Itmaythereforebeobjectedthattherecanhavebeennosuchinitialstageofpeaceablelifeasishereassumed。Thereisnopointinculturalevolutionpriortowhichfightingdoesnotoccur。Butthepointinquestionisnotastotheoccurrenceofcombat，occasionalorsporadic，orevenmoreorlessfrequentandhabitual；itisaquestionastotheoccurrenceofanhabitual；
itisaquestionastotheoccurrenceofanhabitualbellicosefromofmind——aprevalenthabitofjudgingfactsandeventsfromthepointofviewofthefight。Thepredatoryphaseofcultureisattainedonlywhenthepredatoryattitudehasbecomethehabitualandaccreditedspiritualattitudeforthemembersofthegroup；whenthefighthasbecomethedominantnoteinthecurrenttheoryoflife；whenthecommon-senseappreciationofmenandthingshascometobeanappreciationwithaviewtocombat。
Thesubstantialdifferencebetweenthepeaceableandthepredatoryphaseofculture，therefore，isaspiritualdifference，notamechanicalone。Thechangeinspiritualattitudeistheoutgrowthofachangeinthematerialfactsofthelifeofthegroup，anditcomesongraduallyasthematerialcircumstancesfavourabletoapredatoryattitudesupervene。Theinferiorlimitofthepredatorycultureisanindustriallimit。Predationcannotbecomethehabitual，conventionalresourceofanygrouporanyclassuntilindustrialmethodshavebeendevelopedtosuchadegreeofefficiencyastoleaveamarginworthfightingfor，abovethesubsistenceofthoseengagedingettingaliving。Thetransitionfrompeacetopredationthereforedependsonthegrowthoftechnicalknowledgeandtheuseoftools。Apredatorycultureissimilarlyimpracticableinearlytimes，untilweaponshavebeendevelopedtosuchapointastomakemanaformidableanimal。Theearlydevelopmentoftoolsandofweaponsisofcoursethesamefactseenfromtwodifferentpointsofview。
Thelifeofagivengroupwouldbecharacterisedaspeaceablesolongashabitualrecoursetocombathasnotbroughtthefightintotheforegroundinmen’severydaythoughts，asadominantfeatureofthelifeofman。Agroupmayevidentlyattainsuchapredatoryattitudewithagreaterorlessdegreeofcompleteness，sothatitsschemeoflifeandcanonsofconductmaybecontrolledtoagreaterorlessextentbythepredatoryanimus。Thepredatoryphaseofcultureisthereforeconceivedtocomeongradually，throughacumulativegrowthofpredatoryaptitudeshabits，andtraditionsthisgrowthbeingduetoachangeinthecircumstancesofthegroup’slife，ofsuchakindastodevelopandconservethosetraitsofhumannatureandthosetraditionsandnormsofconductthatmakeforapredatoryratherthanapeaceablelife。
Theevidenceforthehypothesisthattherehasbeensuchapeaceablestageofprimitivecultureisingreatpartdrawnfrompsychologyratherthanfromethnology，andcannotbedetailedhere。Itwillberecitedinpartinalaterchapter，indiscussingthesurvivalofarchaictraitsofhumannatureunderthemodernculture。
PecuniaryEmulationInthesequenceofculturalevolutiontheemergenceofaleisureclasscoincideswiththebeginningofownership。Thisisnecessarilythecase，forthesetwoinstitutionsresultfromthesamesetofeconomicforces。Intheinchoatephaseoftheirdevelopmenttheyarebutdifferentaspectsofthesamegeneralfactsofsocialstructure。
Itisaselementsofsocialstructure——conventionalfacts——thatleisureandownershiparemattersofinterestforthepurposeinhand。Anhabitualneglectofworkdoesnotconstitutealeisureclass；neitherdoesthemechanicalfactofuseandconsumptionconstituteownership。Thepresentinquiry，therefore，isnotconcernedwiththebeginningofindolence，norwiththebeginningoftheappropriationofusefularticlestoindividualconsumption。Thepointinquestionistheoriginandnatureofaconventionalleisureclassontheonehandandthebeginningsofindividualownershipasaconventionalrightorequitableclaimontheotherhand。
Theearlydifferentiationoutofwhichthedistinctionbetweenaleisureandaworkingclassarisesisadivisionmaintainedbetweenmen’sandwomen’sworkinthelowerstagesofbarbarism。Likewisetheearliestformofownershipisanownershipofthewomenbytheablebodiedmenofthecommunity。
Thefactsmaybeexpressedinmoregeneralterms。andtruertotheimportofthebarbariantheoryoflife，bysayingthatitisanownershipofthewomanbytheman。
