POPULATION AND WEALTH

Evening Post, Volume XCIX, Issue 138, 11 June 1920, Page 8

POPULATION AND WEALTH

; CAPITALISTS AND WORKERS

"■'''( Contributed by the New Zealand Wel- ► *-. fare League.) :.\. The Red Labourite propagandist in ,this country, a» in others, have one sfcoek-'iin-trade argument which, is the fulcrum iLW '"'hich they hope to overturn society. 1 This argument is, that the people of our •jfcountry are divided into two distinct glasses, namely, workers and capitalists. f'lThey deny the corporate unity of the ■si State, and affirm that the State simply i; consist of the two classes named, that classes are constantly at war with ''each other, and that "itf is the historic >j mission of the working class to destroy vithe capitalist class, and obtain complete „|jnastery of all the means of production, J^&tribution, and- exchange;" In order .iii. jo incite the workers, to attack the capitalists, the Redsihave. drawn a fancy '^picture of the capitalist^ as a kind of <« rapacious monster, who live 3in idle and JHvasteful luxury, and who fattens on the :;; spoils of labour, drawn to him in the Uform of rent, interest, and profits. If ' t 'you suggest to the Red that he has evi;;dently been looking at things through ;«coloured glasses, asi from your obeervaj^tion the:capitalist is'generally a worker, jj^nd workers in the mass possess and projj{it by the 'ownership-if '- much capital, he iistimply foanisf-: r?ilii denoances_you, or roofers you .^Jjj& high..:priest, Karl Marx. 0' For the:purpose of giving more accurate view of'how our country is really "constituted, "-we propose to show what :the population is, from an economic • standpoint, and something of how the .wealth of the country is neld and used. •';» DIVISIONS, OF POPULATION. lli Taking-f'the last census, figures of'the we find that an. analysis-of t'lihe number of persons in each occupation' gives the following figures for both i«exesx— .; ■ Prdfessional r --^Embracing all persons, •;\t Anot otherwise, classed, mainly en- ,}• iSgagedifin"-the ( .government and deJit i'lence «!if the country, and in eatis,v. "fying the moral, intellectual, and '.:> social wants of its inhabitants..- - '■; . "'"-■'• .;. ■'-'■ 42,101 ■•;• Domestic—Embracing all persons 'it . engaged in the supply of board ;,-', and lodging, and in rendering pert-_ . sonal 6ervioes for which remun- '.''. eration is usually paid 41,915 • Commercial.—Embracing all persons **"". directly connected with the hire, .■:z::_"Salo,:'transfer, distribution, storM »—.?BS«~?i!d..secur,ity,of, property and f materials .......66,204 f Transport and Communication.—Em--7 bracing all persons engaged in the I] transport of persons or goods, or 'g I■. in effecting communications t ■ i \ « , ■ 42 '52a % Indugtrial.-^-Embxacing all persons, £" ' not otherwise classed, who are " principally, engaged in various works of utility, but excluding as SJ Jar as'tpossible all who are mainly 2 or solfely engaged in the service ■j , of commercial interchange;..ll6,9l9 Agricultural, Pastoral, Mineral; and rt other primary pr0ducer5....132,499 £ Indefinite.—Embracing all persons £• who derive incomes from services '£ rendered, but the direction of ~ which services, cannot be N. exactly " determined ..13,144 ~ XON-BREADWINNERS. H Depandents.-—Embracing all persons dependent ■ upon relatives or nat--3 ural guardians,. including wives, ■tl children, and others not other- ,'..■' . wise engaged in. pursuits for ■■J which remuneration is paid; and -•'■ all persons dependent upon pri--3 vate charity, or whose support is a burden on the public revenue.... ? „*..' 644,015 v The above figures give; a total population of 1,099,319. ft will be seen that half are classed as non-bread-3winners, and that fact should impress all j'-hinking people with the absolute need Sjov the utmost care in_maintaining and ••developing the resources of our country 'fahen more than half the population has ;:ilo be adequately maintained though not actually engaged in any work of production. The moat important class is ■■'ihown aa those engaged In agricultural, pastoral, mineral, and other primary production. ' ■ Next is those in industrial -.Pursuits, and following thece is the comj]hercial class. Here then is the population of our country, and from the classi--fication, given they are practically-all or legitimately dependent. ;.Where. is thai monster, the great body pi idle rich people, against whom the *;Reds fulminate co constantly? Of course yhis classification does, not show employers and employed, and file Reds always Cplace 'employers in one class and the |ivorkers in another; some asserting that ?the working class" and the employing .'ilass have nothing in common." £ WHO ARE THE EMPLOYERS? ■J To commence with, the State is by far jjhe largest, employer of labour in New The local governing bodies, including therein borough and county '.souncils.,,harbour,boards, and the numerous other local bodies, will come second. It is difficult to form an estimate of $fhat .proportion of the total work of the 'ijountrv,_ia.dpne under public employment, but it is sufficiently great for us fcb be able to honestly say that the people of; New Zealand collectively is the greatest employed. We are a nation of Employers, and everybody in the Dominion shares in, employing, even those who perpetually growl at employers are themselves employers. Oh! but the Reds will say: it is the private employers who form the capitalist class. Well, let us look at our population again, "Profes-. jiional"— ; are not thousands there who em: bloy themselves? The same applies to the "Domestic, and to tne commercial or trading branch of our population. When we come to farming, the same again applies. The truth is, that in this Dominion of ours there is but a small proportion of the people who stand in the position of being employers exclusively. Just as we have.said that ours is a nation of employers, so can it be truthfully mid that the Dominion is a nation of workers. Instead of there being two distinct classes—workers and employers -£-it is much nearer actual taut to say that £hf workow in the mass are employers, ahd the, employers in general are workers. When driven to face these facts the Reds say, "It is the system they are against." From their style of argument they are against society and.against any class, section, or individual who will not accept their dogmatic assertions. They cry out about all that is wrong in edciety, but give no credit for the enormous work that is done and the good that obtains under our present social order, flu, iiffai'Jy ajl instances in New Zealand private employers are rnonnfrers as •well as investors, and have to work hard .. to maintain the industries in which their i^'vestments^are placed. This enterprise jV referred to is if it. were robbery, by tliose who,-'think: ttiev. have spoken iffi"hiy wbrds^of ivißrlom' in iisine the tSros' "«B.agg "jlavery';,: for W#e, and not for .profit, and other shibhpleths oO^ie '«arne nebulous, character. !«: recosj),iti<>n'.tfeat,.:".oflr: neaple.in the jm-ss are rit once emploverk and workers will lead to "renter nn:tv in citizenshjn. a^d tn bW.for ,v,-.^P-,)fi^ri in tho_fieW of*lttdffstry."' "It is".jnst this spirit of jnutual pnderstandinK that the Beds ffiajj

