Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 6.djvu/540

 526

THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY

this connection would furnish the primary subdivisions of these states within the ethical series of our scheme (p. 524). Then the further questions follow, viz.: How, and to what extent, do the tributary civic, economic, and biologic interests further diversify these associations ? In other words, when we consider states with reference to the largest conception of the life-process that we can form, their total attitude toward the implications of this life-process is the primary criterion of classification. Then the specific activities within each state, with reference to subdivisions of human interests, as contained in the civic, eco- nomic, and biologic series, will furnish the differentia of the states and of their constituent associations. In each case, and at every step, the functioning of the group with reference to the ends that account for its existence is a matter of fact, and its determi- nation would settle the problem of its place and classification. To represent this proposition schematically we may vary the schedule above (p. 524). The general description of a national association on the basis which we propose would bring out its distinctive marks in a scale of subordination indicated as follows:

CHART OF NATIONAL TRAITS.

Type.

Class.

Order.

Species.

Subspecies.

Variety.

Ethic

R-U

fU

t*-U {

r"-u"

7-iii #i'i

r iv -w iv

Civic

N-Q

n-a

'-?'

n"-a li

ili -<7 m

iv -? iv

Economic. .

J-M

j-m

/-/'

j"-m"

/-|l

ji v -m iv

Ethnic

E-H

e-h

j-fr

e"-A"

&-#*

c"-h*

Anthropo- logic ....

A-D

a-d

a>-d l

oW

"'-</'

a"~-d iv

It goes without saying that a classification of states by means of this descriptive material would start with ethic traits, but the variations forming class, order, species, etc., would not