Thegroundofselectionhaschanged，untiltheaptitudeswhichnowqualifyforadmissiontotheclassarethepecuniaryaptitudesonly。Whatremainsofthepredatorybarbariantraitsisthetenacityofpurposeorconsistencyofaimwhichdistinguishedthesuccessfulpredatorybarbarianfromthepeaceablesavagewhomhesupplanted。Butthistraitcannotbesaidcharacteristicallytodistinguishthepecuniarilysuccessfulupper-classmanfromtherankandfileoftheindustrialclasses。Thetrainingandtheselectiontowhichthelatterareexposedinmodernindustriallifegiveasimilarlydecisiveweighttothistrait。Tenacityofpurposemayratherbesaidtodistinguishboththeseclassesfromtwoothers；theshiftlessne’erdo-wellandthelower-classdelinquent。Inpointofnaturalendowmentthepecuniarymancompareswiththedelinquentinmuchthesamewayastheindustrialmancompareswiththegood-naturedshiftlessdependent。Theidealpecuniarymanisliketheidealdelinquentinhisunscrupulousconversionofgoodsandpersonstohisownends，andinacallousdisregardofthefeelingsandwishesofothersandoftheremotereffectsofhisactions；butheisunlikehiminpossessingakeenersenseofstatus，andinworkingmoreconsistentlyandfarsightedlytoaremoterend。Thekinshipofthetwotypesoftemperamentisfurthershowninaproclivityto“sport“andgambling，andarelishofaimlessemulation。Theidealpecuniarymanalsoshowsacuriouskinshipwiththedelinquentinoneoftheconcomitantvariationsofthepredatoryhumannature。Thedelinquentisverycommonlyofasuperstitioushabitofmind；heisagreatbelieverinluck，spells，divinationanddestiny，andinomensandshamanisticceremony。Wherecircumstancesarefavorable，thisproclivityisapttoexpressitselfinacertainserviledevotionalfervorandapunctiliousattentiontodevoutobservances；itmayperhapsbebettercharacterizedasdevoutnessthanasreligion。Atthispointthetemperamentofthedelinquenthasmoreincommonwiththepecuniaryandleisureclassesthanwiththeindustrialmanorwiththeclassofshiftlessdependents。
Lifeinamodernindustrialcommunity，orinotherwordslifeunderthepecuniaryculture，actsbyaprocessofselectiontodevelopandconserveacertainrangeofaptitudesandpropensities。Thepresenttendencyofthisselectiveprocessisnotsimplyareversiontoagiven，immutableethnictype。Ittendsrathertoamodificationofhumannaturedifferinginsomerespectsfromanyofthetypesorvariantstransmittedoutofthepast。Theobjectivepointoftheevolutionisnotasingleone。
Thetemperamentwhichtheevolutionactstoestablishasnormaldiffersfromanyoneofthearchaicvariantsofhumannatureinitsgreaterstabilityofaim——greatersinglenessofpurposeandgreaterpersistenceineffort。Sofarasconcernseconomictheory，theobjectivepointoftheselectiveprocessisonthewholesingletothisextent；althoughthereareminortendenciesofconsiderableimportancedivergingfromthislineofdevelopment。Butapartfromthisgeneraltrendthelineofdevelopmentisnotsingle。Asconcernseconomictheory，thedevelopmentinotherrespectsrunsontwodivergentlines。Sofarasregardstheselectiveconservationofcapacitiesoraptitudesinindividuals，thesetwolinesmaybecalledthepecuniaryandtheindustrial。Asregardstheconservationofpropensities，spiritualattitude，oranimus，thetwomaybecalledtheinvidiousorself-regardingandthenon-invidiousoreconomical。
Asregardstheintellectualorcognitivebentofthetwodirectionsofgrowth，theformermayhecharacterizedasthepersonalstandpoint，ofconation，qualitativerelation，status，orworth；thelatterastheimpersonalstandpoint，ofsequence，quantitativerelation，mechanicalefficiency，oruse。
Thepecuniaryemploymentscallintoactionchieflytheformerofthesetworangesofaptitudesandpropensities，andactselectivelytoconservetheminthepopulation。Theindustrialemployments，ontheotherhand，chieflyexercisethelatterrange，andacttoconservethem。Anexhaustivepsychologicalanalysiswillshowthateachofthesetworangesofaptitudesandpropensitiesisbutthemultiformexpressionofagiventemperamentalbent。Byforceoftheunityorsinglenessoftheindividual，theaptitudes，animus，andinterestscomprisedinthefirst-namedrangebelongtogetherasexpressionsofagivenvariantofhumannature。Thelikeistrueofthelatterrange。
