Hall tells us that his book is not concerned with the splendid few, but with the mass of people in civilized states. He draws a contrast between civilization and savagery; European states are civilized, the American Indians are his usual example of savages. When we contrast civilization with savagery, we are immediately struck, he claims, by the greater inequality in the former. He estimates the average family income of the labouring poor in Britain at £25 per year; that this is insufficient is proved by the lower average life expectancy of the poor. His estimate that the rich have twice the life expectancy of the poor is not unreasonable for the time. The higher mortality among the poor – and little children are worst affected – is caused mainly by inadequate diet; but overcrowded, unsanitary housing and working conditions hazardous to health are contributory factors. The mental and moral condition of the poor is even worse than the physical. They lack the means and leisure for instruction; and he quotes Adam Smith on the degrading effects of the division of labour. He takes issue with those who have argued that the poor are as happy, though in a different way, as the rich. Such a judgment is possible only from those who are ignorant of the state of the poor.