66 HEREDITY AND SOCIETY 



population always tended to outrun its means of sub- 

 sistence, and could only be kept in check by famine, 

 pestilence or war. Now, while it is true, as Malthus 

 thought, that the produce of the earth, as won by 

 savage man, increases slowly, the produce of civilized 

 industry may grow much faster faster indeed than 

 the increase in the number of men. In modern 

 industry a comparatively dense population is more 

 efficient than one more scattered. There is less waste 

 in communication, transport and the distribution of 

 power. More improvements in industry are made, 

 owing to the closer contact of mind with mind. Hence 

 with two populations of the same quality, a dense 

 one is more efficient than a more scattered one, and 

 the means of subsistence grow faster, sometimes 

 much faster, than the population. The population of 

 England has increased largely in the last century, 

 but the growth in wealth has much more than kept 

 pace with it. By natural energy and ability, English- 

 men have been able to develop the resources of the 

 country, and so to organize industry that, besides 

 supporting a much larger population, they have in- 

 vested an enormous and constantly growing capital 

 at home and abroad. 



The real heart of the problem lies in the quality 

 of the population. Were the whole population of 

 England suddenly to become feeble-minded, or even 

 were there a distinct drop in the average intelligence, 

 the nation would cease to use effectively the present 

 organization of industry, and would be unable to 

 improve it to keep pace with " the times." The 

 population would then be too great for the means of 



