the vested interests and the common man-第6章

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Chapter　3　
　
The　State　of　the　Industrial　Arts　
　
　　　　The　modern　point　of　view；　with　its　constituent　principles　of　
equal　opportunity；　self…help；　and　free　bargaining；　was　given　its　
definitive　formulation　in　the　eighteenth　century；　as　a　balanced　
system　of　Natural　Rights；　and　it　has　stood　over　intact　since　that　
time；　and　has　served　as　the　unquestioned　and　immutable　ground　of　
public　morals　and　expediency；　on　which　the　advocates　of　
enlightened　and　liberal　policies　have　always　been　content　to　rest　
in　their　case。　The　truths　which　it　holds　to　be　self…evident　and　
indefeasible　are　conceived　to　be　intrinsically　bound　up　in　an　
over…ruling　Order　of　Nature；　in　which　thoughtful　men　habitually　
believed　at　that　time　and　in　which　less　thoughtful　men　have　
continued　to　believe　since　then。　This　eighteenth…century　order　of　
nature；　in　the　magic　name　of　which　Adam　Smith　was　in　the　habit　of　
speaking；　was　conceived　on　lines　of　personal　initiative　and　
activity。　It　is　an　order　of　things　in　which　men　were　conceived　to　
be　effectually　equal　in　all　those　respects　that　are　of　any　
decided　consequence；　　in　intelligence；　working　capacity；　
initiative；　opportunity；　and　personal　worth；　in　which　the　
creative　factor　engaged　in　industry　was　the　workman；　with　his　
personal　skill；　dexterity　and　judgment；　in　which；　it　was　
believed；　the　employer　（〃master〃）　served　his　own　ends　and　sought　
his　own　gain　by　consistently　serving　the　needs　of　creative　labor；　
and　thereby　serving　the　common　good；　in　which　the　traders　
（〃middle…men〃）　made　an　honest　living　by　supplying　goods　to　
consumers　at　a　price　determined　by　labor　cost；　and　so　serving　the　
common　good。　
　　　　This　characterisation　of　the　〃obvious　and　simple　system〃　that　
lies　at　the　root　of　the　liberal　ideals　may　seem　too　much　of　a　
dream　to　any　person　who　shuns　〃the　scientific　use　of　the　
imagination〃；　its　imponderables　may　seem　to　lack　that　axiomatic　
self…sufficiency　which　one　would　like　to　find　in　the　spiritual　
foundations　of　a　working　system　of　law　and　custom。　Indeed；　the　
best　of　its　imponderables　are　in　a　fair　way　now　to　drop　back　into　
the　discard　of　uncertified　make…believe。　But　in　point　of　
historical　fact　it　appears　to　have　stood　the　test　of　time　and　
use；　so　far　as　appears　formally　on　the　face　of　law　and　custom。　
For　a　hundred　years　and　more　it　has　continued　to　stand　as　a　
familiar　article　of　faith　and　aspiration　among　the　advocates　of　a　
Liberal　policy　in　civil　and　economic　affairs；　and　Adam　Smith's　
followers　　the　economists　and　publicists　of　the　Liberal　
movement　　have　spoken　for　it　as　being　the　normal　system　of　
economic　life；　the　〃natural　state　of　man；〃　from　which　the　course　
of　events　has　been　conceived　to　depart　only　under　pressure　of　
〃disturbing　causes；〃　and　to　which　the　course　of　events　must　be　
pruned　back　at　all　hazards　in　the　event　of　any　threatened　advance　
or　departure　beyond　the　〃natural〃　bounds　set　by　this　working　
ideal。　
　　　　However；　the　subsequent　course　of　events　has　shown　no　
indisposition　to　depart　from　this　normal　system　of　economic　life；　
this　〃natural　state　of　man；〃　on　the　effectual　reality　of　which　
the　modern　point　of　view　rests　its　inviolate　principles　of　law　
and　morals　and　economic　expediency。　A　new　order　of　things　has　
been　taking　effect　in　the　state　of　the　industrial　arts　and　in　the　
material　sciences　that　lie　nearest　to　that　tangible　body　of　
experience　out　of　which　the　state　of　the　industrial　arts　is　
framed。　And　the　new　order　of　industrial　ways　and　means　has　been　
progressively　going　out　of　touch　with　the　essential　requirements　
of　this　established　scheme　of　individual　self…help　and　personal　
initiative；　on　the　realisation　and　maintenance　of　which　the　best　
endeavors　of　the　Liberals　have　habitually　been　spent。　
　　　　Under　the　new　order　the　first　requisite　of　ordinary　
productive　industry　is　no　longer　the　workman　and　his　manual　
skill；　but　rather　the　mechanical　equipment　and　the　standardised　
processes　in　which　the　mechanical　equipment　is　engaged。　And　this　
latter…day　industrial　equipment　and　process　embodies　not　the　
