COST OF LIVING

Evening Post, Volume XCIX, Issue 77, 31 March 1920, Page 14

COST OF LIVING

10 THE EDITOn. Sir, —Many of our business men are telling us that we must expect the cost of the essentials of life to go up during the next year or two in New Zealand. If tliis statement means no more than that this will be the result if we continue our present methods, no doubt it is true ; but if it means that we cannot avoid this result then it is manifestly untrue, as will be found if the following propositions are tested : — (1) The only two classes of things in volved in the problem are people arid property. In other words, the essentials of life under our control consist oiiiy of human cervices and the use of property of different kinds. (is) All people and all kinds of ■ property arc natural things governed bj natural law, and they can Ije developed or de-graded just in proportion as tiiey conform to or disobty the natural law governing them. ■ (5y Therb is only ono natural law, namely, the rule of organised combination'under whicli'the power •of ever> natural thing depends solely upon the degree in which its parts are organised iv combination. (4) Every person and every item of property is a combinatiou of natural things, its inherent power or valuu depending always on the quality of the combination of its parts.

(5) Every combination of people and property is also inevitably governed by the same simple rule, so that the power of a nation is always depenc|:nt on the quality of its practical organisation as one combination. (sa) The sole purpose of national combination is that the people and property of the nation may supply one another's needs in life. (6) These are all the essential factors involved in- the ■ problem of the cost of living. They are at present enveloped ia a dense doud of technical words and systems which tend to conceal their essential simplicity from us. These words and systems are of value when used by technical experts in the practical operation of life, they are merely confusing when used for the purpose of reaching a general understanding of the national problem. (7) Practical organisers know that you can take any natural thing, and, by the process of the more efficient organisation of the people and the property used in its production, secure a better quality of thing at a reduced cost. This applies just as much to an imported article as to one locally produced, because by combining our orders we may enable the exporting country to profitably give us this result. .' (8) There is no limit to the-extent to which, by following this rule of combination, wo may both develop the quality and reduce the cost of our living, ff we want to fix a limit we must imagine it; it does not exist in reality. (9) In life therefore the good thought is combination and the ovil thought separation (i.e. self seeking). (10) It follows of necessity that the only true competition in national life is in the development of national combina-. tion ; competition that leads the minds of peopio to making a profit out of their fellows is inevitably wasteful. (11) In New Zealand to-day our industrial system leads us all into a. competition to see who can make the most profit out of his fellows; it leads inevitably therefore to friction and waste. (12) The only possible solution of this problem is to, change the national thought, and competition, from individual ■ profit-hunting to national combination. (13)' It is useless to look to Parliament for the initiation. of this change. Our Parliamentary system is designed to permit us to indulge in the practice of making a profit out of our fellows, and if we want a change we must meet together and let Parliament know that wo nave changed our thought, from a desire for freedom to take advantage of our fellows, to the desire for national combination. (14) For this purpose it is useless to meet as an ignorant mob. We must get together in our occupations, where we have some knowledge of what we are doing, and appoint as representatives to a national conference the most trusted experts in these occupations, and direct them definitely that we want competition in the development of human power, such as we have in football, and not competition in profit grasping.

(15) In this conference the essential question will be the distribution of the proceeds of the national enterprise. There is no insuperable difficulty in this if we really want combination. We have all the experience of partnership combinations to guide us. There the interest on capital is fixed, varying . with the risk run and other circumstances, and the balance of profit is divided in fixed proportions, 60 that all members have the one incentive of making the profits of the combination as great as possible,. In partnerships it is a common practice for the partners to draw a living allowr ance, which is treated as part of the working expenses of the business, payable before any profits are divided, and in a national partnership the obviously sound course would be to adopt this practice. It would also be necessary to change the present practice 0f... fixed wages or 'salaries to fixed proportions of profits; ascertaining the relative proportions for a start by reference to present wages and salaries, a-nd adjusting from time to time" as may be necessary to secure harmonious combination. (16.) There is nothing new in this statement. We were told nearly 2IDOO years ago that the only good.thought in life is combination, and the only evil .thought the self-seeking aim, and history sinca then, including the war, is just a series of confirmations of this teaching. Why need ,we hesitate ? If we want an enjoyable and ever-developing life we must devote our whole minds, and our competitions, to the promotion of harmonious combination in our IJational, Imperial, and International lives!—l am, etc, F. G. DALZIELL. 25th. March.