Back to the Future

This passage from Robert Tressell's 'The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists'  from 1914 is where one of the characters outlines how the use of money under Capitalism enriches Capitalists and exploits the working class. The scene takes place as the building labourers take a hard earned break from their tools whilst renovating a large mansion for a wealthy local businessman. They are a very mixed bunch for all of their social standing. The dialogue starts with the enlightened character Owen seeking to show to those assembled that "Money is the cause of poverty because it is the device by which those who are too lazy to work are enabled to rob the workers of the fruits of their labour."

 I’ll show you how the Great Money Trick is worked.’, starts Owen focusing on his three closest workmates.

He opened his dinner basket and took from it two slices of bread but as these were not sufficient, he requested that anyone who had some bread left would give it to him. 

These pieces of bread represent the raw materials which exist naturally in and on the earth for the use of mankind; they were not made by any human being, but were created by the Great Spirit for the benefit and sustenance of all, the same as were the air and the light of the sun.

Now,’ continued Owen, ‘I am a capitalist; or, rather, I represent the Landlord and Capitalist class. That is to say, all these raw materials belong to me. It does not matter how I obtained possession of them, or whether I have any real right to them; the only thing that matters now is that all the raw materials which are necessary for the production of the necessaries of life are now the property of the Landlord and Capitalist class. I am that class: all these raw materials belong to me.’

You represent the Working Class: you have nothing and for my part, although I have all these raw materials, they are of no use to me . What I need is the things that can be made out of these raw materials by Work: but as I am too lazy to work myself, I have invented the Money Trick to make you work for me. But first I must explain that I possess other things beside the raw materials, these being the machinery of production; the factories, tools, railways, without which the necessaries of life cannot be produced in abundance. And these coins’ – taking three halfpennies from his pocket – ‘represent my Money Capital.’

It is most important that you remember that I am not merely “a” capitalist. I represent the whole Capitalist Class. You represent the whole Working Class.’

Owen proceeded to cut up one of the slices of bread into a number of little square blocks.

These represent the things which are produced by labour, aided by machinery, from the raw materials. We will suppose that three of these blocks represent a week’s work. We will suppose that a week’s work is worth one pound: and we will suppose that each of these ha’pennies is a sovereign. 

Now this is the way the trick works ..............’

You say that you are all in need of employment, and as I am the kind-hearted Capitalist Class I am going to invest all my money in various industries, so as to give you Plenty of Work. I shall pay each of you one pound per week, and a week’s work is you must each produce three of these square blocks. For doing this work you will each receive your wages; the money will be your own, to do as you like with, and the things you produce will of course be mine, to do as I like with. As you have done a week’s work, you shall have your money.

The Working Classes portrayed by his three workmates set to work, and the Capitalist class sat down and watched them. 

As soon as they had finished cutting up the bread, they passed the nine little blocks to Owen, who placed them on a piece of paper by his side and paid the workers their wages.

These blocks represent the necessities of life. You can’t live without some of these things, but as they belong to me, you will have to buy them from me: my price for these blocks is one pound each.’

As the working classes were in need of the necessities of life and as they could not eat, drink or wear the useless money, they were compelled to agree to the kind Capitalist’s terms. 

They each bought back and at once consumed one-third of the produce of their labour. The capitalist class also devoured two of the square blocks, and so the net result of the week’s work was that the kind capitalist had consumed two pounds worth of the things produced by the labour of the others, and reckoning the squares at their market value of one pound each, he had more than doubled his capital, for he still possessed the three pounds in money and in addition four pounds worth of goods. As for the working classes having each consumed the pound’s worth of necessaries they had bought with their wages, they were again in precisely the same condition as when they started work – they had nothing.

This process was repeated several times: for each week’s work the producers were paid their wages. They kept on working and spending all their earnings. The kind-hearted Capitalist consumed twice as much as any one of them and his pile of wealth continually increased. In a little while reckoning the little squares at their market value of one pound each he was worth about one hundred pounds, and the working classes were still in the same condition as when they began, and were still tearing into their work as if their lives depended upon it.

After a while the rest of the assembled group began to laugh, and their merriment increased when the kind-hearted Capitalist, just after having sold a pound’s worth of necessaries to each of his workers, suddenly took their tools ,the knives or the Machinery of Production away from them, and informed them that as owing to Over Production all his store-houses were glutted with the necessities of life, he had decided to close down the works.

Well, and what the bloody ‘ell are we to do now?’ demanded the workers

That’s not my business,’ replied the kind-hearted capitalist. ‘I’ve paid you your wages, and provided you with Plenty of Work for a long time past. I have no more work for you to do at present. Come round again in a few months’ time and I’ll see what I can do for you.

But what about the necessities of life?’ demanded the workers in unison. ‘We must have something to eat.’

‘Of course you must,’ replied the Capitalist, affably; ‘and I shall be very pleased to sell you some.’

‘But we ain’t got no bloody money!’

‘Well, you can’t expect me to give you my goods for nothing! You didn’t work for me for nothing, you know. I paid you for your work and you should have saved something: you should have been thrifty like me. Look how I have got on by being thrifty!’

The unemployed looked blankly at each other, but the rest of the crowd only laughed; and then the unemployed began to abuse the kind-hearted Capitalist, demanding that he should give them some of the necessities of life that he had piled up in his warehouses, or to be allowed to work and produce some more for their own needs; and even threatened to take some of the things by force if he did not comply with their demands. 

The kind-hearted Capitalist told them not to be insolent, and spoke to them about honesty, and said if they were not careful he would have their faces battered in for them by the police, or if necessary he would call out the military and have them shot down like dogs, the same as he had done before in similar situations of civil unrest in the country.

(This is a slightly abridged version from the original text. Very much in my thoughts after the re-election of a Conservative Government in the UK in December 2019)