The producers news. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1918-1937, 1928-05-18
Elements of
Political Education
%. TO WHAT DID THE DECOMPOSITION OF THE
HANDICRAFTS LEAD?

The growth of trade by land and sea, embracing
countries not only of Europe but Asia and Africa
made demands on production that the guild artisan
system could not fulfill The new growing demands of
the markets, required an organization of production
which would make labor more productive.
The separation of the city from the village, industry
from agriculture the artisan from the peasant, and
the division of labor within the crafts themselves
already accompanied by considerable rise in the pro-
ductivty of labor, and consequently the growth of
commodity wealth. But the division of labor in handi
craft production chiefly specialization of labor
Le splitting of one profession into several For
ample from the taors craft in the 14th and Is CEN
turtles there had been formed the crafts of cutter en-
broderer furrier halter and member which were mems
work, while the making of womens dresses and sew
ing of undergarments were assigned to women. Under
such specialization the quality of labor is already raised
considerably but fairly bounds are placed to
technical progress and consequently the productivity
of labor.
Rapid technical progress begins only with the division
of the labor in any given speciality when many hands
act together in and the enterprise accomplish
one and the piece of work, each one making not
the whole, but only part of the product by use of
machine economizng labor and raising its productivity
The new requirements thus tore away the ground
from under handcraft production and made even home
production more profitable e production in which the
completeness of the artisan substituted by part work.
making one or another part of the product.
However, although in home production the producers
are united in general dependence upon the merchant
capitalist who dictates to them his WILL they are new
ertheess diversified in the process of production being
separate workers, each working at home 1t is
clear that under the conditions of home diversified
production the technical division of labor and its pro-
ductivity have also definite limits. No matter how
high the capitalist entrepreneur may raise the exploit
taton OF the small producers he cannot raise the pro-
ductivity of labor as much as he wishes
To accomplish this it necessary to go a step
further the path of breaking with the handicrafts
namely to gather all the separate of production
together and to carry out deeper DIVISION of labor
This could not be done otherwise than by turning these
of production of the separate producers into the
property Of the capitalist collecting them in place
and gathering together in this place greater lesser
number of workers. That is why the capitalist entire
goes further and changes the organization of
production. Instead of distributing raw materials and
implements of production to the homes he gathers to-
gether groups of workers in shop collecting there
everything necessary for production and in this way
subordinatng the organization of production COM
pletely to his management and control
Thus out of the handcrafts' thru home production
comes the capitalist organization of production which
is called manufacture.