THE ORGANIC CONCEPT OF SOCIETY 133 
He finds communism and socialism entirely inadequate forms of 
social organization and rule by an aristocracy of talent at present 
impracticable so is driven back to the ideal of Fraternity under- 
standing by that “ the recognition that the true ideal must be 
founded rather on the notion of a readjustment of the hearts of 
the citizens.” ! 
This introduces a conception of adaptation which may be 
termed active moral, i. e., the effort to adjust our lives progres- 
sively to our ever-advancing ideal, and to bring our fellow-men 
also into harmony with that ideal. 
Gustav Le Bon (1841- _—s=~) 
The Psychology of Peoples 
We have considered the development of the concept of organism 
as applied to society in the social theories of Schaffle and Mac- 
kenzie, the one making his approach largely through biology, the 
other through philosophy, and both emphasizing the fact that 
the bond of social union is primarily psychical, the former bring- 
ing into prominence common ideals, symbols, traditions and the 
expression of these in institutions, the other, the rational needs of 
individuals; but we are still left with the vague social goal of 
self-realization, either of individuals as with Mackenzie or of the 
world-force as with Schaffle. We turn now to some writers who 
have endeavored to work out a clear concept of society as a 
psychical organism. 
Le Bon in his Psychology of Peoples summarizes the conclu- 
sions of elaborate investigations carried on by him covering a 
period of years and published in several volumes, dealing with the 
fundamental characteristics of various peoples considered as 
psychical unities. He shows how impossible is a racial classifica- 
tion based on descent, and how unsatisfactory is one based on 
physiological characteristics. A race as he conceives it, is 
primarily a social group which by a common physical and 
psychical heredity develops a distinct character or “soul.” In 
early historical times this soul did not extend beyond the family, 
1 Introduction to Social Philosophy, p. 290. 
