THE BUSINESS MAN

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 263, 26 July 1918, Page 7

THE BUSINESS MAN

AND ECONOMIC RECONSTRUCTION LECTURE BY PROFESSOR HUNTER, "Tito Business Mnn and Economic Kelonstruction" was the subject of a lecture given by Professor i'. il. Hunter before tho "Wellington Central Chamber of Commcrco last night. Some members of ilia Society of Accountants wore, present by invitation, and tho lecture wna ioilowed by a gcnerul discussion. Professor Hunter said lie was not a business man, anil lie approached his isubject from an economic standpoint. There were many conflicting opinions on economic and social subjects, but ho thought that 016 war hud produced some-1 tiling lil;o a consensus of opinion that ! jefjrms were required. In fact roforni9 j luid been attempted under the pressure of war conditions, but necessarily in 111 piecemeal and patchwork fashion. The j war had shown that lintish people could ; jio longer trust, to the policy of "mud- j tiling through." Tltcy must organise or j perish. Mr. U. CI. Wells, in his trenchant fashion, had pointed out the lack of organised and co-ordinated effort in Britain's movements towards a new social find economic, order. The problems that faced the i.atiou could not be solved satisfactorily in this way. Professor Hunter added that he wished to make it dear first that even in lime of peaco tho old economic order had not w'orked smoothly and efficiently, and that it was iho duty of business men to equip themselves by study to help in the reconstruction ; that alone could savo the nation from disaster. It was a strange fact that tho majority of people had never given liny serious consideration to economic questions. Yet their welfare and happiness were largely dependent on economic progress; Tho outstanding feature of cconoiuio developments in the past had been the growth of capitalism, anil the consequent dependence on_ Capital of largo bodies of workers. This development and its resultant social relations Oiad its origin in the extensive use of juachinory and in the policy of individualism or ''tho general scramble." Tho older economists had laid down the theory that if each man did the best he could for himself tho general result would bo tho best possible for the whole community. From the growth of capitalism and tile theory of "each man for himself" had come tho class struggle—one class banded together against another class. It must not be imagined that the workers wero free from tho spirit that animated capitalism. Many workers wore strongly imbue,'l with that spirit, and their attitudo towards their fellow-workors changed radically if they got a footing in the owning and employing class. Tho broad effect of tho present system was to widen flio gulf that separated the employers from I ho workers. Professor Hunter proceeded to analyse 11 the factors that govern wages. Ho said that wages must not fall below tho level at which tlioy ■would bo insufficient to maintain families, sinco then labour would become Fcarce, and they must not riso above the level at which profits would bo impossible. Uetween thoso lovels tho work- ■ »'r's wage was dependent 011 the struggle, between tho two groups. Tho elas3 ■war .was thus an actual fact, and the immediato danger wns that the psychology of fear which governed the relations of nations and produced wars was going to govern tho relations of Capital and I,about*. There were divisions within the two camps, one set of capitalists iigliling another set, and ono group of workers ranging itself against another croup, lint tho tendency of the timo wns towards solidification into two main groups, and the class struggle under these conditions would have disastrous possibilities. Referring to the operation of tho present economic system, Professor Hunter referred to the enormous profits made by some capitalists, amounting to cruel exploitation, and to the "go Blow policy" and sabotage on the other side. Thero wero high authorities who believed that capitalism and land monopoly wero going to.produco in the end nn actual conflict of class against class. Tho peril of such an ending could not bo averted without intelligent and concerted effort to evolve an improved economic system. Tho drift of population towards tho towns, thei substitution of "production for profit" for "production for' use," the growth of a complex system of distribution supporting enormous numbers of middlemen were somo of tho troubles produced by tho present system, production had 110 well-defined relation to requirements mider present conditions. There was enormous wastage in distribution, which often cost mors than production. Tho multiplication of wholesale and retail houses Jv.ised prices, scut up land values, and thereforo rents, and produced vast expenditure ou advertising, wages etc. Organising ability was worth paying for, but this factor did not excuse tho enormous economic waste of the present system. • Unemployment and poverty were (phases of the problem. Tho common idea was that if a man was out of work the fault was his own. "The statistics showed very clearly that this was not the case. Unemployment was governed by definite factors, such as over-produc-tion, and it had its seasonal and periodical variations. Its cost to tlto community was a very serious matter, and einco unemployment meant loss of production and a social charge for tho maintenance of idle hands, an industrial system that produced uneinplny-

incut clearly was not efficient from a social standpoint, since unemployment ami tho resultant poverty were serious social evils. Alter quoting statistics regarding the prevalence of poverty and pauperism and the. unequal distribution of wealth, tho lecturer said that tho social reformer could not piumiso freedom from labour. The nation must work to live. But the work and the products of jtito work could be more cquk.ly distributed than they were at tho present time. Tho old argument that private praiit was a necessary stimulus to organism;; elTovt was disposed 01 by tho success of the joint-stock companies, which wero managed by salaried men <m behalr of shareholders who often knew nothing ;it all of the companies' operations. Professor Hunter showed a number 01 slides, illustrating the statistical side of his subject. In ■conclusion, lie said that the proved l'acls demanded reform in the direction of pulling people above prolit. lie bvlieved it was the duty or every man Ui assist in evolving an economic. system that would prevent the dangerous inequalities of the present system. The alternative to reform seemed fo be a continuous accentuation of tho class struggle until actual civil war had been produced. After tho meelinc had discussed ine subject. Professor Jlunter was accorded a hearty vole of thanks for his lecture.