99       99       99       99       99  
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-------------------      ,transcriber's 
,note3                                  
,inconsistent hyphenation in the        
original document has           been    
preserved4                              
,obvious typographical errors have been 
corrected4 ,for           a complete    
list1 please see the end of this        
document4                               
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-------------------         99       99 
99       99       99       ,,socialism4 
,,by   ,,john ,,stuart ,,mill4          
,reprinted from the ,fortnightly        
,review4     ,,chicago4   ,,belfords1   
,,clarke  ,,co4   ,,mdccclxxix4         
,,manufactured ,,by   ,,donohue         
,,henneberry4   ,,chicago1 ,,ill4       
,,preliminary ,,notice4   ,it was in the
 year #ahfi that1 impressed with the    
degree in which1 even during the last   
twenty years1 when the world seemed so  
wholly occupied with other matters1 the 

socialist ideas of speculative thinkers 
had spread among the workers in every   
civilized country1 ,mr4 ,mill formed the
 design of writing a book on ,socialism4
 ,convinced that the inevitable         
tendencies of modern society must be to 
bring the questions involved in it      
always more and more to the front1 he   
thought it of great practical           
consequence that they should be         
thoroughly and impartially considered1  
and the lines pointed out by which the  
best speculatively-tested theories      
might1 without prolongation of suffering
 on the one hand1 or unnecessary        
disturbance on the other1 be applied to 
the existing order of things4 ,he       
therefore planned a work which should go
 exhaustively through the whole subject1
 point by point2 and the chapters now   
printed are the first rough drafts      
thrown down towards the foundation of   
that work4 ,these chapters might not1   
when the work came to be completely     
written out and then re-written1        

according to the author's habit1 have   
appeared in the present order2 they     
might have been incorporated into       
different parts of the work4 ,it has not
 been without hesitation that ,i have   
yielded to the urgent wish of the editor
 of this ,review to give these chapters 
to the world2 but ,i have complied with 
his request because1 while they appear  
to me to possess great intrinsic value  
as well as special application to the   
problems now forcing themselves on      
public attention1 they will not1 ,i     
believe1 detract even from the mere     
literary reputation of their author1 but
 will rather form an example of the     
patient labor with which good work is   
done4                                   
,,helen ,,taylor4    ,january1 #ahgi4   
,,socialism4     ,,introductory4   ,in  
the great country beyond the ,atlantic1 
which is now well-nigh the most powerful
 country in the world1 and will soon be 
indisputably so1 manhood suffrage       
prevails4 ,such is also the political   

qualification of ,france since #ahdh1   
and has become that of the ,german      
,confederation1 though not of all the   
several states composing it4 ,in ,great 
,britain the suffrage is not yet so     
widely extended1 but the last ,reform   
,act admitted within what is called the 
pale of the ,constitution so large a    
body of those who live on weekly wages1 
that as soon and as often as these shall
 choose to act together as a class1 and 
exert for any common object the whole of
 the electoral power which our present  
institutions give them1 they will       
exercise1 though not a complete         
ascendency1 a very great influence on   
legislation4 ,now these are the very    
class which1 in the vocabulary of the   
higher ranks1 are said to have no stake 
in the country4 ,of course they have in 
reality the greatest stake1 since their 
daily bread depends on its prosperity4  
,but they are not engaged 7we may call  
it bribed7 by any peculiar interest of  
their own1 to the support of property as

 it is1 least of all to the support of  
inequalities of property4 ,so far as    
their power reaches1 or may hereafter   
reach1 the laws of property have to     
depend for support upon considerations  
of a public nature1 upon the estimate   
made of their conduciveness to the      
general welfare1 and not upon motives of
 a mere personal character operating on 
the minds of those who have control over
 the ,government4  ,it seems to me that 
the greatness of this change is as yet  
by no means completely realized1 either 
by those who opposed1 or by those who   
effected our last constitutional reform4
 ,to say the truth1 the perceptions of  
,englishmen are of late somewhat blunted
 as to the tendencies of political      
changes4 ,they have seen so many changes
 made1 from which1 while only in        
prospect1 vast expectations were        
entertained1 both of evil and of good1  
while the results of either kind that   
actually followed seemed far short of   
what had been predicted1 that they have 

come to feel as if it were the nature of
 political changes not to fulfil        
expectation1 and have fallen into a     
habit of half-unconscious belief that   
such changes1 when they take place      
without a violent revolution1 do not    
much or permanently disturb in practice 
the course of things habitual to the    
country4 ,this1 however1 is but a       
superficial view either of the past or  
of the future4 ,the various reforms of  
the last two generations have been at   
least as fruitful in important          
consequences as was foretold4 ,the      
predictions were often erroneous as to  
the suddenness of the effects1 and      
sometimes even as to the kind of effect4
 ,we laugh at the vain expectations of  
those who thought that ,catholic        
emancipation would tranquilize ,ireland1
 or reconcile it to ,british rule4 ,at  
the end of the first ten years of the   
,reform ,act of #ahcb1 few continued to 
think either that it would remove every 
important practical grievance1 or that  

it had opened the door to universal     
suffrage4 ,but five-and-twenty years    
more of its operation had given scope   
for a large development of its indirect 
working1 which is much more momentous   
than the direct4 ,sudden effects in     
history are generally superficial4      
,causes which go deep down into the     
roots of future events produce the most 
serious parts of their effect only      
slowly1 and have1 therefore1 time to    
become a part of the familiar order of  
things before general attention is      
called to the changes they are          
producing2 since1 when the changes do   
become evident1 they are often not seen1
 by cursory observers1 to be in any     
peculiar manner connected with the      
cause4 ,the remoter consequences of a   
new political fact are seldom understood
 when they occur1 except when they have 
been appreciated beforehand4  ,this     
timely appreciation is particularly easy
 in respect to tendencies of the change 
made in our institutions by the ,reform 

,act of #ahfg4 ,the great increase of   
electoral power which the ,act places   
within the reach of the working classes 
is permanent4 ,the circumstances which  
have caused them1 thus far1 to make a   
very limited use of that power1 are     
essentially temporary4 ,it is known even
 to the most inobservant1 that the      
working classes have1 and are likely to 
have1 political objects which concern   
them as working classes1 and on which   
they believe1 rightly or wrongly1 that  
the interests and opinions of the other 
powerful classes are opposed to theirs4 
,however much their pursuit of these    
objects may be for the present retarded 
by want of electoral organization1 by   
dissensions among themselves1 or by     
their not having reduced as yet their   
wishes into a sufficiently definite     
practical shape1 it is as certain as    
anything in politics can be1 that they  
will before long find the means of      
making their collective electoral power 
effectively instrumental to the         

proportion of their collective objects4 
,and when they do so1 it will not be in 
the disorderly and ineffective way which
 belongs to a people not habituated to  
the use of legal and constitutional     
machinery1 nor will it be by the impulse
 of a mere instinct of levelling4 ,the  
instruments will be the press1 public   
meetings and associations1 and the      
return to ,parliament of the greatest   
possible number of persons pledged to   
the political aims of the working       
classes4 ,the political aims will       
themselves be determined by definite    
political doctrines2 for politics are   
now scientifically studied from the     
point of view of the working classes1   
and opinions conceived in the special   
interest of those classes are organized 
into systems and creeds which lay claim 
to a place on the platform of political 
philosophy1 by the same right as the    
systems elaborated by previous thinkers4
 ,it is of the utmost importance that   
all reflecting persons should take into 

early consideration what these popular  
political creeds are likely to be1 and  
that every single article of them should
 be brought under the fullest light of  
investigation and discussion1 so that1  
if possible1 when the time shall be     
ripe1 whatever is right in them may be  
adopted1 and what is wrong rejected by  
general consent1 and that instead of a  
hostile conflict1 physical or only      
moral1 between the old and the new1 the 
best parts of both may be combined in a 
renovated social fabric4 ,at the        
ordinary pace of those great social     
changes which are not effected by       
physical violence1 we have before us an 
interval of about a generation1 on the  
due employment of which it depends      
whether the accommodation of social     
institutions to the altered state of    
human society1 shall be the work of wise
 foresight1 or of a conflict of opposite
 prejudices4 ,the future of mankind will
 be gravely imperilled1 if great        
questions are left to be fought over    

between ignorant change and ignorant    
opposition to change4  ,and the         
discussion that is now required is one  
that must go down to the very first     
principles of existing society4 ,the    
fundamental doctrines which were assumed
 as incontestable by former generations1
 are now put again on their trial4      
,until the present age1 the institution 
of property in the shape in which it has
 been handed down from the past1 had    
not1 except by a few speculative        
writers1 been brought seriously into    
question1 because the conflicts of the  
past have always been conflicts between 
classes1 both of which had a stake in   
the existing constitution of property4  
,it will not be possible to go on longer
 in this manner4 ,when the discussion   
includes classes who have next to no    
property of their own1 and are only     
interested in the institution so far as 
it is a public benefit1 they will not   
allow anything to be taken for          
granted--certainly not the principle of 

private property1 the legitimacy and    
utility of which are denied by many of  
the reasoners who look out from the     
stand-point of the working classes4     
,those classes will certainly demand    
that the subject1 in all its parts1     
shall be reconsidered from the          
foundation2 that all proposals for doing
 without the institution1 and all modes 
of modifying it which have the          
appearance of being favorable to the    
interest of the working classes1 shall  
receive the fullest consideration and   
discussion before it is decided that the
 subject must remain as it is4 ,as far  
as this country is concerned1 the       
dispositions of the working classes have
 as yet manifested themselves hostile   
only to certain outlying portions of the
 proprietary system4 ,many of them      
desire to withdraw questions of wages   
from the freedom of contract1 which is  
one of the ordinary attributions of     
private property4 ,the more aspiring of 
them deny that land is a proper subject 

for private appropriation1 and have     
commenced an agitation for its          
resumption by the ,state4 ,with this is 
combined1 in the speeches of some of the
 agitators1 a denunciation of what they 
term usury1 but without any definition  
of what they mean by the name2 and the  
cry does not seem to be of home origin1 
but to have been caught up from the     
intercourse which has recently commenced
 through the ,labor ,congresses and the 
,international ,society1 with the       
continental ,socialists who object to   
all interest on money1 and deny the     
legitimacy of deriving an income in any 
form from property apart from labor4    
,this doctrine does not as yet show     
signs of being widely prevalent in      
,great ,britain1 but the soil is well   
prepared to receive the seeds of this   
description which are widely scattered  
from those foreign countries where      
large1 general theories1 and schemes of 
vast promise1 instead of inspiring      
distrust1 are essential to the          

popularity of a cause4 ,it is in        
,france1 ,germany1 and ,switzerland that
 anti-property doctrines in the widest  
sense have drawn large bodies of working
 men to rally round them4 ,in these     
countries nearly all those who aim at   
reforming society in the interest of the
 working classes profess themselves     
,socialists1 a designation under which  
schemes of very diverse character are   
comprehended and confounded1 but which  
implies at least a remodelling generally
 approaching to abolition of the        
institution of private property4 ,and it
 would probably be found that even in   
,england the more prominent and active  
leaders of the working classes are      
usually in their private creed          
,socialists of one order or another1    
though being1 like most ,english        
politicians1 better aware than their    
,continental brethren that great and    
permanent changes in the fundamental    
ideas of mankind are not to be          
accomplished by a coup de main1 they    

direct their practical efforts towards  
ends which seem within easier reach1 and
 are content to hold back all extreme   
theories until there has been experience
 of the operation of the same principles
 on a partial scale4 ,while such        
continues to be the character of the    
,english working classes1 as it is of   
,englishmen in general1 they are not    
likely to rush head-long into the       
reckless extremities of some of the     
foreign ,socialists1 who1 even in sober 
,switzerland1 proclaim themselves       
content to begin by simple subversion1  
leaving the subsequent reconstruction to
 take care of itself2 and by subversion1
 they mean not only the annihilation of 
all government1 but getting all property
 of all kinds out of the hands of the   
possessors to be used for the general   
benefit2 but in what mode it will1 they 
say1 be time enough afterwards to       
decide4  ,the avowal of this doctrine by
 a public newspaper1 the organ of an    
association 7,la ,solidarite published  

at ,neuchatel71 is one of the most      
curious signs of the times4 ,the leaders
 of the ,english working-men--whose     
delegates at the congresses of ,geneva  
and ,bale contributed much the greatest 
part of such practical common sense as  
was shown there--are not likely to begin
 deliberately by anarchy1 without having
 formed any opinion as to what form of  
society should be established in the    
room of the old4 ,but it is evident that
 whatever they do propose can only be   
properly judged1 and the grounds of the 
judgment made convincing to the general 
mind1 on the basis of a previous survey 
of the two rival theories1 that of      
private property and that of ,socialism1
 one or other of which must necessarily 
furnish most of the premises in the     
discussion4 ,before1 therefore1 we can  
usefully discuss this class of questions
 in detail1 it will be advisable to     
examine from their foundations the      
general question raised by ,socialism4  
,and this examination should be made    

without any hostile prejudice4 ,however 
irrefutable the arguments in favor of   
the laws of property may appear to those
 to whom they have the double prestige  
of immemorial custom and of personal    
interest1 nothing is more natural than  
that a working man who has begun to     
speculate on politics1 should regard    
them in a very different light4 ,having1
 after long struggles1 attained in some 
countries1 and nearly attained in       
others1 the point at which for them1 at 
least1 there is no further progress to  
make in the department of purely        
political rights1 is it possible that   
the less fortunate classes among the    
adult males should not ask themselves   
whether progress ought to stop there8   
,notwithstanding all that has been done1
 and all that seems likely to be done1  
in the extension of franchises1 a few   
are born to great riches1 and the many  
to a penury1 made only more grating by  
contrast4 ,no longer enslaved or made   
dependent by force of law1 the great    

majority are so by force of poverty2    
they are still chained to a place1 to an
 occupation1 and to conformity with the 
will of an employer1 and debarred by the
 accident of birth both from the        
enjoyments1 and from the mental and     
moral advantages1 which others inherit  
without exertion and independently of   
desert4 ,that this is an evil equal to  
almost any of those against which       
mankind have hitherto struggled1 the    
poor are not wrong in believing4 ,is it 
a necessary evil8 ,they are told so by  
those who do not feel it--by those who  
have gained the prizes in the lottery of
 life4 ,but it was also said that       
slavery1 that despotism1 that all the   
privileges of oligarchy were necessary4 
,all the successive steps that have been
 made by the poorer classes1 partly won 
from the better feelings of the         
powerful1 partly extorted from their    
fears1 and partly bought with money1 or 
attained in exchange for support given  
to one section of the powerful in its   

quarrels with another1 had the strongest
 prejudices opposed to them beforehand2 
but their acquisition was a sign of     
power gained by the subordinate classes1
 a means to those classes of acquiring  
more2 it consequently drew to those     
classes a certain share of the respect  
accorded to power1 and produced a       
corresponding modification in the creed 
of society respecting them2 whatever    
advantages they succeeded in acquiring  
came to be considered their due1 while1 
of those which they had not yet         
attained1 they continued to be deemed   
unworthy4 ,the classes1 therefore1 which
 the system of society makes            
subordinate1 have little reason to put  
faith in any of the maxims which the    
same system of society may have         
established as principles4 ,considering 
that the opinions of mankind have been  
found so wonderfully flexible1 have     
always tended to consecrate existing    
facts1 and to declare what did not yet  
exist1 either pernicious or             

impracticable1 what assurance have those
 classes that the distinction of rich   
and poor is grounded on a more          
imperative necessity than those other   
ancient and long-established facts1     
which1 having been abolished1 are now   
condemned even by those who formerly    
profited by them8 ,this cannot be taken 
on the word of an interested party4 ,the
 working classes are entitled to claim  
that the whole field of social          
institutions should be re-examined1 and 
every question considered as if it now  
arose for the first time2 with the idea 
constantly in view that the persons who 
are to be convinced are not those who   
owe their ease and importance to the    
present system1 but persons who have no 
other interest in the matter than       
abstract justice and the general good of
 the community4 ,it should be the object
 to ascertain what institutions of      
property would be established by an     
unprejudiced legislator1 absolutely     
impartial between the possessors of     

property and the non-possessors2 and to 
defend and to justify them by the       
reasons which would really influence    
such a legislator1 and not by such as   
have the appearance of being got up to  
make out a case for what already exists4
 ,such rights or privileges of property 
as will not stand this test will1 sooner
 or later1 have to be given up4 ,an     
impartial hearing ought1 moreover1 to be
 given to all objections against        
property itself4 ,all evils and         
inconveniences attaching to the         
institution in its best form ought to be
 frankly admitted1 and the best remedies
 or palliatives applied which human     
intelligence is able to devise4 ,and all
 plans proposed by social reformers1    
under whatever name designated1 for the 
purpose of attaining the benefits aimed 
at by the institution of property       
without its inconveniences1 should be   
examined with the same candor1 not      
prejudged as absurd or impracticable4   
,,socialist ,,objections ,,to ,,the     

