THE QUEST FOR ABSOLUTE VALUES 41
in any given state of the supply of capital goods and
knowledge of how to make the best use of natural
resources, an optimum size of population. So long as
population has not increased beyond this size, the addi-
tion of newcomers improves rather than impairs the
conditions of those already cooperating.
In the philosophy of the antiharmonists, the various
schools of nationalism and racism, two different lines
of reasoning must be distinguished. One is the doctrine
of the irreconcilable antagonism prevailing among var-
ious groups, such as nations or races. As the antihar-
monists see it, community of interests exists only within
the group among its members. The interests of each
group and of each of its members are implacably op-
posed to those of all other groups and of each of their
members. So it is "natural" there should be perpetual
war among various groups. This natural state of war of
each group against every other group may sometimes
be interrupted by periods of armistice, falsely labeled
periods of peace. It may also happen that sometimes in
warfare a group cooperates in alliances with other
groups. Such alliances are temporary makeshifts of
politics. They do not in the long run affect the inexo-
rable natural conflict of interests. Having, in coopera-
tion with some allied groups, defeated several of the
hostile groups, the leading group in the coalition turns
against its previous allies in order to annihilate them too
and to establish its own world supremacy.
The second dogma of the nationalist and racist phi-
losophies is considered by its supporters a logical con-
clusion derived from their first dogma. As they see it,