Ungrateful Employees (1960)

From the June 1960 issue of the Socialist Standard

According to the Insurance Information Institute of Los Angeles, U.S. businessmen, organisations and industry are being swindled out of more than £70 million each day by their employees. It is said that many of the major thefts were traced to "old and trusted employees, almost like members of the family.” The report described the more audacious cases; one man employed by a stove firm carried them away piece by piece and after reassembling, sold them at a reduced price. We learn from Mr. Mee, a senior U.S. insurance official, that the cumulative effect of this most ungracious pilfering activity on the part of dishonest employees has forced many firms to the brink of bankruptcy and beyond. But there is a saying "when in Rome do as the Romans do.” Capitalism sets today's standards as it has done for about two hundred years, and a fact which so often escapes people's minds is that the accumulated wealth which is owned by the capitalist class is a direct result of what can only be described as a swindle at the expense of the working class.

It would appear that when a worker helps himself in what can mostly be a small insignificant scale, society condemns him as a ”petty swindler,” a “cheap crook,” and his repentance is demanded, but when capitalists do the same on a very much larger scale, within the law, they arc acclaimed "public benefactors ” and are given either a knighthood or considered suitable for a presidential candidature. It is, of course, easy to understand Mr. Mee's concern for the bankrupt employers. After all, insurance companies have one of the largest vested interests in the smooth running of capitalism. The fact is that workers are not audacious enough. If they were, then perhaps they would do the logical thing and take over not only all they produce, but more importantly, also the means and instruments of production themselves. The taking of chances by old and trusted employees would then be unnecessary, and for that matter, so would employers and insurance companies.

W. G. C.