144 ROOT MATTERS IN SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC PROBLEMS 



that tliis constant " association of poverty witli progress is 

 the great enigma of otir times." Is it true, as this writer 

 confidently affirms, that with all the advantages which man 

 has gained in his increased and increasing command over the 

 forces of nature, our present civilisation has by its customs- 

 and provisions barred the effectual distribution of accumu- 

 lated wealth ; and the only effect produced is that of making 

 the rich richer and the poor poorer ? 



This cannot be answered effectively without some enquiry 

 into that form of wealth which constitutes man's chief 

 satisfactions. 



Are these sufficient in the aggregate to suffice for all, if 

 proper means for effecting distribution were employed,, 

 supposing such means were possible ? Or is the aggregate 

 supply of primary wants insufficient to provide all needs, even 

 were the most thorough means devised for its distribution ? 



Wants of Man. 

 The satisfaction of the wants of man is the mainspring of 

 all his activities. Wants are interminable. Some affect his 

 very existence, while others only concern his greater degree of" 

 comfort or happiness. In all enquiries into matters deeply 

 concerning the existence and welfare of man it is well,, 

 therefore, to keep these fundamental distinctions clearly in 

 view ; for not a few of our misconceptions arise from a failure- 

 on the part of social and political economists to establish a. 

 satisfactory classification of wants according to their varying 

 importance. 



Broadly speaking, these may be divided into three great 

 groups : — 



(1.) Wants Essential to Life Itself. 



(2.) Wants Essential to Comfort. 



(3.) Luxurious Wants. 



Whatever eccentricities may be exhibited by isolated 

 individuals at times, it is unmistakable that the fierceness or~ 

 intensity of the struggle for wants among communities is 

 determined by the nature of the wants ; and, invariably, sO' 

 long as the reason of man is preserved, the greater intensity 

 of the struggle — beginning with the most important — is in. 

 the order before given, viz.: — 

 Wants essential to — 



(1.) Life. 

 (2.) Comfort. 

 (3.) Luxury. 

 Man can, and, unfortunately, the masses of men are often, 

 obliged to, exist without the enjoyment of luxurious wants. 

 He may even be deprived of all wants beyond the first group- 