,,present ,,order ,,of ,,society4  ,as  
in all proposals for change there are   
two elements to be considered--that     
which is to be changed1 and that which  
it is to be changed to--so in ,socialism
 considered generally1 and in each of   
its varieties taken separately1 there   
are two parts to be distinguished1 the  
one negative and critical1 the other    
constructive4 ,there is1 first1 the     
judgment of ,socialism on existing      
institutions and practices and on their 
results2 and secondly1 the various plans
 which it has propounded for doing      
better4 ,in the former all the different
 schools of ,socialism are at one4 ,they
 agree almost to identity in the faults 
which they find with the economical     
order of existing society4 ,up to a     
certain point also they entertain the   
same general conception of the remedy to
 be provided for those faults2 but in   
the details1 notwithstanding this       
general agreement1 there is a wide      
disparity4 ,it will be both natural and 

convenient1 in attempting an estimate of
 their doctrines1 to begin with the     
negative portion which is common to them
 all1 and to postpone all mention of    
their differences until we arrive at    
that second part of their undertaking1  
in which alone they seriously differ4   
,this first part of our task is by no   
means difficult2 since it consists only 
in an enumeration of existing evils4 ,of
 these there is no scarcity1 and most of
 them are by no means obscure or        
mysterious4 ,many of them are the       
veriest commonplaces of moralists1      
though the roots even of these lie      
deeper than moralists usually attempt to
 penetrate4 ,so various are they that   
the only difficulty is to make any      
approach to an exhaustive catalogue4 ,we
 shall content ourselves for the present
 with mentioning a few of the principal4
 ,and let one thing be remembered by the
 reader4 ,when item after item of the   
enumeration passes before him1 and he   
finds one fact after another which he   

has been accustomed to include among the
 necessities of nature urged as an      
accusation against social institutions1 
he is not entitled to cry unfairness1   
and to protest that the evils complained
 of are inherent in ,man and ,society1  
and are such as no arrangements can     
remedy4 ,to assert this would be to beg 
the very question at issue4 ,no one is  
more ready than ,socialists to          
admit--they affirm it indeed much more  
decidedly than truth warrants--that the 
evils they complain of are irremediable 
in the present constitution of society4 
,they propose to consider whether some  
other form of society may be devised    
which would not be liable to those      
evils1 or would be liable to them in a  
much less degree4 ,those who object to  
the present order of society1 considered
 as a whole and who accept as an        
alternative the possibility of a total  
change1 have a right to set down all the
 evils which at present exist in society
 as part of their case1 whether these   

are apparently attributable to social   
arrangements or not1 provided they do   
not flow from physical laws which human 
power is not adequate1 or human         
knowledge has not yet learned1 to       
counteract4 ,moral evils and such       
physical evils as would be remedied if  
all persons did as they ought1 are      
fairly chargeable against the state of  
society which admits of them2 and are   
valid as arguments until it is shown    
that any other state of society would   
involve an equal or greater amount of   
such evils4 ,in the opinion of          
,socialists1 the present arrangements of
 society in respect to ,property and the
 ,production and ,distribution of       
,wealth1 are as means to the general    
good1 a total failure4 ,they say that   
there is an enormous mass of evil which 
these arrangements do not succeed in    
preventing2 that the good1 either moral 
or physical1 which they realize is      
wretchedly small compared with the      
amount of exertion employed1 and that   

even this small amount of good is       
brought about by means which are full of
 pernicious consequences1 moral and     
physical4  ,first among existing social 
evils may be mentioned the evil of      
,poverty4 ,the institution of ,property 
is upheld and commended principally as  
being the means by which labor and      
frugality are insured their reward1 and 
mankind enabled to emerge from          
indigence4 ,it may be so2 most          
,socialists allow that it has been so in
 earlier periods of history4 ,but if the
 institution can do nothing more or     
better in this respect than it has      
hitherto done1 its capabilities1 they   
affirm1 are very insignificant4 ,what   
proportion of the population1 in the    
most civilized countries of ,europe1    
enjoy in their own persons anything     
worth naming of the benefits of         
property8 ,it may be said1 that but for 
property in the hands of their employers
 they would be without daily bread2 but1
 though this be conceded1 at least their

 daily bread is all that they have2 and 
that often in insufficient quantity2    
almost always of inferior quality2 and  
with no assurance of continuing to have 
it at all2 an immense proportion of the 
industrious classes being at some period
 or other of their lives 7and all being 
liable to become7 dependent1 at least   
temporarily1 on legal or voluntary      
charity4 ,any attempt to depict the     
miseries of indigence1 or to estimate   
the proportion of mankind who in the    
most advanced countries are habitually  
given up during their whole existence to
 its physical and moral sufferings1     
would be superfluous here4 ,this may be 
left to philanthropists1 who have       
painted these miseries in colors        
sufficiently strong4 ,suffice it to say 
that the condition of numbers in        
civilized ,europe1 and even in ,england 
and ,france1 is more wretched than that 
of most tribes of savages who are known 
to us4  ,it may be said that of this    
hard lot no one has any reason to       

complain1 because it befalls those only 
who are outstripped by others1 from     
inferiority of energy or of prudence4   
,this1 even were it true1 would be a    
very small alleviation of the evil4 ,if 
some ,nero or ,domitian was to require a
 hundred persons to run a race for their
 lives1 on condition that the fifty or  
twenty who came in hindmost should be   
put to death1 it would not be any       
diminution of the injustice that the    
strongest or nimblest would1 except     
through some untoward accident1 be      
certain to escape4 ,the misery and the  
crime would be that they were put to    
death at all4 ,so in the economy of     
society2 if there be any who suffer     
physical privation or moral degradation1
 whose bodily necessities are either not
 satisfied or satisfied in a manner     
which only brutish creatures can be     
content with1 this1 though not          
necessarily the crime of society1 is pro
 tanto a failure of the social          
arrangements4 ,and to assert as a       

mitigation of the evil that those who   
thus suffer are the weaker members of   
the community1 morally or physically1 is
 to add insult to misfortune4 ,is       
weakness a justification of suffering8  
,is it not1 on the contrary1 an         
irresistible claim upon every human     
being for protection against suffering8 
,if the minds and feelings of the       
prosperous were in a right state1 would 
they accept their prosperity if for the 
sake of it even one person near them    
was1 for any other cause than voluntary 
fault1 excluded from obtaining a        
desirable existence8  ,one thing there  
is1 which if it could be affirmed truly1
 would relieve social institutions from 
any share in the responsibility of these
 evils4 ,since the human race has no    
means of enjoyable existence1 or of     
existence at all1 but what it derives   
from its own labor and abstinence1 there
 would be no ground for complaint       
against society if every one who was    
willing to undergo a fair share of this 

labor and abstinence could attain a fair
 share of the fruits4 ,but is this the  
fact8 ,is it not the reverse of the     
fact8 ,the reward1 instead of being     
proportioned to the labor and abstinence
 of the individual1 is almost in an     
inverse ratio to it3 those who receive  
the least1 labor and abstain the most4  
,even the idle1 reckless1 and           
ill-conducted poor1 those who are said  
with most justice to have themselves to 
blame for their condition1 often undergo
 much more and severer labor1 not only  
than those who are born to pecuniary    
independence1 but than almost any of the
 more highly remunerated of those who   
earn their subsistence2 and even the    
inadequate self-control exercised by the
 industrious poor costs them more       
sacrifice and more effort than is almost
 ever required from the more favored    
members of society4 ,the very idea of   
distributive justice1 or of any         
proportionality between success and     
merit1 or between success and exertion1 

is in the present state of society so   
manifestly chimerical as to be relegated
 to the regions of romance4 ,it is true 
that the lot of individuals is not      
wholly independent of their virtue and  
intelligence2 these do really tell in   
their favor1 but far less than many     
other things in which there is no merit 
at all4 ,the most powerful of all the   
determining circumstances is birth4 ,the
 great majority are what they were born 
to be4 ,some are born rich without work1
 others are born to a position in which 
they can become rich by work1 the great 
majority are born to hard work and      
poverty throughout life1 numbers to     
indigence4 ,next to birth the chief     
cause of success in life is accident and
 opportunity4 ,when a person not born to
 riches succeeds in acquiring them1 his 
own industry and dexterity have         
generally contributed to the result2 but
 industry and dexterity would not have  
sufficed unless there had been also a   
concurrence of occasions and chances    

which falls to the lot of only a small  
number4 ,if persons are helped in their 
worldly career by their virtues1 so are 
they1 and perhaps quite as often1 by    
their vices3 by servility and           
sycophancy1 by hard-hearted and         
close-fisted selfishness1 by the        
permitted lies and tricks of trade1 by  
gambling speculations1 not seldom by    
downright knavery4 ,energies and talents
 are of much more avail for success in  
life than virtues2 but if one man       
succeeds by employing energy and talent 
in something generally useful1 another  
thrives by exercising the same qualities
 in out-generalling and ruining a rival4
 ,it is as much as any moralist ventures
 to assert1 that1 other circumstances   
being given1 honesty is the best policy1
 and that with parity of advantages an  
honest person has a better chance than a
 rogue4 ,even this in many stations and 
circumstances of life is questionable2  
anything more than this is out of the   
question4 ,it cannot be pretended that  

honesty1 as a means of success1 tells   
for as much as a difference of one      
single step on the social ladder4 ,the  
connection between fortune and conduct  
is mainly this1 that there is a degree  
of bad conduct1 or rather of some kinds 
of bad conduct1 which suffices to ruin  
any amount of good fortune2 but the     
converse is not true3 in the situation  
of most people no degree whatever of    
good conduct can be counted upon for    
raising them in the world1 without the  
aid of fortunate accidents4  ,these     
evils1 then--great poverty1 and that    
poverty very little connected with      
desert--are the first grand failure of  
the existing arrangements of society4   
,the second is human misconduct2 crime1 
vice1 and folly1 with all the sufferings
 which follow in their train4 ,for1     
nearly all the forms of misconduct1     
whether committed towards ourselves or  
towards others1 may be traced to one of 
three causes3 ,poverty and its          
temptations in the many2 ,idleness and  

desoeuvrement in the few whose          
circumstances do not compel them to     
work2 bad education1 or want of         
education1 in both4 ,the first two must 
be allowed to be at least failures in   
the social arrangements1 the last is now
 almost universally admitted to be the  
fault of those arrangements--it may     
almost be said the crime4 ,i am speaking
 loosely and in the rough1 for a minuter
 analysis of the sources of faults of   
character and errors of conduct would   
establish far more conclusively the     
filiation which connects them with a    
defective organization of society1      
though it would also show the reciprocal
 dependence of that faulty state of     
society on a backward state of the human
 mind4  ,at this point1 in the          
enumeration of the evils of society1 the
 mere levellers of former times usually 
stopped2 but their more far-sighted     
successors1 the present ,socialists1 go 
farther4 ,in their eyes the very        
foundation of human life as at present  

constituted1 the very principle on which
 the production and repartition of all  
material products is now carried on1 is 
essentially vicious and anti-social4 ,it
 is the principle of individualism1     
competition1 each one for himself and   
against all the rest4 ,it is grounded on
 opposition of interests1 not harmony of
 interests1 and under it every one is   
required to find his place by a         
struggle1 by pushing others back or     
being pushed back by them4 ,socialists  
consider this system of private war 7as 
it may be termed7 between every one and 
every one1 especially fatal in an       
economical point of view and in a moral4
 ,morally considered1 its evils are     
obvious4 ,it is the parent of envy1     
hatred1 and all uncharitableness2 it    
makes every one the natural enemy of all
 others who cross his path1 and every   
one's path is constantly liable to be   
crossed4 ,under the present system      
hardly any one can gain except by the   
loss or disappointment of one or of many

 others4 ,in a well-constituted         
community every one would be a gainer by
 every other person's successful        
exertions2 while now we gain by each    
other's loss and lose by each other's   
gain1 and our greatest gains come from  
the worst source of all1 from death1 the
 death of those who are nearest and     
should be dearest to us4 ,in its purely 
economical operation the principle of   
individual competition receives as      
unqualified condemnation from the social
 reformers as in its moral4 ,in the     
competition of laborers they see the    
cause of low wages2 in the competition  
of producers the cause of ruin and      
bankruptcy2 and both evils1 they affirm1
 tend constantly to increase as         
population and wealth make progress2 no 
person 7they conceive7 being benefited  
except the great proprietors of land1   
the holders of fixed money incomes1 and 
a few great capitalists1 whose wealth is
 gradually enabling them to undersell   
all other producers1 to absorb the whole

 of the operations of industry into     
their own sphere1 to drive from the     
market all employers of labor except    
themselves1 and to convert the laborers 
into a kind of slaves or serfs1         
dependent on them for the means of      
support1 and compelled to accept these  
on such terms as they choose to offer4  
,society1 in short1 is travelling       
onward1 according to these speculators1 
towards a new feudality1 that of the    
great capitalists4  ,as ,i shall have   
ample opportunity in future chapters to 
state my own opinion on these topics1   
and on many others connected with and   
subordinate to them1 ,i shall now1      
without further preamble1 exhibit the   
opinions of distinguished ,socialists on
 the present arrangements of society1 in
 a selection of passages from their     
published writings4 ,for the present ,i 
desire to be considered as a mere       
reporter of the opinions of others4     
,hereafter it will appear how much of   
what ,i cite agrees or differs with my  

own sentiments4  ,the clearest1 the most
 compact1 and the most precise and      
specific statement of the case of the   
,socialists generally against the       
existing order of society in the        
economical department of human affairs1 
is to be found in the little work of ,m4
 ,louis ,blanc1 ,organisation du        
,travail4 ,my first extracts1 therefore1
 on this part of the subject1 shall be  
taken from that treatise4               
,competition is for the people a system 
of extermination4 ,is the     poor man a
 member of society1 or an enemy to it8  
,we ask for an     answer4      ,all    
around him he finds the soil            
preoccupied4 ,can he cultivate     the  
earth for himself8 ,no2 for the right of
 the first occupant     has become a    
right of property4 ,can he gather the   
fruits which     the hand of ,god ripens
 on the path of man8 ,no2 for1 like the 
soil1 the fruits have been appropriated4
 ,can he hunt or fish8     ,no2 for that
 is a right which is dependent upon the 

government4     ,can he draw water from 
a spring enclosed in a field8 ,no2 for  
the     proprietor of the field is1 in  
virtue of his right to the     field1   
proprietor of the fountain4 ,can he1    
dying of hunger and     thirst1 stretch 
out his hands for the charity of his    
fellow-creatures8 ,no2 for there are    
laws against begging4 ,can     he1      
exhausted by fatigue and without a      
refuge1 lie down to sleep     upon the  
pavement of the streets8 ,no2 for there 
are laws against     vagabondage4 ,can  
he1 dying from the cruel native land    
where     everything is denied him1 seek
 the means of living far from the       
place where life was given him8 ,no2 for
 it is not permitted to     change your 
country except on certain conditions    
which the poor     man cannot fulfil4   
,what1 then1 can the unhappy man do8 ,he
 will say1 ',i have hands     to work   
with1 ,i have intelligence1 ,i have     
youth1 ,i have     strength2 take all   
this1 and in return give me a morsel of 

bread4' ,this is what the working-men do
 say4 ,but even here the     poor man   
may be answered1 ',i have no work to    
give you4' ,what is     he to do then8  
99       99       99       99       99  
,what is competition from the point of  
view of the workman8 ,it     is work put
 up to auction4 ,a contractor wants a   
workman3 three     present              
themselves4--,how much for your         
work8--,half-a-crown2 ,i     have a wife
 and children4--,well2 and how much for 
yours8--,two     shillings3 ,i have no  
children1 but ,i have a wife4--,very    
well2     and now how much for          
you8--,one and eightpence are enough for
 me2     ,i am single4 ,then you shall  
have the work4 ,it is done2 the         
bargain is struck4 ,and what are the    
other two workmen to do8 ,it     is to  
be hoped they will die quietly of       
hunger4 ,but what if they     take to   
thieving8 ,never fear2 we have the      
police4 ,to murder8 ,we     have got the
 hangman4 ,as for the lucky one1 his    

triumph is only     temporary4 ,let a   
fourth workman make his appearance1     
strong     enough to fast every other   
day1 and his price will run down        
still lower2 then there will be a new   
outcast1 a new recruit for     the      
prison perhaps6      ,will it be said   
that these melancholy results are       
exaggerated2     that at all events they
 are only possible when there is not    
work     enough for the hands that seek 
employment8 ,but ,i ask1 in answer1     
,does the principle of competition      
contain1 by chance1 within     itself   
any method by which this murderous      
disproportion is to be     avoided8 ,if 
one branch of industry is in want of    
hands1 who can     answer for it that1  
in the confusion created by universal   
competition1 another is not overstocked8
 ,and if1 out of     thirty-four        
millions of men1 twenty are really      
reduced to theft     for a living1 this 
would suffice to condemn the principle4 
,but who is so blind as not to see that 

under the system of     unlimited       
competition1 the continual fall of wages
 is no     exceptional circumstance1 but
 a necessary and general fact8 ,has     
the population a limit which it cannot  
exceed8 ,is it possible     for us to   
say to industry--industry given up to   
the accidents of     individual egotism 
and fertile in ruin--can we say1 ',thus 
far     shalt thou go1 and no farther8' 
,the population increases               
constantly3 tell the poor mother to     
become sterile1 and     blaspheme the   
,god who made her fruitful1 for if you  
do not1 the     lists will soon become  
too narrow for the combatants4 ,a       
machine     is invented3 command it to  
be broken1 and anathematize science1    
for if you do not1 the thousand workmen 
whom the new machine     deprives of    
work will knock at the door of the      
neighboring     workshop1 and lower the 
wages of their companions4 ,thus        
systematic lowering of wages1 ending in 
the driving out of a     certain number 

of workmen1 is the inevitable effect of 
unlimited     competition4 ,it is an    
industrial system by means of which the 
working-classes are forced to           
exterminate one another4         99     
99       99       99       99      ,if  
there is an undoubted fact1 it is that  
the increase of     population is much  
more rapid among the poor than among the
     rich4 ,according to the ,statistics
 of ,european ,population1 the          
births at ,paris are only               
one-thirty-second of the population in  
the rich quarters1 while in the others  
they rise to     one-twenty-sixth4 ,this
 disproportion is a general fact1 and   
,m4     de ,sismondi1 in his work on    
,political ,economy1 has explained it   
by the impossibility for the workmen of 
hopeful prudence4 ,those     only who   
feel themselves assured of the morrow   
can regulate the     number of their    
children according to their income2 he  
who lives     from day to day is under  
the yoke of a mysterious fatality1 to   

which he sacrifices his children as he  
was sacrificed to it     himself4 ,it is
 true the workhouses exist1 menacing    
society with     an inundation of       
beggars--what way is there of escaping  
from the     cause8444 ,it is clear that
 any society where the means of         
subsistence increase less rapidly than  
the numbers of the     population1 is a 
society on the brink of an abyss4444    
,competition produces destitution2 this 
is a fact shown by     statistics4      
,destitution is fearfully prolific2 this
 is shown by     statistics4 ,the       
fruitfulness of the poor throws upon    
society     unhappy creatures who have  
need of work and cannot find it2 this   
is shown by statistics4 ,at this point  
society is reduced to a     choice      
between killing the poor or maintaining 
them     gratuitously--between atrocity 
or folly4#a  ,so much for the poor4 ,we 
now pass to the middle classes4         
,according to the political economists  
of the school of ,adam     ,smith and   