Thetwomaybeconceivedasalternativedirectionsofhumanlife，insuchawaythatagivenindividualinclinesmoreorlessconsistentlytotheoneortheother。Thetendencyofthepecuniarylifeis，inageneralway，toconservethebarbariantemperament，butwiththesubstitutionoffraudandprudence，oradministrativeability，inplaceofthatpredilectionforphysicaldamagethatcharacterizestheearlybarbarian。Thissubstitutionofchicaneryinplaceofdevastationtakesplaceonlyinanuncertaindegree。Withinthepecuniaryemploymentstheselectiveactionrunsprettyconsistentlyinthisdirection，butthedisciplineofpecuniarylife，outsidethecompetitionforgain，doesnotworkconsistentlytothesameeffect。Thedisciplineofmodernlifeintheconsumptionoftimeandgoodsdoesnotactunequivocallytoeliminatethearistocraticvirtuesortofosterthebourgeoisvirtues。Theconventionalschemeofdecentlivingcallsforaconsiderableexerciseoftheearlierbarbariantraits。Somedetailsofthistraditionalschemeoflife，bearingonthispoint，havebeennoticedinearlierchaptersundertheheadofleisure，andfurtherdetailswillbeshowninlaterchapters。
Fromwhathasbeensaid，itappearsthattheleisure-classlifeandtheleisure-classschemeoflifeshouldfurthertheconservationofthebarbariantemperament；chieflyofthequasi-peaceable，orbourgeois，variant，butalsoinsomemeasureofthepredatoryvariant。Intheabsenceofdisturbingfactors，therefore，itshouldbepossibletotraceadifferenceoftemperamentbetweentheclassesofsociety。Thearistocraticandthebourgeoisvirtues——thatistosaythedestructiveandpecuniarytraits——shouldbefoundchieflyamongtheupperclasses，andtheindustrialvirtues——thatistosaythepeaceabletraits——chieflyamongtheclassesgiventomechanicalindustry。
Inageneralanduncertainwaythisholdstrue，hutthetestisnotsoreadilyappliednorsoconclusiveasmightbewished。
Thereareseveralassignablereasonsforitspartialfailure。Allclassesareinameasureengagedinthepecuniarystruggle，andinallclassesthepossessionofthepecuniarytraitscountstowardsthesuccessandsurvivaloftheindividual。Whereverthepecuniarycultureprevails，theselectiveprocessbywhichmen’shabitsofthoughtareshaped，andbywhichthesurvivalofrivallinesofdescentisdecided，proceedsproximatelyonthebasisoffitnessforacquisition。Consequently，ifitwerenotforthefactthatpecuniaryefficiencyisonthewholeincompatiblewithindustrialefficiency，theselectiveactionofalloccupationswouldtendtotheunmitigateddominanceofthepecuniarytemperament。Theresultwouldbetheinstallationofwhathasbeenknownasthe“economicman，“asthenormalanddefinitivetypeofhumannature。Butthe“economicman，“whoseonlyinterestistheself-regardingoneandwhoseonlyhumantraitisprudenceisuselessforthepurposesofmodernindustry。
Themodernindustryrequiresanimpersonal，non-invidiousinterestintheworkinhand。Withoutthistheelaborateprocessesofindustrywouldbeimpossible，andwould，indeed，neverhavebeenconceived。Thisinterestinworkdifferentiatestheworkmanfromthecriminalontheonehand，andfromthecaptainofindustryontheother。Sinceworkmustbedoneinordertothecontinuedlifeofthecommunity，thereresultsaqualifiedselectionfavoringthespiritualaptitudeforwork，withinacertainrangeofoccupations。Thismuch，however，istobeconceded，thatevenwithintheindustrialoccupationstheselectiveeliminationofthepecuniarytraitsisanuncertainprocess，andthatthereisconsequentlyanappreciablesurvivalofthebarbariantemperamentevenwithintheseoccupations。Onthisaccountthereisatpresentnobroaddistinctioninthisrespectbetweentheleisure-classcharacterandthecharacterofthecommonrunofthepopulation。
Thewholequestionastoaclassdistinctioninrespecttospiritualmake-upisalsoobscuredbythepresence，inallclassesofsociety，ofacquiredhabitsoflifethatcloselysimulateinheritedtraitsandatthesametimeacttodevelopintheentirebodyofthepopulationthetraitswhichtheysimulate。
