THE ANTAGONISM OF SOCIAL FORCES. 141 



Alas ! how little knowledge of these simple .but fai'-reaching prin- 

 ciples has been manifested by those in whose hands have been in- 

 trusted the destinies of nations. In the settlement of the new terri- 

 tories of this continent one of the grandest opportunities ever offered 

 to mankind to lay the foundation in such a way that society would 

 develop harmoniously has slipped by. But what do we witness 

 everywhere 1 The obligation of the toiler to yield up his product 

 to a number of his fellow men, who are thus relieved more or less 

 from the necessity to toil. As population increases, this obligation 

 increases; the mortgage on labour becomes greater and greater. Is 

 it not true that labour is now mortgaged to the finger-ends 1 And 

 is it not also true that no amount of industry, frugality, improved 

 education or better organization can remove this obligation ] The 

 only means of escape is by the resumption of the scarcity values by 

 the public and thus cutting off the possibility of any able-bodied 

 man escaping his fair share of toil. To remedy our method of distri- 

 bution we must abolish the law of '' distribution by values " and 

 substitute the true law, " to each according to his work." 



Mr. Browning objected to Mr. Douglas's division of indivi- 

 duals into classes, toilers and idlers, as invidious. He did not 

 know of any class that were either all toilers or all idlers. 

 The ordinary meaning of the word toiler was a mechanic, or 

 any one that lived by manual labour ; if the professional class 

 was included, the class of idlers would be reduced to a very 

 small number, as there were very few that lived entirely with- 

 out some kind of labour, so that to include all under these 

 two classes would be virtually to include all in the one class 

 and none in the other. He objected also to the division into 

 utility and scarcity as components of value. 



Mr. Douglas said that every person that produces some- 

 thing for his fellow men is a toiler, but there were individuals 

 who produced no more for the benefit of society than if they 

 were chloroformed on the first of January and remained so 

 to the last of December. In his remarks he did not propose 

 any levelling of incomes, but to point out the existence of 

 antagonisms. 