,leon ,say1 cheapness is the word in    
which may be     summed up the          
advantages of unlimited competition4    
,but why     persist in considering the 
effect of cheapness with a view only    
to the momentary advantage of the       
consumer8 ,cheapness is     advantageous
 to the consumer at the cost of         
introducing the     seeds of ruinous    
anarchy among the producers4 ,cheapness 
is1 so     to speak1 the hammer with    
which the rich among the producers      
crush their poorer rivals4 ,cheapness is
 the trap into which the     daring     
speculators entice the hard-workers4    
,cheapness is the     sentence of death 
to the producer on a small scale who has
 no     money to invest in the purchase 
of machinery that his rich     rivals   
can easily procure4 ,cheapness is the   
great instrument in     the hands of    
monopoly2 it absorbs the small          
manufacturer1 the     small shopkeeper1 
the small proprietor2 it is1 in one     
word1 the     destruction of the middle 

classes for the advantage of a few      
industrial oligarchs4      ,ought we1   
then1 to consider cheapness as a curse8 
,no one would     attempt to maintain   
such an absurdity4 ,but it is the       
specialty     of wrong principles to    
turn good into evil and to corrupt all  
things4 ,under the system of competition
 cheapness is only a     provisional and
 fallacious advantage4 ,it is maintained
 only so     long as there is a         
struggle2 no sooner have the rich       
competitors     driven out their poorer 
rivals than prices rise4 ,competition   
leads to monopoly1 for the same reason  
cheapness leads to high     prices4     
,thus1 what has been made use of as a   
weapon in the     contest between the   
producers1 sooner or later becomes a    
cause     of impoverishment among the   
consumers4 ,and if to this cause we     
add the others we have already          
enumerated1 first among which     must  
be ranked the inordinate increase of the
 population1 we     shall be compelled  

to recognize the impoverishment of the  
mass     of the consumers as a direct   
consequence of competition4      ,but1  
on the other hand1 this very competition
 which tends to     dry up the sources  
of demand1 urges production to          
over-supply4     ,the confusion produced
 by the universal struggle prevents each
     producer from knowing the state of 
the market4 ,he must work in     the    
dark1 and trust to chance for a sale4   
,why should he check     the supply1    
especially as he can throw any loss on  
the workman     whose wages are so      
pre-eminently liable to rise and fall8  
,even     when production is carried on 
at a loss the manufacturers still       
often carry it on1 because they will not
 let their machinery1     c41 stand     
idle1 or risk the loss of raw material1 
or lose their     customers2 and because
 productive industry as carried on under
     the competitive system being       
nothing else than a game of chance1     
the gambler will not lose his chance of 

a lucky stroke4      ,thus1 and we      
cannot too often insist upon it1        
competition     necessarily tends to    
increase supply and to diminish         
consumption2 its tendency therefore is  
precisely the opposite     of what is   
sought by economic science2 hence it is 
not merely     oppressive but foolish as
 well4         99       99       99     
99       99      ,and in all this1 in   
order to avoid dwelling on truths which 
have become commonplaces1 and sound     
declamatory from their very     truth1  
we have said nothing of the frightful   
moral corruption     which industry1    
organized1 or more properly speaking1   
disorganized1 as it is at the present   
day1 has introduced among     the middle
 classes4 ,everything has become venal1 
and competition     invades even the    
domain of thought4      ,the factory    
crushing the workshop2 the showy        
establishment     absorbing the humble  
shop2 the artisan who is his own master 
replaced by the day-laborer2 cultivation

 by the plow superseding     that by the
 spade1 and bringing the poor man's     
field under     disgraceful homage to   
the money-lender2 bankruptcies          
multiplied2     manufacturing industry  
transformed by the ill-regulated        
extension of credit into a system of    
gambling where no one1 not     even the 
rogue1 can be sure of winning2 in short 
a vast     confusion calculated to      
arouse jealousy1 mistrust1 and hatred1  
and to stifle1 little by little1 all    
generous aspirations1 all     faith1    
self-sacrifice1 and poetry--such is the 
hideous but only     too faithful       
picture of the results obtained by the  
application     of the principle of     
competition4#b  ,the ,fourierists1      
through their principal organ1 ,m4      
,considerant1 enumerate the evils of the
 existing civilisation in the following 
order3--  #a4 ,it employs an enormous   
quantity of labor and of human power    
unproductively1 or in the work of       
destruction4      ,in the first place   

there is the army1 which in ,france1 as 
in     all other countries1 absorbs the 
healthiest and strongest men1 a         
large number of the most talented and   
intelligent1 and a     considerable part
 of the public revenue4444 ,the existing
 state     of society develops in its   
impure atmosphere innumerable           
outcasts1 whose labor is not merely     
unproductive1 but actually              
destructive3 adventurers1 prostitutes1  
people with no     acknowledged means of
 living1 beggars1 convicts1 swindlers1  
thieves1 and others whose numbers tend  
rather to increase than     to          
diminish4444      ,to the list of       
unproductive labor fostered by our state
 of     ,society must be added that of  
the judicature and of the bar1 of       
the courts of law and magistrates1 the  
police1 jailers1     executioners1      
c41--functions indispensable to the     
state of     society as it is4          
,also people of what is called 'good    
society'2 those who pass     their lives

 in doing nothing2 idlers of all ranks4 
,also the numberless custom-house       
officials1 tax-gatherers1     bailiffs1 
excise-men2 in short1 all that army of  
men which     overlooks1 brings to      
account1 takes1 but produces nothing4   
,also the labors of sophists1           
philosophers1 metaphysicians1           
political men1 working in mistaken      
directions1 who do nothing to           
advance science1 and produce nothing but
 disturbance and sterile                
discussions2 the verbiage of advocates1 
pleaders1 witnesses1 c4      ,and       
finally all the operations of commerce1 
from those of the     bankers and       
brokers1 down to those of the grocer    
behind his     counter4#c  ,secondly1   
they assert that even the industry and  
powers which in the present system are  
devoted to production1 do not produce   
more than a small portion of what they  
might produce if better employed and    
directed3--      ,who with any good-will
 and reflection will not see how much   

the     want of coherence--the disorder1
 the want of combination1 the           
parcelling out of labor and leaving it  
wholly to individual     action without 
any organization1 without any large or  
general     views--are causes which     
limit the possibilities of production1  
and destroy1 or at least waste1 our     
means of action8 ,does not     disorder 
give birth to poverty1 as order and good
 management     give birth to riches8   
,is not want of combination a source of 
weakness1 as combination is a source of 
strength8 ,and who can     say that     
industry1 whether agricultural1         
domestic1     manufacturing1 scientific1
 artistic1 or commercial1 is organized  
at the present day either in the state  
or in municipalities8 ,who     can say  
that all the work which is carried on in
 any of these     departments is        
executed in subordination to any general
 views1     or with foresight1 economy1 
and order8 ,or1 again1 who can say      
that it is possible in our present state

 of society to develop1     by a good   
education1 all the faculties bestowed by
 nature on     each of its members2 to  
employ each one in functions which he   
would like1 which he would be the most  
capable of1 and which1     therefore1 he
 could carry on with the greatest       
advantage to     himself and to others8 
,has it even been so much as attempted  
to     solve the problems presented by  
varieties of character so as to         
regulate and harmonize the varieties of 
employments in     accordance with      
natural aptitudes8 ,alas6 ,the ,utopia  
of the most     ardent philanthropists  
is to teach reading and writing to      
twenty-five millions of the ,french     
people6 ,and in the present     state of
 things we may defy them to succeed even
 in that6      ,and is it not a strange 
spectacle1 too1 and one which cries out 
in condemnation of us1 to see this state
 of society where the     soil is badly 
cultivated1 and sometimes not cultivated
 at all2     where man is ill lodged1   

ill clothed1 and yet where whole masses 
are continually in need of work and     
pining in misery because     they cannot
 find it8 ,of a truth we are forced to  
acknowledge     that if the nations are 
poor and starving it is not because     
nature has denied the means of producing
 wealth1 but because of     the anarchy 
and disorder in our employment of those 
means2 in     other words1 it is because
 society is wretchedly constituted and  
labor unorganized4      ,but this is not
 all1 and you will have but a faint     
conception     of the evil if you do not
 consider that to all these vices of    
society1 which dry up the sources of    
wealth and prosperity1 must     be added
 the struggle1 the discord1 the war1 in 
short under many     names and many     
forms which society cherishes and       
cultivates     between the individuals  
that compose it4 ,these struggles and   
discords correspond to radical          
oppositions--deep-seated     antinomies 
between the various interests4 ,exactly 

in so far as     you are able to        
establish classes and categories within 
the     nation2 in so far1 also1 you    
will have opposition of interests       
and internal warfare either avowed or   
secret1 even if you take     into       
consideration the industrial system     
only4#d  ,one of the leading ideas of   
this school is the wastefulness and at  
the same time the immorality of the     
existing arrangements for distributing  
the produce of the country among the    
various consumers1 the enormous         
superfluity in point of number of the   
agents of distribution1 the merchants1  
dealers1 shopkeepers and their          
innumerable1 employes1 and the depraving
 character of such a distribution of    
occupations4      ,it is evident that   
the interest of the trader is opposed to
     that of the consumer and of the    
producer4 ,has he not bought     cheap  
and under-valued as much as possible in 
all his dealings     with the producer1 
the very same article which1 vaunting   

its     excellence1 he sells to you as  
dear as he can8 ,thus the interest      
of the commercial body1 collectively and
 individually1 is     contrary to that  
of the producer and of the              
consumer--that is to     say1 to the    
interest of the whole body of society4  
99       99       99       99       99  
,the trader is a go-between1 who profits
 by the general anarchy     and the     
non-organization of industry4 ,the      
trader buys up     products1 he buys up 
everything2 he owns and detains         
everything1     in such sort that3--    
#astly4 ,he holds both ,production and  
,consumption under his     yoke1 because
 both must come to him either finally   
for the     products to be consumed1 or 
at first for the raw materials to be    
worked up4 ,commerce with all its       
methods of buying1 and of     raising   
and lowering prices1 its innumerable    
devices1 and its     holding everything 
in the hands of middle-men1 levies toll 
right and left2 it despotically gives   

the law to ,production and              
,consumption1 of which it ought to be   
only the subordinate4      #bndly4 ,it  
robs society by its enormous            
profits--profits     levied upon the    
consumer and the producer1 and          
altogether out of     proportion to the 
services rendered1 for which a twentieth
 of     the persons actually employed   
would be sufficient4      #crdly4 ,it   
robs society by the subtraction of its  
productive     forces2 taking off from  
productive labor nineteen-twentieths of 
the agents of trade who are mere        
parasites4 ,thus1 not only does         
commerce rob society by appropriating an
 exorbitant share of the     common     
wealth1 but also by considerably        
diminishing the     productive energy of
 the human beehive4 ,the great majority 
of     traders would return to          
productive work if a rational system of 
commercial organization were substituted
 for the inextricable     chaos of the  
present state of things4      #dthly4   

,it robs society by the adulteration of 
products1     pushed at the present day 
beyond all bounds4 ,and in fact1 if a   
hundred grocers establish themselves in 
a town where before     there were only 
twenty1 it is plain that people will not
 begin     to consume five times as many
 groceries4 ,hereupon the hundred       
virtuous grocers have to dispute between
 them the profits which     before were 
honestly made by the twenty2 competition
 obliges     them to make it up at the  
expense of the consumer1 either by      
raising the prices as sometimes happens1
 or by adulterating the     goods as    
always happens4 ,in such a state of     
things there is an     end to good      
faith4 ,inferior or adulterated goods   
are sold for     articles of good       
quality whenever the credulous customer 
is not     too experienced to be        
deceived4 ,and when the customer has    
been     thoroughly imposed upon1 the   
trading conscience consoles itself      
by saying1 ',i state my price2 people   

can take or leave2 no one     is obliged
 to buy4' ,the losses imposed on the    
consumers by the     bad quality or the 
adulteration of goods are incalculable4 
#ethly4 ,it robs society by             
accumulations1 artificial or not1     in
 consequence of which vast quantities of
 goods1 collected in     one place1 are 
damaged and destroyed for want of a     
sale4 ,fourier     7,th4 des ,quat4     
,mouv41 p4 #ccd1 #ast ed47 says3 ',the  
fundamental     principle of the        
commercial systems1 that of leaving full
     liberty to the merchants1 gives    
them absolute right of property     over
 the goods in which they deal3 they have
 the right to     withdraw them         
altogether1 to withhold or even to burn 
them1 as     happened more than once    
with the ,oriental ,company of          
,amsterdam1     which publicly burnt    
stores of cinnamon in order to raise the
     price4 ,what it did with cinnamon  
it would have done with corn2     but   
for the fear of being stoned by the     

populace1 it would have     burnt some  
corn in order to sell the rest at four  
times its     value4 ,indeed1 it        
actually is of daily occurrence in      
ports1 for     provisions of grains to  
be thrown into the sea because the      
merchants have allowed them to rot while
 waiting for a rise4 ,i     myself1 when
 ,i was a clerk1 have had to superintend
 these     infamous proceedings1 and in 
one day caused to be thrown into     the
 sea some forty thousand bushels of     
rice1 which might have     been sold at 
a fair profit had the withholder been   
less greedy     of gain4 ,it is society 
that bears the cost of this waste1 which
     takes place daily under shelter of 
the philosophical maxim of     full     
liberty for the merchants4'      #fthly4
 ,commerce robs society1 moreover1 by   
all the loss1     damage1 and waste that
 follows from the extreme scattering of 
products in millions of shops1 and by   
the multiplication and     complication 
of carriage4      #gthly4 ,it robs      

society by shameless and unlimited      
usury--usury absolutely appalling4 ,the 
trader carries on     operations with   
fictitious capital1 much higher in      
amount than     his real capital4 ,a    
trader with a capital of twelve hundred 
pounds will carry on operations1 by     
means of bills and credit1     on a     
scale of four1 eight1 or twelve thousand
 pounds4 ,thus he     draws from capital
 which he does not possess1 usurious    
interest1 out of all proportion with the
 capital he actually     owns4          
#hthly4 ,it robs society by innumerable 
bankruptcies1 for the     daily         
accidents of our commercial system1     
political events1 and     any kind of   
disturbance1 must usher in a day when   
the trader1     having incurred         
obligations beyond his means1 is no     
longer able     to meet them2 his       
failure1 whether fraudulent or not1 must
 be a     severe blow to his creditors4 
,the bankruptcy of some entails     that
 of others1 so that bankruptcies follow 

