[Sidenote ◆1 The operation of Trade Unionism in raising wages can be easily seen at a glance by reference to the simple community which was imagined in the last chapter.] ◆¹ If the reader has not already forgotten our imaginary community,—our eight labourers with John and James directing them,—our easiest course will be to turn again to that. We saw that when the labourers were employed by John only,—John who found them each making _fifty pounds_ a year, and enabled them by his Ability each to make _four hundred pounds_—we saw that the whole of this increase, in the natural course of things, would be kept by John himself, by whose Ability it was practically created; for it would not be to John’s advantage to part with any of it, and the labourers, so long as they all acted separately, would have no means of extracting any of it from him. It would be useless for one of them at a time to strike for higher wages. The striker and the employer would meet on wholly unequal terms; because the striker, whilst the strike lasted, would be sacrificing the whole of his income, whilst depriving the employer of only an eighth part of his. But let us alter the supposition. Let us suppose that the labourers combine together, and that the whole eight strike for higher wages simultaneously. The situation is now completely changed; and the loss that the struggle will entail on both parties is equal. The employer, like the labourer, will for a time lose all his income. It is true that if the employer has a reserve fund on which he can support himself whilst production is suspended, and if the labourer has no such fund, the employer may still be sure of an immediate victory, should he be resolved at all costs to resist the labourers’ demand. But, in any case, the cost of resisting it will be appreciable: it is a loss which the labourers will be able to inflict on him repeatedly; and he may see that they would be able, by their strikes, to make him ultimately lose more than he would by assenting to their demands, or, at all events, making some concessions to them. It is therefore obvious that the labourers, in such a case, will be able to extract extra wages in the inverse proportion to the loss which the employer will sustain if he concedes them, and in direct proportion to the loss which would threaten him should he refuse to do so.[58] [Sidenote ◆1 Combination amongst labourers puts them at an advantage as against competing employers, until their demands grow so unreasonable as to force the employers to combine.]