Social Problems; A Study of Present-Day Social Conditions (Paperback)

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: SOCIAL PROBLEMS CHAPTER I THE INFLUENCE OF NATURAL CONDITIONS ON ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT I. General introduction. II. Configuration. 1. Altitude. 2. Natural boundaries and frontiers. 3. Isolation. 4. Rivers and lakes. 5. The sea. 6. Trade routes. 7. Area or extent. III. Climate. 1. Temperature. 2. Moisture. 3. Light. IV. Soil. V. Natural resources. 1. Minerals. 2. Forest and plant life. 3. Animal resources. 4. Motive forces. VI. General aspects of nature. VII. Conclusion. General introduction. ? Back of all social problems are two elements, man and nature. Man is the living, growing, conscious element, ever struggling for ascendancy. Nature is the inert, passive, but persistent element, which has profoundly influenced man at every stage of his develop chapter{Section 4ment. Man's progress is largely measured by his increasing control over natural conditions and natural forces. Man is still struggling, that he may the more completely subdue the elements of nature, ? that he may compel the forces of nature to do his bidding. The more primitive people are the more helpless before nature. Their lives are influenced to a greater extent by natural conditions. They have brought fewer of the natural forces under subjection. They are largely dependent upon what nature has supplied for their food, their clothing, their shelter, and even for their simple tools and weapons. Natural barriers, easily overcome by civilized man, are for them insurmountable. They dare not venture far upon the sea with their primitive boats. They have no bridges nor highways and hence must follow routes outlined by nature. As man advances through the successive stages of his development, he is influenced at every turn by his environm...