one upon another1     causing widespread
 ruin4 ,and it is always the producer   
and the     consumer who suffer2 for    
commerce1 considered as a whole1 does   
not produce wealth1 and invests very    
little in proportion to the     wealth  
which passes through its hands4 ,how    
many are the     manufactures crushed by
 these blows6 how many fertile sources  
of     wealth dried up by these devices1
 with all their disastrous              
consequences6      ,the producer        
furnishes the goods1 the consumer the   
money4 ,trade     furnishes credit1     
founded on little or no actual capital1 
and     the different members of the    
commercial body are in no way           
responsible for one another4 ,this1 in a
 few words1 is the whole     theory of  
the thing4      #ithly4 ,commerce robs  
society by the independence and         
irresponsibility which permits it to buy
 at the epochs when     the producers   
are forced to sell and compete with one 
another1     in order to procure money  

for their rent and necessary expenses   
of production4 ,when the markets are    
overstocked and goods cheap1     trade  
purchases4 ,then it creates a rise1 and 
by this simple     manoeuvre despoils   
both producer and consumer4             
#ajthly4 ,it robs society by a          
considerable drawing off of     capital1
 which will return to productive        
industry when     commerce plays its    
proper subordinate part1 and is only an 
agency carrying on transactions between 
the producers 7more or     less distant7
 and the great centres of               
consumption--the     communistic        
societies4 ,thus the capital engaged in 
the     speculations of commerce 7which1
 small as it is1 compared to the        
immense wealth which passes through its 
hands1 consists     nevertheless of sums
 enormous in themselves71 would return  
to     stimulate production if commerce 
was deprived of the     intermediate    
property in goods1 and their            
distribution became a     matter of     

administrative organization4            
,stock-jobbing is the most     odious   
form of this vice of commerce4          
#aathly4 ,it robs society by the        
monopolising or buying up of     raw    
materials4 ',for' 7says ,fourier1 ,th4  
des ,quat4 ,mouv41 p4 #cei1     #ast    
ed471 'the rise in price on articles    
that are bought up1 is     borne        
ultimately by the consumer1 although in 
the first place by     the              
manufacturers1 who1 being obliged to    
keep up their     establishments1 must  
make pecuniary sacrifices1 and          
manufacture     at small profits in the 
hope of better days2 and it is often    
long before they can repay themselves   
the rise in prices which     the        
monopoliser has compelled them to       
support in the first     instance4444   
,in short1 all these vices1 besides many
 others which ,i omit1     are          
multiplied by the extreme complication  
of mercantile     affairs2 for products 
do not pass once only through the greedy

     clutches of commerce2 there are    
some which pass and repass     twenty or
 thirty times before reaching the       
consumer4 ,in the     first place1 the  
raw material passes through the grasp of
     commerce before reaching the       
manufacturer who first works it up2     
then it returns to commerce to be sent  
out again to be worked up     in a      
second form2 and so on until it receives
 its final shape4     ,then it passes   
into the hands of merchants1 who sell to
 the     wholesale dealers1 and these to
 the great retail dealers of     towns1 
and these again to the little dealers   
and to the country     shops2 and each  
time that it changes hands1 it leaves   
something     behind it4      444 ,one  
of my friends who was lately exploring  
the ,jura1 where     much working in    
metal is done1 had occasion to enter the
 house     of a peasant who was a       
manufacturer of shovels4 ,he asked the  
price4 ',let us come to an              
understanding1' answered the poor       

laborer1 not an economist at all1 but a 
man of common sense2 ',i     sell them  
for #h;d4 to the trade1 which retails   
them at #as4     #h;d4 in the towns4 ,if
 you could find a means of opening a    
direct communication between the workman
 and the consumer1 you     might have   
them for #as4 #b;d41 and we should each 
gain #f;d4     by the transaction4'#e   
,to a similar effect ,owen1 in the ,book
 of the ,new ,moral ,world1 part #b1    
chap4 iii4      ,the principle now in   
practice is to induce a large portion of
     society to devote their lives to   
distribute wealth upon a large1     a   
medium1 and a small scale1 and to have  
it conveyed from place     to place in  
larger or smaller quantities1 to meet   
the means and     wants of various      
divisions of society and individuals1 as
 they     are now situated in cities1   
towns1 villages1 and country places4    
,this principle of distribution makes a 
class in society whose     business is  
to buy from some parties and to sell to 

others4     ,by this proceeding they are
 placed under circumstances which       
induce them to endeavor to buy at what  
appears at the time a low     price in  
the market1 and to sell again at the    
greatest permanent     profit which they
 can obtain4 ,their real object being to
 get as     much profit as gain between 
the seller to1 and the buyer from       
them1 as can be effected in their       
transactions4      ,there are           
innumerable errors in principle and     
evils in practice     which necessarily 
proceed from this mode of distributing  
the     wealth of society4      #ast4 ,a
 general class of distributers is       
formed1 whose interest     is separated 
from1 and apparently opposed to1 that of
 the     individual from whom they buy  
and to whom they sell4      #bnd4 ,three
 classes of distributers are made1 the  
small1 the     medium1 and the large    
buyers and sellers2 or the retailers1   
the     wholesale dealers1 and the      
extensive merchants4      #crd4 ,three  

classes of buyers thus created          
constitute the small1     the medium1   
and the large purchasers4      ,by this 
arrangement into various classes of     
buyers and sellers1     the parties are 
easily trained to learn that they have  
separate     and opposing interests1 and
 different ranks and stations in        
society4 ,an inequality of feeling and  
condition is thus created     and       
maintained1 with all the servility and  
pride which these     unequal           
arrangements are sure to produce4 ,the  
parties are     regularly trained in a  
general system of deception1 in order   
that they may be the more successful in 
buying cheap and selling     dear4      
,the smaller sellers acquire habits of  
injurious idleness1     waiting often   
for hours for customers4 ,and this evil 
is     experienced to a considerable    
extent even amongst the class of        
wholesale dealers4      ,there are1     
also1 by this arrangement1 many more    
establishments     for selling than are 

necessary in the villages1 towns1 and   
cities2 and a very large capital is thus
 wasted without benefit     to society4 
,and from their number opposed to each  
other all over     the country to obtain
 customers1 they endeavor to undersell  
each     other1 and are therefore       
continually endeavoring to injure the   
producer by the establishment of what   
are called cheap shops and              
warehouses2 and to support their        
character the master or his     servants
 must be continually on the watch to buy
 bargains1 that     is1 to procure      
wealth for less than the cost of its    
production4      ,the distributers1     
small1 medium1 and large1 have all to be
     supported by the producers1 and the
 greater the number of the     former   
compared with the latter1 the greater   
will be the burden     which the        
producer has to sustain2 for as the     
number of     distributers increases1   
the accumulation of wealth must         
decrease1 and more must be required from

 the producer4      ,the distributers of
 wealth1 under the present system1 are a
     dead weight upon the producers1 and
 are most active demoralisers     of    
society4 ,their dependent condition1 at 
the commencement of     their task1     
teaches or induces them to be servile to
 their     customers1 and to continue to
 be so as long as they are              
accumulating wealth by their cheap      
buying and dear selling4 ,but     when  
they have secured sufficient to be what 
they imagine to be     an               
independence--to live without           
business--they are too often     filled 
with a most ignorant pride1 and become  
insolent to their     dependents4       
,the arrangement is altogether a most   
improvident one for     society1 whose  
interest it is to produce the greatest  
amount of     wealth of the best        
qualities2 while the existing system of 
distribution is not only to withdraw    
great numbers from     producing to     
become distributers1 but to add to the  

cost of the     consumer all the expense
 of a most wasteful and extravagant     
distribution2 the distribution costing  
to the consumer many     times the price
 of the original cost of the wealth     
purchased4      ,then1 by the position  
in which the seller is placed by his    
created desire for gain on the one hand1
 and the competition he     meets with  
from opponents selling similar          
productions on the     other1 he is     
strongly tempted to deteriorate the     
articles which     he has for sale2 and 
when these are provisions1 either of    
home     production or of foreign       
importation1 the effects upon the       
health1 and consequent comfort and      
happiness of the consumers1     are     
often most injurious1 and productive of 
much premature     death1 especially    
among the working classes1 who1 in this 
respect1 are perhaps made to be the     
greatest sufferers1 by     purchasing   
the inferior or low-priced articles4    
99       99       99       99       99  

,the expense of thus distributing wealth
 in ,great ,britain and     ,ireland1   
including transit from place to place1  
and all the     agents directly and     
indirectly engaged in this department1  
is1     perhaps1 little short of one    
hundred millions annually1 without      
taking into consideration the           
deterioration of the quality of     many
 of the articles constituting this      
wealth1 by carriage1 and     by being   
divided into small quantities1 and kept 
in improper     stores and places1 in   
which the atmosphere is unfavorable to  
the     keeping of such articles in a   
tolerably good1 and much less in     the
 best1 condition for use4  ,in further  
illustration of the contrariety of      
interests between person and person1    
class and class1 which pervades the     
present constitution of society1 ,m4    
,considerant adds3--      ,if the       
wine-growers wish for free trade1 this  
freedom ruins the     producer of corn1 
the manufacturers of iron1 of cloth1 of 

cotton1 and--we are compelled to        
add--the smuggler and the     customs'  
officer4 ,if it is the interest of the  
consumer that     machines should be    
invented which lower prices by rendering
     production less costly1 these same 
machines throw out of work     thousands
 of workmen who do not know how to1 and 
cannot at once1     find other work4    
,here1 then1 again is one of the        
innumerable     vicious circles of      
civilisation 444 for there are a        
thousand     facts which prove          
cumulatively that in our existing social
     system the introduction of any good
 brings always along with it     some   
evil4      ,in short1 if we go lower    
down and come to vulgar details1 we     
find that it is the interest of the     
tailor1 the shoemaker1 and     the      
hatter that coats1 shoes1 and hats      
should be soon worn out2     that the   
glazier profits by the hail-storms which
 break windows2     that the mason and  
the architect profit by fires2 the      

lawyer is     enriched by law-suits2 the
 doctor by disease2 the wine-seller by  
drunkenness2 the prostitute by          
debauchery4 ,and what a disaster     it 
would be for the judges1 the police1 and
 the jailers1 as well     as for the    
barristers and the solicitors1 and all  
the lawyers'     clerks1 if crimes1     
offences1 and law-suits were all at once
 to     come to an end6#f  ,the         
following is one of the cardinal points 
of this school3--      ,add to all this1
 that civilisation1 which sows          
dissension and     war on every side2   
which employs a great part of its powers
 in     unproductive labor or even in   
destruction2 which furthermore          
diminishes the public wealth by the     
unnecessary friction and     discord it 
introduces into industry2 add to all    
this1 ,i say1     that this same social 
system has for its special              
characteristic     to produce a         
repugnance for work--a disgust for      
labor4      ,everywhere you hear the    

laborer1 the artisan1 the clerk         
complain of his position and his        
occupation1 while they long for     the 
time when they can retire from work     
imposed upon them by     necessity4 ,to 
be repugnant1 to have for its motive and
 pivot     nothing but the fear of      
starvation1 is the great1 the fatal1    
characteristic of civilised labor4 ,the 
civilised workman is     condemned to   
penal servitude4 ,so long as productive 
labor is so     organized that instead  
of being associated with pleasure it is 
associated with pain1 weariness and     
dislike1 it will always     happen that 
all will avoid it who are able4 ,with   
few exceptions1     those only will     
consent to work who are compelled to it 
by want4     ,hence the most numerous   
classes1 the artificers of social       
wealth1 the active and direct creators  
of all comfort and     luxury1 will     
always be condemned to touch closely on 
poverty and     hunger2 they will always
 be the slaves to ignorance and         

degradation2 they will continue to be   
always that huge herd of     mere beasts
 of burden whom we see ill-grown1       
decimated by     disease1 bowed down in 
the great workshop of society over the  
plow or over the counter1 that they may 
prepare the delicate     food1 and the  
sumptuous enjoyments of the upper and   
idle     classes4      ,so long as no   
method of attractive labor has been     
devised1 it     will continue to be true
 that 'there must be many poor in order 
that there may be a few rich2' a mean   
and hateful saying1 which     we hear   
every day quoted as an eternal truth    
from the mouths of     people who call  
themselves ,christians or philosophers4 
,it is     very easy to understand that 
oppression1 trickery1 and     especially
 poverty1 are the permanent and fatal   
appanage of     every state of society  
characterized by the dislike of work1   
for1 in this case1 there is nothing but 
poverty that will force     men to      
labor4 ,and the proof of this is1 that  

if every one of all     the workers were
 to become suddenly rich1               
nineteen-twentieths of     all the work 
now done would be abandoned4#g  ,in the 
opinion of the ,fourierists1 the        
tendency of the present order of society
 is to a concentration of wealth in the 
hands of a comparatively few immensely  
rich individuals or companies1 and the  
reduction of all the rest of the        
community into a complete dependence on 
them4 ,this was termed by ,fourier la   
jeodalite industrielle4      ,this      
feudalism1 says ,m4 ,considerant1 would 
be constituted as     soon as the       
largest part of the industrial and      
territorial     property of the nation  
belongs to a minority which absorbs all 
its revenues1 while the great majority1 
chained to the     work-bench or        
laboring on the soil1 must be content to
 gnaw the     pittance which is cast to 
them4#h  ,this disastrous result is to  
be brought about partly by the mere     
progress of competition1 as sketched in 

our previous extract by ,m4 ,louis      
,blanc2 assisted by the progress of     
national debts1 which ,m4 ,considerant  
regards as mortgages of the whole land  
and capital of the country1 of which les
 capitalistes preteurs become1 in a     
greater and greater measure1            
co-proprietors1 receiving without labor 
or risk an increasing portion of the    
revenues4   ,,the ,,socialist           
,,objections ,,to ,,the ,,present       
,,order ,,of ,,society ,,examined4  ,it 
is impossible to deny that the          
considerations brought to notice in the 
preceding chapter make out a frightful  
case either against the existing order  
of society1 or against the position of  
man himself in this world4 ,how much of 
the evils should be referred to the one1
 and how much to the other1 is the      
principal theoretic question which has  
to be resolved4 ,but the strongest case 
is susceptible of exaggeration2 and it  
will have been evident to many readers1 
even from the passages ,i have quoted1  

that such exaggeration is not wanting in
 the representations of the ablest and  
most candid ,socialists4 ,though much of
 their allegations is unanswerable1 not 
a little is the result of errors in     
political economy2 by which1 let me say 
once for all1 ,i do not mean the        
rejection of any practical rules of     
policy which have been laid down by     
political economists1 ,i mean ignorance 
of economic facts1 and of the causes by 
which the economic phenomena of society 
as it is1 are actually determined4  ,in 
the first place it is unhappily true    
that the wages of ordinary labor1 in all
 the countries of ,europe1 are          
wretchedly insufficient to supply the   
physical and moral necessities of the   
population in any tolerable measure4    
,but1 when it is further alleged that   
even this insufficient remuneration has 
a tendency to diminish2 that there is1  
in the words of ,m4 ,louis ,blanc1 une  
baisse continue des salaires2 the       
assertion is in opposition to all       

accurate information1 and to many       
notorious facts4 ,it has yet to be      
proved that there is any country in the 
civilized world where the ordinary wages
 of labor1 estimated either in money or 
in articles of consumption1 are         
declining2 while in many they are1 on   
the whole1 on the increase2 and an      
increase which is becoming1 not slower1 
but more rapid4 ,there are1             
occasionally1 branches of industry which
 are being gradually superseded by      
something else1 and1 in those1 until    
production accommodates itself to       
demand1 wages are depressed2 which is an
 evil1 but a temporary one1 and would   
admit of great alleviation even in the  
present system of social economy4 ,a    
diminution thus produced of the reward  
of labor in some particular employment  
is the effect and the evidence of       
increased remuneration1 or of a new     
source of remuneration1 in some other2  
the total and the average remuneration  
being undiminished1 or even increased4  

