The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists [148]
them would work. What would they live on? Their money? Could they eat it or drink it or wear it? It wouldn't take them very long to find out that this wonderful money - which under the present system is the most powerful thing in existence - is really of no more use than so much dirt. They would speedily perish, not from lack of money, but from lack of wealth - that is, from lack of things that are made by work. And further, it is quite true that if all the money were distributed equally amongst all the people tomorrow, it would all be up in heaps again in a very short time. But that only proves that while the present Money System remains, it will be impossible to do away with poverty, for heaps in some places mean little or nothing in other places. Therefore while the money system lasts we are bound to have poverty and all the evils it brings in its train.'
`Oh, of course everybody's an idjit except you,' sneered Crass, who was beginning to feel rather fogged.
`I rise to a pint of order,' said Easton.
`And I rise to order a pint,' cried Philpot.
`Order what the bloody 'ell you like,' remarked Harlow, `so long as I 'aven't got to pay for it.'
`Mine's a pint of porter,' observed the man on the pail.
`The pint is,' proceeded Easton, `when does the lecturer intend to explain to us what is the real cause of poverty.'
`'Ear, 'ear,' cried Harlow. `That's what I want to know, too.'
`And what I should like to know is, who is supposed to be givin' this 'ere lecture?' inquired the man on the pail.
`Why, Owen, of course,' replied Harlow.
`Well, why don't you try to keep quiet for a few minutes and let 'im get on with it?'
`The next B--r wot interrupts,' cried Philpot, rolling up his shirt-sleeves and glaring threateningly round upon the meeting. `The next b--r wot interrupts goes out through the bloody winder!'
At this, everybody pretended to be very frightened, and edged away as far as possible from Philpot. Easton, who was sitting next to him, got up and crossed over to Owen's vacant seat. The man on the pail was the only one who did not seem nervous; perhaps he felt safer because he was, as usual, surrounded by a moat.
`Poverty,' resumed the lecturer, consists in a shortage of the necessaries of life - or rather, of the benefits of civilization.'
`You've said that about a 'undred times before,' snarled Crass.
`I know I have; and I have no doubt I shall have to say it about five hundred times more before you understand what it means.'
`Get on with the bloody lecture,' shouted the man on the pail. `Never mind arguin' the point.'
`Well, keep horder, can't you?' cried Philpot, fiercely, `and give the man a chance.'
`All these things are produced in the same way,' proceeded Owen. `They are made from the Raw materials by those who work - aided by machinery. When we inquire into the cause of the present shortage of these things, the first question we should ask is - Are there not sufficient of the raw materials in existence to enable us to produce enough to satisfy the needs of all?
`The answer to this question is - There are undoubtedly more than sufficient of all the raw materials.
`Insufficiency of raw material is therefore not the cause. We must look in another direction.
`The next question is - Are we short of labour? Is there not a sufficient number of people able and willing to work? Or is there not enough machinery?
`The answers to these questions are - There are plenty of people able and willing to work, and there is plenty of machinery!
`These things being so, how comes this extraordinary result? How is it that the benefits of civilization are not produced in sufficient quantity to satisfy the needs of all? How is it that the majority of the people always have to go without most of the refinements, comforts, and pleasures of life, and very often without even the bare necessaries of existence?
`Plenty of materials - Plenty of Labour - Plenty of Machinery - and, nearly everybody going short of nearly everything!
`The cause of this extraordinary
`Oh, of course everybody's an idjit except you,' sneered Crass, who was beginning to feel rather fogged.
`I rise to a pint of order,' said Easton.
`And I rise to order a pint,' cried Philpot.
`Order what the bloody 'ell you like,' remarked Harlow, `so long as I 'aven't got to pay for it.'
`Mine's a pint of porter,' observed the man on the pail.
`The pint is,' proceeded Easton, `when does the lecturer intend to explain to us what is the real cause of poverty.'
`'Ear, 'ear,' cried Harlow. `That's what I want to know, too.'
`And what I should like to know is, who is supposed to be givin' this 'ere lecture?' inquired the man on the pail.
`Why, Owen, of course,' replied Harlow.
`Well, why don't you try to keep quiet for a few minutes and let 'im get on with it?'
`The next B--r wot interrupts,' cried Philpot, rolling up his shirt-sleeves and glaring threateningly round upon the meeting. `The next b--r wot interrupts goes out through the bloody winder!'
At this, everybody pretended to be very frightened, and edged away as far as possible from Philpot. Easton, who was sitting next to him, got up and crossed over to Owen's vacant seat. The man on the pail was the only one who did not seem nervous; perhaps he felt safer because he was, as usual, surrounded by a moat.
`Poverty,' resumed the lecturer, consists in a shortage of the necessaries of life - or rather, of the benefits of civilization.'
`You've said that about a 'undred times before,' snarled Crass.
`I know I have; and I have no doubt I shall have to say it about five hundred times more before you understand what it means.'
`Get on with the bloody lecture,' shouted the man on the pail. `Never mind arguin' the point.'
`Well, keep horder, can't you?' cried Philpot, fiercely, `and give the man a chance.'
`All these things are produced in the same way,' proceeded Owen. `They are made from the Raw materials by those who work - aided by machinery. When we inquire into the cause of the present shortage of these things, the first question we should ask is - Are there not sufficient of the raw materials in existence to enable us to produce enough to satisfy the needs of all?
`The answer to this question is - There are undoubtedly more than sufficient of all the raw materials.
`Insufficiency of raw material is therefore not the cause. We must look in another direction.
`The next question is - Are we short of labour? Is there not a sufficient number of people able and willing to work? Or is there not enough machinery?
`The answers to these questions are - There are plenty of people able and willing to work, and there is plenty of machinery!
`These things being so, how comes this extraordinary result? How is it that the benefits of civilization are not produced in sufficient quantity to satisfy the needs of all? How is it that the majority of the people always have to go without most of the refinements, comforts, and pleasures of life, and very often without even the bare necessaries of existence?
`Plenty of materials - Plenty of Labour - Plenty of Machinery - and, nearly everybody going short of nearly everything!
`The cause of this extraordinary