ibutions or are directed toward mere money
interests. In the case of the business corporation, especially, the
basis of organization of members is exclusively an interest in the
dividends, so exclusively that it is a matter of entire indifference to
the individual what the society (enterprise) actually produces.

The independence of the person of the concrete objects, in which he has
a mere money interest, is reflected, likewise, in his independence, in
his personal relations, of the other individuals with whom he is
connected by an exclusive money interest. This has produced one of the
most effective cultural formations--one which makes it possible for
individuals to take part in an association whose objective aim it will
promote, use, and enjoy without this association bringing with it any
further personal connection or imposing any further obligation. Money
has brought it about that one individual may unite himself with others
without being compelled to surrender any of his personal freedom or
reserve. That is the fundamental and unspeakably significant difference
between the medieval form of organization which made no difference
between the association of men as men and the association of men as
members of an organization. The medieval form or organization united
equally in one circle the entire business, religious, political, and
friendly interests of the individuals who composed it.

III. INVESTIGATIONS AND PROBLEMS

1. Biological Competition

The conception of competition has had a twofold origin: in the notions
(a) of the struggle for existence and (b) of the struggle for
livelihood. Naturally, then, the concept of competition has had a
parallel development in biology and in economics. The growth of the
notion in these two fields of thought, although parallel, is not
independent. Indeed, the fruitful process of interaction between the
differing formulations of the concept in biology and economics is a
significant illustration of the cross-fertilization of the sciences.
Although Malthus was a political economist, his principle of population
is essentially biological rather than economic. He is concerned with the
struggle for existence rather than for livelihood. Reacting against the
theories of Condorcet and of Godwin concerning the natural equality,
perfectability, and inevitable progress of man, Malthus in 1798 stated
the dismal law that population tends to increase in geometrical
progression and subsiste