The whole doctrine of freedom of contract is based upon a theory of constitutional equality which is frequently belied by the facts. What saves the theory from being altogether a fiction, is the possibility of contracting on something like equal terms through the power of collective bargaining. The doctrine of freedom of contract stands and falls with the efficacy of the organization of labor. If for any reason, such organization is impossible or ineffective, the right of the state to exert its power in favor of tolerable economic conditions cannot in reason be disputed, even though considerations of expediency or wisdom may make its exercise undesirable. In the past, women workers have been greatly inferior to men in the power of effective organization. It remains to be seen whether this inferiority will be permanent. Considering the fact that most women enter industrial work as a temporary occupation which they expect to give up for matrimony, and that the care of the household and family is still regarded as their normal and proper function, it is not surprising that there should be much less opportunity and inducement for organization among women than among men. And if this should prove to be a necessary limitation, it would constitute a justification for the exercise of state control, which in the case of men may be found to be absent or to be confined to particular employments. When we examine the labor laws of Massachusetts and other states, in which women are so commonly classed with young persons we might be tempted to conclude, that as on the one hand the state claims absolute control over children, and on the other hand is careful to respect the constitutional rights of adult men, there is manifested a consciousness of a power, not absolute, but transcending the normal measure, equally exercisable over those beyond the age of childhood and below full maturity, and over women. Upon closer scrutiny it will however appear that there are extremely few cases in which special legislation for women is of a purely economic character. The provision of the Massachusetts law[63] forbidding deductions from the wages of women (and minors) in case of the breakdown of machinery if they are refused the privilege of leaving the mill while the damage is being repaired, is one of the rare instances in point. Generally the common protection accorded to women and young persons is quite capable of being explained upon the basis of physical differences between adult men and adult women, and it is not therefore necessary to have recourse to the greater justification of special economic protection. The case may be somewhat different in English and German legislation.