44 Of Sijstems of EqiMlitij, continued. Bk. iii. 



These observations are certainly not of a nature 

 "to produce conviction in those who have studied 

 the human character ; but they are, to a certain 

 degree, plausible, and do not admit of so definite 

 and decisive an answer as to make the proposal 

 for an experiment in modern times utterly absurd 

 and unreasonable. 



The peculiar advantage of the other argument 

 against systems of equality, that which is founded 

 on the principle of population, is, that it is not 

 only still more generally and uniformly con- 

 firmed by experience, in every age and in every 

 part of the world, but it is so pre-eminently clear 

 in theory, that no tolerably plausible answer can 

 be given to it ; and, consequently, no decent pre- 

 tence can be brought forward for an experiment. 

 The affair is a matter of the most simple calcula- 

 tion applied to the known properties of land, and 

 the proportion of births to deaths which takes 

 place in almost every country village. There are 

 many parishes in England, where, notwithstand- 

 ing the actual difficulties attending the support of 

 a family which must necessarily occur in every well- 

 peopled country, and making no allowances for 

 omissions in the registers, the births are to the 

 deaths in the proportion of 2 to 1 . This propor- 

 tion, with the usual rate of mortality in country 

 places, of about 1 in 50, would continue doubling 

 the population in 41 years, if there were no emi- 

 grations from the parish. But in any system of 

 equality, either such as that proposed by Mr. 

 Owen, or in parochial partnerships in land, not 



