Montana labor news., 1934-11-15
REALLY SMASHING
THE DEPRESSION

We have the means Of lifting every
one in our country to the highest
standard of living the world has ever
dreamed. We have the knowledge, the
ability, the technique.
All we need is the courage to take
over the means OF production and dis
tribution of the necessities of life.
This is a drastic measure, but five
years Of sugar-coated pills have demon
strated that halfway measures merely
ease the hard knocks that come with
capitalism, with the resultant reaction
all the more intense and painful.
Conservative economists, radicals,
~technocrats all agree that our eco
nomic machinery is capable of pro-
ducing many times the social wealth
which we possess, even with
technical conditions remaining as they
are.
In a recent survey, the Brookings
Institute estimated that in 1929 our
productive machinery was only so per
cent utilized, 1t based its figures on
present social and economic conditions,
refusing to take into account the in
crease in useful social wealth that
would result if a rational, planned econ
omy controlled our economic machin-
cry, doing away with social waste.
Other reputable economists figure
that we are capable Of increasing our
present social output 400 per cent.
We are able, in other words, to fur
nish every family in our nation at
least a $5,0O0-a-year standard Of liv-
ing.
What does this require?
1t means the fullest and most eff
ficient utilization Of agriculture tech
nique on a large-scale basis
Not blowing under while millions
are hungry.
It means a gigantic construction pro-
gram to build homes, parks, schools,
roads, factories.
It means a more equitable distribu-
ton OF social income to prevent a stu
alton
Where 9/1OO of l per cent OF agri-
cultural owners get 600 per cent more
than all the other farmers in the
country;
Where 1/10 of l per cent OF the pop
ulation has as much as AZ per cent Of
the rest of the people;
And where only a handful OF that
l/l0 Of / per cent. P. Morgan,
Rockefeller, Mellon and Ford, for ex-
ample-control social wealth for pc
sonal benefit at the expense of the gen
eral welfare.
Can this change be carried out? It
can.
We exist under a system of absentee
ownership, both in industry and agri-
culture. Neither Morgan, Mellon,
Rockefeller or Ford are necessary for
the functioning Of the industries they
control.
We are the labor power, the brain
power, the training power, the produc-
ing power, the consuming power.
We should be the controlling power,
if the system is to be rational.
OF course, there are difficulties:
We would be faced with the diff
iculty Of not having enough labor power,
instead Of having unemployment as
under capitalism. It has been esti-
mated that in 1929, even though in
dustry was still far from being fully
utilized, Il labor resources were 95
per cent exploited. The remaining 5
per cent accounted for a little more
than 100000 men. Yet even under con-
sentative estimates, 100000 more men
would be needed at full production ca
pacity. Even if middlemen were trans
formed into useful workers, there
would still be a labor shortage.
Moreover, we would find ourselves
temporarily short OF factories to pro-
duce all the new things we could con-
sumo with our new standard. At our
starting income Of $4,000, we would
need about a 70 per cent to 80 per cent
increase in all kinds of consumers
goods and services. The number of
our homes would have to be doubled.
1t would take some time before we
could readjust our machinery, now en-
gagged in producing fripperies, to the
production of necessities, and to mod
ernie factories outmoded through
bankruptcies in capitalist economy.
But, these difficulties will be the
pains Of growth, rather than the pangs
of decay.
We can endure them.