Allan Kardec-THE Spirit's Book_ The Principles of Spiritist Doctrine (1989)

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ALLAN KARDEC
always produce the necessaries of life, if men could content them-selves therewith. If it does
not suffice for all his wants, it is because men employ, in superfluities, what should be
devoted to the supply of necessaries. Look at the Arab in the desert; he always finds enough
to live upon, because he does not create for himself factitious needs; but when half the
products of the earth are wasted in satisfying fanciful desires, ought man to be astonished if
he afterwards runs short, and has he any reason to complain if he finds himself unprovided
for when a famine occurs ? I repeat it; nature is not improvident, but man does not know how
to regulate his use of her gifts."
706. By the term 'fruits of the earth,' should we understand merely the products of the soil?
"The soil is the original source of all other productions, which are, in reality, only a
transformation of the products of the soil; for that reason, by 'fruits of the earth' are to be
understood everything enjoyed by man in his corporeal life."
707. There are always persons who lack the means of existence, even in the midst of
abundance. Who is to blame for this?
"In some cases, the selfishness which too often prevents men from being just to others; in
other cases, and most often, themselves. Christ has said, 'Seek, and ye shall find;' but these
words do not imply that you have only to cast your eyes on the ground in order to find all that
you may desire, but rather that you must seek for what you want, and not indolently, but with
ardour and perseverance, and without allowing yourselves to be discouraged by obstacles that
are often only a means of putting your constancy, patience, and firmness to the proof." (534.)
If civilisation multiplies our needs, it also multiplies our resources and our means of existence. But it must
be admitted that, in this respect. much still remains to be done; for civilisation will only have
accomplished its task when it shall no longer be possible for any human being to lack the necessaries of
life, unless through his own fault. Unfortunately, too, many persons choose a path for which nature has
not fitted them, and in which they necessarily fail of success. There is room in the sunshine for every one;
but on condition that each takes his own place, and not that of another. Nature cannot justly be held
responsible for the results of defective social organisation, nor for those of personal selfishness and
ambition.
There would, however, be blindness in denying the progress which has already been accomplished in this
direction among the nations which are most advanced. Thanks to the efforts of philanthropy and of
science for the amelioration of the material condition of mankind, and notwithstanding the constant
increase of the population of the globe, the effects of insufficient production are considerably attenuated,
so that the most unfavourable years are far less calamitous than formerly. Hygiene, unknown to our
forefathers, yet so essential a condition of public and individual health, is the object of constant and
enlightened solicitude: asylums are provided for the unfor-