CHAPTER II 

 THE LAW OF CONCORD IN NATURE 



La nature aime les croisements. E. FOURIER. 



N the previous chapter I have tried to show that there exists 

 o close a parallel between the Economics governing the growth 

 f the organic world and those governing the progress of human 

 ivilisation as to justify the concept of " organic civilisation," 

 nd the allied biological concept of " duties " in the way of 

 ivision of labour and of community of life. 



In particular I showed a great " civilising " force in Nature 

 pringing from, and associated with, Symbiosis, i.e., the pheno- 

 aenon of systematic biological co-operation. Symbiosis we found 

 o be the source of accumulation of wholesome physiological 

 apital which is essential to the progress of organic life ; so much 

 o that we felt justified in drawing the inference which is here 

 o be further fortified that in Nature as in human life the best 

 esults are achieved by a system of wholesome, independent, 

 hough interdependent, labour. 



We found that the existence of numerous symbiotic " trade " 

 ystems in the world of life acts as so much " pressure " in the 

 lirection of a further and general advance. I spoke in this 

 xmnection of the principle of Symbiogenesis, meaning thereby 

 he direction given to evolution by the long-continued operation 

 )f systematic biological reciprocity in the production of higher 

 orms of life and in the more complete development of beneficial 

 elations between them. 



The success of Symbiosis was found to be determined by the 

 :ompleteness and efficiency of reciprocal arrangements, of give 

 md take, and by the absence of depredation. It was also 

 emphasised that Symbiosis primarily subserves a quasi-economic 

 >urpose in the natural world, that such economic association 

 is Symbiosis primarily entails, in course of time, and with growing 

 efficiency, conduces to pronounced physiological results, affecting 

 .ex, structure, status and biological correlations. Stress was 



