The fact remains that if the price that humanity will have to pay for learning to regulate its over-multiplication is to be a second world war—the much talked of war, this time, between East and West—it is doubtful if there will be left a civilization capable of learning the lesson. It seems worth while, therefore, to try to put the principle into effect before we are taught its necessity in such a way. To this there are at present two obstacles, namely the nature of certain religions and the criterion of national evaluation that is still prevalent.
The first obstacle rests in the fact that two powerful religions have not adapted themselves to the changes of human relationships imposed by the unification through science of the human race. These religions remain with their eyes fixed either on the next world or on the exclusive welfare of the tribe.
By the Catholic Church a mode of behaviour is imposed calculated to achieve salvation in the next world irrespective of its effects on this one. Omitting from consideration, as probably unjust, the motive of wishing to increase the number of its adherents, with which the Roman Catholic Church has been charged by reason of its attitude towards Birth Control, there remains a motive arising from a theory of a relation between salvation in the next world and certain modes of behaviour in this. Contraception is condemned because it is held to incur damnation. It is not condemned because it leads to social injustice, to wars, to human suffering. The point is that it is still condemned in spite of its leading away from these things. It is therefore devoutly to be hoped that in the event of the population of any Catholic country at any time in the future expanding to proportions that threaten the peace of the world, the Pope will see his way to modify the Church’s attitude in the matter before it is too late. Failure to do so would result in the depressing spectacle of the leader of the religion of ‘Peace and Goodwill’ among men deliberately refusing to take a step to avert war.
The second type of religion is represented in Japan and is tribal in the sense that it is avowedly concerned with the glorification of the Japanese, irrespective of the consequences to the world that this may involve. In its object of elevating Japan to the status of a first class power the cult of revived Shinto has succeeded admirably and has proved itself, in several wars, to be a splendid fighting creed. The present increase of the population of Japan by 700,000 a year is wholly in accordance with its precepts. Again we may devoutly hope that it will not overreach itself and plunge Japan, as well as the rest of us, into a world war after which we would probably cease to exist as civilized countries. It is, of course, obvious that a modification of Japanese policy where Birth Control is concerned would be welcomed with inexpressible relief by the rest of the world.
The militancy of Mohammedanism will probably have little effect on the future of the world, because Mohammedan countries are at present poorly organized for extensive modern war. The Church of England is more concerned with the social and international implications of religion than any other, and the above remarks have little relevance to it.
If, therefore, the cataclysm above contemplated is to be averted the first necessity would seem to be a revision of the standards of existing religions, in consideration of the unification of the human race, so as to accord with a formula of something of this sort: That is good and morally right which will promote the general happiness and goodwill of humanity, and the harmony of the world. It is clear that action leading to the limitation of over-multiplication would in this sense be good and in accordance with religion.
The second obstacle to the realization of a control of population is the standard by which the merit of a nation is now generally appraised, and to which most nations aspire. This merit is largely estimated in terms of power of offence and defence. This is a bad criterion and should be altered for a better one which will now be considered.
Earlier in the book reference was made to a biological argument against contraception, consideration of which was deferred. This argument holds that in so far as reproduction is a primary biological function, a thwarting of that function is not only unnatural but anti-biological. This view has a certain plausibility but does not stand close scrutiny. The criterion of biological value or fitness is essentially racial, not individual. That is biologically good which will improve or benefit the race, that is bad which will harm or weaken it.
Under stable conditions of racial equilibrium there is a reasonable expectation that instincts and structures which have had survival value in the past will continue to have such value in the future. But during moments of crisis, at those turning points in the history of living things when new forms appear, such a presumption is quite unjustified. Thus if we picture to ourselves, allegorically, an event which probably took many thousands of years to accomplish, we might imagine the comments of a conservative piscine critic upon the emergence of the first Dipnoid from some muddy river on to land.