PROBLEMS  OF  DISTRIBUTION  231

can  secure  for  the  members  of  the  strong
trade  union  a  larger  remuneration  than  is
enjoyed  by  people  of  equal  capacity  in  other
trades.  By  their  strong  organisation  the
parties  in  question  place  themselves  in  the
position  of  monopolists  ;  and  the  monopolist,
whether  he  be  selling  labour  or  commodities,
is  able  to  get  more  than  normal  earnings,
as  we  have  already  learnt.  As  a  rule,  however, ­
  it  would  be  necessary  for  the  monopolist
trade  union  to  restrict  its  membership,  as  it
could  not  hope  to  place  an  indefinite  number
of  people  in  employment  at  an  abnormally
high  wage,  and,  if  they  were  not  debarred,
multitudes  of  people  would  flock  into  the
calling  in  which  earnings  became  exceptionally
high.
We  may  inquire  next  whether  larger
wages  can  be  secured  by  the  working
classes  through  trade  union  effort  on  the
assumption  that  all  workpeople  are  combined
with  equal  strength.  They  certainly  can  if  it
is  a  fact  that  social  friction  is  strong  and
that  social  friction  ordinarily  works  to  the
detriment  of  the  wage-earner,  as  it  is
alleged  that  it  does.  Combination  on  the
part  of  labour  might  at  least  be  sufficient
to  counteract  the  effects  of  this  social  friction,
so  that  wages  rose  more  rapidly  and  higher  on