In the organization of industrial life the influence of the factory upon the physiological
and mental state of the workers has been completely neglected. Modern industry is based
on the conception of the maximum production at lowest cost, in order that an individual
or a group of individuals may earn as much money as possible.
It has expanded without any idea of the true nature of the human beings who run the
machines, and without giving any consideration to the effects produced on the individuals
and on their descendants by the artificial mode of existence imposed by the factory.
The great cities have been built with no regard for us. The shape and dimensions of
the skyscrapers depend entirely on the necessity of obtaining the maximum income per
square foot of ground, and of offering to the tenants offices and apartments that
please them.
This caused the construction of gigantic buildings where too large masses of human
beings are crowded together. Civilized men like such a way of living. While they
enjoy the comfort and banal luxury of their dwelling, they do not realize that
they are deprived of the necessities of life. The modern city consists of monstrous
edifices and of dark, narrow streets full of fumes and toxic gases, torn by the
noise of the taxicabs, lorries and buses, and thronged ceaselessly by great crowds.
Obviously, it has not been planned for the good of its inhabitants.