whereasThorntonholdsthattheywillultimatelycombineandthenbecertainofvictory。129*
This，Ithink，indicatesthetrueunderlyingdifficulty。The’natural’rateofwages，saidtheeconomists，isfixedby’supplyanddemand。’’Supplyanddemand’suggeststheordinaryprocesseswhichlevelpricesinthemarket。Thorntondeclaresthat’labour’
isboughtandsoldlikecornorcotton。Theanalogymightbedenied。MrFredericHarrisonobservedthat’labour’isnot’athing’whichcanbeboughtandsold。Thorntontreatsthisasapurelyverbaldistinction，andexpectsevenhisantagonisttoadmitthat’hiring’issimplyacaseof’buying，’andthereforegovernedbythesamelaws。130*Ifso，wemayapplyformuladerivedfromthecaseofthemarket。Thenwetacitlyintroducetheordinaryeconomicassumptions。Thepropositionthatwagesarefixedby’supplyanddemand’istakentomeanthattheratecanbededucedfromthesimpleprocessofbargaining。Thewholetheoryofdistributioncanbeworkedoutbyconsideringthefluctuationsofthelabourmarket：thevalueoflabourbeingfixedbythenumberoflabourers，andthedemandforcapitalbeingrepresentedbytherateofprofit。Thedoctrine，itmaybeadmitted，isapproximatelytrueatagiventimeandplace。Itsimplygeneralisestheargumentsusedineverystrike。Capitalmaybedrivenfromatradeifwagesbeexcessive；theinfluxoreffluxofcapitalwillraiseorlowerwagesinagivendistrict，andsoforth。Thefactsmayoftenbeinaccuratelystatedbyinterestedparties，buttheirrelevanceisundeniable。TheforcesofwhichCairnesspeaks，thecompetitionofcapitalistsforprofits，oflabourersforgages，andtheireffectuponaccumulationandpopulationareundoubtedlytheimportantfactors。Itwaspreciselybecausetheeconomistsrecognisedtheseobviousphenomenathattheyconvincedthemselvesandpersuadedothers。Theytalkedagreatdealofundeniablecommon-sense。Theycould，again，fairlydemandthatsomeallowanceshouldbemadefor’friction’——forthefact，thatis，thatcompetitionandthevariouschangeswhichitimpliesdonottakeplacesorapidlyandautomaticallyastheyassumed。Theytook，itistrue，considerableliberties；theyspokeasifcapitalcouldbechangedbymagic，andathousandquartersofcorntransformedintoasteam-engine；orasifthepopulationcouldinstantaneouslyexpandorcontractinproportiontoitsmeansofsupport。Theycouldforgetattimesthatsuchphrasesinvolveakindoflogicalshorthand，andsupposea’fluidity’ofcapital，arapidityintheprocessesbywhichadaptationsarecarriedout，whichisunreal，andmaycoverimportanterrors。
Still，withwhateverallowances，wemayaccepttheapproximatetruthoftheassumptions，asdescribingtheprocessbywhichimmediatevariationsinwagesareactuallydetermined。
Therealdifficultycomesatthenextstage。Grantingtheapproximatetruthoftheformulaeatanygiventimeandplace，cantheygiveusageneraltheoryof’distribution’——formulaewhichcanbeappliedtodeterminegenerallywhatshareofthetotalproducewillgotolabourersandwhattocapitalists？Thatis，inotherwords，canthepurelyeconomicformulabecomealsoa’sociological’formula？Willitnotonlyassigntheconditionswhichgoverntheparticularbargains，butenableustodeterminethewholeprocessbywhichtheindustrialmechanismisbuiltup？
That，asItakeit，isthepointatwhichtheoldeconomistsbrokedown。Theirdoctrines，applicableandimportantwithintheappropriatesphere，becometotallyinadequatewhentheyaresupposedtogiveacompletetheoryofindustrialdevelopment。
Theunrealityofthewholetheorybecomesobviouswhenwegiveitthewiderinterpretation。Theexcuseof’friction’
