[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
.Only a fraction of the available human labour in the world isneeded for the production of the total amount of consumption-goodsnecessary to life.Under a completely free economic system this fact is boundto lead to unemployment.For reasons which I do not propose to analysehere, the majority of people are compelled to work for the minimum wage onwhich life can be supported.If two factories produce the same sort of goods,other things being equal, that one will be able to produce them more cheaplywhich employs less workmen--i.e., makes the individual worker work as longand as hard as human nature permits.From this it follows inevitably that, withmethods of production what they are to-day, only a portion of the availablelabour can be used.While unreasonable demands are made on this portion,the remainder is automatically excluded from the process of production.Thisleads to a fall in sales and profits.Businesses go smash, which furtherincreases unemployment and diminishes confidence in industrial concerns andtherewith public participation in these mediating banks; finally the banksbecome insolvent through the sudden withdrawal of deposits and the wheelsof industry therewith come to a complete standstill.The crisis has also been attributed to other causes which we will nowconsider.(1) Over-production.We have to distinguish between two things here--realover-production and apparent over-production.By real overproduction Imean a production so great that it exceeds the demand.This m4y perhapsapply to motor-cars and wheat in the United States at the present moment,49although even that is doubtful.By "over-production" people usually mean acondition of things in which more of one particular article is produced thancan, in existing circumstances, be sold, in spite of a shortage ofconsumption-goods among consumers.This condition of things I call apparentover-production.In this case it is not the demand that is lacking but theconsumers' purchasing-power.Such apparent over-production is only anotherword for a crisis, and therefore cannot serve as an explanation of the latter;hence people who try to make over-production responsible for the crisis aremerely juggling with words.(2) Reparations.The obligation to pay reparations lies heavy on the debtornations and their industries, compels them to go in for dumping, and so harmsthe creditor nations too This is beyond dispute.But the appearance of thecrisis in the United States, in spite of the high tariff-wall protecting them,proves that this cannot be the principal cause of the world crisis.The shortageof gold in the debtor countries due to reparations can at most serve as anargument for putting an end to these payments; it cannot be dragged in as anexplanation of the world crisis.(3) Erection of near tariff-walls.Increase in the unproductive burden ofarmaments.Political in security owing to latent danger of war.All these thingsadd considerably to the troubles of Europe, but do not materially affectAmerica.The appearance of the crisis in America shows that they cannot beits principal causes.(4) The dropping-out of the two Powers, China and Russia.This blow toworld trade also does not touch America very nearly, and therefore cannot bea principal cause of the crisis.(5) The economic rise of the lower classes since the War.This, supposingit to be a reality, could only produce a scarcity of goods, not an excessivesupply.I will not weary the reader by enumerating further contentions which do notseem to me to get to the heart of the matter.Of one thing I feel certain: thissame technical progress which, in itself, might relieve mankind of a great partof the labour necessary to its subsistence, is the main cause of our presenttroubles.Hence there are those who would in all seriousness forbid theintroduction of technical improvements.This is obviously absurd.But how canwe find a more rational way out of our dilemma?If we could somehow manage to prevent the purchasing-power of themasses, measured in terms of goods, from sinking below a certain minimum,50stoppages in the industrial cycle such as we are experiencing to-day would berendered impossible.The logically simplest but also most daring method of achieving this is acompletely planned economy, in which consumption-goods are produced anddistributed by the community.That, in essentials, is what is being attempted inRussia to-day.Much will depend on what results this mighty experimentproduces.To hazard a prophecy here would be presumption.Can goods beproduced as economically under such a system as under one which leavesmore freedom to individual enterprise? Can this system maintain itself at allwithout the terror that has so far accompanied it, which none of us"westerners" would care to let himself in for? Does not such a rigid,centralized system tend towards protection and hostility to advantageousinnovations? We must take care, however, not to allow these suspicions tobecome prejudices which prevent us from forming an objective judgment.My personal opinion is that those methods are preferable which respectexisting traditions and habits so far as that is in any way compatible with theend in view [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]