140 THE SOCIAL THEORY OF GEORG SIMMEL determined by that common bond, but merely by the for- mal exigencies of the large group. This numerical subdi- vision of large groups is a schematic, formal, and mechani- cal type of social organization. It makes possible the combination of smaller units into larger ones until social differentiation and integration shall have given the large group a unified organic structure instead of a mechanical unity. The numerically defined subgroup may have been formed out of small organic circles, but its teleological significance does not lie in its own structure, but in its ex- ternal relationships to the large group. Such an organiza- tion makes it possible to maintain the character and the structure of the parts independently of the growth of the whole. The central administration deals only with ele- ments of identical sociological quality, and an extension of the group merely means a greater number of elements. This type of social organization finds its most complete expression in an army. Increase or decrease in size can be obtained by simply adding or subtracting a number of numerically fixed sociological forms. For that reason it has always been used in a more or less pure form for all warlike purposes. Nomadic peoples on a campaign of con- quest have no other stable social content available as a basis for organization and must resort to a formal principle which will serve their purpose. The numerical principle is the most advantageous one and infinitely superior to the kinship organization in that it is less likely to lead to dis- ruption through blood feuds. After the conquest, the nu- merical principle will often be projected into the adminis- tration of the conquered territory until a more factual or organic principle can supplant it. The advantages of such a subdivision on the numerical principle hold, of course, for all magnitudes and are inde-