“LABOR'S FOOLISH POLICY

Evening Star, Issue 18136, 28 November 1922, Page 8

“LABOR'S FOOLISH POLICY

TO THU EDITOR. Sir,—ln to-night’s. issue of tho 1 Star ’ the Welfare League fires another of its big shells, which proves, as usual, to be a dud. By the greatest stretch of the imagination I could not conceive of the Welfare League giving utterance to such broad-minded principles’ as are contained in this article by tho Eight Hon. J. R. Clyncs, M.P. The Welfare League will admit that under the present system production is the cud (or aim) of all industry, and it is apparently willing to allow it to remain so; whilst Labor” maintains that production should only be a means to an end, the end being consumption, or, in other words, production for use and not for profit. Prosperity depends upon consumption, and_ what is the use of preaching more production when tho worker, who is also the consumer, has not the means to buy the product of his labor? limb production is impossible without h'mh Consumption, and to say that high consumption will follow as a natural result of hmh production is a fallacy. A glut of .roods only causes the employer to restrict production and dismiss a number of his BVc.oloyees, thus accelerating the evil of under-consumption. When the mass of the people realise that it is more consumption which is necessary we shall be on a fair way towards prosperity. The Labor parties the world over are practically the only bodies who are working for this very desirable end, and their methods are the same, to give the worker a greater share in what he produces—l am, etc,, F.M.H. November 25.

[Our correspondent's argument assumes that the British worker is better off on the average than the worker in New Zealand, with more means for purchasing the output of production, which is absurd.—Ed. E.S.]