66 evolution: the ages and tomorrow 



endless choice, no human race has a monopoly on advanced 

 traits, nor is any one free of primitive traits. 



Homo sapiens was evolved through the operation of natu- 

 ral selection, but it is doubtful if selection in the biologi- 

 cal sense is now a great factor. Man has so thoroughly upset 

 the ordinary selective mechanism in his populations that, in 

 spite of his high variability, no natural control over the pro- 

 gression is likely to operate as it once did. In the first place, 

 his social environment has become so complex and is evolv- 

 ing so rapidly as practically to cancel any hope of a desirable 

 genetic drift as far as our civilization is concerned. Civiliza- 

 tion is only 6,000 years old, a mere 250 or so generations in 

 man's reproduction; in such a limited succession little could 

 be expected. The Industrial Revolution, with all its vexing 

 problems of excessive nationalism and complex economies, 

 has taken place in less than 15 of man's generations. He- 

 redity is operating, but the results will not be measurable in 

 any time that our present societies are likely to last. Man 

 will most probably remain near his present biological level 

 for many millennia to come. He must find other means be- 

 sides natural genetic change to aid in his progress. As has 

 already been stated in another connection, a voluntary and 

 conscious control over his destiny is necessary. Practically 

 all who have studied the evolutionary record are in agree- 

 ment that the need is pressing, but opinions differ widely as 

 to the means. Some would advocate a return to separate 

 uniformity of type— resegregate the races, as though such a 

 program were mechanically possible, on the false assump- 

 tion that purity of race is desirable. Others would speed up 

 the melting of the races into one, disregarding the possibility 

 of disharmonious combinations. To some, religion is the 

 answer; to others, a wide variety of political control. The 

 problems will be considered later, but it is rather obvious 

 that at our present level of knowledge of the gene complex 

 in man and of the social sciences, little beyond personal bias 

 is involved in the proposals made. 



