MARXISM AND DARWINISM. 37 



man must be compared, but with those that live so- 

 cially. The sociability of animals is a power that we 

 have not yet spoken of; a power that calls forth new 

 qualities among animals. 



It is an error to regard the struggle for existence 

 as the only power giving shape to the organic world. 

 The struggle for existence is the main power that 

 causes the origin of new species, but Darwin himself 

 knew full well that other powers co-operate which give 

 shape to the forms, habits, and peculiarities of animate 

 things. In his "Descent of Man" Darwin elaborately 

 treated sexual selection and showed that the competi- 

 tion of males for females gave rise to the gay colors of 

 the birds and butterflies and also to the singing voices 

 of birds. There he also devoted a chapter to social 

 living. Many illustrations on this head are also to be 

 found in Kropotkin's book, "Mutual Aid as a Factor 

 in Evolution." The best representation of the effects 

 of sociability are given in Kautsky's "Ethics and the 

 Materialistic Conception of History." 



When a number of animals live in a group, herd 

 or flock, they carry on the struggle for existence in 

 common against the outside world; within such a 

 group the struggle for existence ceases. The animals 

 which live socially no longer wage a struggle against 

 each other, wherein the weak succumb; just the re- 

 verse, the weak enjoy the same advantages as the 

 strong. When some animals have the advantage by 

 means of greater strength, sharper smell, or experi- 

 ence in finding the best pasture or in warding off the 

 enemy, this advantage does not accrue only to these 

 better fitted, but also to the entire group. This com- 

 bining of the animals' separate powers into one unit 

 gives to the group a new and much stronger power 



