2O2 Heredity and Social Progress 



posing it are the natural organs of men 

 adjusted. Capital is thus an environment 

 between men and nature, and through it go 

 the currents of expression or of impression 

 that fix men's relations to the physical world. 

 When a man is compared with a simple 

 organism, all these acquired organs must be 

 thought of as parts of the man, if his relations 

 to nature are to be pictured as simply as are 

 the relations between a simple organism and 

 its environment To apply to man the theory 

 of survival we must use a concept of man 

 that makes these acquired organs a part of 

 him. Elimination for the simple organism 

 means the cutting off or the crippling of some 

 natural organ, and thus the destruction of life. 

 With men it may mean merely the breaking 

 down of an acquired organ not affecting life. 

 A contest between men is decided when some 

 mechanism used by one party breaks down ; 

 it is not carried to a life and death struggle. 

 One party yields when its property is destroyed 

 or so put in danger that further contest is use- 

 less. In a war, for example, the real contest 

 now lies in the destruction of property. Mech- 