,to make out an appearance of diminution
 in the rate of wages in any leading    
branch of industry1 it is always found  
necessary to compare some month or year 
of special and temporary depression at  
the present time1 with the average rate1
 or even some exceptionally high rate1  
at an earlier time4 ,the vicissitudes   
are no doubt a great evil1 but they were
 as frequent and as severe in former    
periods of economical history as now4   
,the greater scale of the transactions1 
and the greater number of persons       
involved in each fluctuation1 may make  
the fluctuation appear greater1 but     
though a larger population affords more 
sufferers1 the evil does not weigh      
heavier on each of them individually4   
,there is much evidence of improvement1 
and none1 that is at all trustworthy1 of
 deterioration1 in the mode of living of
 the laboring population of the         
countries of ,europe2 when there is any 
appearance to the contrary it is local  
or partial1 and can always be traced    

either to the pressure of some temporary
 calamity1 or to some bad law or unwise 
act of government which admits of being 
corrected1 while the permanent causes   
all operate in the direction of         
improvement4  ,m4 ,louis ,blanc1        
therefore1 while showing himself much   
more enlightened than the older school  
of levellers and democrats1 inasmuch as 
he recognizes the connection between low
 wages and the over-rapid increase of   
population1 appears to have fallen into 
the same error which was at first       
committed by ,malthus and his followers1
 that of supposing that because         
population has a greater power of       
increase than subsistence1 its pressure 
upon subsistence must be always growing 
more severe4 ,the difference is that the
 early ,malthusians thought this an     
irrepressible tendency1 while ,m4 ,louis
 ,blanc thinks that it can be repressed1
 but only under a system of ,communism4 
,it is a great point gained for truth   
when it comes to be seen that the       

tendency to over-population is a fact   
which ,communism1 as well as the        
existing order of society1 would have to
 deal with4 ,and it is much to be       
rejoiced at that this necessity is      
admitted by the most considerable chiefs
 of all existing schools of ,socialism4 
,owen and ,fourier1 no less than ,m4    
,louis ,blanc1 admitted it1 and claimed 
for their respective systems a          
pre-eminent power of dealing with this  
difficulty4 ,however this may be1       
experience shows that in the existing   
state of society the pressure of        
population on subsistence1 which is the 
principal cause of low wages1 though a  
great1 is not an increasing evil2 on the
 contrary1 the progress of all that is  
called civilization has a tendency to   
diminish it1 partly by the more rapid   
increase of the means of employing and  
maintaining labor1 partly by the        
increased facilities opened to labor for
 transporting itself to new countries   
and unoccupied fields of employment1 and

 partly by a general improvement in the 
intelligence and prudence of the        
population4 ,this progress1 no doubt1 is
 slow2 but it is much that such progress
 should take place at all1 while we are 
still only in the first stage of that   
public movement for the education of the
 whole people1 which when more advanced 
must add greatly to the force of all the
 two causes of improvement specified    
above4 ,it is1 of course1 open to       
discussion what form of society has the 
greatest power of dealing successfully  
with the pressure of population on      
subsistence1 and on this question there 
is much to be said for ,socialism2 what 
was long thought to be its weakest point
 will1 perhaps1 prove to be one of its  
strongest4 ,but it has no just claim to 
be considered as the sole means of      
preventing the general and growing      
degradation of the mass of mankind      
through the peculiar tendency of poverty
 to produce over-population4 ,society as
 at present constituted is not          

descending into that abyss1 but         
gradually1 though slowly1 rising out of 
it1 and this improvement is likely to be
 progressive if bad laws do not         
interfere with it4  ,next1 it must be   
observed that ,socialists generally1 and
 even the most enlightened of them1 have
 a very imperfect and one-sided notion  
of the operation of competition4 ,they  
see half its effects1 and overlook the  
other half2 they regard it as an agency 
for grinding down every one's           
remuneration--for obliging every one to 
accept less wages for his labor1 or a   
less price for his commodities1 which   
would be true only if every one had to  
dispose of his labor or his commodities 
to some great monopolist1 and the       
competition were all on one side4 ,they 
forget that competition is a cause of   
high prices and values as well as of    
low2 that the buyers of labor and of    
commodities compete with one another as 
well as the sellers2 and that if it is  
competition which keeps the prices of   

labor and commodities as low as they    
are1 it is competition which prevents   
them from falling still lower4 ,in      
truth1 when competition is perfectly    
free on both sides1 its tendency is not 
specially either to raise or to lower   
the price of articles1 but to equalize  
it2 to level inequalities of            
remuneration1 and to reduce all to a    
general average1 a result which1 in so  
far as realized 7no doubt very          
imperfectly71 is1 on ,socialistic       
principles1 desirable4 ,but if1         
disregarding for the time that part of  
the effects of competition which        
consists in keeping up prices1 we fix   
our attention on its effect in keeping  
them down1 and contemplate this effect  
in reference solely to the interest of  
the laboring classes1 it would seem that
 if competition keeps down wages1 and so
 gives a motive to the laboring classes 
to withdraw the labor market from the   
full influence of competition1 if they  
can1 it must on the other hand have     

credit for keeping down the prices of   
the articles on which wages are         
expended1 to the great advantage of     
those who depend on wages4 ,to meet this
 consideration ,socialists1 as we said  
in our quotation from ,m4 ,louis ,blanc1
 are reduced to affirm that the low     
prices of commodities produced by       
competition are delusive and lead in the
 end to higher prices than before1      
because when the richest competitor has 
got rid of all his rivals1 he commands  
the market and can demand any price he  
pleases4 ,now1 the commonest experience 
shows that this state of things1 under  
really free competition1 is wholly      
imaginary4 ,the richest competitor      
neither does nor can get rid of all his 
rivals1 and establish himself in        
exclusive possession of the market2 and 
it is not the fact that any important   
branch of industry or commerce formerly 
divided among many has become1 or shows 
any tendency to become1 the monopoly of 
a few4  ,the kind of policy described is

 sometimes possible where1 as in the    
case of railways1 the only competition  
possible is between two or three great  
companies1 the operations being on too  
vast a scale to be within the reach of  
individual capitalists2 and this is one 
of the reasons why businesses which     
require to be carried on by great       
joint-stock enterprises cannot be       
trusted to competition1 but1 when not   
reserved by the ,state to itself1 ought 
to be carried on under conditions       
prescribed1 and1 from time to time1     
varied by the ,state1 for the purpose of
 insuring to the public a cheaper supply
 of its wants than would be afforded by 
private interest in the absence of      
sufficient competition4 ,but in the     
ordinary branches of industry no one    
rich competitor has it in his power to  
drive out all the smaller ones4 ,some   
businesses show a tendency to pass out  
of the hands of many small producers or 
dealers into a smaller number of larger 
ones2 but the cases in which this       

happens are those in which the          
possession of a larger capital permits  
the adoption of more powerful machinery1
 more efficient by more expensive       
processes1 or a better organized and    
more economical mode of carrying on     
business1 and thus enables the large    
dealer legitimately and permanently to  
supply the commodity cheaper than can be
 done on the small scale2 to the great  
advantage of the consumers1 and         
therefore of the laboring classes1 and  
diminishing1 pro tanto1 that waste of   
the resources of the community so much  
complained of by ,socialists1 the       
unnecessary multiplication of mere      
distributors1 and of the various other  
classes whom ,fourier calls the         
parasites of industry4 ,when this change
 is effected1 the larger capitalists1   
either individual or joint stock1 among 
which the business is divided1 are      
seldom1 if ever1 in any considerable    
branch of commerce1 so few as that      
competition shall not continue to act   

between them2 so that the saving in     
cost1 which enabled them to undersell   
the small dealers1 continues afterwards1
 as at first1 to be passed on1 in lower 
prices1 to their customers4 ,the        
operation1 therefore1 of competition in 
keeping down the prices of commodities1 
including those on which wages are      
expended1 is not illusive but real1 and1
 we may add1 is a growing1 not a        
declining1 fact4  ,but there are other  
respects1 equally important1 in which   
the charges brought by ,socialists      
against competition do not admit of so  
complete an answer4 ,competition is the 
best security for cheapness1 but by no  
means a security for quality4 ,in former
 times1 when producers and consumers    
were less numerous1 it was a security   
for both4 ,the market was not large     
enough nor the means of publicity       
sufficient to enable a dealer to make a 
fortune by continually attracting new   
customers3 his success depended on his  
retaining those that he had2 and when a 

dealer furnished good articles1 or when 
he did not1 the fact was soon known to  
those whom it concerned1 and he acquired
 a character for honest or dishonest    
dealing of more importance to him than  
the gain that would be made by cheating 
casual purchasers4 ,but on the great    
scale of modern transactions1 with the  
great multiplication of competition and 
the immense increase in the quantity of 
business competed for1 dealers are so   
little dependent on permanent customers 
that character is much less essential to
 them1 while there is also far less     
certainty of their obtaining the        
character they deserve4 ,the low prices 
which a tradesman advertises are known1 
to a thousand for one who has discovered
 for himself or learned from others1    
that the bad quality of the goods is    
more than an equivalent for their       
cheapness2 while at the same time the   
much greater fortunes now made by some  
dealers excite the cupidity of all1 and 
the greed of rapid gain substitutes     

itself for the modest desire to make a  
living by their business4 ,in this      
manner1 as wealth increases and greater 
prizes seem to be within reach1 more and
 more of a gambling spirit is introduced
 into commerce2 and where this prevails 
not only are the simplest maxims of     
prudence disregarded1 but all1 even the 
most perilous1 forms of pecuniary       
improbity receive a terrible stimulus4  
,this is the meaning of what is called  
the intensity of modern competition4 ,it
 is further to be mentioned that when   
this intensity has reached a certain    
height1 and when a portion of the       
producers of an article or the dealers  
in it have resorted to any of the modes 
of fraud1 such as adulteration1 giving  
short measure1 c41 of the increase of   
which there is now so much complaint1   
the temptation is immense on these to   
adopt the fraudulent practises1 who     
would not have originated them2 for the 
public are aware of the low prices      
fallaciously produced by the frauds1 but

 do not find out at first1 if ever1 that
 the article is not worth the lower     
price1 and they will not go on paying a 
higher price for a better article1 and  
the honest dealer is placed at a        
terrible disadvantage4 ,thus the frauds1
 begun by a few1 become customs of the  
trade1 and the morality of the trading  
classes is more and more deteriorated4  
,on this point1 therefore1 ,socialists  
have really made out the existence not  
only of a great evil1 but of one which  
grows and tends to grow with the growth 
of population and wealth4 ,it must be   
said1 however1 that society has never   
yet used the means which are already in 
its power of grappling with this evil4  
,the laws against commercial frauds are 
very defective1 and their execution     
still more so4 ,laws of this description
 have no chance of being really enforced
 unless it is the special duty of some  
one to enforce them4 ,they are specially
 in need of a public prosecutor4 ,it is 
still to be discovered how far it is    

possible to repress by means of the     
criminal law a class of misdeeds which  
are now seldom brought before the       
tribunals1 and to which1 when brought1  
the judicial administration of this     
country is most unduly lenient4 ,the    
most important class1 however1 of these 
frauds1 to the mass of the people1 those
 which affect the price or quality of   
articles of daily consumption1 can be in
 a great measure overcome by the        
institution of co-operative stores4 ,by 
this plan any body of consumers who form
 themselves into an association for the 
purpose1 are enabled to pass over the   
retail dealers and obtain their articles
 direct from the wholesale merchants1   
or1 what is better 7now that wholesale  
co-operative agencies have been         
established71 from the producers1 thus  
freeing themselves from the heavy tax   
now paid to the distributing classes and
 at the same time eliminate the usual   
perpetrators of adulterations and other 
frauds4 ,distribution thus becomes a    

work performed by agents selected and   
paid by those who have no interest in   
anything but the cheapness and goodness 
of the article2 and the distributors are
 capable of being thus reduced to the   
numbers which the quantity of work to be
 done really requires4 ,the difficulties
 of the plan consist in the skill and   
trustworthiness required in the         
managers1 and the imperfect nature of   
the control which can be exercised over 
them by the body at large4 ,the great   
success and rapid growth of the system  
prove1 however1 that these difficulties 
are1 in some tolerable degree1 overcome4
 ,at all events1 if the beneficial      
tendency of the competition of retailers
 in promoting cheapness is fore-gone1   
and has to be replaced by other         
securities1 the mischievous tendency of 
the same competition in deteriorating   
quality is at any rate got rid of2 and  
the prosperity of the co-operative      
stores shows that this benefit is       
obtained not only without detriment to  

cheapness1 but with great advantage to  
it1 since the profits of the concerns   
enable them to return to the consumers a
 large percentage on the price of every 
article supplied to them4 ,so far1      
therefore1 as this class of evils is    
concerned1 an effectual remedy is       
already in operation1 which1 though     
suggested by and partly grounded on     
socialistic principles1 is consistent   
with the existing constitution of       
property4  ,with regard to those greater
 and more conspicuous economical frauds1
 or malpractices equivalent to frauds1  
of which so many deplorable cases have  
become notorious--committed by merchants
 and bankers between themselves or      
between them and those who have trusted 
them with money1 such a remedy as above 
described is not available1 and the only
 resources which the present            
constitution of society affords against 
them are a sterner reprobation by       
opinion1 and a more efficient repression
 by the law4 ,neither of these remedies 

has had any approach to an effectual    
trial4 ,it is on the occurrence of      
insolvencies that these dishonest       
practices usually come to light2 the    
perpetrators take their place1 not in   
the class of malefactors1 but in that of
 insolvent debtors2 and the laws of this
 and other countries were formerly so   
savage against simple insolvency1 that  
by one of those reactions to which the  
opinions of mankind are liable1         
insolvents came to be regarded mainly as
 objects of compassion1 and it seemed to
 be thought that the hand both of law   
and of public opinion could hardly press
 too lightly upon them4 ,by an error in 
a contrary direction to the ordinary one
 of our law1 which in the punishment of 
offences in general wholly neglects the 
question of reparation to the sufferer1 
our bankruptcy laws have for some time  
treated the recovery for creditors of   
what is left of their property as almost
 the sole object1 scarcely any          
importance being attached to the        

punishment of the bankrupt for any      
misconduct which does not directly      
interfere with that primary purpose4    
,for three or four years past there has 
been a slight counter-reaction1 and more
 than one bankruptcy act has been       
passed1 somewhat less indulgent to the  
bankrupt2 but the primary object        
regarded has still been the pecuniary   
interest of the creditors1 and          
criminality in the bankrupt himself1    
with the exception of a small number of 
well-marked offences1 gets off almost   
with impunity4 ,it may be confidently   
affirmed1 therefore1 that1 at least in  
this country1 society has not exerted   
the power it possesses of making        
mercantile dishonesty dangerous to the  
perpetrator4 ,on the contrary1 it is a  
gambling trick in which all the         
advantage is on the side of the         
trickster3 if the trick succeeds it     
makes his fortune1 or preserves it2 if  
it fails1 he is at most reduced to      
poverty1 which was perhaps already      

impending when he determined to run the 
chance1 and he is classed by those who  
have not looked closely into the matter1
 and even by many who have1 not among   
the infamous but among the unfortunate4 
,until a more moral and rational mode of
 dealing with culpable insolvency has   
been tried and failed1 commercial       
dishonesty cannot be ranked among evils 
the prevalence of which is inseparable  
from commercial competition4  ,another  
point on which there is much            
misapprehension on the part of          
,socialists1 as well as of ,trades      
,unionists and other partisans of ,labor
 against ,capital1 relates to the       
proportions in which the produce of the 
country is really shared and the amount 
of what is actually diverted from those 
who produce it1 to enrich other persons4
 ,i forbear for the present to speak of 
the land1 which is a subject apart4 ,but
 with respect to capital employed in    
business1 there is in the popular       
notions a great deal of illusion4 ,when1

 for instance1 a capitalist invests     
,l#bj1jjj in his business1 and draws    
from it an income of 7suppose7 ,l#b1jjj 
a year1 the common impression is as if  
he was the beneficial owner both of the 
,l#bj1jjj and of the ,l#b1jjj1 while the
 laborers own nothing but their wages4  
,the truth1 however1 is1 that he only   
obtains the ,l#b1jjj on condition of    
applying no part of the ,l#bj1jjj to his
 own use4 ,he has the legal control over
 it1 and might squander it if he chose1 
but if he did he would not have the     
,l#b1jjj a year also4 ,as long as he    
derives an income from his capital he   
has not the option of withholding it    
from the use of others4 ,as much of his 
invested capital as consists of         
buildings1 machinery1 and other         
instruments of production1 are applied  
to production and are not applicable to 
the support or enjoyment of any one4    
,what is so applicable 7including what  
is laid out in keeping up or renewing   
the buildings and instruments7 is paid  

away to laborers1 forming their         
remuneration and their share in the     
division of the produce4 ,for all       
personal purposes they have the capital 
and he has but the profits1 which it    
only yields to him on condition that the
 capital itself is employed in          
satisfying not his own wants1 but those 
of laborers4 ,the proportion which the  
profits of capital usually bear to      
capital itself 7or rather to the        
circulating portion of it7 is the ratio 
which the capitalist's share of the     
produce bears to the aggregate share of 
the laborers4 ,even of his own share a  
small part only belongs to him as the   
owner of capital4 ,the portion of the   
produce which falls to capital merely as
 capital is measured by the interest of 
money1 since that is all that the owner 
of capital obtains when he contributes  
nothing to production except the capital
 itself4 ,now the interest of capital in
 the public funds1 which are considered 
to be the best security1 is at the      

present prices 7which have not varied   
much for many years7 about three and    
one-third per cent4 ,even in this       
investment there is some little         
risk--risk of repudiation1 risk of being
 obliged to sell out at a low price in  
some commercial crisis4  ,estimating    
these risks at #a_/c per cent41 the     
remaining #c per cent4 may be considered
 as the remuneration of capital1 apart  
from insurance against loss4 ,on the    
security of a mortgage #d per cent4 is  
generally obtained1 but in this         
transaction there are considerably      
greater risks--the uncertainty of titles
 to land under our bad system of law2   
the chance of having to realize the     
security at a great cost in law charges2
 and liability to delay in the receipt  
of the interest even when the principal 
is safe4 ,when mere money independently 
of exertion yields a larger income1 as  
it sometimes does1 for example1 by      
shares in railway or other companies1   
the surplus is hardly ever an equivalent