Therewasundoubtedlysomeappropriationofusefularticlesbeforethecustomofappropriatingwomenarose。Theusagesofexistingarchaiccommunitiesinwhichthereisnoownershipofwomeniswarrantforsuchaview。Inallcommunitiesthemembers，bothmaleandfemale，habituallyappropriatetotheirindividualuseavarietyofusefulthings；buttheseusefulthingsarenotthoughtofasownedbythepersonwhoappropriatesandconsumesthem。Thehabitualappropriationandconsumptionofcertainslightpersonaleffectsgoesonwithoutraisingthequestionofownership；thatistosay，thequestionofaconventional，equitableclaimtoextraneousthings。
Theownershipofwomenbeginsinthelowerbarbarianstagesofculture，apparentlywiththeseizureoffemalecaptives。Theoriginalreasonfortheseizureandappropriationofwomenseemstohavebeentheirusefulnessastrophies。Thepracticeofseizingwomenfromtheenemyastrophies，gaverisetoaformofownership-marriage，resultinginahouseholdwithamalehead。
Thiswasfollowedbyanextensionofslaverytoothercaptivesandinferiors，besideswomen，andbyanextensionofownership猰arriagetootherwomenthanthoseseizedfromtheenemy。Theoutcomeofemulationunderthecircumstancesofapredatorylife，therefore，hasbeenontheonehandaformofmarriagerestingoncoercion，andontheotherhandthecustomofownership。Thetwoinstitutionsarenotdistinguishableintheinitialphaseoftheirdevelopment；botharisefromthedesireofthesuccessfulmentoputtheirprowessinevidencebyexhibitingsomedurableresultoftheirexploits。Bothalsoministertothatpropensityformasterywhichpervadesallpredatorycommunities。
Fromtheownershipofwomentheconceptofownershipextendsitselftoincludetheproductsoftheirindustry，andsotherearisestheownershipofthingsaswellasofpersons。
Inthiswayaconsistentsystemofpropertyingoodsisgraduallyinstalled。Andalthoughinthelateststagesofthedevelopment，theserviceabilityofgoodsforconsumptionhascometobethemostobtrusiveelementoftheirvalue，still，wealthhasbynomeansyetlostitsutilityasahonorificevidenceoftheowner’sprepotence。
Wherevertheinstitutionofprivatepropertyisfound，eveninaslightlydevelopedform，theeconomicprocessbearsthecharacterofastrugglebetweenmenforthepossessionofgoods。
Ithasbeencustomaryineconomictheory，andespeciallyamongthoseeconomistswhoadherewithleastfalteringtothebodyofmodernisedclassicaldoctrines，toconstruethisstruggleforwealthasbeingsubstantiallyastruggleforsubsistence。Suchis，nodoubt，itscharacterinlargepartduringtheearlierandlessefficientphasesofindustry。Suchisalsoitscharacterinallcaseswherethe“niggardlinessofnature“issostrictastoaffordbutascantylivelihoodtothecommunityinreturnforstrenuousandunremittingapplicationtothebusinessofgettingthemeansofsubsistence。Butinallprogressingcommunitiesanadvanceispresentlymadebeyondthisearlystageoftechnologicaldevelopment。Industrialefficiencyispresentlycarriedtosuchapitchastoaffordsomethingappreciablymorethanabarelivelihoodtothoseengagedintheindustrialprocess。Ithasnotbeenunusualforeconomictheorytospeakofthefurtherstruggleforwealthonthisnewindustrialbasisasacompetitionforanincreaseofthecomfortsoflife，——primarilyforanincreaseofthephysicalcomfortswhichtheconsumptionofgoodsaffords。
Theendofacquisitionandaccumulationisconventionallyheldtobetheconsumptionofthegoodsaccumulated——whetheritisconsumptiondirectlybytheownerofthegoodsorbythehouseholdattachedtohimandforthispurposeidentifiedwithhimintheory。Thisisatleastfelttobetheeconomicallylegitimateendofacquisition，whichaloneitisincumbentonthetheorytotakeaccountof。Suchconsumptionmayofcoursebeconceivedtoservetheconsumer’sphysicalwants——hisphysicalcomfort——orhisso-calledhigherwants——spiritual，aesthetic，intellectual，orwhatnot；thelatterclassofwantsbeingservedindirectlybyanexpenditureofgoods，afterthefashionfamiliartoalleconomicreaders。
Butitisonlywhentakeninasensefarremovedfromitsnaivemeaningthatconsumptionofgoodscanbesaidtoaffordtheincentivefromwhichaccumulationinvariablyproceeds。Themotivethatliesattherootofownershipisemulation；andthesamemotiveofemulationcontinuesactiveinthefurtherdevelopmentoftheinstitutiontowhichithasgivenriseandinthedevelopmentofallthosefeaturesofthesocialstructurewhichthisinstitutionofownershiptouches。Thepossessionofwealthconfershonour；itisaninvidiousdistinction。Nothingequallycogentcanbesaidfortheconsumptionofgoods，norforanyotherconceivableincentivetoacquisition，andespeciallynotforanyincentivetoaccumulationofwealth。
