CHAPTER XVI 

 THE RESULT 



OUR leading question has been : How is 

 the social surplus of an epoch transformed 

 into permanent conditions and mental traits ? 

 This, as we now see it, divides into several 

 questions, the answers to which must conform. 

 Does progress start from a deficit or from a 

 surplus? Does genius come by additions or 

 differentiation ? Does education improve natu- 

 ral or acquired characters ? Does reform come 

 through strengthening the strong or by help- 

 ing the weak ? 



In all this the concrete problem really is: 

 Does progress start from a deficit or from a 

 surplus ? Current biology and classical eco- 

 nomics unite in making a deficit the initial 

 force in progress. It is well known that Dar- 

 win took his clew from Malthus, but it is not 

 often perceived how intimately the pessimism 



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