Workmen's advocate. (New Haven, Conn.) 1883-1891, 1891-02-28

solute control over Nature. suppose the
perfection of mechanical Coutrlyance to
have gone so far that machinery itself Is
produced and tended by machinery and
human labor is thus mlmmlzed If not
superseded. WHAT would he the result |
of such state Of things: In conse-
QuenCe of the attractive power winch
large capital exercises upon small, Il
comparatively small number of wealthy
persons would hold exclusive possession
of all machinery and other implements
of labor. The whole income of the ma
ton, all the goods requisite for the
necessities and equipments OF life would
fall to these few alone and that right
fully according to the Views now current
Under such circumstances, human
labor being wholly vamrlesS, what would
become Of the non possessing mass if the
capitalists did not furnish them the bread
Of charity: What else would remain to
these unfOrtunates than to die of starVa-
ton or TO reverse the existing conditions
of production aud possession if not 10y
cunning, then by force
1t will be sad that this picture is
merely a horrible fancy, that such a
state Of things can never he reached.
This, admit. not because the thing 1t
self Is incOnceivable but because sane
men and women will never let it 60 SO
far But can we deny that our present
social life, founded upon Capitalist rule
and Wage Labor. moves in a direction
which, if it should continue unchanged,
must bring us with every passing day
nearer to the social conditions Just
depicted? Must we not admit that even
now. the income of the nation is dis
trbuted in a manner which SUBJECTS at
least part of the prOletarlat to the want
just described?
In such a state of affairs it becomes
the duty Of every good and thoughtful
human being to ask himself the question:
"How are the present economic and
social conditions to be so changed as to
attain an equitable distribution of the
income of the people and to lessen the
daiIylncreasing poverty of the work
ers?'
Let us examine more closely the prob
lem that is to be solved.
Two cardinal features characterize our
present methods of production and dis
tlngush them from those of the past,
namely, wages labor and production
upon large scale
Whereas formerly productive labor
was chiefly performed by slaves, serts or
bondsmen, all rights of ownership in
human beings ceased at the French Rev
olution. Rightfully, legally, every
worker is free and his own master. But
as a matter of fact he is anything else
rather than free. Cut off from the means
and conditions of employment, with no
other possession than his labor power,
| he is forced to work for wages in the
employ of others, and for wages which
suffice at the utmost for the bare neces-
| cities of life. But if he finds no pur-
chaser for the only commodity at his
| command, for his force Of labor, he and
| his fall into the utmost misery Yet,
! despite this wretChed insecurity of his
position, it will hardly occur to any
workman to wish the old conditions
! back 1t is a life worthy of man that he
strives for, and he knows that this can
be attained only in state of Freedom.
As the French Revolution proclaimed
the aoOrkerS personally free, so did 1t
! lberate iHdnimdte property from the
last shaCkes of the Middle Ages. With
out reference to previous restrictions
and obligations, whoever was in posses
sion at the moment, found his right to
the absolute control of his property re-
cognized. This release CT property, the
application of steam power which
followed soon after, and the general in
PRODUCTION of machine work produced a
mighty and far-reaching transformation
in the existing economic and social con-
ditOns.
Handicraft and trade upon small
scale were ever more crowded into the
background production by wholesale,
the capitalstic method of production,
took their place. But precarious as this
change has rendered the lot of the
handlcraftsman without means and the
small retail dealer, the advantages for
the development Of civilization con
nected with production aud distribution
upon a large scale are too welghty for
Society ever to renOunCe them. A
general return to production on small
scale by handicraft is as impossible as a
return to slavery.
We must therefore limit the question
under consideration as follows: How
can a more equal distribution of the ma
tional income in the interest of all be
attained without limiting freedom of
labor. and without interfering with the
progress of civilization won by produc-
ton on a large scale:
The answer cannot be doubtful for
us at least. There is but one means to
that end : ABOLITION of the WAGE
SYSTEM and the substitution for it, of
Cooperative Labor,
Whoever has an open eye for the signs
of the times must recognize that this
thought more or less clearly formulated
forms the basis of the Labor Move meut
now making itself felt in every country
IN Europe. As slavery and serfdom,
once necessary" social institution
also, at last made way for Wage Labor,