[Footnote 9: The New Sydenham Society, vol. clvi, section viii, p. 12.] [Footnote 10: Charles S. Devas, _Political Economy_, 1901, p. 191.] [Footnote 11: _Revue Pratique d'Apologétique_, September 15, 1914.] [Footnote 12: _Man and Superman_, p. 195.] [Footnote 13: By rationalism we mean a denial of God and of responsibility for conduct to a Higher Being.] [Footnote 14: Quoted by W.H.S. Jones, _Malaria and Greek History_ 1909, p95.] CHAPTER II THE FALSE DEDUCTIONS CONCERNING POVERTY From the original root-fallacy Malthus argued that poverty, prostitution, war, disease, and a high death-rate are necessary in order to keep down the population: and from the same false premises birth controllers are now arguing that a high birth-rate causes (1) poverty, and (2) a high death-rate. The steps in the argument whereby these amazing conclusions are reached are as follows. Before the death-rate can be lowered the social conditions of the people must be improved; if social conditions are improved there will be an enormous increase of population in geometrical progression; the food supply of the country and even of the world cannot be increased at the same rate; and therefore there will be greater poverty and a higher death-rate unless the birth-rate is lowered. Thus Malthusians argue. In view of the false premises on which their argument is based, it is not surprising to find that their deductions are erroneous and contain many economic and statistical fallacies, to the consideration of which we may now devote our attention. Section 1. BIRTH-RATE AND POVERTY The first false deduction of birth controllers is that a high birth-rate, by intensifying the struggle for existence, increases poverty. In order to bolster up this contention, Malthusians quote three arguments concerning (a) famines, (b) abundance, and (c) wages, and each of these arguments is fallacious. (a) _Famines_ The prevalence of famines is quoted as a proof of reckless overpopulation. Now a famine may occur from several different causes, some within and others beyond the control of man, but a failure of crops has never yet been caused by pressure on the soil. On the contrary, famine is less likely to arise in a country whose soil is intensively cultivated, because intensive cultivation means a variety of crops, and therefore less risk of all the crops failing. Moreover, during the past century famine has occurred in Bengal, where population is dense; in Ireland, where population is moderate, and in Eastern Russia, where population is scanty. The existence of famine is therefore no proof that a country is overpopulated, although it may indicate that a country is badly governed or under-developed. (b) _Abundance_