Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Martin Pettit and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net BRITAIN FOR THE BRITISH BY _ROBERT BLATCHFORD_ EDITOR OF THE CLARION [Illustration: Logo] LONDON CLARION PRESS, 72 FLEET STREET, E. C. CHICAGO CHARLES H. KERR & COMPANY 56 FIFTH AVENUE Copyright, 1902, BY CHARLES H. KERR & COMPANY. Printed in the United States. DEDICATED TO A. M. THOMPSON AND THE CLARION FELLOWSHIP CONTENTS CHAP. PAGE THE TITLE, PURPOSE, AND METHOD OF THIS BOOK 1 FOREWORDS 6 I. THE UNEQUAL DIVISION OF WEALTH 10 II. WHAT IS WEALTH? WHERE DOES IT COME FROM? WHO CREATES IT? 26 III. HOW THE FEW GET RICH AND KEEP THE MANY POOR 33 IV. THE BRAIN-WORKER, OR INVENTOR 45 V. THE LANDLORD'S RIGHTS AND THE PEOPLE'S RIGHTS 51 VI. LUXURY AND THE GREAT USEFUL EMPLOYMENT FRAUD 63 VII. WHAT SOCIALISM IS NOT 74 VIII. WHAT SOCIALISM IS 82 IX. COMPETITION _v._ CO-OPERATION 90 X. FOREIGN TRADE AND FOREIGN FOOD 97 XI. HOW TO KEEP FOREIGN TRADE 102 XII. CAN BRITAIN FEED HERSELF? 110 XIII. THE SUCCESSFUL MAN 119 XIV. TEMPERANCE AND THRIFT 127 XV. THE SURPLUS LABOUR MISTAKE 135 XVI. IS SOCIALISM POSSIBLE, AND WILL IT PAY? 141 XVII. THE NEED FOR A LABOUR PARTY 148 XVIII. WHY THE OLD PARTIES WILL NOT DO 156 XIX. TO-DAY'S WORK 166 WHAT TO READ 174 THE TITLE OF THIS BOOK The motto of this book is expressed in its title: BRITAIN FOR THE BRITISH. At present Britain does not belong to the British: it belongs to a few of the British, who employ the bulk of the population as servants or as workers. It is because Britain does not belong to the British that a few are very rich and the many are very poor. It is because Britain does not belong to the British that we find amongst the _owning_ class a state of useless luxury and pernicious idleness, and amongst the _working_ classes a state of drudging toil, of wearing poverty and anxious care. This state of affairs is contrary to Christianity, is contrary to justice, and contrary to reason. It is bad for the rich, it is bad for the poor; it is against the best interests of the British nation and the human race.