LAWS CONTROLLING HUMAN SOCIAL HEREDITY 341 



be increased by an increasing care taken of him by- 

 central authority. The evident drift of social evo- 

 lution is to give to each individual a larger share in 

 the good things of the world, either by legislation 

 or as the result of modified social conditions. But 

 although this will be the general trend of evolution, 

 it will not be uninterrupted. 



3. Social evolution has not come from the con- 

 stant advance of any one principle, but as the result 

 of a seesaw. Practically every advance in the con- 

 dition of man has come from struggle. Constant 

 development in any one line has always meant stag- 

 nation. It is only as opposing ideas and opposing 

 beliefs and interests are brought into contact with 

 each other that social evolution has advanced. Ri- 

 valry and conflicting interests are necessary for an 

 advance. If we hope for the future advance of the 

 race, we must not aim for the cessation of struggle, 

 for this would mean an end of progress. It has been 

 the conflict of centralization and individualism, the 

 opposition of altruism and egoism, that has caused 

 the advance of man to higher and higher grades of 

 civilization. Contests alone can settle world prob- 

 lems and place man on a higher plane. Without them 

 no great questions could be definitely answered, and 

 the race would live a life of stagnation. In these 

 contests many will suffer, but the results will be 

 greater organization, greater value of the individ- 

 ual, greater accomplishment by the race, in short, 

 progress. 



4. We may be sure that the family or that race 

 that fails to rear abundant offspring will be dis- 

 tanced by those whose reared children are numerous. 

 Race suicide and family suicide have been and still 



