the vested interests and the common man-第8部分

按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页，按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页，按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部！
————未阅读完？加入书签已便下次继续阅读！


as　it　works　out　under　the　new　order　highly　mechanical　and　
exactingly　scheduled　for　time；　rate　and　place　　that　so　controls　
and　standardises　the　ordinary　life　of　the　common　man　on　
mechanical　lines。　
　　　　The　training　enforced　by　this　mechanical　standardisation；　
therefore；　is　of　much　the　same　order　throughout　the　community　as　
it　is　within　the　mechanical　industries　proper；　and　it　drives　to　
the　same　outcome；　　submergence　of　the　personal　equation。　So　
that　the　workday　information　and　the　reasoning　by　use　of　which　
all　men　carry　on　their　daily　life　under　the　new　order　is　of　the　
same　general　character　as　that　information　and　reasoning　which　
guides　the　mechanical　engineers；　and　the　unremitting　habituation　
to　its　scope　and　method；　its　principles　of　knowledge　and　belief；　
leads　headlong　to　a　mechanistic　conception　of　things；　ways；　
means；　ends；　and　values；　whether　it　is　called　by　that　name　or　
not。　The　resulting　frame　of　mind　is　often　spoken　of　as　
Materialism。　This　impersonal　character　of　workday　habituation　is　
particularly　to　be　counted　on　to　take　decisive　effect　wherever　
the　latter…day　scheme　of　mechanical　standardisation　takes　effect　
with　all　that　wide　sweep　and　massive　drift　with　which　it　now　
dominates　the　larger　centers　of　population。　
　
　　　　Since　the　modern　era　began；　the　state　of　the　industrial　arts　
has　been　undergoing　a　change　of　type。　Such　as　the　followers　of　
Mendel　would　call　a　〃mutation。〃　And　in　the　course　of　this　
mutation　the　workman　and　his　part　in　the　conduct　of　industry　have　
suffered　as　great　a　dislocation　as　any　of　the　other　factors　
involved。　But　it　is　also　to　be　admitted　that　the　typical　
owner…employer　of　the　earlier　modern　time；　such　as　he　stood　in　
the　mind's　eye　of　the　eighteenth…century　doctrinaires；　　this　
traditional　owner…employer　has　also　come　through　the　period　of　
the　mutation　in　a　scarcely　better　state　of　preservation。　At　the　
period　of　this　stabilisation　of　principles　in　the　eighteenth　
century；　he　could　still　truthfully　be　spoken　of　as　a　〃master；〃　a　
foreman　of　the　shop；　and　he　was　then　still　invested　with　a　large　
reminiscence　of　the　master…craftsman；　as　known　in　the　time　of　the　
craft…gilds。　He　stood　forth　in　the　eighteenth…century　argument　on　
the　Natural　Order　of　things　as　the　wise　and　workmanlike　designer　
and　guide　of　his　workmen's　handiwork；　and　he　was　then　still　
presumed　to　be　living　in　workday　contact　and　communion　with　them　
and　to　deal　with　them　on　an　equitable　footing　of　personal　
interest。　
　　　　Such　a　characterisation　of　the　capitalist…employer　who　was　
doing　business　at　the　time　of　the　Industrial　Revolution　may　seem　
over…drawn；　and　there　is　no　need　of　insisting　on　its　precise　
accuracy　as　a　description　of　eighteenth…century　facts。　But　it　
should　not　be　extremely　difficult　to　show　that　substantially　such　
a　figure　of　an　employer…owner　was　had　in　mind　by　those　who　then　
argued　the　questions　of　wages　and　employment　and　laid　down　the　
lines　on　which　the　employment　of　labor　would　be　expected　to　
arrange　itself　under　the　untroubled　system　of　natural　liberty。　
But　what　is　more　to　the　point　is　that　which　is　beyond　question。　
In　practical　fact；　almost　as　fully　as　in　the　speculations　of　the　
doctrinaires；　the　employer　of　labor　in　the　staple　industries　of　
that　time　was；　in　his　own　person；　commonly　also　the　owner　of　the　
establishment　in　which　his　hired　workmen　were　employed；　and　also　
　again　in　passable　accord　with　the　facts　　he　was　presumed　
personally　to　come　to　terms　with　his　workmen　about　wages　and　
conditions　of　work。　Employment　was　considered　to　be　a　relation　of　
man　to　man。　That　much　is　explicit　in　the　writings　which　bear　the　
date…mark　of　this　modern　Liberal　point　of　view；　and　the　same　
assumption　has　continued　to　stand　over　as　a　self…sufficient　
premise　among　the　defenders　of　the　free　competitive　system　in　
industry；　for　three　or　four　generations　after　that　period。　
　　　　But　the　course　of　events　has　gone　its　own　way；　and　about　that　
time　　somewhere　along　in　the　middle　half　of　the　eighteenth　
century　　that　type　of　employer　began　to　be　displaced　in　those　
staple　industries　which　have　since　then　set　the　pace　and　made　the　
outcome　for　wages　and　conditions　of　work。　So　soon　as　the　machine　
industry　began　to　make　headway；　the　industrial　plant　increased　in　
size；　and　the　number　of　workmen　employed　in　each　establishment　
grew　continually　larger；　until　in　the　course　of　time　the　large　
scale　of　organisation　in　industry　has　put　any　relation　of　man　to　