manual　skill；　dexterity　and　judgment　of　an　individual　workman；　
but　rather　the　accumulated　technological　wisdom　of　the　community。　
Under　the　new　order　of　things　the　mechanical　equipment　　the　
〃industrial　plant〃　　takes　the　initiative；　sets　the　pace；　and　
turns　the　workman　to　account　in　the　carrying…on　of　those　
standardised　processes　of　production　that　embody　this　mechanistic　
state　of　the　industrial　arts；　very　much　as　the　individual　
craftsman　in　his　time　held　the　initiative　in　industry；　set　the　
pace；　and　made　use　of　his　tools　according　to　his　own　discretion　
in　the　exercise　of　his　personal　skill；　dexterity　and　judgment；　
under　that　now　obsolescent　industrial　order　which　underlies　the　
eighteenth…century　modern　point　of　view；　and　which　still　colors　
the　aspirations　of　Liberal　statesmen　and　economists；　as　well　as　
the　standard　economic　theories。　
　　　　The　workman　　and　indeed　it　is　still　the　skilled　workman　　
is　always　indispensable　to　the　due　working　of　this　mechanistic　
industrial　process；　of　course；　very　much　as　the　craftsman's　
tools；　in　his　time；　were　indispensable　to　the　work　which　he　had　
in　hand。　But　the　unit　of　industrial　organization　and　procedure；　
what　may　be　called　the　〃going　concern〃　in　production；　is　now　the　
outfit　of　industrial　equipment；　a　works；　engaged　in　a　given　
standardised　mechanical　process　designed　to　turn　out　a　given　
output　of　standardised　product；　it　is　the　plant；　or　the　shop。　And　
under　this　new　order　of　industrial　methods　and　values　it　has　
already　come　to　be　a　commonplace　of　popular　〃knowledge　and　
belief〃　that　the　mechanical　equipment　is　the　creative　factor　in　
industry；　and　the　〃production〃　of　the　output　is　credited　to　the　
plant's　working　capacity　and　set　down　to　its　account　as　a　going　
concern；　whereas　the　other　factors　engaged；　as　e。g。；　workmen　and　
materials；　are　counted　in　as　auxiliary　factors　which　are　
indispensable　but　subsidiary　　items　of　production…cost　which　
are　incorporated　in　the　running　expenses　of　the　plant　and　its　
productive　process。　
　　　　Under　the　new　order　the　going　concern　in　production　is　the　
plant　or　shop；　the　works；　not　the　individual　workman。　The　plant　
embodies　a　standardised　industrial　process。　The　workman　is　made　
use　of　according　as　the　needs　of　the　given　mechanical　process　may　
require。　The　time；　place；　rate；　and　material　conditions　of　the　
work　in　hand　are　determined　immediately　by　the　mechanically　
standardised　process　in　which　the　given　plant　is　engaged；　and　
beyond　that　all　these　matters　are　dependent　on　the　exigencies　and　
manoeuvres　of　business；　largely　by　way　of　moderating　the　rate　of　
production　and　keeping　the　output　reasonably　short　of　maximum　
capacity。　The　workman　has　become　subsidiary　to　the　mechanical　
equipment；　and　productive　industry　has　become　subservient　to　
business；　in　all　those　countries　which　have　come　in　for　the　
latter…day　state　of　the　industrial　arts；　and　which　so　have　fallen　
under　the　domination　of　the　price　system。　
　　　　Such　is　the　state　of　things　throughout　in　those　greater　
industries　that　are　characteristic　of　the　New　Order；　and　these　
greater　industries　now　set　the　pace　and　make　the　standards　of　
management　and　valuation　for　the　rest。　At　the　same　time　these　
greater　industries　of　the　machine　era　extend　their　domination　
beyond　their　own　immediate　work；　and　enforce　a　standardisation　of　
much　the　same　mechanical　character　in　the　community　at　large；　in　
the　ways　and　means　of　living　as　well　as　in　the　ways　and　means　of　
work。　The　effects　of　their　mechanically　standardised　production；　
in　the　way　of　goods　and　services　as　well　as　in　the　similarly　
standardised　traffic　through　which　these　goods　and　services　are　
distributed　to　the　consumers；　reach　out　into　the　everyday　life　of　
all　classes；　but　most　immediately　and　imperatively　they　reach　the　
working　class　of　the　industrial　centers。　So　they　largely　set　the　
pace　for　the　ordinary　occupations　of　the　common　man　even　apart　
from　any　employment　in　the　greater　mechanical　industries。　It　is　
especially　the　latter…day　system　of　transport　and　communication　
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。　
B