Labour's Wrongs and Labour's Remedy

CHAPTER 111.THE CONDITIONS REQUISITE FOR INDIVIDUAL ANDNATIONAL PROSPERITY.WIFR~ we, apart from the feelings and the prejuclices.which conventional ant1 cdncational circumstances haveirnpressetl upon us, to take a srlrvcy of the whole Ilumanfamily, we might compare them to shipwrecketl men,thrs~rn upon at1 almost desert island. There is sufficientroom for all to lire and move, ant1 plenty of the mereelements of everything necessary to support existence ;but nothing can be done without labour. It requiresI:lbor~r to gather even the wild fruits from the trees, or theshell-fish from the sea-shore. Without labour, we die.Srlrely, the most rational mode of action for men socircumstanced woultl be, to unite together in parties, workant1 share :~lilte, and render to each other mutual assistanceand protection; for, by acting thus, the labour of eachperson would be infinitely liglr tened, and his security bemuch increasetl. The strong could defend the weak, andthe wary advise the strong : all might be of service.But men have heretofore done nothing of the kind.The motto of aln~ost every member of the human familyhas been, and still is-" Each for I1in3self." We havepursuetl different traclts, and lrave moved on alone,although we have all been in search of the same object.-an object, too, which could by no possibility be obtainedby one man except through the instrumentality of hisfellows. We haye been weal; when we might have beenstrong-me have been naked and hungry when we mighthave been clothed and fed-we have t~ecn bitter and implacableenemies wl~e nre might hare heen kind and stedfastfriends.We have suffered and sinned thus on account of ourignorance, and our inattention to First Principles. Nocommon bond of sympathy ant1 fellour-feeling has everdrawn the hearts of men together, for there 11as beenamong them no common interest. We hilve always leftboth the end and the means to chance-to uncontrolletlcircumstance-which has apportioned to each man hislabours, and his rewards, and his punishments, almost independentof either cal)ability, or exertion, or desert.One man has found an oyster and anothcr lias mct lvith ashell-one man lias been fiIled to repletion, and another11 as starved.This cl~ance-way of maintaining life, altliougl~ it mayh agreeable to tile n:rture of brutes, was never intendetlto be acted upon by ration;~l beings. Notwithstandingthat we have ever claimed superiority over all other earthlybeings-and have assumed such pre-erninence solely onaccount of our renson-yet Iiitl~erto, in respect to oursocial institutions, we 1l;lve nli~tle little or no use of thisgreat distinctive attribute. hI:m has a reasonable as wellas an instinctive nature-each given him as a means toattain a certain end-ant1 each being intended to accomplishthat which the other cannot effect. Wl~en manFovels anlong the instincts, he has no pre-eminerlce abovea beast-he becornes not man until he reasons, and obeysthe dictatrs of that reason.The present social system is based upon the instinctive,and not the re'wnable, nature of man. It gives developmentand strength only to our brute perceptions andIt lcaves our self-lore to be guitled by ourinstinct instead of by our reason, in the formation of institutions; and consequently, as the instinct of man is lessperfect than that of any other animal, so is the state ofsociety foundeci upon tltiit instinct more imperfect tl~anthe commtlnity which nature has taught the very beesand beavers to institute. Man has ever been in an unnaturalposition ; and therefore, of necessity, he has alwaysbeen unhappy or discontented-always seeking for change.This restlessness-this eternal yearning after we know notwhat-is not an inherent principle or faculty iu man, whichmust operate in all circumstar~ces and under all influences;for, had this universally prevalcnt ciiscontent been rightlyreasoned upon, and analyscil, it \vould have been found to