SOCIAL AND WORLD ASPECTS 241 



certainly stands to its credit. It does not follow, 

 however, that the law is quantitatively accurate as 

 stated, and it is in this direction that it has broken 

 down in recent 3'ears. In the meantime the law of. 

 diminishing returns has been recognised as applying 

 both to agriculture and industry. 



The whole problem of population has recently been 

 discussed by Carr-Saunders (1922) in a broadminded 

 and restrained manner, and we may first give a short 

 summary of the facts and arguments he presents. He 

 points out that the fecundity of man has increased 

 in comparison with that of primitive peoples. In this 

 man agrees with cultivated plants and domesticated 

 animals generally. Civilised man creates a reserve, 

 not only for himself, but for his domesticated animals 

 and plants, which enables them to function as a more 

 prolific reproducing mechanism. This increased 

 fecundity is due to more food and better conditions 

 of life. In primitive races the number of children 

 reared in a family is usually two to four, or sometimes 

 six. Some tribes bring up only two children per 

 famil}'. Artificial abortions are frequent, and in- 

 fanticide universal. Child mortality is high, owing 

 to the hard conditions and lack of suitable food. 

 The period of lactation often lasts two years or more, 

 sometimes five or six years, or even longer. Under 

 these conditions births are fewer than in many 

 civilised families, and survivals fewer still, the popula- 

 tion tending to remain stationary in numbers over 

 long periods.* 



The view of Malthus that the means of subsistence 

 can only increase in arithmetical ratio, has long been 

 disproved by statistics. On this point his argument 

 collapses, for it is seen that the arithmetical ratio 

 only holds so long as there is no advance in skill 



* Darwin first directed attention to these and similar facts in 

 his Descent of Man. 



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