The Socialism of to-day

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Monograph

Identifikator:: 835096955

URN:: urn:nbn:de:zbw-retromon-28834

Document type:: Monograph

Author:: Laveleye, Émile de

Title:: The Socialism of to-day

Place of publication:: London

Publisher:: Field & Tuer

Year of publication:: 1884

Scope:: 1 Online-Ressource (XLIV, 331 S.)

Collection:: Economics Books

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THE SOCIALISM OF TO-DAY. 56 wages, will be determined by the minimum which it costs to maintain the labourer, a minimum which, in this case, answers to the least cost of production of this particular merchandise, the productive force of the labourer. If such, concludes Lassalle, be the general law, those institutions extolled by Herr Schulze-Delitzsch can succeed no better than the old methods of Charity and Patronage, in per manently ameliorating the condition of the labouring classes. The reason is this : so long as it is merely a question of a limited number of working men, these will clearly derive an advantage by obtaining the commodities they require, at a cheaper rate and of a better quality, from a co-operative society ; but if the majority of working men profited by these institu tions, the consequence would be that they would live in the same way as they now do, only with less expense ; the minimum cost of living, that is, the minimum cost of production of labour, would be lowered ; and since this minimum is the level towards which competition tends to reduce all wages, it follows that wages would be lowered in proportion as the cost of maintaining the labourer became less. It is thus that Lassalle endeavours to show the futility of the efforts of Herr Schulze- Delitzsch and other bourgeois philanthropists, who hope to better the condition of the labouring classes, without altering the actual organization of society. All those attempts, inspired by the goodness of their hearts, come to grief against the “ iron law.” This reasoning, based upon the generally accepted prin ciples of orthodox Political Economy, brought upon Lassalle the most virulent attacks from the national Liberal papers. He replied to them no less violently.* He had no difficulty in proving that the theory of wages described by him, however disheartening it might seem, was merely that of the masters of Political Economy, of Adam Smith, J. B. Say, Ricardo, J. S. Mill, Rau, Roscher, Zachariae, and of all their disciples. Even before them, Turgot had formulated the same idea in that wonderful language, clear as a crystal, of the eighteenth * Zur Arbeiterfrage, Rede zu Leipzig, am 16 April, 1863. Rede zu Frankfurt, am 17 und 19 Mai, 1863.

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