CHAPTER I 



THE PROBLEM 



THE social surplus is a part of the annual 

 produce of nations. It is concretely embodied 

 in goods which perish, and must be replaced 

 by renewed effort in each epoch. Nature aids 

 man freely, but not in increasing ratios. The 

 amount of the natural surplus varies, and there 

 are resultant periods of plenty and of scarcity ; 

 but a static population ever presses against 

 this limit, and leaves no room for progress, 

 which comes only after conscious effort, and 

 brings with it the social surplus. 



Man, in his endeavor to improve his con- 

 dition, faces a law of diminishing returns. In 

 each epoch the purely natural conditions are a 

 little worse than they were in the preceding, 

 and society would decline, unless men made 

 greater exertions. We picture this in a large 

 way when we say that the sun is the source of 

 all energy, and that the energy steadily wanes. 



