Besides the productivity of labor by a rivalry between producers, the socialistic phalanx will avoid the waste of goods caused by industrial and commercial competition. Twenty men are often employed to do what three or four might accomplish with ease, were the labor properly organized. Think of the enormous loss to society of labor and capital due to a superfluity of retail shops all over a great country like the United States! It may not have occurred to some that whenever capital, consisting of economic goods, like houses, buildings, implements, etc., is not fully employed, or whenever men are waiting for work, economic power is being wasted. This view of the effects of competition ought to influence our legislators more than it does. Let us take the case of two parallel railroads, where one might do all the business. Thousands of acres of land are needlessly and forever removed from agricultural purposes, thousands of tons of iron and steel are diverted from other uses, the labor of hundreds of men is permanently wasted—in short, the millions sunk in the enterprise in the first place, together with the cost of maintaining and working it, are forever lost to the society. Competition thus often makes it cost far more to do a given amount of business than it would otherwise. If Fourierism could rid us of the evils of free competition without depriving us of the benefits we derive from it, it would, indeed, be in so far a great blessing to the world. Fourier felt positive that it could, but he has never succeeded in convincing a large number to put faith in his bright promises.