Social Environniciit 



varied, and hence more difficult to analyze or 

 understand. The " primitive simplicity " Is 

 gone. In races living In savagery or barbarism 

 all the members seem to be much alike In work 

 and pursuit, In aim and purpose, In material and 

 mental possessions. All Is monotonous. This 

 may or may not be quite true. But In our social 

 life to-day there are vast differences In material, 

 physical, moral, and religious endowments; In 

 handicraft, trade, profession; in station and 

 rank; in wealth, learning, and power. 



These great Inequalities seize our attention 

 and occupy our minds. Thoughtful writers em- 

 phasize their unfairness or Injustice, and plead 

 eloquently for equality of opportunity at least. 

 They compare the poverty and straitened life 

 of great masses with the wealth and luxury of 

 the few. But doctors of sociology still disagree 

 as to whether accumulation of great wealth by 

 a few Individuals Is harmful or beneficent to so- 

 ciety. We all recognize that anything like equal- 

 ity of wealth must be the attainment of a far 

 distant future. Most of us readily recognize 

 that society wnll not be greatly improved by 

 those who wait for perfect conditions to aid 

 them to make perfect men. Some have already 



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