 for the risk of losing the whole1 or   
part1 of the capital by mismanagement1  
as in the case of the ,brighton         
,railway1 the dividend of which1 after  
having been #f per cent4 per annum1 sunk
 to from nothing to #a-a_/b per cent41  
and shares which had been bought at #abj
 could not be sold for more than about  
#dc4 ,when money is lent at the high    
rates of interest one occasionally hears
 of1 rates only given by spend-thrifts  
and needy persons1 it is because the    
risk of loss is so great that few who   
possess money can be induced to lend to 
them at all4 ,so little reason is there 
for the outcry against usury as one of  
the grievous burthens of the            
working-classes4 ,of the profits1       
therefore1 which a manufacturer or other
 person in business obtains from his    
capital no more than about #c per cent4 
can be set down to the capital itself4  
,if he were able and willing to give up 
the whole of this to his laborers1 who  
already share among them the whole of   

his capital as it is annually reproduced
 from year to year1 the addition to     
their weekly wages would be             
inconsiderable4 ,of what he obtains     
beyond #c per cent4 a great part is     
insurance against the manifold losses he
 is exposed to1 and cannot safely be    
applied to his own use1 but requires to 
be kept in reserve to cover those losses
 when they occur4 ,the remainder is     
properly the remuneration of his skill  
and industry--the wages of his labor of 
superintendence4 ,no doubt if he is very
 successful in business these wages of  
his are extremely liberal1 and quite out
 of proportion to what the same skill   
and industry would command if offered   
for hire4 ,but1 on the other hand1 he   
runs a worse risk than that of being out
 of employment2 that of doing the work  
without earning anything by it1 of      
having the labor and anxiety without the
 wages4 ,i do not say that the drawbacks
 balance the privileges1 or that he     
derives no advantage from the position  

which makes him a capitalist and        
employer of labor1 instead of a skilled 
superintendent letting out his services 
to others2 but the amount of his        
advantage must not be estimated by the  
great prizes alone4 ,if we subtract from
 the gains of some the losses of others1
 and deduct from the balance a fair     
compensation for the anxiety1 skill1 and
 labor of both1 grounded on the market  
price of skilled superintendence1 what  
remains will be1 no doubt1 considerable1
 but yet1 when compared to the entire   
capital of the country1 annually        
reproduced and dispensed in wages1 it is
 very much smaller than it appears to   
the popular imagination2 and were the   
whole of it added to the share of the   
laborers it would make a less addition  
to that share than would be made by any 
important invention in machinery1 or by 
the suppression of unnecessary          
distributors and other parasites of     
industry4 ,to complete the estimate1    
however1 of the portion of the produce  

of industry which goes to remunerate    
capital we must not stop at the interest
 earned out of the produce by the       
capital actually employed in producing  
it1 but must include that which is paid 
to the former owners of capital which   
has been unproductively spent and no    
longer exists1 and is paid1 of course1  
out of the produce of other capital4 ,of
 this nature is the interest of national
 debts1 which is the cost a nation is   
burthened with for past difficulties and
 dangers1 or for past folly or          
profligacy of its rulers1 more or less  
shared by the nation itself4 ,to this   
must be added the interest on the debts 
of landowners and other unproductive    
consumers2 except so far as the money   
borrowed may have been spent in         
remunerative improvement of the         
productive powers of the land4 ,as for  
landed property itself--the             
appropriation of the rent of land by    
private individuals--,i reserve1 as ,i  
have said1 this question for discussion 

hereafter2 for the tenure of land might 
be varied in any manner considered      
desirable1 all the land might be        
declared the property of the ,state1    
without interfering with the right of   
property in anything which is the       
product of human labor and abstinence4  
,it seemed desirable to begin the       
discussion of the ,socialist question by
 these remarks in abatement of          
,socialist exaggerations1 in order that 
the true issues between ,socialism and  
the existing state of society might be  
correctly conceived4 ,the present system
 is not1 as many ,socialists believe1   
hurrying us into a state of general     
indigence and slavery from which only   
,socialism can save us4 ,the evils and  
injustices suffered under the present   
system are great1 but they are not      
increasing2 on the contrary1 the general
 tendency is towards their slow         
diminution4 ,moreover the inequalities  
in the distribution of the produce      
between capital and labor1 however they 

may shock the feeling of natural        
justice1 would not by their mere        
equalisation afford by any means so     
large a fund for raising the lower      
levels of remuneration as ,socialists1  
and many besides ,socialists1 are apt to
 suppose4 ,there is not any one abuse or
 injustice now prevailing in society by 
merely abolishing which the human race  
would pass out of suffering into        
happiness4 ,what is incumbent on us is a
 calm comparison between two different  
systems of society1 with a view of      
determining which of them affords the   
greatest resources for overcoming the   
inevitable difficulties of life4 ,and if
 we find the answer to this question    
more difficult1 and more dependent upon 
intellectual and moral conditions1 than 
is usually thought1 it is satisfactory  
to reflect that there is time before us 
for the question to work itself out on  
an experimental scale1 by actual trial4 
,i believe we shall find that no other  
test is possible of the practicability  

or beneficial operation of ,socialist   
arrangements2 but that the intellectual 
and moral grounds of ,socialism deserve 
the most attentive study1 as affording  
in many cases the guiding principles of 
the improvements necessary to give the  
present economic system of society its  
best chance4   ,,the ,,difficulties ,,of
 ,,socialism4  ,among those who call    
themselves ,socialists1 two kinds of    
persons may be distinguished4 ,there    
are1 in the first place1 those whose    
plans for a new order of society1 in    
which private property and individual   
competition are to be superseded and    
other motives to action substituted1 are
 on the scale of a village community or 
township1 and would be applied to an    
entire country by the multiplication of 
such self-acting units2 of this         
character are the systems of ,owen1 of  
,fourier1 and the more thoughtful and   
philosophic ,socialists generally4 ,the 
other class1 who are more a product of  
the ,continent than of ,great ,britain  

and may be called the revolutionary     
,socialists1 propose to themselves a    
much bolder stroke4 ,their scheme is the
 management of the whole productive     
resources of the country by one central 
authority1 the general government4 ,and 
with this view some of them avow as     
their purpose that the working classes1 
or somebody in their behalf1 should take
 possession of all the property of the  
country1 and administer it for the      
general benefit4  ,whatever be the      
difficulties of the first of these two  
forms of ,socialism1 the second must    
evidently involve the same difficulties 
and many more4 ,the former1 too1 has the
 great advantage that it can be brought 
into operation progressively1 and can   
prove its capabilities by trial4 ,it can
 be tried first on a select population  
and extended to others as their         
education and cultivation permit4 ,it   
need not1 and in the natural order of   
things would not1 become an engine of   
subversion until it had shown itself    

capable of being also a means of        
reconstruction4 ,it is not so with the  
other3 the aim of that is to substitute 
the new rule for the old at a single    
stroke1 and to exchange the amount of   
good realised under the present system1 
and its large possibilities of          
improvement1 for a plunge without any   
preparation into the most extreme form  
of the problem of carrying on the whole 
round of the operations of social life  
without the motive power which has      
always hitherto worked the social       
machinery4 ,it must be acknowledged that
 those who would play this game on the  
strength of their own private opinion1  
unconfirmed as yet by any experimental  
verification--who would forcibly deprive
 all who have now a comfortable physical
 existence of their only present means  
of preserving it1 and would brave the   
frightful bloodshed and misery that     
would ensue if the attempt was          
resisted--must have a serene confidence 
in their own wisdom on the one hand and 

a recklessness of other people's        
sufferings on the other1 which          
,robespierre and ,st4 ,just1 hitherto   
the typical instances of those united   
attributes1 scarcely came up to4        
,nevertheless this scheme has great     
elements of popularity which the more   
cautious and reasonable form of         
,socialism has not2 because what it     
professes to do it promises to do       
quickly1 and holds out hope to the      
enthusiastic of seeing the whole of     
their aspirations realised in their own 
time and at a blow4  ,the peculiarities1
 however1 of the revolutionary form of  
,socialism will be most conveniently    
examined after the considerations common
 to both the forms have been duly       
weighed4  ,the produce of the world     
could not attain anything approaching to
 its present amount1 nor support        
anything approaching to the present     
number of its inhabitants1 except upon  
two conditions3 abundant and costly     
machinery1 buildings1 and other         

instruments of production2 and the power
 of undertaking long operations and     
waiting a considerable time for their   
fruits4 ,in other words1 there must be a
 large accumulation of capital1 both    
fixed in the implements and buildings1  
and circulating1 that is employed in    
maintaining the laborers and their      
families during the time which elapses  
before the productive operations are    
completed and the products come in4     
,this necessity depends on physical     
laws1 and is inherent in the condition  
of human life2 but these requisites of  
production1 the capital1 fixed and      
circulating1 of the country 7to which   
has to be added the land1 and all that  
is contained in it71 may either be the  
collective property of those who use it1
 or may belong to individuals2 and the  
question is1 which of these arrangements
 is most conducive to human happiness4  
,what is characteristic of ,socialism is
 the joint ownership by all the members 
of the community of the instruments and 

means of production2 which carries with 
it the consequence that the division of 
the produce among the body of owners    
must be a public act1 performed         
according to rules laid down by the     
community4 ,socialism by no means       
excludes private ownership of articles  
of consumption2 the exclusive right of  
each to his or her share of the produce 
when received1 either to enjoy1 to give1
 or to exchange it4 ,the land1 for      
example1 might be wholly the property of
 the community for agricultural and     
other productive purposes1 and might be 
cultivated on their joint account1 and  
yet the dwelling assigned to each       
individual or family as part of their   
remuneration might be as exclusively    
theirs1 while they continued to fulfil  
their share of the common labors1 as any
 one's house now is2 and not the        
dwelling only1 but any ornamental ground
 which the circumstances of the         
association allowed to be attached to   
the house for purposes of enjoyment4    

,the distinctive feature of ,socialism  
is not that all things are in common1   
but that production is only carried on  
upon the common account1 and that the   
instruments of production are held as   
common property4 ,the practicability    
then of ,socialism1 on the scale of ,mr4
 ,owen's or ,m4 ,fourier's villages1    
admits of no dispute4 ,the attempt to   
manage the whole production of a nation 
by one central organization is a totally
 different matter2 but a mixed          
agricultural and manufacturing          
association of from two thousand to four
 thousand inhabitants under any         
tolerable circumstances of soil and     
climate would be easier to manage than  
many a joint stock company4 ,the        
question to be considered is1 whether   
this joint management is likely to be as
 efficient and successful as the        
managements of private industry by      
private capital4 ,and this question has 
to be considered in a double aspect2 the
 efficiency of the directing mind1 or   

minds1 and that of the simple           
workpeople4 ,and in order to state this 
question in its simplest form1 we will  
suppose the form of ,socialism to be    
simple ,communism1 i4e4 equal division  
of the produce among all the sharers1   
or1 according to ,m4 ,louis ,blanc's    
still higher standard of justice1       
apportionment of it according to        
difference of need1 but without making  
any difference of reward according to   
the nature of the duty nor according to 
the supposed merits or services of the  
individual4 ,there are other forms of   
,socialism1 particularly ,fourierism1   
which do1 on considerations of justice  
or expediency1 allow differences of     
remuneration for different kinds or     
degrees of service to the community2 but
 the consideration of these may be for  
the present postponed4  ,the difference 
between the motive powers in the economy
 of society under private property and  
under ,communism would be greatest in   
the case of the directing minds4 ,under 

the present system1 the direction being 
entirely in the hands of the person or  
persons who own 7or are personally      
responsible for7 the capital1 the whole 
benefit of the difference between the   
best administration and the worst under 
which the business can continue to be   
carried on accrues to the person or     
persons who control the administration3 
they reap the whole profit of good      
management except so far as their       
self-interest or liberality induce them 
to share it with their subordinates2 and
 they suffer the whole detriment of     
mismanagement except so far as this may 
cripple their subsequent power of       
employing labor4 ,this strong personal  
motive to do their very best and utmost 
for the efficiency and economy of the   
operations1 would not exist under       
,communism2 as the managers would only  
receive out of the produce the same     
equal dividend as the other members of  
the association4 ,what would remain     
would be the interest common to all in  

so managing affairs as to make the      
dividend as large as possible2 the      
incentives of public spirit1 of         
conscience1 and of the honor and credit 
of the managers4 ,the force of these    
motives1 especially when combined1 is   
great4 ,but it varies greatly in        
different persons1 and is much greater  
for some purposes than for others4 ,the 
verdict of experience1 in the imperfect 
degree of moral cultivation which       
mankind have yet reached1 is that the   
motive of conscience and that of credit 
and reputation1 even when they are of   
some strength1 are1 in the majority of  
cases1 much stronger as restraining than
 as impelling forces--are more to be    
depended on for preventing wrong1 than  
for calling forth the fullest energies  
in the pursuit of ordinary occupations4 
,in the case of most men the only       
inducement which has been found         
sufficiently constant and unflagging to 
overcome the ever-present influence of  
indolence and love of ease1 and induce  

men to apply themselves unrelaxingly to 
work for the most part in itself dull   
and unexciting1 is the prospect of      
bettering their own economic condition  
and that of their family2 and the closer
 the connection of every increase of    
exertion with a corresponding increase  
of its fruits1 the more powerful is this
 motive4 ,to suppose the contrary would 
be to imply that with men as they now   
are1 duty and honor are more powerful   
principles of action than personal      
interest1 not solely as to special acts 
and forbearances respecting which those 
sentiments have been exceptionally      
cultivated1 but in the regulation of    
their whole lives2 which no one1 ,i     
suppose1 will affirm4 ,it may be said   
that this inferior efficacy of public   
and social feelings is not              
inevitable--is the result of imperfect  
education4 ,this ,i am quite ready to   
admit1 and also that there are even now 
many individual exceptions to the       
general infirmity4 ,but before these    

exceptions can grow into a majority1 or 
even into a very large minority1 much   
time will be required4 ,the education of
 human beings is one of the most        
difficult of all arts1 and this is one  
of the points in which it has hitherto  
been least successful2 moreover         
improvements in general education are   
necessarily very gradual because the    
future generation is educated by the    
present1 and the imperfections of the   
teachers set an invincible limit to the 
degree in which they can train their    
pupils to be better than themselves4 ,we
 must therefore expect1 unless we are   
operating upon a select portion of the  
population1 that personal interest will 
for a long time be a more effective     
stimulus to the most vigorous and       
careful conduct of the industrial       
business of society than motives of a   
higher character4 ,it will be said that 
at present the greed of personal gain by
 its very excess counteracts its own end
 by the stimulus it gives to reckless   

and often dishonest risks4 ,this it     
does1 and under ,communism that source  
of evil would generally be absent4 ,it  
is probable1 indeed1 that enterprise    
either of a bad or of a good kind would 
be a deficient element1 and that        
business in general would fall very much
 under the dominion of routine2 the     
rather1 as the performance of duty in   
such communities has to be enforced by  
external sanctions1 the more nearly each
 person's duty can be reduced to fixed  
rules1 the easier it is to hold him to  
its performance4 ,a circumstance which  
increases the probability of this result
 is the limited power which the managers
 would have of independent action4 ,they
 would of course hold their authority   
from the choice of the community1 by    
whom their function might at any time be
 withdrawn from them2 and this would    
make it necessary for them1 even if not 
so required by the constitution of the  
community1 to obtain the general consent
 of the body before making any change in

 the established mode of carrying on the
 concern4 ,the difficulty of persuading 
a numerous body to make a change in     
their accustomed mode of working1 of    
which change the trouble is often great1
 and the risk more obvious to their     
minds than the advantage1 would have a  
great tendency to keep things in their  
accustomed track4 ,against this it has  
to be set1 that choice by the persons   
who are directly interested in the      
success of the work1 and who have       
practical knowledge and opportunities of
 judgment1 might be expected on the     
average to produce managers of greater  
skill than the chances of birth1 which  
now so often determine who shall be the 
owner of the capital4 ,this may be true2
 and though it may be replied that the  
capitalist by inheritance can also1 like
 the community1 appoint a manager more  
capable than himself1 this would only   
place him on the same level of advantage
 as the community1 not on a higher      
level4 ,but it must be said on the other

 side that under the ,communist system  
the persons most qualified for the      
management would be likely very often to
 hang back from undertaking it4 ,at     
present the manager1 even if he be a    
hired servant1 has a very much larger   
remuneration than the other persons     
concerned in the business2 and there are
 open to his ambition higher social     
positions to which his function of      
manager is a stepping-stone4 ,on the    
,communist system none of these         
advantages would be possessed by him2 he
 could obtain only the same dividend out
 of the produce of the community's labor
 as any other member of it2 he would no 
longer have the chance of raising       
himself from a receiver of wages into   
the class of capitalists2 and while he  
could be in no way better off than any  
other laborer1 his responsibilities and 
anxieties would be so much greater that 
a large proportion of mankind would be  
likely to prefer the less onerous       
position4 ,this difficulty was foreseen 

