In the lives of individuals as in the life of societies, when the means of subsistence, that is to say, the physical basis of existence, are assured, the law of solidarity takes precedence over the law of the struggle for existence, and when they are not assured, the contrary is true. Among savages, infanticide and parricide are not only permitted but are obligatory and sanctioned by religion if the tribe inhabits an island where food is scarce (for instance, in Polynesia), and they are immoral and criminal acts on continents where the food supply is more abundant and certain.[19] Just so, in our present society, as the majority of individuals are not sure of getting their daily bread, the struggle for life, or "free competition," as the individualists call it, assumes more cruel and more brutal forms. Just as soon as through collective ownership every individual shall be assured of fitting conditions of existence, the law of solidarity will become preponderant. When in a family financial affairs run smoothly and prosperously, harmony and mutual good-will prevail; as soon as poverty makes its appearance, discord and struggle ensue. Society as a whole shows us the picture on a large scale. A better social organization will insure universal harmony and mutual good-will. This will be the achievement of socialism, and, to repeat, for this, the fullest and most fruitful interpretation of the inexorable natural laws discovered by Darwinism, we are indebted to socialism. FOOTNOTES: [13] Such socialists are LABUSQUIERE, LANESSAU, LORIA And COLAJANNI. [14] NOVICOW, _Les luttes entre societes, leurs phases successives_, Paris, 1893. LERDA, _La lotta per la vita_, in _Pensiero italiano_, Milan, Feb. and March, 1894. [15] I regret that M. Loria, ordinarily so profound and acute, has here been deceived by appearances. He has pointed out this pretended contradiction in his "Economic Foundations of Society" (available in English, Tr.). He has been completely answered, in the name of the school of scientific criminal anthropology, by M. RIVIERI DE ROCCHI, _Il diritto penale e un'opera recente di Loria in Scuola positiva nella giurisprudenza penale_ of Feb. 15, 1894, and by M. LOMBROSO, in _Archivio di psichiatria e scienza penali_, 1894, XIV, fasc. C. [16] ENRICO FERRI, Sociologie criminelle (French translation), 1893, Chaps. I. and II.