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 petrol
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.&