Once, modestly enough, Doremus had assumed that he had a decent knowledge of finance, taxation, the gold standard, agricultural exports, and he had smilingly pontificated everywhere that Liberal Capitalism would pastorally lead into State Socialism, with governmental ownership of mines and railroads and water-power so settling all inequalities of income that every lion of a structural steel worker would be willing to lie down with any lamb of a contractor, and all the jails and tuberculosis sanatoria would be clean empty.
Doremus, confident in his understanding of economic principles, believed he was well-informed about finance, taxation, and agricultural exports. He often expressed his viewpoint that Liberal Capitalism would naturally evolve into State Socialism, where government would own critical resources. This transformation, he theorized, would eliminate income inequality, leading to harmony between different social classes.
He envisioned a society where structural steel workers and contractors coexisted peacefully, with no societal issues such as overcrowded jails or sanatoria for tuberculosis. His idealism painted a picture of a perfect world resulting from a gradual economic shift, reflecting his naivety about the complexities of societal change.