because it spells progress by revision, and not revolution by force and duplicity. DISTRIBUTION OF WEALTH. The subject of wealth and its distribution is a very difficult one to understand, because wealth is so often confused with th« figures of values that are no more than the indicators of the state or standard of exchange. The real wealth of tliis country consists of the land and its products, minerals, wool, meat, etc.; the works, manufactures, buildings, wharves, shipping, and all other material utilities. All of this wealth is produced for use, and is widely used, not by a section, but by tho mass of the people. When the cry is raised "production for use and not for profit," it is intended to convey the idea that production now is not directed towards use. It is never recognised that the provision of profit from an industry is a means for further production, and thereby greater service to the users of the products. It is commonly presented to the wage-earners by their misleaders as if, out of the wealth created by services given, the workers get a mere existence, and that the capitalists take all the rost by way of rent,'interest, and profits, and live upon it. in idle, wasteful, useless lives. It is nearly time the people began to understand that this ie a mere wild exaggeration.- It is true that there aie a few idle rich, but in proportion to the total population they are a small number, and considered undesirable by thinking people of all classes. With regard to most of the wealth of the Dominion, it remains in the land, works, industries, and undertakings that are serving the people's wants. The private owners do not, on the average, get much more personal benefit out of this fixed wealth as far as living is concerned than the non-owner.? do. To meet their own wants the capitalists in general take but a salary of management, and the profits remain in the business for its defence or extension. The main wealth of New Zealand is in the hands of the State for the service of the people. The next largest part of wealth is in fixed undertakings, and _ r what may be termed the floating wealth is much more widely distributed than is generally understood. The following figures show something of this' distribution :— Post Office Savings Bank. 31st December, 1917: Depositors, 566,351; deposits, £17,106,529. 31st December, 1913: Depositors, 458,594; deposits, £11,286,702. t . Other Banks. • ' 1917: Depositors, 85,191; deposits, £42,930,713 C£39 Is 2d per head of population). 1913: Depositors, 74.120; deposits, £25,733,187 (£24 Is 7d per head of population). Insurance. 1917: Ordinary life, amount insured £42,885,438; industrial, amount insured £3,532,075. 1917: Friendly societies' funds, total £2,052,753. 1917-18: Assets of building societies, £3,] 89,204. 1917: Number of depositors in banks, 651,542; bank deposits, £60,037,242. Number of life insurance policies, 164,145; life and industrial insurances, £46,417,513. Number of industrial (including annuities), 118,823; friendly societies' funds (membership of friendly societies 67,771), £2,052,753. '■■ Building societies' funds, £3,189,204. Total, £111,696,712. . . . In addition to the above, there are the funds of co-operative societies, of trades unions, of social organisations, of churches, and, in addition, the many thousands of small properties held by people for their own residence and'use. When our Socialist friends talk of rent), interest, and profits they conveniently cover up the fact that all take rent for the property they let—even they do it; that all take interest on what they lend,' and they delude the people as' to the real nature and use of profits. When we near the cry againstl capitalism, - let us remember that not only are we a nation of employers and workers, but we are all, more or "less, capitalists. There are undorbted evils in our social system attaching to the system of private ownership, but there is much that is good also. Many of the evils are being, stage by stage, eliminated. Excessive rent, interest, and profits are being fought against. The policy of constant revision can do great good for the advancement of our communities and our State. Because there are tares in our fields of wheat, that is no reason why we should pull up all by the roots, or burn down the whole crops. Revision, not revolution, is the policy that is sound, because, whilst destroying the evils of our civilisation, it will preserve the good that is in it, and there is very much worth preserving.