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Proceedings of the Boyal Society 
§ 24. Physical Aspects of Population .-— might at first seem that 
all questions of population must he left to the biologist ; yet a cer- 
tain aspect of the subject must inevitably he taken here. For the 
processes of production not only machines hut “ producer automata ” 
(“hands”) were seen to he necessary; and the latter simply differ 
from the former in consuming ultimate products as fuel, &c. The 
portion of ultimate products thus consumed (which then return in 
fact to the category of mediate products, being hence often included 
under capital) varies per “ hand ” per unit time — and is accordingly 
known as the “ standard of comfort.” Increase or decrease of pro- 
duction (processes and standard of comfort being constant) must 
therefore he accompanied by proportional increase or decrease of 
producers, and hence the multiplication of population is seen to 
have a strictly physical aspect. In other words, the investment or 
withdrawal of capital in production involves a proportional stimulus, 
or check to population, and similarly with variations in processes or 
in standard of comfort. 
Appendix to Chapter I — Practical Physical Economics. 
§ 25. Practical Physical Economics.— On the plan already outlined 
of investigating the practical aspect of our subject, we should 
inquire in what directions do all the various observed social changes 
tend ? what modifications of them are consistent with physical law ? 
and by the systematisation of these obtain our ideals or utopias : 
but it needs no detailed investigation to see that all changes of pro- 
duction and consumption tend either towards increase or diminution 
of their results per unit time (even maintenance of production 
tending strictly to the former), every movement of man upon the 
globe acting in one or other of these directions ; hence alternative 
ideals of production appear at once, and admit of simple formulation 
into rules of practice : 
1. Maximise production ) „ ^ 
V ot ultimate products per unit time ; 
2. Minimise production j 
with subsequent similar rival ideals of consumption, 
(1) Maximise consumption ) ^ , . , , 
of ultimate products per unit time. 
(2) Minimise consumption j 