by ,plato as an objection to the system 
proposed in his ,republic of community  
of goods among a governing class2 and   
the motive on which he relied for       
inducing the fit persons to take on     
themselves1 in the absence of all the   
ordinary inducements1 the cares and     
labors of government1 was the fear of   
being governed by worse men4 ,this1 in  
truth1 is the motive which would have to
 be in the main depended upon2 the      
persons most competent to the management
 would be prompted to undertake the     
office to prevent it from falling into  
less competent hands4 ,and the motive   
would probably be effectual at times    
when there was an impression that by    
incompetent management the affairs of   
the community were going to ruin1 or    
even only decidedly deteriorating4 ,but 
this motive could not1 as a rule1 expect
 to be called into action by the less   
stringent inducement of merely promoting
 improvement2 unless in the case of     
inventors or schemers eager to try some 

device from which they hoped for great  
and immediate fruits2 and persons of    
this kind are very often unfitted by    
over-sanguine temper and imperfect      
judgment for the general conduct of     
affairs1 while even when fitted for it  
they are precisely the kind of persons  
against whom the average man is apt to  
entertain a prejudice1 and they would   
often be unable to overcome the         
preliminary difficulty of persuading the
 community both to adopt their project  
and to accept them as managers4         
,communistic management would thus be1  
in all probability1 less favorable than 
private management to that striking out 
of new paths and making immediate       
sacrifices for distant and uncertain    
advantages1 which1 though seldom        
unattended with risk1 is generally      
indispensable to great improvements in  
the economic condition of mankind1 and  
even to keeping up the existing state in
 the face of a continual increase of the
 number of mouths to be fed4  ,we have  

thus far taken account only of the      
operation of motives upon the managing  
minds of the association4 ,let us now   
consider how the case stands in regard  
to the ordinary workers4  ,these1 under 
,communism1 would have no interest1     
except their share of the general       
interest1 in doing their work honestly  
and energetically4 ,but in this respect 
matters would be no worse than they now 
are in regard to the great majority of  
the producing classes4 ,these1 being    
paid by fixed wages1 are so far from    
having any direct interest of their own 
in the efficiency of their work1 that   
they have not even that share in the    
general interest which every worker     
would have in the ,communistic          
organization4 ,accordingly1 the         
inefficiency of hired labor1 the        
imperfect manner in which it calls forth
 the real capabilities of the laborers1 
is matter of common remark4 ,it is true 
that a character for being a good       
workman is far from being without its   

value1 as it tends to give him a        
preference in employment1 and sometimes 
obtains for him higher wages4 ,there are
 also possibilities of rising to the    
position of foreman1 or other           
subordinate administrative posts1 which 
are not only more highly paid than      
ordinary labor1 but sometimes open the  
way to ulterior advantages4 ,but on the 
other side is to be set that under      
,communism the general sentiment of the 
community1 composed of the comrades     
under whose eyes each person works1     
would be sure to be in favor of good and
 hard working1 and unfavorable to       
laziness1 carelessness1 and waste4 ,in  
the present system not only is this not 
the case1 but the public opinion of the 
workman class often acts in the very    
opposite direction3 the rules of some   
trade societies actually forbid their   
members to exceed a certain standard of 
efficiency1 lest they should diminish   
the number of laborers required for the 
work2 and for the same reason they often

 violently resist contrivances for      
economising labor4 ,the change from this
 to a state in which every person would 
have an interest in rendering every     
other person as industrious1 skilful1   
and careful as possible 7which would be 
the case under ,communism71 would be a  
change very much for the better4  ,it   
is1 however1 to be considered that the  
principal defects of the present system 
in respect to the efficiency of labor   
may be corrected1 and the chief         
advantages of ,communism in that respect
 may be obtained1 by arrangements       
compatible with private property and    
individual competition4 ,considerable   
improvement is already obtained by      
piece-work1 in the kinds of labor which 
admit of it4 ,by this the workman's     
personal interest is closely connected  
with the quantity of work he turns      
out--not so much with its quality1 the  
security for which still has to depend  
on the employer's vigilance2 neither    
does piece-work carry with it the public

 opinion of the workman class1 which is 
often1 on the contrary1 strongly opposed
 to it1 as a means of 7as they think7   
diminishing the market for laborers4    
,and there is really good ground for    
their dislike of piece-work1 if1 as is  
alleged1 it is a frequent practice of   
employers1 after using piece-work to    
ascertain the utmost which a good       
workman can do1 to fix the price of     
piece-work so low that by doing that    
utmost he is not able to earn more than 
they would be obliged to give him as day
 wages for ordinary work4  ,but there is
 a far more complete remedy than        
piece-work for the disadvantages of     
hired labor1 viz41 what is now called   
industrial partnership--the admission of
 the whole body of laborers to a        
participation in the profits1 by        
distributing among all who share in the 
work1 in the form of a percentage on    
their earnings1 the whole or a fixed    
portion of the gains after a certain    
remuneration has been allowed to the    

capitalist4 ,this plan has been found of
 admirable efficacy1 both in this       
country and abroad4 ,it has enlisted the
 sentiments of the workmen employed on  
the side of the most careful regard by  
all of them to the general interest of  
the concern2 and by its joint effect in 
promoting zealous exertion and checking 
waste1 it has very materially increased 
the remuneration of every description of
 labor in the concerns in which it has  
been adopted4 ,it is evident that this  
system admits of indefinite extension   
and of an indefinite increase in the    
share of profits assigned to the        
laborers1 short of that which would     
leave to the managers less than the     
needful degree of personal interest in  
the success of the concern4 ,it is even 
likely that when such arrangements      
become common1 many of these concerns   
would at some period or another1 on the 
death or retirement of the chief's pass1
 by arrangement1 into the state of      
purely co-operative associations4  ,it  

thus appears that as far as concerns the
 motives to exertion in the general     
body1 ,communism has no advantage which 
may not be reached under private        
property1 while as respects the managing
 heads it is at a considerable          
disadvantage4 ,it has also some         
disadvantages which seem to be inherent 
in it1 through the necessity under which
 it lies of deciding in a more or less  
arbitrary manner questions which1 on the
 present system1 decide themselves1     
often badly enough but spontaneously4   
,it is a simple rule1 and under certain 
aspects a just one1 to give equal       
payment to all who share in the work4   
,but this is a very imperfect justice   
unless the work also is apportioned     
equally4 ,now the many different kinds  
of work required in every society are   
very unequal in hardness and            
unpleasantness4 ,to measure these       
against one another1 so as to make      
quality equivalent to quantity1 is so   
difficult that ,communists generally    

propose that all should work by turns at
 every kind of labor4 ,but this involves
 an almost complete sacrifice of the    
economic advantages of the division of  
employments1 advantages which are indeed
 frequently over-estimated 7or rather   
the counter considerations are          
under-estimated7 by political           
economists1 but which are nevertheless1 
in the point of view of the             
productiveness of labor1 very           
considerable1 for the double reason that
 the co-operation of employment enables 
the work to distribute itself with some 
regard to the special capacities and    
qualifications of the worker1 and also  
that every worker acquires greater skill
 and rapidity in one kind of work by    
confining himself to it4 ,the           
arrangement1 therefore1 which is deemed 
indispensable to a just distribution    
would probably be a very considerable   
disadvantage in respect of production4  
,but further1 it is still a very        
imperfect standard of justice to demand 

the same amount of work from every one4 
,people have unequal capacities of work1
 both mental and bodily1 and what is a  
light task for one is an insupportable  
burthen to another4 ,it is necessary1   
therefore1 that there should be a       
dispensing power1 an authority competent
 to grant exemptions from the ordinary  
amount of work1 and to proportion tasks 
in some measure to capabilities4 ,as    
long as there are any lazy or selfish   
persons who like better to be worked for
 by others than to work1 there will be  
frequent attempts to obtain exemptions  
by favor or fraud1 and the frustration  
of these attempts will be an affair of  
considerable difficulty1 and will by no 
means be always successful4 ,these      
inconveniences would be little felt1 for
 some time at least1 in communities     
composed of select persons1 earnestly   
desirous of the success of the          
experiment2 but plans for the           
regeneration of society must consider   
average human beings1 and not only them 

but the large residuum of persons       
greatly below the average in the        
personal and social virtues4 ,the       
squabbles and ill-blood which could not 
fail to be engendered by the            
distribution of work whenever such      
persons have to be dealt with1 would be 
a great abatement from the harmony and  
unanimity which ,communists hope would  
be found among the members of their     
association4 ,that concord would1 even  
in the most fortunate circumstances1 be 
much more liable to disturbance than    
,communists suppose4 ,the institution   
provides that there shall be no         
quarrelling about material interests2   
individualism is excluded from that     
department of affairs4 ,but there are   
other departments from which no         
institutions can exclude it3 there will 
still be rivalry for reputation and for 
personal power4 ,when selfish ambition  
is excluded from the field in which1    
with most men1 it chiefly exercises     
itself1 that of riches and pecuniary    

interest1 it would betake itself with   
greater intensity to the domain still   
open to it1 and we may expect that the  
struggles for pre-eminence and for      
influence in the management would be of 
great bitterness when the personal      
passions1 diverted from their ordinary  
channel1 are driven to seek their       
principal gratification in that other   
direction4 ,for these various reasons it
 is probable that a ,communist          
association would frequently fail to    
exhibit the attractive picture of mutual
 love and unity of will and feeling     
which we are often told by ,communists  
to expect1 but would often be torn by   
dissension and not unfrequently broken  
up by it4  ,other and numerous sources  
of discord are inherent in the necessity
 which the ,communist principle         
involves1 of deciding by the general    
voice questions of the utmost importance
 to every one1 which on the present     
system can be and are left to           
individuals to decide1 each for his own 

case4 ,as an example1 take the subject  
of education4 ,all ,socialists are      
strongly impressed with the             
all-importance of the training given to 
the young1 not only for the reasons     
which apply universally1 but because    
their demands being much greater than   
those of any other system upon the      
intelligence and morality of the        
individual citizen1 they have even more 
at stake than any other societies on the
 excellence of their educational        
arrangements4 ,now under ,communism     
these arrangements would have to be made
 for every citizen by the collective    
body1 since individual parents1         
supposing them to prefer some other mode
 of educating their children1 would have
 no private means of paying for it1 and 
would be limited to what they could do  
by their own personal teaching and      
influence4 ,but every adult member of   
the body would have an equal voice in   
determining the collective system       
designed for the benefit of all4 ,here1 

then1 is a most fruitful source of      
discord in every association4 ,all who  
had any opinion or preference as to the 
education they would desire for their   
own children1 would have to rely for    
their chance of obtaining it upon the   
influence they could exercise in the    
joint decision of the community4  ,it is
 needless to specify a number of other  
important questions affecting the mode  
of employing the productive resources of
 the association1 the conditions of     
social life1 the relations of the body  
with other associations1 c41 on which   
difference of opinion1 often            
irreconcilable1 would be likely to      
arise4 ,but even the dissensions which  
might be expected would be a far less   
evil to the prospects of humanity than a
 delusive unanimity produced by the     
prostration of all individual opinions  
and wishes before the decree of the     
majority4 ,the obstacles to human       
progression are always great1 and       
require a concurrence of favorable      

circumstances to overcome them2 but an  
indispensable condition of their being  
overcome is1 that human nature should   
have freedom to expand spontaneously in 
various directions1 both in thought and 
practice2 that people should both think 
for themselves and try experiments for  
themselves1 and should not resign into  
the hands of rulers1 whether acting in  
the name of a few or of the majority1   
the business of thinking for them1 and  
of prescribing how they shall act4 ,but 
in ,communist associations private life 
would be brought in a most unexampled   
degree within the dominion of public    
authority1 and there would be less scope
 for the development of individual      
character and individual preferences    
than has hitherto existed among the full
 citizens of any state belonging to the 
progressive branches of the human       
family4 ,already in all societies the   
compression of individuality by the     
majority is a great and growing evil2 it
 would probably be much greater under   

,communism1 except so far as it might be
 in the power of individuals to set     
bounds to it by selecting to belong to a
 community of persons like-minded with  
themselves4  ,from these various        
considerations ,i do not seek to draw   
any inference against the possibility   
that ,communistic production is capable 
of being at some future time the form of
 society best adapted to the wants and  
circumstances of mankind4 ,i think that 
this is1 and will long be an open       
question1 upon which fresh light will   
continually be obtained1 both by trial  
of the ,communistic principle under     
favorable circumstances1 and by the     
improvements which will be gradually    
effected in the working of the existing 
system1 that of private ownership4 ,the 
one certainty is1 that ,communism1 to be
 successful1 requires a high standard of
 both moral and intellectual education  
in all the members of the               
community--moral1 to qualify them for   
doing their part honestly and           

energetically in the labor of life under
 no inducement but their share in the   
general interest of the association1 and
 their feelings of duty and sympathy    
towards it2 intellectual1 to make them  
capable of estimating distant interests 
and entering into complex               
considerations1 sufficiently at least to
 be able to discriminate1 in these      
matters1 good counsel from bad4 ,now ,i 
reject altogether the notion that it is 
impossible for education and cultivation
 such as is implied in these things to  
be made the inheritance of every person 
in the nation2 but ,i am convinced that 
it is very difficult1 and that the      
passage to it from our present condition
 can only be slow4 ,i admit the plea    
that in the points of moral education on
 which the success of communism depends1
 the present state of society is        
demoralizing1 and that only a           
,communistic association can effectually
 train mankind for ,communism4 ,it is   
for ,communism1 then1 to prove1 by      

practical experiment1 its power of      
giving this training4 ,experiments alone
 can show whether there is as yet in any
 portion of the population a            
sufficiently high level of moral        
cultivation to make ,communism succeed1 
and to give to the next generation among
 themselves the education necessary to  
keep that high level permanently ,if    
,communist associations show that they  
can be durable and prosperous1 they will
 multiply1 and will probably be adopted 
by successive portions of the population
 of the more advanced countries as they 
become morally fitted for that mode of  
life4 ,but to force unprepared          
populations into ,communist societies1  
even if a political revolution gave the 
power to make such an attempt1 would end
 in disappointment4  ,if practical trial
 is necessary to test the capabilities  
of ,communism1 it is no less required   
for those other forms of ,socialism     
which recognize the difficulties of     
,communism and contrive means to        

surmount them4 ,the principal of these  
is ,fourierism1 a system which1 if only 
as a specimen of intellectual ingenuity1
 is highly worthy of the attention of   
any student1 either of society or of the
 human mind4 ,there is scarcely an      
objection or a difficulty which ,fourier
 did not forsee1 and against which he   
did not make provision beforehand by    
self-acting contrivances1 grounded1     
however1 upon a less high principle of  
distributive justice than that of       
,communism1 since he admits inequalities
 of distribution and individual         
ownership of capital1 but not the       
arbitrary disposal of it4 ,the great    
problem which he grapples with is how to
 make labor attractive1 since1 if this  
could be done1 the principal difficulty 
of ,socialism would be overcome4 ,he    
maintains that no kind of useful labor  
is necessarily or universally repugnant1
 unless either excessive in amount or   
devoid of the stimulus of companionship 
and emulation1 or regarded by mankind   

with contempt4 ,the workers in a        
,fourierist village are to class        
themselves spontaneously in groups1 each
 group undertaking a different kind of  
work1 and the same person may be a      
member not only of one group but of any 
number2 a certain minimum having first  
been set apart for the subsistence of   
every member of the community1 whether  
capable or not of labor1 the society    
divides the remainder of the produce    
among the different groups1 in such     
shares as it finds attract to each the  
amount of labor required1 and no more2  
if there is too great a run upon        
particular groups it is a sign that     
those groups are over-remunerated       
relatively to others2 if any are        
neglected their remuneration must be    
made higher4 ,the share of produce      
assigned to each group is divided in    
fixed proportions among three           
elements--labor1 capital1 and talent2   
the part assigned to talent being       
awarded by the suffrages of the group   

itself1 and it is hoped that among the  
variety of human capacities all1 or     
nearly all1 will be qualified to excel  
in some group or other4 ,the            
remuneration for capital is to be such  
as is found sufficient to induce savings
 from individual consumption1 in order  
to increase the common stock to such    
point as is desired4 ,the number and    
ingenuity of the contrivances for       
meeting minor difficulties1 and getting 
rid of minor inconveniencies1 is very   
remarkable4 ,by means of these various  
provisions it is the expectation of     
,fourierists that the personal          
inducements to exertion for the public  
interest1 instead of being taken away1  
would be made much greater than at      
present1 since every increase of the    
service rendered would be much more     
certain of leading to increase of reward
 than it is now1 when accidents of      
position have so much influence4 ,the   
efficiency of labor1 they therefore     
expect1 would be unexampled1 while the  

saving of labor would be prodigious1 by 
diverting to useful occupations that    
which is now wasted on things useless or
 hurtful1 and by dispensing with the    
vast number of superfluous distributors1
 the buying and selling for the whole   
community being managed by a single     
agency4 ,the free choice of individuals 
as to their manner of life would be no  
further interfered with than would be   
necessary for gaining the full          
advantages of co-operation in the       
industrial operations4 ,altogether1 the 
picture of a ,fourierist community is   
both attractive in itself and requires  
less from common humanity than any other
 known system of ,socialism2 and it is  
much to be desired that the scheme      
should have that fair trial which alone 
can test the workableness of any new    
scheme of social life4#i  ,the result of
 our review of the various difficulties 
of ,socialism has led us to the         
conclusion that the various schemes for 
managing the productive resources of the

