The Dominion. SATURDAY, MAY 10, 1913. "THE FATE OF EMPIRES."

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1746, 10 May 1913, Page 4

The Dominion. SATURDAY, MAY 10, 1913. "THE FATE OF EMPIRES."

A book which ought to make people reconsider some current opinions on fundamental social problems has just been published by Messrs. Longmans, Gkeen and Co. It takes the form of an inquiry into the stability of civilisation, and is entitled The Fate of Empires, its author being Dr. A. J. Hubbard, whose purpose is to indicate the reasons why we see Tho giant forms of empires 011 their way To niin: 0110 by one, They lower, und they are gone. Dit. Hubbard goes right to the heart of the problem in the preface when ho states that the turning-point in past civilisations has been marked again and again by the appearance of Socialism coincidently with a failure of the birth-rate. In order to justify this assertion, and to explain its underlying causes, the book opens with a survey of the antecedents of civilisation and the development of life on earth from its simplest forms to man. The first method of life is reflex action, that is power of involuntary response to an external stimulus; the creaturo ha3llo choice, but is entirely at the mercy of its surroundings. The next stago is instinctive existence, knowing nothing beyond the gratification of inborn impulses; and from this stage is developed the method of reason—the power of drawing inferences and the conscious and deliberate pursuit of interest. The great problem of life is to bring about a reconciliation between the interests of the individual and the welfare of the race; to bring to bear on the individual such influences as will lead him to secure for the race a future in which he can have no part or lot. Failure to do this means extinction. As far as the instinct stage is concerned, the continuance of the race is assured by the unfailing operation of inborn qualities which associate that which is essential to race survival with the gratification of immediate impulses. No judgment is left to the individual, and as a consequence the animal world brings forth its kind in numbers that far exceed the limits of subsistence. This method involves the severest competition for existence and enormous waste of li'fe. \Vhen reason—the power of drawing inferences, which has placed man at the head of the animal world — appeared on the scene, it was inevitable that this competition and waste should receive attention. In the light of pure reason, t.he first consideration must be the interests of the individual and society (that is the sum of individuals existing at any given time), and so the supreme power passes from tho race (the future generations) to the individual and the present. Reason, thinking only of present comfort, profoundly modifies the stress of competition aucl reproduction. Something deeper than reason is necessary to produce, the self-denial required for the nurture of children, to whom the future belongs, and in the absence of this "something" two tendencies make their appearance—tho limitation of reproductive activity, and tho undermining of the competitive system, the one in the interest of the individual and the other in the interest of society. Thus we have, according to 1 Dr. Hubbard's argument, the synchronous appearance of socialistic phenomena and a falling birth-rate. The interest of the individual and that of tho race cannot be reconciled by reason alone. Socialism strives to identify the interests of the individual with that of society, and from the point of view of unadulterated rationalism, it is not desirable in a socialistic society to permit more than an irreducible minimum of reproduction on the part of the individuals composing it. _ So_ it appears that the waste of individual life under the method of instinct gives way to the sacrifice Of the future race under the method of reason. 1)r. Huiibaud asserts that a civilisation which rests solely upon a rational or utilitarian basis cannot bo permanent, and the only remedy is the discovery of som'c method which will disclose new powers and motives that will bo of racial significance. This must be some influence which is supra-rational, that is to say, super-imposed over reason without loss of anything serviceable in reason. It must produce an environment which extends beyond the limits of society—in fact, it must be unlimited. "Geocentric" is the term used by Dn. HunrurtD to define tlie sphere of reason which is limited to earthly conditions and the present, whereas the supra-rational method, which brings lis into relation with the universe and the infinite is termed 'VoMtiocenlnc." We now reach a hither guiding principle I hnn ' interest—the principle ot r-.er\??:e. which gives life n new Mjrnilieance and "if we may clefltte r?|lsirtti »* Miijfrjous vplftf.Kiri the infinite, and recognise in scr-

vice the expression of that conscious relation, what else is this service than a method of religious motive." Herein we get the justification for that self-sacrifice of a rational being which competition and reproduction involve, and which cannot be justified on purely rational grounds. This does not mean a reversion io the unlimited competition and struggle of the socially-discrcdited method of instinct, nor dues it imply a purely non-competitive socialistic system which would abolish' individual liberty and moral responsibility. The principles of both service and freedom are safeguarded. The selective power of the method of religious motive enables it to retain all that is of value in each of the other methods, and to preserve the interests of the race without unduly sacrificing those of the individual. Marriage is the means for the performance of the racial duty of the individual, and it becomes the office of society to maintain the family, which is the link that joins the living of the present with the_ living of the futuro. On tho family depends the vitality of any civilisation. Owing to limits of space, we have had to confine ourselves to a broad outline of Dr. Hubbard's argument, but we may add that lie supports it with a most interesting sketch of the story of the Chinese nation and of the fall of tho Roman Empire. We, may in a future article deal with this part of Dr. Hubbard's book. .