Bearing on Man's Survival 79 



the nation, of the race ? You will remember how, in 

 the process of evolution, man's struggle for existence 

 became enlarged from one between individuals to a 

 struggle between communities, or aggregates of indi- 

 viduals. If, now, man finds that the general well-being 

 of the community, and the satisfaction of each individual 

 unit with the basic justice of the conditions of his lot in 

 life, aid in this struggle of communities against each 

 other, the principle of selection will naturally seize upon 

 any idea which fosters such general well-being, and 

 develop it. And what idea can foster such well-being 

 more than the intelligent idea that it is our sacred duty 

 to subordinate the interests of self to those of the 

 general? This is the spirit of the true soldier of the 

 commonwealth, the spirit of subordination. It is 

 small wonder that man should be impelled to make a 

 moral idea out of it, that he should even be compelled 

 to deify it. The idea is absolutely necessary to the 

 continued existence of his race, once he has been forced 

 into community life, or even into family life. And 

 that the general well-being of these aggregates of in- 

 dividuals tends to aid in the struggle for existence 

 between communities, I need only point for proof to 

 those nations of the modern world, as contrasted with 

 other nations where so wide-spread a well-being is not 

 the ideal, or at least has not yet been attained. This, 

 it seems to me, is the philosophy of our entire modern 

 civilization. It is the basis of our great attempted 

 liberal forward movement. It is the true meaning of 

 the experiment of democracy. It is the purpose of 



