pearl: biology and war 347 



precisely homologous to germ-plasmic inheritance in the biologi- 

 cal realm and not less potent in its influence as a stabilizing factor 

 in human social evolution. 



The one outstanding cause in present-day civilization which 

 can quickly break the inertia of social institutions and induce 

 changes, and by so doing perform a function in the scheme of 

 social inheritance analogous to that of mutation in physical 

 inheritance, is war. It operates to direct sharp and searching 

 attention to the real significance of every social institution, from 

 the standpoint of national efficiency, national economy, and 

 national well-being. If under such stressed examination change 

 or reform appears to be necessary it rather quickly follows. The 

 inertia of the long established is broken by the conditions of 

 war. 



If it would not take us so far afield into philosophy and perhaps 

 even metaphysics I should like to pursue this point further, but I 

 think that perhaps enough has been said to make clear the only 

 thing which is requisite here, which is that if we are profitably to 

 discuss the biological philosophy of war we must recognize that 

 besides the influence of the germ plasm in human affairs we have 

 to deal with another general factor of a social but still essentially 

 biological character, namely the inertia of social relations and 

 institutions themselves, which stabilizes them against sudden or 

 rapid alteratiori by any but the most catastrophic causes such as 

 great wars. 



As a concrete example of the application of what we have been 

 discussing to present conditions, we may take the case of Eng- 

 land. Already since the beginning of the war England has passed 

 and ended a stage in its social evolution to which it can never 

 return. The institutions and people of that country in all their 

 outlook on social relations in the widest sense have been essenti- 

 ally and fundamentally changed, and however the war may end, 

 will be permanently different from what they were five years ago. 

 Anyone who will take the trouble to read the recently promul- 

 gated program of the English labor party will realize how pro- 

 found the alteration has been. Or, again, consider the whole 

 history of the Home Rule question. More progress has been 



