Destructive Rivalry i77 



disunited tribes and clans, even in that land of abundance 

 where they had free opportunity for swarming and for 

 nation building. 



And we see further that these races of death dealing, self- 

 asserting, strong armed, fearless warriors disappear in ex- 

 tinction, while the law-making, peace-loving, neighbor-lov- 

 ing, altruists, survive. Even though their altruism is 

 imperfect it is in comparison with aggression the greater 

 power. But obviously the offensive conduct of aggressors 

 impels even peace-loving peoples to fight in self-defense, 

 because purely altruistic conduct in the face of oppression is 

 as disastrous as weakness or incompetence; and then the 

 accumulated resources, the mutual support, and the con- 

 sciousness of right, give them overwhelming advantage. In 

 fact we see the most successful aggression illustrated when 

 an altruistic race is roused to warlike action by necessity; 

 or even when ill-judged impulse leads it into false ambitions. 

 But these temporary departures from the habitual conduct 

 do not conceal the fact that it is in the methods of peace 

 that strength is accumulated and in those of war it is dissi- 

 pated and wasted. 



