80 THE SHADOW OF THE WORLD’S FUTURE
When all the factors are adequately considered, it
becomes evident that a world-situation has arisen,
such that areas capable of carrying much larger popula-
tions cannot be allowed long to remain empty. It is,
of course, very foolish to shut one’s eyes to this. The
economics of the situation point clearly to two issues,
one for peoples living in dense aggregates of population,
the other for peoples living in sparsely populated areas.
For the former birth-control and emigration are
appropriate policies ; for the latter a high birth-rate
and immigration are needed. It may be taken as
certain that any dog-in-the-manger policy by a people,
for reasons that take no account of the general situa-
tion, will result, sooner or later, in that policy being
challenged, and perhaps deservedly so.
{t is desirable to review the nature of the factors
that are inimical and those that are favourable to
increase. But, before doing this, it is advisable to
examine the things which tend to limit, and those
which tend to assist the multiplication of a people.
They are of two kinds, one depending upon man’s
environment, the other upon his intrinsic characters.
To put this in another way, one set of factors are
cosmic and impersonal, the other set are human or
personal. Both may be described quite briefly, and
they are important. They are easily recognised.
As a physically insignificant denizen of the earth,
Man is dependent upon the energy, resources, and the
vicissitudes of the system of which his earth forms part.
He is dependent upon the energies radiating from the
sun, perhaps more generally those arriving from space,
and upon those also contained within the earth itself,
such, for example, as radio-activity, internal heat, etc.
He depends, too, upon the material of the earth itself.
These, his natural resources, are known only in part ;
it is not at all unlikely that his knowledge will be
rapidly increased concerning the various forms of