becomesinsufficient。Thatmaybeapplicablewhentheerrorissimplyduetoapermissiblesimplificationofthedata；notwhenthedataarethemselveswronglystated。Ricardo，wehaveseen，hadvirtuallymadeanassumptionastothesocialorder。Thelabourers，wemaysay，areastructurelessmass；amultitudeofindependentunits，varyinginnumbersbutotherwiseofconstantquality；thevalueoflabourwasthusdependentsimplyontheabundanceorscarcityofthesupply，andthelabourerswereassumedtobewhollydependentforsupportuponthecapitalist。
Theformulaapplicableuponsuchahypothesismightbecorrectsofarasthedatawerecorrect。Theywouldrequireacompleterevisionwhenweconsidertheactualandfarmorecomplexsocialstate。Everydifferenceofsocialstructurewillaffecttheplayofcompetition；thedegreeinwhichpopulationisstimulatedorretarded；andthegeneralefficiencyofindustry。Aloweringofwagesinsteadofproducinganincreaseofprofitandanaccumulationofcapitalmayleadtosocialdegeneration，inwhichlabourislessefficientandthewholeorganismisslackanddemoralised。Conversely，riseofwagesmayleadtoamorethancorrespondingincreaseofproduction。Theeffect，again，ofaccumulationofcapitalcannotbeexpressedsimplybytheincreaseddemandforlabour。Thatseemsplausibleonlysolongascapitalisidentifiedwithmoney。Itreallyimpliesanalterationoftheindustrialsystemandconditionsunderwhichthebargainismade。Itmay，again，betruethatinanyparticulartrade，capitalwillbeattractedorrepelledbyfluctuationsintherateofprofit；butitisbynomeansclearthatwecaninferthatageneralriseorfallofprofitwillhavethesameeffectuponaccumulationgenerally。Forsuchreasons，asItakeit，aninvestigationofthelawsofdistributionwouldrequireustogobeyondtheabstractionsabout’supplyanddemand，’howeverappropriatetheymaybetoimmediateoscillationsorrelativelysuperficialchanges。Nosuchshortcutispossibletoarealsociologicalresult。’Tofollowoutallthecausesorconditionsinvolvedwouldbe，’asProfessorTaussigsays，131*’towriteabooknotonlyondistributionbutonsocialphilosophyatlarge。’
Mill，andespeciallyCairnes，weresensibleoftheneedoftakingawidersetofconsiderations。Stillnosatisfactoryconclusioncouldbereachedsolongasitwasvirtuallyattemptedtosolvetheproblembybringingitunderthemarketformula，insteadofadmittingthattheplayofmarketisitselfdeterminedbythestructurebehindthemarket。Youhavereallyassumedanabnormallysimplestructure，anderroneouslysupposethatyouhaveavoidedthenecessityofconsideringthestructureatall。
Thewage-fundcontroversybroughtouttheinadequacyofthemethod。Oneresulthasperhapsbeentoencouragesomewriterstofallbackintosimpleempiricism；toassumethatbecausethesupposedlawswerenotrightlystatedtherearenolawsatall；
thatthejusticeofthepeacecanafterallfixwagesarbitrarily；andthatpoliticaleconomyshouldshrinkbacktobe’politicalarithmetic，’oramerecollectionofstatistics。Themoredesirablemethod，onemusthope，wouldbetoassigntheproperspheretotheoldmethod，andincorporatethesoundelementsinawidersystem。
VII。SOCIALISM
