Evolutionary Philosophy and the German War. 73 
be preserved at the expense of the less advanced, the less effective. It 
should win in the struggle for existence, and this struggle should occur 
precisely that the various types may be tested and the best not only 
preserved but put in position to impose its kind of social organization— 
its Kultur—on the others, or alternately, to destroy and replace them.” 
The so-called biological argument for the war, as it has shaped itself 
in the German mind, may, I believe, be formulated in three propositions. 
From these logically follows a conclusion, if the premises be granted, 
that abundantly justifies the German nation in carrying on the war for 
its own glory, and in taking measures of any nature whatever—no 
matter how horrible—which would make them dominant over the rest 
of the world. These propositions are the following: 
1. In the evolution of any group of organisms natural selection is 
the chief, if not the exclusive factor in bringing about progress. Nat- 
ural selection is effective because there must always be a struggle, either 
between individuals of the same group for space, food, ete., or between 
different groups for favorable living conditions, or between the indi- 
viduals in question and the forces of nature, as climate, flood, ete. In 
the struggle for existence the individuals best fitted for the conditions 
of their environment will be selected to carry on the race and their char- 
acters preserved. 
2. The principle of natural selection is applicable to the human race, 
to the nations of the world, just as it is to groups of lower animals, 
and there is to be expected a struggle for existence between the various 
nations. War is the usual form of struggle, and it offers an opportunity 
for the best among the nations to come to the front at the expense of 
the other less fortunate ones. There is something in the innate char- 
acter of nations which finally makes them irreconcilable, and in the long 
run the principle of mutual aid, which is applicable to ameliorate the 
struggle within groups, cannot act to diminish the realness or the sever- 
ity of the inevitable struggle. 
3. The German nation is the mightiest and greatest nation upon 
the earth, and its social and political development has outstripped that 
of any other people. Since this is true, anything which operates to 
deprive Germany of her rightful place of dominance among the powers 
of the earth is wrong and cannot be allowed to stand. War is a worthy 
occupation for the German people, for it creates an opening by which 
their dominant traits are given the opportunity for full expression and 
development. The policy of terrorism is justified, for it aids the selected 
German nation to maintain itself over its weaker neighbors, and along 
with the natural results of war, it serves to remove the inferior and 
unfit peoples from the contest and thus make more room for the better 
fitted survivors. ° 
