THE PROFIT-MOTIVE SYSTEM

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23219, 17 June 1937, Page 12

THE PROFIT-MOTIVE SYSTEM

TO THE EDITOR Sir, —The chairman of directors of a trustee company in Dunedin, in the course of a speech reported in your paper last week, made a remark to the effect that, in his opinion, the capitalist or private profit motive system was the best for producing wealth and prosperity for the people of a country. The opinion of a prominent successful business man is worthy of respect, if this opinion is based on deduction from a series of facts. While having no wish to be controversial, one would like some intelligent educated person to provide a logical and reasoned statement in support of the above opinion. My own reasoning is as follows: —Great Britain is the capitalist country par excellence. London is the financial clearing house for the interest on foreign and colonial Joans of approximately £6,500.000.000. In London one person in three is fated to die in a workhouse. Five out of every six children are undernourished; one in seven is verminous. One person in 73 dies by his own hand, 1 in 65 has been or is in gaol, 1 in 84 is a mental case. One person in 30 is dependent on rates. Though slums are being rebuilt, they are still increasing. The report of a commission some 18 months ago was to the effect that a very large percentage of Britain’s population had insufficient income to purchase the complete diet necessary for health, and this is borne out by the fact that of the recruits for the army examined last year 70 per cent, were unfit. Lord Baden-Powell said last week that it was folly to give children physical exercises when they were underfed. The school teachers of Wales have forwarded a similar resolution to the Government, Denmark and the Scandinavian countries are not capitalist countries in the sense in which Great Britain is: they are poor countries. They have climates verging on sub-Arctic, have no tremendous foreign investments, no colonies, yet the physical condition, the general prosperity and the standard of culture of their peoples is unsurpassed in the world. There is no terrible range of differences between classes, as in Great Britain, where last year the number of millionaires increased by 60 up to 830.

I contend that the above facts do not support the remarks of the trustee company’s director, but I am willing to accept correction if done by logical deduction and without prejudice or controversial bitterness.—l am, etc.. No Politics. Hillgrove, June 14.