As a well known spokesman of the Tory section of the British Capitalist Class, G. L. Schwartz seems to write the most incredible nonsense, especially when he gets on the subject of economics in his article, “Rich Man, Poor Man.” (Sunday Times, May 30th, 1948.) He is twitting the Labour Government for their caution in lifting controls, and says
“A thing is in short supply unless it is in absolute abundance like fresh air in the open or salt water at the sea shore. There is, a simple test, Has it a price? If it has a price even of one farthing per unit, there is a shortage.”
So presumably he is telling us that the Capitalist class put a price on commodities only when there are not enough of them to satisfy everybody’s needs. We rather wonder why capitalists have been known to burn tons of wheat, and dump other unsaleable, commodities into the sea, not because these goods had no price, but simply because the price was not high enough for them to realise their profits. Since these goods had a price they must have been in short supply, according to Mr. Schwartz’s theory—and yet they were dumped! Mr. Schwartz mentions two things, which are absolutely free—fresh air and salt water; we have an uncomfortable feeling that if it were at all possible to commercialise them, these too would have their price—after all if a man’s potential energies can be given a price why not?
It is however rather comforting when one is feeling weak at the knees about the task of converting the world’s millions to Socialism, to find Mr. Schwartz putting over a point which the Socialist Party is always making. Supporters of the capitalist class are fond of telling us that Socialism won’t work, because human nature being what it is, certain greedy people would not be content with taking just what they need, but would proceed to grab as much as possible, and here is one of their own spokesmen making the point for us : He says,
“Gloves and ties are coming off the ration. They are still in ‘short’ supply for they still have price tags. Now let’s see if the rich buy up the whole lot, Here’s a chance for my Lord Croesus to fit glass cases in his bedroom, and collect ties by the thousands including first editions.”
True he is only making a point for the capitalists’ pet squabble at the moment about which controls to lift, but you see even capitalists (known to be the greediest specie) can only wear one tie, and one pair of gloves at a time. Mr. Schwartz also has a very queer idea about equality. He tells us a little story. About 50 years ago he used to get a penny a week pocket money, and the grocer’s son got tuppence. Well he so hated this inequality that he knocked all the boy’s sweets out of his hand into the gutter. He speaks of this as his “early essay in equalitarianism” of which apparently he is rather ashamed ; but he comforts himself by saying that he might have been in the present Cabinet if instead of sublimating his inhibition he had bottled it up until it was sour. Well this is not even the Labour government’s idea of equality. Their idea is not to knock the sweets right out of the hands of the owning class but merely to abstract a few (just a very few, mind) and pour them into the hands of the very poor. As far as we are concerned in a Socialist system someone will not come, along and say “Here’s two for you and two for you and two for you !” This is not equality—it is absurdity. Under Socialism each shall have according to his needs, be it one or two or three or more, and despite what Mr. Schwartz says about a perpetual shortage, there could he enough and to spare even now, and still more reason to suppose there will he under Socialism, when everybody capable of it is doing a useful job of work instead of a large proportion of them doing useless jobs like ticket collecting, rent collecting —and peddling false notions of economics in Sunday newspapers.
E.D.
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