 country by public instead of private   
agency have a case for a trial1 and some
 of them may eventually establish their 
claims to preference over the existing  
order of things1 but that they are at   
present workable only by the elite of   
mankind1 and have yet to prove their    
power of training mankind at large to   
the state of improvement which they     
presuppose4 ,far more1 of course1 may   
this be said of the more ambitious plan 
which aims at taking possession of the  
whole land and capital of the country1  
and beginning at once to administer it  
on the public account4 ,apart from all  
consideration of injustice to the       
present possessors1 the very idea of    
conducting the whole industry of a      
country by direction from a single      
centre is so obviously chimerical1 that 
nobody ventures to propose any mode in  
which it should be done2 and it can     
hardly be doubted that if the           
revolutionary ,socialists attained their
 immediate object1 and actually had the 

whole property of the country at their  
disposal1 they would find no other      
practicable mode of exercising their    
power over it than that of dividing it  
into portions1 each to be made over to  
the administration of a small ,socialist
 community4 ,the problem of management1 
which we have seen to be so difficult   
even to a select population well        
prepared beforehand1 would be thrown    
down to be solved as best it could by   
aggregations united only by locality1 or
 taken indiscriminately from the        
population1 including all the           
malefactors1 all the idlest and most    
vicious1 the most incapable of steady   
industry1 forethought1 or self-control1 
and a majority who1 though not equally  
degraded1 are yet1 in the opinion of    
,socialists themselves as far as regards
 the qualities essential for the success
 of ,socialism1 profoundly demoralised  
by the existing state of society4 ,it is
 saying but little to say that the      
introduction of ,socialism under such   

conditions could have no effect but     
disastrous failure1 and its apostles    
could have only the consolation that the
 order of society as it now exists would
 have perished first1 and all who       
benefit by it would be involved in the  
common ruin--a consolation which to some
 of them would probably be real1 for if 
appearances can be trusted the animating
 principle of too many of the           
revolutionary ,socialists is hate2 a    
very excusable hatred of existing evils1
 which would vent itself by putting an  
end to the present system at all costs  
even to those who suffer by it1 in the  
hope that out of chaos would arise a    
better ,kosmos1 and in the impatience of
 desperation respecting any more gradual
 improvement4 ,they are unaware that    
chaos is the very most unfavorable      
position for setting out in the         
construction of a ,kosmos1 and that many
 ages of conflict1 violence1 and        
tyrannical oppression of the weak by the
 strong must intervene2 they know not   

that they would plunge mankind into the 
state of nature so forcibly described by
 ,hobbes 7,leviathan1 ,part ,i4 ch4     
xiii471 where every man is enemy to     
every man3--      ,in such condition    
there is no place for industry1 because 
the     fruit thereof is uncertain1 and 
consequently no culture of the          
earth1 no navigation1 no use of the     
commodities that may be     imported by 
sea1 no commodious building1 no         
instruments of     moving and removing  
such things as require much force1 no   
knowledge of the face of the earth1 no  
account of time1 no arts1     no        
letters1 no society2 and1 which is worst
 of all1 continual     fear and danger  
of violent death2 and the life of man   
solitary1     poor1 nasty1 brutish1 and 
short4  ,if the poorest and most        
wretched members of a so-called         
civilised society are in as bad a       
condition as every one would be in that 
worst form of barbarism produced by the 
dissolution of civilised life1 it does  

not follow that the way to raise them   
would be to reduce all others to the    
same miserable state4 ,on the contrary1 
it is by the aid of the first who have  
risen that so many others have escaped  
from the general lot1 and it is only by 
better organization of the same process 
that it may be hoped in time to succeed 
in raising the remainder4   ,,the ,,idea
 ,,of ,,private ,,property ,,not ,,fixed
 ,,but ,,variable4  ,the preceding      
considerations appear sufficient to show
 that an entire renovation of the social
 fabric1 such as is contemplated by     
,socialism1 establishing the economic   
constitution of society upon an entirely
 new basis1 other than that of private  
property and competition1 however       
valuable as an ideal1 and even as a     
prophecy of ultimate possibilities1 is  
not available as a present resource1    
since it requires from those who are to 
carry on the new order of things        
qualities both moral and intellectual1  
which require to be tested in all1 and  

to be created in most2 and this cannot  
be done by an ,act of ,parliament1 but  
must be1 on the most favorable          
supposition1 a work of considerable     
time4 ,for a long period to come the    
principle of individual property will be
 in possession of the field2 and even if
 in any country a popular movement were 
to place ,socialists at the head of a   
revolutionary government1 in however    
many ways they might violate private    
property1 the institution itself would  
survive1 and would either be accepted by
 them or brought back by their          
expulsion1 for the plain reason that    
people will not lose their hold of what 
is at present their sole reliance for   
subsistence and security until a        
substitute for it has been got into     
working order4 ,even those1 if any1 who 
had shared among themselves what was the
 property of others would desire to keep
 what they had acquired1 and to give    
back to property in the new hands the   
sacredness which they had not recognised

 in the old4  ,but though1 for these    
reasons1 individual property has        
presumably a long term before it1 if    
only of provisional existence1 we are   
not1 therefore1 to conclude that it must
 exist during that whole term           
unmodified1 or that all the rights now  
regarded as appertaining to property    
belong to it inherently1 and must endure
 while it endures4 ,on the contrary1 it 
is both the duty and the interest of    
those who derive the most direct benefit
 from the laws of property to give      
impartial consideration to all proposals
 for rendering those laws in any way    
less onerous to the majority4 ,this1    
which would in any case be an obligation
 of justice1 is an injunction of        
prudence also1 in order to place        
themselves in the right against the     
attempts which are sure to be frequent  
to bring the ,socialist forms of society
 prematurely into operation4  ,one of   
the mistakes oftenest committed1 and    
which are the sources of the greatest   

practical errors in human affairs1 is   
that of supposing that the same name    
always stands for the same aggregation  
of ideas4 ,no word has been the subject 
of more of this kind of misunderstanding
 than the word property4 ,it denotes in 
every state of society the largest      
powers of exclusive use or exclusive    
control over things 7and sometimes1     
unfortunately1 over persons7 which the  
law accords1 or which custom1 in that   
state of society1 recognizes2 but these 
powers of exclusive use and control are 
very various1 and differ greatly in     
different countries and in different    
states of society4  ,for instance1 in   
early states of society1 the right of   
property did not include the right of   
bequest4 ,the power of disposing of     
property by will was in most countries  
of ,europe a rather late institution2   
and long after it was introduced it     
continued to be limited in favor of what
 were called natural heirs4 ,where      
bequest is not permitted1 individual    

property is only a life interest4 ,and  
in fact1 as has been so well and fully  
set forth by ,sir ,henry ,maine in his  
most instructive work on ,ancient ,law1 
the primitive idea of property was that 
it belonged to the family1 not the      
individual4 ,the head of the family had 
the management and was the person who   
really exercised the proprietary rights4
 ,as in other respects1 so in this1 he  
governed the family with nearly despotic
 power4 ,but he was not free so to      
exercise his power as to defeat the     
co-proprietors of the other portions2 he
 could not so dispose of the property as
 to deprive them of the joint enjoyment 
or of the succession4 ,by the laws and  
customs of some nations the property    
could not be alienated without the      
consent of the male children2 in other  
cases the child could by law demand a   
division of the property and the        
assignment to him of his share1 as in   
the story of the ,prodigal ,son4 ,if the
 association kept together after the    

death of the head1 some other member of 
it1 not always his son1 but often the   
eldest of the family1 the strongest1 or 
the one selected by the rest1 succeeded 
to the management and to the managing   
rights1 all the others retaining theirs 
as before4 ,if1 on the other hand the   
body broke up into separate families1   
each of these took away with it a part  
of the property4 ,i say the property1   
not the inheritance1 because the process
 was a mere continuance of existing     
rights1 not a creation of new2 the      
manager's share alone lapsed to the     
association4  ,then1 again1 in regard to
 proprietary rights over immovables 7the
 principal kind of property in a rude   
age7 these rights were of very varying  
extent and duration4 ,by the ,jewish law
 property in immovables was only a      
temporary concession2 on the ,sabbatical
 year it returned to the common stock to
 be redistributed2 though we may surmise
 that in the historical times of the    
,jewish state this rule may have been   

successfully evaded4 ,in many countries 
of ,asia1 before ,european ideas        
intervened1 nothing existed to which the
 expression property in land1 as we     
understand the phrase1 is strictly      
applicable4 ,the ownership was broken up
 among several distinct parties1 whose  
rights were determined rather by custom 
than by law4 ,the government was part   
owner1 having the right to a heavy rent4
 ,ancient ideas and even ancient laws   
limited the government share to some    
particular fraction of the gross        
produce1 but practically there was no   
fixed limit4 ,the government might make 
over its share to an individual1 who    
then became possessed of the right of   
collection and all the other rights of  
the state1 but not those of any private 
person connected with the soil4 ,these  
private rights were of various kinds4   
,the actual cultivators or such of them 
as had been long settled on the land1   
had a right to retain possession2 it was
 held unlawful to evict them while they 

paid the rent--a rent not in general    
fixed by agreement1 but by the custom of
 the neighborhood4 ,between the actual  
cultivators and the state1 or the       
substitute to whom the state had        
transferred its rights1 there were      
intermediate persons with rights of     
various extent4 ,there were officers of 
government who collected the state's    
share of the produce1 sometimes for     
large districts1 who1 though bound to   
pay over to government all they         
collected1 after deducting a percentage1
 were often hereditary officers4 ,there 
were also1 in many cases village        
communities1 consisting of the reputed  
descendants of the first settlers of a  
village1 who shared among themselves    
either the land or its produce according
 to rules established by custom1 either 
cultivating it themselves or employing  
others to cultivate it for them1 and    
whose rights in the land approached     
nearer to those of a landed proprietor1 
as understood in ,england1 than those of

 any other party concerned4 ,but the    
proprietary right of the village was not
 individual1 but collective2 inalienable
 7the rights of individual sharers could
 only be sold or mortgaged with the     
consent of the community7 and governed  
by fixed rules4 ,in mediaeval ,europe   
almost all land was held from the       
sovereign on tenure of service1 either  
military or agricultural2 and in ,great 
,britain even now1 when the services as 
well as all the reserved rights of the  
sovereign have long since fallen into   
disuse or been commuted for taxation1   
the theory of the law does not          
acknowledge an absolute right of        
property in land in any individual2 the 
fullest landed proprietor known to the  
law1 the freeholder1 is but a tenant of 
the ,crown4 ,in ,russia1 even when the  
cultivators of the soil were serfs of   
the landed proprietor1 his proprietary  
right in the land was limited by rights 
of theirs belonging to them as a        
collective body managing its own        

affairs1 and with which he could not    
interfere4 ,and in most of the countries
 of continental ,europe when serfage was
 abolished or went out of use1 those who
 had cultivated the land as serfs       
remained in possession of rights as well
 as subject to obligations4 ,the great  
land reforms of ,stein and his          
successors in ,prussia consisted in     
abolishing both the rights and the      
obligations1 and dividing the land      
bodily between the proprietor and the   
peasant1 instead of leaving each of them
 with a limited right over the whole4   
,in other cases1 as in ,tuscany1 the    
metayer farmer is virtually             
co-proprietor with the landlord1 since  
custom1 though not law1 guarantees to   
him a permanent possession and half the 
gross produce1 so long as he fulfils the
 customary conditions of his tenure4    
,again3 if rights of property over the  
same things are of different extent in  
different countries1 so also are they   
exercised over different things4 ,in all

 countries at a former time1 and in some
 countries still1 the right of property 
extended and extends to the ownership of
 human beings4 ,there has often been    
property in public trusts1 as in        
judicial offices1 and a vast multitude  
of others in ,france before the         
,revolution2 there are still a few      
patent offices in ,great ,britain1      
though ,i believe they will cease by    
operation of law on the death of the    
present holders2 and we are only now    
abolishing property in army rank4       
,public bodies1 constituted and endowed 
for public purposes1 still claim the    
same inviolable right of property in    
their estates which individuals have in 
theirs1 and though a sound political    
morality does not acknowledge this      
claim1 the law supports it4 ,we thus see
 that the right of property is          
differently interpreted1 and held to be 
of different extent1 in different times 
and places2 that the conception         
entertained of it is a varying          

conception1 has been frequently revised1
 and may admit of still further         
revision4 ,it is also to be noticed that
 the revisions which it has hitherto    
undergone in the progress of society    
have generally been improvements4 ,when1
 therefore1 it is maintained1 rightly or
 wrongly1 that some change or           
modification in the powers exercised    
over things by the persons legally      
recognised as their proprietors would be
 beneficial to the public and conducive 
to the general improvement1 it is no    
good answer to this merely to say that  
the proposed change conflicts with the  
idea of property4 ,the idea of property 
is not some one thing1 identical        
throughout history and incapable of     
alteration1 but is variable like all    
other creations of the human mind2 at   
any given time it is a brief expression 
denoting the rights over things         
conferred by the law or custom of some  
given society at that time2 but neither 
on this point nor on any other has the  

law and custom of a given time and place
 a claim to be stereotyped for ever4 ,a 
proposed reform in laws or customs is   
not necessarily objectionable because   
its adoption would imply1 not the       
adaptation of all human affairs to the  
existing idea of property1 but the      
adaptation of existing ideas of property
 to the growth and improvement of human 
affairs4 ,this is said without prejudice
 to the equitable claim of proprietors  
to be compensated by the state for such 
legal rights of a proprietary nature as 
they may be dispossessed of for the     
public advantage4 ,that equitable claim1
 the grounds and the just limits of it1 
are a subject by itself1 and as such    
will be discussed hereafter4 ,under this
 condition1 however1 society is fully   
entitled to abrogate or alter any       
particular right of property which on   
sufficient consideration it judges to   
stand in the way of the public good4    
,and assuredly the terrible case which1 
as we saw in a former chapter1          

,socialists are able to make out against
 the present economic order of society1 
demands a full consideration of all     
means by which the institution may have 
a chance of being made to work in a     
manner more beneficial to that large    
portion of society which at present     
enjoys the least share of its direct    
benefits4   ,,the ,,end4  ,,footnotes3  
#a ,see ,louis ,blanc1 ,organisation du 
,travail1 #dme edition1 pp4 #f1 #aa1    
#ec1 #eg4  #b ,see ,louis ,blanc1       
,organisation du ,travail1 pp4 #eh-fa1  
#fe-ff1 #dme edition4 ,paris1 #ahde4  #c
 ,see ,considerant1 ,destinee ,sociale1 
tome i4 pp4 #ce1 #cf1 #cg1 #cme ed4     
,paris1 #ahdh4  #d ,see ,destinee       
,sociale1 par ,v4 ,considerant1 tome i4 
pp4 #ch-dj4  #e ,see ,considerant1      
,destinee ,sociale1 tome i4 pp4 #dc-ea1 
#cme4 edition1 ,paris1 #ahdh4  #f       
,considerant1 ,destinee ,sociale1 tome  
i41 pp4 #ei1 #fj4  #g ,considerant1     
,destinee ,sociale1 tome i41 pp4 #fj1   
#fa4  #h ,considerant1 ,destinee        

,sociale1 tome i41 p4 #acd4  #i ,the    
principles of ,fourierism are clearly   
set forth and powerfully defended in the
 various writings of ,m4 ,victor        
,considerant1 especially that entitled  
,la ,destinee ,sociale2 but the curious 
inquirer will do well to study them in  
the writings of ,fourier himself2 where 
he will find unmistakable proofs of     
genius1 mixed1 however with the wildest 
and most unscientific fancies respecting
 the physical world1 and much           
interesting but rash speculation on the 
past and future history of humanity4 ,it
 is proper to add that on some important
 social questions1 for instance on      
marriage1 ,fourier had peculiar         
opinions1 which1 however1 as he himself 
declares1 are quite independent of1 and 
separable from1 the principles of his   
industrial system4         99       99  
99       99       99                    
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-------------------      ,typographical 
errors corrected in text3               

,page  #ad3 founddation replaced with   
foundation                  ,page  #ae3 
,congressses replaced with ,congresses  
,page  #bb3 moreever replaced with      
moreover                       ,page    
#bh3 ,dominitian replaced with ,domitian
                     ,page  #db3 monoply
 replaced with monopoly                 
,page  #dd3 extention replaced with     
extension                     ,page     
#hd3 conditon replaced with condition   
,page  #hf3 occassionally replaced with 
occasionally              ,page  #id3   
wisdon replaced with wisdom             
,page  #if3 recieved replaced with      
received                       ,page    
#abc3 ,,fn #i3 ,considerant replaced    
with ,considerant           ,page #abc3 
,,fn #i3 ,destinee replaced with        
,destinee                               
----------------------------------------
-------------------         99       99 
99       99       99