ETHICS AND ECONOMICS. 773 



in generalizing all the conditions until a more complete knowl- 

 edge of them enables us to make our volitions count as a factor in 

 determining the result. In other words, simplifying the problem 

 in the latter case does not lead to true conceptions, as in the 

 former, for the reason that in the social organism the interdepend- 

 ence of all the parts makes it essential that we study them in 

 combination, as by the elimination of any that are imxDortant we 

 get another organism, and not the one we are studying. 



In the physical sciences, also, exact prevision is possible, be- 

 cause the forces considered are permanent and reliable, and never 

 self -directing or animated by a conscious purpose. But, in the 

 social sciences, some of the forces concerned are, within limits, 

 self-directing and self-conditioned. Hence, exact prevision be- 

 comes impossible ; but what we lose in this way is in part counter- 

 balanced by our own ability to modify phenomena through voli- 

 tion and by an exact knowledge of other conditions, so as to bring 

 about a desired result. 



We have next to note a difference in the meaning we should 

 ascribe to the " survival of the fittest " when we use the phrase 

 in connection with social growth. It is apparent that what we 

 should now have in mind is the survival of the socially fit. 

 Adaptation of organism to environment means harmony with 

 the conditions of life which surround it, and social growth is 

 made possible only by the development of those qiialities of mind 

 and body which are both a cause and a consequence of living in 

 society. It is obvious that such traits of character as are the out- 

 come of a fierce struggle for individual existence would necessa- 

 rily hinder, if not entirely prevent, social development, and that 

 the fact that society is the prevailing form of human organiza- 

 tion indicates that along with the fierceness, the intelligence, and 

 the skill which past struggles have produced in man, there have 

 also grown up certain moral traits which must have been even 

 more powerful in determining the character of the social organ- 

 ism, than their opposites. 



For the purpose in hand, we desire to call attention to the ne- 

 cessity of basing our political economy on moral rather than 

 on selfish instincts. Powerful though the latter be, they are more 

 or less anti-social in their nature, and therefore would not, of 

 themselves, favor economic growth. That depends for its devel- 

 opment on social growth, and it is only when the selfish instincts 

 are held in due check and subordination to the higher impulses 

 that the latter is possible. Strength, keenness, and shrewdness 

 are important factors in determining the survival of the indi- 

 vidual, and, in so far as they do this, they favor also the survival 

 of the race. But of more importance still are those traits which, 

 by enabling men to live together in peace, render possible the 



