568 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



the two, is a conclusion which but few consciously formulate and still 

 fewer avow. 



Yet the untenability of the doctrine of self-sacrifice in its extreme 

 form is conspicuous enough ; and is tacitly admitted by all in their 

 ordinary inferences and daily actions. Work, enterprise, invention, 

 improvement, as they have gone on from the beginning and are going 

 on now, depend on the principle that, among citizens severally having 

 unsatisfied wants, each cares more to satisfy his own wants than to 

 satisfy the wants of others. The fact, that industrial activities proceed 

 on this basis, being recognized, the inevitable implication is that un- 

 qualified altruism would dissolve all existing social organizations: 

 leaving the onus of proof that absolutely-alien social organizations 

 would act. That they would not act becomes clear on supposing the 

 opposite principle in force. Were A to be careless of himself, and to 

 care only for the welfare of B, C, and D, while each of these, paying 

 no attention to his own needs, busied himself in supplying the needs 

 of the others, this roundabout process, besides being troublesome, 

 would very ill meet the requirements of each, unless each could have 

 his neighbor's consciousness. And after observing this we must infer 

 that a certain predominance of egoism over altruism is beneficial, and 

 that in fact no other arrangement would answer. Do but ask what 

 would happen if, of A, B, C, D, etc., each declined to have a gratifica- 

 tion, in his anxiety that some one else should have it, and that the 

 some one else similarly persisted in refusing it out of sympathy with 

 his fellows do but contemplate the resulting confusion and cross- 

 purposes and loss of gratification to all, and you will see that pure 

 altruism would bring things to a dead-lock just as much as pure 

 egoism. In truth, nobody ever dreams of acting out the altruistic 

 theory in all the relations of life. The Quaker who proposes to accept 

 literally, and to practise, the precepts of Christianity, carries on his 

 business on egoistic principles just as much as his neighbors. Though, 

 nominally, he holds that he is to take no thought for the morrow, his 

 thought for the morrow betrays as distinct an egoism as that of men 

 in general ; and he is conscious that to take as much thought for the 

 morrows of others would be ruinous to him and eventually mischievous 

 to all. 



While, however, no one is entirely altruistic while no one really 

 believes an entirely altruistic life to be practicable, there continues the 

 tacit assertion that conduct ought to be entirely altruistic. It does not 

 seem to be suspected that pure altruism is actually wrong. Brought 

 up, as each is, in the nominal acceptance of a creed which wholly 

 subordinates egoism to altruism, and gives sundry precepts that are 

 absolutely altruistic, each citizen, while ignoring these in his business, 

 and tacitly denying them in various opinions he utters, daily gives to 

 them lip-homage, and supposes that acceptance of them is required of 

 him though he finds it impossible. Feeling that he cannot call them 



