Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 2.djvu/895

 REVIEWS 879

The final formulation of the law of population Nitti states as fol- lows : "In every society where individuality is highly developed, and where the process of socialization has not destroyed all individual activ- ity : in every society where wealth is highly subdivided, and where the social causes of inequality are eliminated by an elevated form of coop- eration ; fecundity will be kept in equilibrium with subsistence, and the rhythmic variations of demographic evolution will give no cause of terror to humanity."

After saying that this "scientific law of population" gives the mor- tal stroke to Malthus' treatise and to the theory of the classical econo- mists, he writes : "But we hasten to add that, even when Malthusianism has been completely abandoned ; when his principles, which appear to be as solid as granite, have been destroyed and reduced to powder under the dissolving action of the truth ; when the doctrine we have just described shall be recognized by all as true; and when society shall have accepted the principle of cooperation, even then the work of Mal- thus will appear worthy of the highest admiration." The grounds for this admiration of an empty bubble are not stated.

Fr. Nitti's book is very learned and clearly written, and reading it is rendered a pleasant task on account of its interesting style.

Nitti makes a valuable contribution to the discussion of causes of extreme poverty. Proletarian excesses are by no means the only causes of distress. Parasitic children of extravagance and luxury must bear their share of the responsibility, and the unequal distribution of the product of industry is admitted by all economic writers who advocate cooperation. In placing emphasis on the defects of the economic sys- tem, and in calling attention to the vices of luxury Nitti has brought a neglected and unwelcome truth into strong light.

C. R. HENDERSON.

The New Obedience.. A plea for social submission to Christ. By WILLIAM BAYARD HALE, Mission Priest of the Church of Our Savior, Middleboro, Massachusetts. New York : Longmans, Green & Co., 1897. Pp. 191.

A FASCINATING, trenchant, searching volume. The ideals and modes of reasoning are mediaeval, monastic, and scholastic; the illus- trations have the freshness, vividness, and force which keen observation and a sympathetic heart give to the author's style. The chapters will