London (England) -- Social conditions; Poor -- England -- London
The creature comforts man enjoys are the products of man’s labour.
Since Civilisation has failed to give the average Englishman food and
shelter equal to that enjoyed by the Innuit, the question arises: _Has
Civilisation increased the producing power of the average man_? If it
has not increased man’s producing power, then Civilisation cannot
stand.
But, it will be instantly admitted, Civilisation has increased man’s
producing power. Five men can produce bread for a thousand. One man can
produce cotton cloth for 250 people, woollens for 300, and boots and
shoes for 1000. Yet it has been shown throughout the pages of this book
that English folk by the millions do not receive enough food, clothes,
and boots. Then arises the third and inexorable question: _If
Civilisation has increased the producing power of the average man, why
has it not bettered the lot of the average man_?
There can be one answer only—MISMANAGEMENT. Civilisation has made
possible all manner of creature comforts and heart’s delights. In these
the average Englishman does not participate. If he shall be forever
unable to participate, then Civilisation falls. There is no reason for
the continued existence of an artifice so avowed a failure. But it is
impossible that men should have reared this tremendous artifice in
vain. It stuns the intellect. To acknowledge so crushing a defeat is to
give the death-blow to striving and progress.
One other alternative, and one other only, presents itself.
_Civilisation must be compelled to better the lot of the average man_.
This accepted, it becomes at once a question of business management.
Things profitable must be continued; things unprofitable must be
eliminated. Either the Empire is a profit to England, or it is a loss.
If it is a loss, it must be done away with. If it is a profit, it must
be managed so that the average man comes in for a share of the profit.
If the struggle for commercial supremacy is profitable, continue it. If
it is not, if it hurts the worker and makes his lot worse than the lot
of a savage, then fling foreign markets and industrial empire
overboard. For it is a patent fact that if 40,000,000 people, aided by
Civilisation, possess a greater individual producing power than the
Innuit, then those 40,000,000 people should enjoy more creature
comforts and heart’s delights than the Innuits enjoy.
If the 400,000 English gentlemen, “of no occupation,” according to
their own statement in the Census of 1881, are unprofitable, do away
with them. Set them to work ploughing game preserves and planting
potatoes. If they are profitable, continue them by all means, but let
it be seen to that the average Englishman shares somewhat in the
profits they produce by working at no occupation.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account