THE TIME-LABOUR SYSTEM 139 



interesting of them is the question what ' cost of production ' 

 means, when the article to be produced is a skilled workman. 

 Cost of production determines the cost of all commodities in the 

 long run. The law of demand and supply is limited in its 

 action to each successive market and each successive day. The 

 scope of the present proposal is neither to raise wages nor to 

 lower them. Neither this, nor any other system of ascertaining 

 a market price will in the long run determine the average rate 

 of wages or the average price of any article. The higgling of 

 the market ascertaining the result of the relative demand and 

 supply in that market does not in the long run determine the 

 price of either eggs or tea ; it simply finds out the price which 

 has really been determined by quite different means. To state 

 what these are would require long explanations not wanted here. 

 This article aims at no more than showing that no higgling of 

 the market exists for labour nor can exist with the present form 

 of contract between employers and workmen. Higgling de- 

 termines the market price by showing the briskness or slackness 

 of sales at a particular price. This information could be 

 obtained in a true labour market by changing the form of con- 

 tract in the mode proposed. Wages could then be settled with 

 as little difficulty as the price of any other commodity. 



