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.