240 ADAPTATION AND PROGRESS 



This leads our author to discuss the distinction between a pain 

 and a pleasure economy, the former based on necessity of struggle 

 for existence carried on under the dominating impulse of fear, the 

 latter based on life lived under conditions favorable to survival, 

 relatively free from competition, resulting in abundance of sur- 

 plus energy which manifests itself in motor activity, accompanied 

 by the motor sensation of pleasure. 



Under the former economy human institutions have as their 

 basis the fear of enemies and pain, 1 causes lying in the environ- 

 ment. But " the development of human society has gradually 

 eliminated from the environment the sources of pain. The 

 civilized world has been freed from dangerous beasts and reptiles, 

 and the growth of large nations has cut off the danger of invasion 

 by barbarous and warlike human foes. . . . The sensory powers 

 have free play in analyzing this material into its elements, and 

 in reorganizing these elements into valuable goods. These 

 changes make a pleasure economy possible and destroy the con- 

 ditions which make the subjective environment of the old pain 

 economy a necessity." 2 This transition is perilous and has 

 caused the downfall of many nations owing to their inability to 

 make a readjustment. 



The human race is now, he holds, in a state of transition 

 from a pain to a pleasure economy. 3 Under an ideal pleasure 

 economy " there would be two prominent groups of motives, — • 

 the one prompting actions which increase the pleasure of the in- 

 dividual, and the other prompting actions which promote the 

 progress of the race. . . . Each tendency to get pleasure at the 

 expense of social welfare would be counteracted by the formation 

 of some ideal or social institution with which would be coupled 

 impulses prompting to their realization. The requisites for 

 survival would be those social impulses which preserve individuals 

 from temptation, disease and crime. The number of ideals and 

 institutions would be gradually increased until their united effect 

 would be strong enough to determine the choices of individuals 

 and make their conduct conform to the interests of the race." 4 



1 Theory of Social Forces, p. 75. * Ibid., p. 80. 



2 Ibid., p. 76. * Ibid., p. 84. 



