to us; to become better as a race is no unnatural proposition. Heretofore, the Ego concept ruling, we have supposed that this was only to be done by improving as many individuals as possible. And as individual conduct, ego-guided, consisted in each doing things for his own benefit, here and hereafter; our improvement has been somewhat hesitant and tortuous, both in person and in race. It is really singular to see how the Ego concept has held us from understanding what was best in our religion. The one great advantage of Christianity over Buddhism, or Mohammedanism, is in its radical _collectivity_. As far as a pure monotheism goes-the constant worship and service of God, the Mohammedan is beyond us. As far as a pure morality goes-an exalted sinlessness, the Buddhist is beyond us.