BY K. M. JOHNSTON, F.L.S. 147 



"prices or wages — low or liigli — are utterly misleading. 

 Without tlie power to acquire, or the actual possession of a 

 due provision of that portion of exchange wealth— not 

 necessarily possessing a high exchange value — the whole 

 aggregate of the remaining part of the world's wealth in 

 exchange would be worthless ; for it would fail to preserve the 

 life of the man destitute of primary wants. This is the root 

 difficulty ; and it is forcibly exemplified in the first notable 

 exchange recorded in sacred history between the typical 

 representative of the hunter of wild animals, and the more 

 skilled and peaceful agriculturist. 



"... And Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the 

 field : and Jacob was a plain man dwelling in tents. . . . 

 And Jacob sod pottage : and Esau came from the field and he 

 was faint : And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee with 

 that same red pottage, for I am faint. . . . And Jacob said, 

 Sell me this day thy birthright. And Esau said, Behold I am 

 at the point to die, and what profit shall this birthright do to 

 me ? And Jacob said. Swear to me this day ; and he sware 

 unto him: and he sold his birthright unto Jacob. Then Jacob 

 gave Esau bread and pottage of lentiles ; and he did eat and 

 drink, and rose up and went his way ; thus Esau despised his 

 birthright."— (Genesis xxv., 27-34.) 



It is fortunate for Esau that he had the power of effecting 

 a,n exchange, and that, notwithstanding the exorbitancy of the 

 seller's terms, he had no hesitancy in exchanging (or 

 despising as it is stated) the less needful wants for the more 

 pressing or primary ; for in the trial of Job's integrity and 

 fortitude it is affirmed, with truth, that skin for skin, all 

 that a man hath will he give for his life. 



Unfortunately for the working class breadwinner, his 

 only birthright is physical power and manual skill, and 

 although these are all he can offer for his life needs, he cannot 

 always as a competitor effect the necessary exchange ; and 

 too often he, and those depending upon him, travel the swift 

 road to beggary and death. 



I'hus there are still defects, whether remediable or other- 

 wise, in the present civilisation, so long as these fundamental 

 necessities of a power to exchange with primary wants are 

 imperfect, e.g.: certain divisions of humankind are not directly 

 engaged in producing primary wants for themselves. They 

 are mostly engaged merely in rendering more or less skilled 

 services, in return for tokens (money or other medium) 

 understood to have at least the power of effecting correspond- 

 ing definite supplies of primary wants. But this division has 

 another difficulty. 



The actual owner of the power (rich capitalist) to effect 

 the production of things which may be exchanged for a 



