The Commonwealth. [volume] (Everett, Wash.) 1911-1914, 1912-09-27
THE FARMER S PLACE IN THE
PRESENT ECONOMY.
BY Emil Herman.

By Emil Herman.
Editors Notc.-The article below by
Comradc Herman expresses the belief
that the farmer cannot be rs revolution
airy as class conscious wage-worker.
Many may differ from this view We in
vite reply to Comrade Herman on the
subject, "The Revolutionary FarmerD
Modern society is divided into two
classes, the capitalist class and the wage
class. The one makes its living through
the ownership of capital and the exploit
tation of labor, and the other makes its
living by the sale of its labor power.
BY q capitalist we mean one who
owns machinery or land which can be
converted into capital, by mere wage
worker one who depends upon the sale
of his labor power for a living. We use
the terms wage class and wage worker
instead of working class and worker be-
cause they are more definite and less
liable to misuse
Most any one can lay claim to being
a workingman whether he owns capital
ist property or not
These two great economic classes have
their various graduations. The capital
list is powerful or weak according to his
ownership of capital and his ability to
exploit labor The wage.worker is pros
porous or poor in proportion to his skill
and his ability to find market for the
same.
Some capitalists may be and are poorer
than some wage workers, however, this
fact does not determine their class re-
lationship nor their ideas and actions.
His ideas and actions are determined by
whether he is a buyer or seller of the
commodity labor power.
The farmer belongs to one of these
two classes. There are 5,739657 of him
in the United States. That some of
these farmers, whether owners, mort
gagees or tenants are capitalists no one
will dispute, but to make the statement
that all of them belong to the capitalist
class will meet with decided opposition.
Nevertheless the fact that he owns or
is in possession of property which can
be converted into capital places him
squarely in the ranks of the capitalist
class.
The farmer whether he is an employer
of labor or simply self employer is
not exploited. The fact that many of
them work very long hours and are de-
cidedly poor to the contrary notwith-
If we accept the MARKHAM theory that
surplus value results from exchanging
commodities at their value, i. e., their
social cost of production we are forced
to the conclusion that the self employ
ing, or small farmer, is poor not be-
cause he is exploited but because, with
his Anticipated methods, he can not sue
cessfully compete with the modern ma
chine farmer in the sale OF his products.
If it were true, as sorIe contend, that .
the small or self employing farmer is
exploited through freight rates, the pur-
'hase of machinery, etc, and in the sale
If his products, then it necessarily fol-
ows that the farmer who becomes
wealthy is also exploited in as much as
lie ships over the same roads and buys
md sells in the same market.
Many unsound contradictory and con
using conclusions arise out of the idea ,
hat the small farmers, other poorly en- !
renched capitalists and the wage class
re exploited when they buy the neces- ]
aries of life S
The fact is, the small farmer and other j
,eak capitalists are not exploited at all
nd the wage-worker is exploited not as T
buyer of commodities but as a seller i
a commodity-his labor power i. e. he o
forced to sell his labor power for less q
ian it creates. s
The interests of the farmer and the
lge-worker conflict and it may be n
ated in passing that as a rule the law d
economic determinism does not stop N
erating simply because one signs fl
application card aud becomes a mem
= of the socialist party. "
The farmer who employs labor wants tt
ages TO De low and the self employing
be- is indifferent as TO whether they Oh