development. The contention of Adam
Smith and his followers that the mere desire for gain would of itself
ensure adequate regulation of industry is certainly not true under
existing conditions. Natural law is not, as he assumed, always
beneficent in its operation. It is just as liable to produce harm as
benefit unless it is regulated, controlled and directed by appropriate
human agencies. It needs no argument to convince one that this is true
so far as the forces of the physical world are concerned. Gravitation,
steam and electricity contributed nothing to human progress until man
discovered the means whereby they could be harnessed and controlled.
Material civilization means nothing else but the development of control
over and the consequent utilization of the materials and forces of the
physical world. The important part played by mere human agencies is the
only feature that distinguishes civilization from barbarism. Everything
which in any way contributes to material progress augments the power of
man to control, modify and adapt his environment.

And though it may not be so obvious, this general principle is just as
true in the moral and spiritual world as in the physical. All progress,
material and moral, consists in the due subordination of natural to
human agencies. Laws, institutions and systems of government are in a
sense artificial creations, and must be judged in relation to the ends
which they have in view. They are good or bad according as they are well
or poorly adapted to social needs. Civilization in its highest sense
means much more than the mere mastery of mind over inanimate nature; it
implies a more or less effective social control over individual conduct.
Certain impulses, instincts and tendencies must be repressed; others
must be encouraged, strengthened, and developed.

It is a mistake to suppose that the unrestrained play of mere natural
forces ensures progress. Occasional advance is the outcome, but so also
is frequent retrogression. There is no scientific basis for the belief
in a natural order that everywhere and always makes for progress.
Competition or the struggle for existence ensures at most merely the
survival of the fittest; but survival of the fittest does not always
mean survival of the best. Competition is nature's means of adapting
life to its environment. If the environment is such as to give the more
highly organized individuals the advantage, progress is the result. But
if it