Itisofcoursenottobeoverlookedthatinacommunitywherenearlyallgoodsareprivatepropertythenecessityofearningalivelihoodisapowerfulandeverpresentincentiveforthepoorermembersofthecommunity。Theneedofsubsistenceandofanincreaseofphysicalcomfortmayforatimebethedominantmotiveofacquisitionforthoseclasseswhoarehabituallyemployedatmanuallabour，whosesubsistenceisonaprecariousfooting，whopossesslittleandordinarilyaccumulatelittle；butitwillappearinthecourseofthediscussionthateveninthecaseoftheseimpecuniousclassesthepredominanceofthemotiveofphysicalwantisnotsodecidedashassometimesbeenassumed。
Ontheotherhand，sofarasregardsthosemembersandclassesofthecommunitywhoarechieflyconcernedintheaccumulationofwealth，theincentiveofsubsistenceorofphysicalcomfortneverplaysaconsiderablepart。Ownershipbeganandgrewintoahumaninstitutionongroundsunrelatedtothesubsistenceminimum。Thedominantincentivewasfromtheoutsettheinvidiousdistinctionattachingtowealth，and，savetemporarilyandbyexception，noothermotivehasusurpedtheprimacyatanylaterstageofthedevelopment。
Propertysetoutwithbeingbootyheldastrophiesofthesuccessfulraid。Solongasthegrouphaddepartedandsolongasitstillstoodinclosecontactwithotherhostilegroups，theutilityofthingsorpersonsownedlaychieflyinaninvidiouscomparisonbetweentheirpossessorandtheenemyfromwhomtheyweretaken。Thehabitofdistinguishingbetweentheinterestsoftheindividualandthoseofthegrouptowhichhebelongsisapparentlyalatergrowth。Invidiouscomparisonbetweenthepossessorofthehonorificbootyandhislesssuccessfulneighbourswithinthegroupwasnodoubtpresentearlyasanelementoftheutilityofthethingspossessed，thoughthiswasnotattheoutsetthechiefelementoftheirvalue。Theman’sprowesswasstillprimarilythegroup’sprowess，andthepossessorofthebootyfelthimselftobeprimarilythekeeperofthehonourofhisgroup。Thisappreciationofexploitfromthecommunalpointofviewismetwithalsoatlaterstagesofsocialgrowth，especiallyasregardsthelaurelsofwar。
Butassoonasthecustomofindividualownershipbeginstogainconsistency，thepointofviewtakeninmakingtheinvidiouscomparisononwhichprivatepropertyrestswillbegintochange。
Indeed，theonechangeisbutthereflexoftheother。Theinitialphaseofownership，thephaseofacquisitionbynaiveseizureandconversion，beginstopassintothesubsequentstageofanincipientorganizationofindustryonthebasisofprivatepropertyinslaves；thehordedevelopsintoamoreorlessself-sufficingindustrialcommunity；possessionsthencometobevaluednotsomuchasevidenceofsuccessfulforay，butratherasevidenceoftheprepotenceofthepossessorofthesegoodsoverotherindividualswithinthecommunity。Theinvidiouscomparisonnowbecomesprimarilyacomparisonoftheownerwiththeothermembersofthegroup。Propertyisstillofthenatureoftrophy，but，withtheculturaladvance，itbecomesmoreandmoreatrophyofsuccessesscoredinthegameofownershipcarriedonbetweenthemembersofthegroupunderthequasi-peaceablemethodsofnomadiclife。
Gradually，asindustrialactivityfurtherdisplacedpredatoryactivityinthecommunity’severydaylifeandinmen’shabitsofthought，accumulatedpropertymoreandmorereplacestrophiesofpredatoryexploitastheconventionalexponentofprepotenceandsuccess。Withthegrowthofsettledindustry，therefore，thepossessionofwealthgainsinrelativeimportanceandeffectivenessasacustomarybasisofreputeandesteem。Notthatesteemceasestobeawardedonthebasisofother，moredirectevidenceofprowess；notthatsuccessfulpredatoryaggressionorwarlikeexploitceasestocallouttheapprovalandadmirationofthecrowd，ortostirtheenvyofthelesssuccessfulcompetitors；buttheopportunitiesforgainingdistinctionbymeansofthisdirectmanifestationofsuperiorforcegrowlessavailablebothinscopeandfrequency。Atthesametimeopportunitiesforindustrialaggression，andfortheaccumulationofproperty，increaseinscopeandavailability。