Meanwhile，theover-confidenceoftheeconomistsonlyencouragedSocialiststorevoltagainstthewholedoctrine。Itmightbeatrueaccountofactualfacts；but，ifso，demonstratedthattheexistingsocialorderwasanabominationandasystematicexploitationofthepoorbytherich。The’ironnecessity’wasanecessityimposedbyhumanlaw——not，thatis，alegitimatedevelopmentofsocialorder，butsomethingimposedbyforceandfraud。InsomedirectionsMillsympathisedwithsuchdoctrines。Heprofessedtobeinsomesensea’Socialist，’thoughhewasnotacquaintedwithsomeoftheworkspublishedduringhislifetime。HemakesnoreferencetoMarxorLassalleandotherGermanwriters。Possiblyastudyoftheirwritingsmighthaveledtomodificationsofhisteaching。TohimthenamesuggestedOwen，Fourier，St。Simon，orhisfriendLouisBlanc。132*Socialism，asunderstoodbytheearlyleaders，commendeditselftoMill，becauseitproposedtheformationofvoluntarycommunities，likeFourier’sPhalansteriesorOwen’sNewHarmony。Theyarecapableofbeingtriedonamoderatescale，withnorisktoanyonebutthetriers。133*Theyinvolvesimplysocialexperimentswhichcouldonlyinjurethosewhotriedthem。Butadifferentviewwasshowingitself。Cairnes，commentinguponhismaster’sso-calledSocialism，saysthatthenamenowimpliesthedirectinterferenceofthestatefortheinstantrealisationof’idealschemes。’134*Heobjectstothis，andtherefore，byanticipation，to’stateSocialism。’HereMill’spositionisambiguous。Inthefirstplace，whileagreeingwiththeaimsoftheSocialists，he’utterlydissentsfromthemostconspicuousandvehementpartoftheirteaching，theirdeclamationsagainstcompetition。’135*’Wherecompetitionisnot，’headds，’monopolyis’；andmonopolymeans’thetaxationoftheindustriousforthesupportofindolence，ifnotofplunder。’
Competitionraiseswages，ifthesupplyoflabourersislimited，andcanneverlowerthem，unlessthesupplyisexcessive。AsCobdenisreportedtohavesaid，therealquestionissimplywhethertwomastersarerunningafteroneman，ortwomenafteronemaster。Noonecouldspeakmoreemphaticallyorforciblyuponthis。point，nordoesheseemtohaveeverabandonedit。BothMillandhisdisciplessawtheonlysolutioninadifferentdirection。Co-operationistheirpanacea；andtheyarenevertiredofappealingtothecasesofitssuccessfuloperation，beginningwithM。Leclaire’sexperimentinFranceandtheRochdalepioneersinEngland。Thepithofthedoctrinewasalreadygiveninthefamouschapter136*upon’theprobablefuturityofthelabouringclass’duetoMrsMill’sinfluence。Hishopeforthemlayincooperation，andlatereditionsonlydifferedfromthefirstbyrecordingnewexperiments。Cairnesdeducesthesameconclusionfromhiswage-fund。Thelabourercanonlyimprovebyceasingtobea’merelabourer’；profitsmust’re-inforce’thewage-fund；co-operationshowshowthisistobedone，and，constitutestheoneandonlysolutionofourpresentproblem。’137*Thorntonreachesthesameconclusion，co-operationgivingtheonlycompromisewhichcanendtheinternecinecontest。Hecanonlyexpresshisfeelingsinpoetry，andhislastchapterupon’labour’sUtopia’iswrittenwithcreditableskillinthedifficultterzarima。Fawcettfullysharedthisenthusiasm；andthereasonissufficientlyobvious。
Co-operation，intheirsense，meanssimplythejointeffortofindependentindividuals。Competitionisassumedtoremaininfullforce。Allcombinations，asMillsaysoftrades-unions，mustbevoluntary。Thatisan’indispensableconditionoftoleratingthem。’138*Thememberofaco-operativesocietyisasfreetojoinortoleaveastheshareholderinanycommercialcompany。
Thesocietiescompetewitheachotherandwithcapitalistsateverypoint。’Supplyanddemand’regulateeverypartoftheirtransactions。Themotiveforjoiningissimplythedesireofeachmembertoinvesthissavings，andthereforethevismedicatrixisdulystimulated。Eachmancanthrivebetterbyworkinginconcert；butheresignsnoneofhisrightsasanindividual。Hehasnotenlistedinanarmyboundbydiscipline，buthasjoinedinavoluntaryexpedition。