LITERARY NOTICES. 



845 



subject of socialism, first historically, then 

 critically, and lastly constructively. From 

 first to last he holds the attention of the 

 reader by the vigor of his style and his own 

 manifest interest in the important questions 

 at issue. The thorough impartiality of his 

 attitude also compels admiration. The ob- 

 ject he has set before himself is to discover 

 in what points the present constitution of 

 society is faulty, and what promise of better 

 things the different socialist programmes now 

 before the world contain. Considering that 

 he is an exponent of what is so often spoken 

 of as " the dismal science," the energy with 

 which he arraigns the vices of the existing 

 social order and the sympathy he expresses 

 for the unhappy victims of an excessive 

 competition may appear surprising ; but the 

 fact is, that political economy to-day is not 

 content with recording facts and indicating 

 the laws of which these facts seem to be the 

 expression and proof, but aims at showing 

 what ought to be as well as what is. It no 

 longer confines itself to the question, How is 

 the maximum of wealth to be produced ? or, 

 What motives sway men in the pursuit of 

 wealth ? It inquires into the general con- 

 ditions of social well-being ; it wants to 

 know how far it may be possible to check 

 that reign of universal cupidity on which the 

 older economists seemed to count as an un- 

 alterable attitude of the human mind ; and 

 it asks searching questions as to the nature 

 and requirements of justice between man 

 and man. The one thing to dread in con- 

 nection with this new departure of political 

 economy is a possible lapsing into senti- 

 mentalism The wider the scope it allows 

 itself the more rigorously should it adhere 

 to strict scientific method. There is nothing 

 weakly sentimental in the tone of Mr. Gra- 

 ham's book, and yet it hardly appears to us 

 that he has given due recognition to some 

 of the severer aspects of the problem with 

 which he is grappling. " Man's inhumanity 

 to man," as we all know, has been a dark 

 feature in past history ; but is it not the 

 case that Nature itself, in the production of 

 imperfect individuals imperfect from the 

 social point of view, and taking into account 

 the present development of civilization is 

 primarily responsible for a large, if not the 

 larger, part of the troubles with which we 

 are contending to-day ? Every one in the 



least familiar with the doctrine of natural 

 selection knows that if different species are 

 kept up to a certain standard of efficiency, 

 it is due to the disappearance in the strug- 

 gle for life of the more poorly endowed in- 

 dividuals that come into existence. Among 

 mankind, if even the most poorly endowed 

 perishes from want, our whole civilization is 

 considered to be disgraced. This is a point 

 which certainly requires very careful con- 

 sideration, not only in connection with the 

 criticism of existing institutions, but also 

 in connection with any plans which may be 

 formed for the improvement of our social 

 organization. There is no use in trying to 

 fight against Nature ; the only thing to do, 

 when we clearly recognize the incidence of 

 a natural law, is to see how we can best con- 

 vert it to our uses or turn aside any injury 

 it may threaten to our interests. Thus, hav- 

 ing recognized the fact that, by the opera- 

 tion of the simple law of variation. Nature 

 will produce imperfect individuals, iil-adapt- 

 ed to their environment and destined in all 

 probability to be a drag on the society in 

 which they have a place, the question arises 

 how to deal with them ; and that question 

 ought to be very fairly and fully met. 



But, supposing even that all individuals 

 produced were of average quality, how does 

 the law of population bear upon the social 

 question ? How far are our social troubles 

 the result of an undue rate of increase in 

 population ? It is true that there are large 

 tracts of the earth yet unoccupied, but the 

 vis ineriiai of mankind counts for something ; 

 and it does not follow because there is 

 still room for settlement that any given rate 

 of increase might not be in extfess of the 

 available means for spreading population 

 over the face of the earth. In early ages 

 tribes used to swarm very much like bees ; 

 but in those days men were not particular 

 where they found their new abodes, or whom 

 they dispossessed, or otherwise disposed of, 

 in doing so. 



Looked at from certain points of view, 

 competition seems a terrible thing; but is 

 there any certainty that the world could do 

 without it ? The successful and the less suc- 

 cessful cr unsuccessful alike are impelled 

 by it to exertion ; it keeps the world at 

 work, and so far helps to make the world 

 happy. What would come from any marked 



