It will be enough, then, to turn from Mr. Shaw himself to ordinary sensible men, especially to the men of exceptional energy, capacity, shrewdness, strong will, and productive genius—the men who are making fortunes, or who have just made them, and without whose efforts all modern industry would be paralysed, and to tell such men that the sole answer of Fabianism to my attack on the Socialistic position is summed up in the following astounding statement:—That the complete confiscation of all the invested money in this country, and all the incomes derived from it—from the many thousands a year going to the great organiser of industry to the hundred a year belonging to the small retired tradesman—would have no effect whatever on the hopes and efforts of those who are now devoting their Ability to making money to invest (see Mr. Shaw’s article). Well—_Bos locutus est_: there is the quintessence of Mr. Shaw’s knowledge of human nature and of the world, and though it would be interesting and instructive to analyse the error of his view, no analysis could make its absurdity seem more complete than it will seem without analysis, to every practical man. FOOTNOTES [1] Writers also from whom better things might have been expected make use of the same foolish language. “The proletarian, in accepting the highest bid, sells himself openly into bondage” (_Fabian Essays_, p. 12). [2] According to Professor Leone Levi, the actual sum would be _one hundred and thirteen million pounds_: but in dealing with estimates such as these, in which absolute accuracy is impossible, it is better, as well as more convenient, to use round numbers. More than nine-tenths of this sum belongs to the income of the classes that pay income-tax. Of the working-class income, not more than two per cent is counted twice over, according to Professor Leone Levi. [3] There is a general agreement amongst statisticians with regard to these figures. _Cf._ Messrs Giffen, Mulhall, and Leone Levi _passim_. [4] Out of any _thousand_ inhabitants, _two hundred and fifty-eight_ are under ten years of age; and _three hundred and sixty-six_ out of every _thousand_ are under fifteen. [5] Statistics in support of the above result might be indefinitely multiplied, both from European countries and America. So far as food is concerned, scientific authorities tell us that if _twenty_ represents the amount required by a man, a woman will require _fifteen_, and a child _eleven_; but the total expenditures necessary are somewhat different in proportion. [6] The total imperial taxation in the United Kingdom is about _two pounds eight shillings_ per head; and the total local taxation is about _one pound four shillings_. Thus the two together come to _three pounds twelve shillings_ per head, which for every family of four and a half persons gives a total of _sixteen pounds four shillings_.