Theseacquiredhabits，orassumedtraitsofcharacter，aremostcommonlyofanaristocraticcast。Theprescriptivepositionoftheleisureclassastheexemplarofreputabilityhasimposedmanyfeaturesoftheleisure-classtheoryoflifeuponthelowerclasses；withtheresultthattheregoeson，alwaysandthroughoutsociety，amoreorlesspersistentcultivationofthesearistocratictraits。Onthisgroundalsothesetraitshaveabetterchanceofsurvivalamongthebodyofthepeoplethanwouldbethecaseifitwerenotforthepreceptandexampleoftheleisureclass。Asonechannel，andanimportantone，throughwhichthistransfusionofaristocraticviewsoflife，andconsequentlymoreorlessarchaictraitsofcharactergoeson，maybementionedtheclassofdomesticservants。thesehavetheirnotionsofwhatisgoodandbeautifulshapedbycontactwiththemasterclassandcarrythepreconceptionssoacquiredbackamongtheirlow-bornequals，andsodisseminatethehigheridealsabroadthroughthecommunitywithoutthelossoftimewhichthisdisseminationmightotherwisesuffer。Thesaying“Likemaster，likeman，“hasagreatersignificancethaniscommonlyappreciatedfortherapidpopularacceptanceofmanyelementsofupper-classculture。
Thereisalsoafurtherrangeoffactsthatgotolessenclassdifferencesasregardsthesurvivalofthepecuniaryvirtues。Thepecuniarystruggleproducesanunderfedclass，oflargeproportions。Thisunderfeedingconsistsinadeficiencyofthenecessariesoflifeorofthenecessariesofadecentexpenditure。Ineithercasetheresultisacloselyenforcedstruggleforthemeanswithwhichtomeetthedailyneeds；
whetheritbethephysicalorthehigherneeds。Thestrainofself-assertionagainstoddstakesupthewholeenergyoftheindividual；hebendshiseffortstocompasshisowninvidiousendsalone，andbecomescontinuallymorenarrowlyself-seeking。
Theindustrialtraitsinthiswaytendtoobsolescencethroughdisuse。Indirectly，therefore，byimposingaschemeofpecuniarydecencyandbywithdrawingasmuchasmaybeofthemeansoflifefromthelowerclasses，theinstitutionofaleisureclassactstoconservethepecuniarytraitsinthebodyofthepopulation。
Theresultisanassimilationofthelowerclassestothetypeofhumannaturethatbelongsprimarilytotheupperclassesonly。
Itappears，therefore，thatthereisnowidedifferenceintemperamentbetweentheupperandthelowerclasses；butitappearsalsothattheabsenceofsuchadifferenceisingoodpartduetotheprescriptiveexampleoftheleisureclassandtothepopularacceptanceofthosebroadprinciplesofconspicuouswasteandpecuniaryemulationonwhichtheinstitutionofaleisureclassrests。Theinstitutionactstolowertheindustrialefficiencyofthecommunityandretardtheadaptationofhumannaturetotheexigenciesofmodernindustriallife。Itaffectstheprevalentoreffectivehumannatureinaconservativedirection，1bydirecttransmissionofarchaictraits，throughinheritancewithintheclassandwherevertheleisure-classbloodistransfusedoutsidetheclass，and2byconservingandfortifyingthetraditionsofthearchaicregime，andsomakingthechancesofsurvivalofbarbariantraitsgreateralsooutsidetherangeoftransfusionofleisure-classblood。
Butlittleifanythinghasbeendonetowardscollectingordigestingdatathatareofspecialsignificanceforthequestionofsurvivaloreliminationoftraitsinthemodernpopulations。
Littleofatangiblecharactercanthereforebeofferedinsupportoftheviewheretaken，beyondadiscursivereviewofsucheverydayfactsasliereadytohand。Sucharecitalcanscarcelyavoidbeingcommonplaceandtedious，butforallthatitseemsnecessarytothecompletenessoftheargument，eveninthemeageroutlineinwhichitishereattempted。Adegreeofindulgencemaythereforefairlybebespokenforthesucceedingchapters，whichofferafragmentaryrecitalofthiskind。
ChapterTenModernSurvivalsofProwessTheleisureclasslivesbytheindustrialcommunityratherthaninit。Itsrelationstoindustryareofapecuniaryratherthananindustrialkind。Admissiontotheclassisgainedbyexerciseofthepecuniaryaptitudes——aptitudesforacquisitionratherthanforserviceability。Thereis，therefore，acontinuedselectivesiftingofthehumanmaterialthatmakesuptheleisureclass，andthisselectionproceedsonthegroundoffitnessforpecuniarypursuits。Buttheschemeoflifeoftheclassisinlargepartaheritagefromthepast，andembodiesmuchofthehabitsandidealsoftheearlierbarbarianperiod。Thisarchaic，barbarianschemeoflifeimposesitselfalsoonthelowerorders，withmoreorlessmitigation。Initsturntheschemeoflife，ofconventions，actsselectivelyandbyeducationtoshapethehumanmaterial，anditsactionrunschieflyinthedirectionofconservingtraits，habits，andidealsthatbelongtotheearlybarbarianage——theageofprowessandpredatorylife。