man　out　of　the　question　between　employers　and　workmen　in　the　
leading　industries。　Indeed；　it　is　not　unusual　to　find　that　in　an　
industrial　plant　of　a　large　or　middling　size；　a　factory；　mill；　
works；　mine；　shipyard　or　railway　of　the　ordinary　sort；　very　few　
of　the　workmen　would　be　able；　under　oath；　to　identify　their　
owner。　At　the　same　time；　and　owing　to　the　same　requirements　of　
large…scale　and　mechanical　organisation；　the　ownership　of　the　
works　has　also　progressively　been　changing　character；　so　that　
today；　in　the　large　and　leading　industries；　the　place　of　the　
personal　employer…owner　is　taken　by　a　composite　business　concern　
which　represents　a　combination　of　owners；　no　one　of　whom　is　
individually　responsible　for　the　concern's　transactions。　So　true　
is　this；　that　even　where　the　ownership　of　a　given　industrial　
establishment　still　vests　wholly　or　mainly　in　a　single　person；　it　
has　commonly　been　found　expedient　to　throw　the　ownership　into　the　
corporate　form；　with　limited　liability。　
　　　　The　personal　employer…owner　has　virtually　disappeared　from　
the　great　industries。　His　place　is　now　filled　by　a　list　of　
corporation　securities　and　a　staff　of　corporation　officials　and　
employees　who　exercise　a　limited　discretion。　The　personal　note　is　
no　longer　to　be　had　in　the　wage　relation；　except　in　those　
backward；　obscure　and　subsidiary　industries　in　which　the　
mechanical　reorganisation　of　the　new　order　has　not　taken　effect。　
So；　even　that　contractual　arrangement　which　defines　the　workman's　
relation　to　the　establishment　in　which　he　is　employed；　and　to　the　
anonymous　corporate　ownership　by　which　he　is　employed；　now　takes　
the　shape　of　a　statistical　reckoning；　in　which　virtually　no　trace　
of　the　relation　of　man　to　man　is　to　be　found。　Yet　the　principles　
of　the　modern　point　of　view　governing　this　contractual　relation；　
in　current　law　and　custom；　are　drawn　on　the　assumption　that　wages　
and　conditions　of　work　are　arranged　for　by　free　bargaining　
between　man　and　man　on　a　footing　of　personal　understanding　and　
equal　opportunity。　
　　　　That　the　facts　of　the　New　Order　have　in　this　way　departed　
from　the　ground　on　which　the　constituent　principles　of　the　modern　
point　of　view　are　based；　and　on　which　therefore　the　votaries　of　
the　established　system　take　their　stand；　　this　state　of　things　
can　not　be　charged　to　anyone's　personal　account　and　made　a　
subject　of　recrimination。　In　fact；　it　is　not　a　case　for　personal　
discretion　and　responsibility　in　detail；　but　rather　for　concerted　
action　looking　to　some　practicable　working　arrangement。　
　　　　The　personal　equation　is　no　longer　a　material　factor　in　the　
situation。　Ownership；　too；　has　been　caught　in　the　net　of　the　New　
Order　and　has　been　depersonalised　to　a　degree　beyond　what　would　
have　been　conceivable　a　hundred　years　ago；　especially　so　far　as　
it　has　to　do　with　the　use　of　material　resources　and　man　power　in　
the　greater　industries。　Ownership　has　been　〃denatured〃　by　the　
course　of　events；　so　that　it　no　longer　carries　its　earlier　duties　
and　responsibilities。　It　used　to　be　true　that　personally　
responsible　discretion　in　all　details　was　the　chief　and　abiding　
power　conferred　by　ownership；　but　wherever　it　has　to　do　with　the　
machine　industry　and　large…scale　organisation；　ownership　now　has　
virtually　lost　this　essential　part　of　its　ordinary　functions。　It　
has　taken　the　shape　of　an　absentee　ownership　of　anonymous　
corporate　capital；　and　in　the　ordinary　management　of　this　
corporate　capital　the　greater　proportion　of　the　owners　have　no　
voice。　
　　　　This　impersonal　corporate　capital；　which　is　taking　the　place　
of　the　personal　employer…owner　of　earlier　times；　is　the　outcome　
of　a　mutation　of　the　scheme　of　things　in　business　enterprise；　
scarcely　less　profound　than　the　change　which　has　overtaken　the　
material　equipment　in　the　shift　from　handicraft　methods　to　the　
machine　technology。　In　practical　fact　today；　corporate　capital　is　
the　capitalised　earning　capacity　of　the　corporation　considered　as　
a　going　business　concern；　and　the　ownership　of　this　capital　
therefore　foots　up　to　a　claim　on　the　earnings　of　the　corporation。　
　　　　Corporate　capital　of　this　kind　is　impersonal　in　more　than　one　
sense：　it　may　be　transferred　piecemeal　from　one　owner　to　another　
without　visibly　affecting　the　management　or　the　rating　of　the　
concern　whose　securities　change　hands　in　this　way；　and　the　
personal　identity　of　the　owner　of　any　given　block　of　this　capital　
need　not　be　known　even　to　the　concern　itself；　to　its　
administrative　officers；　or　to　those　persons　whose　daily　work　and　
needs　are　bound　up　with　the　daily　transactions　of　the　concern。　
For　most　purposes　and　as　regards　the　greater　proportion　of　the　
investors　wh