THE TRINITY OF PRODUCTION

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLVII, Issue 2909, 14 July 1925, Page 4

THE TRINITY OF PRODUCTION

LABOUR. CAPITAL. BRAINS.

If you have read Robert Louis Stevenson’s stirring tale, “Kidnapped," you will remember how David Balfour and Alan Brcek, when they were hiding on the mountains and had nothing to eat. but a little porridge, added to their food by groping for trout in the stream. Alan and David could only supply themselves with one or two small fish. A modern steam trawler can feed a sizeable town. The difference in result is enormous, in one ease you have individual and primitive effort, in the other, the union in modern industry of three partners, each contributing a share to the final result, but each dependent on the other two. AW talk loosely about individualism but in (ruth there is no such tiling in modern industry. It is the Union of the three factors that counts; The collaboration of the three partners that brings the results. Who are these partners? The first of these is Labour. The trawler will be in the harbour till it rots if no men go on board to get up steam and head her to the lishing grounds. Nowadays, practical

men of affairs, anxious only to obtain the best results, have learnt to regard Labour as what it is, namely, one of the partners in industry. Biit if Labour is to maintain its title to rank as a partner, it must act as a partner. Labour that goes slow; that wont work; that declines to co-operate with the other, partners ceases to be Labour at all. It loses all economic value to itself and others. That is a mad individualism we unfortunately witness too often for the social weal. Labour in Society spells Service and to be truly servin’ it must in the spirit of partnership recognise others than self.

The'second partner is Capital. In the earliest days of human existence man must have caught his fish as David and Alan caught their trout, by Labour alone. Mingled, however, with the bones of later men are found the rough fish-hooks, which they had invented to aid them in their fishing. These fishhooks then represented Capital just as in our time the steam trawler does. People make the mistake of thinking that capital is another word for money. It is not so. Capital is anything that can be used in conjunction with Labour to increase production. The man who supplies his labour has a right to his share in the product as a partner, and he who supplies the capital is also entitled to a- share for what he contributes.

It is on that basis the whole structure of properly rests and social order of any kind is unthinkable apart from man’s right to the property he produces. The third pariner is Brains — variously interpreted as inventive power, initiative, organising ability, management. In the primitive state labour, capital, management, may be till combined in one person.

Willi increase of population and human needs there comes naturally ever greater complexity which calls for differentiation of function. Jhe law of evolution is that of developement from the simple to the complex and it is no less in the social Kingdom of man in the physical Kingdom of nature. Thus Labour, Capital and .Management becomes indontiried with seperale personalities, the Bond ,>f association then becomes one ol partnership not simple identity. From misunderstanding of those facts many social and political fallacies have arisen. The greatest of the fallacies is the bolshevist doctrine that there is no partnership, that “labour produces till wealth” and that the historic mission of the class named labour is to destroy all other classes and he itself supreme. What is iho matter with Soviet Russia ?

It is simply that the partnership of brains, labour and capital has been at least temporarily destroyed. Capital wits driven out. Brains under the mad impulse of destroying the bourgeoisie, wits exiled and starved. Labour wits enthroned its the all in all with what sad results for poor suffering Russian humanity. Now the movement is to bring capital back and the brains of the technician and wise administrators. The partnership of Labour, Brains and Capital is again being slowly but surely recognised as the absolute essential of modern industrial life. The economic monism of Karl Marx is found to be unworkable. Labour is not all nor can it be made so. For (be great operations of modern industry the best brains are required. Science and art are brought into the partnership an equal with Capital and Labour. The trinity of productive powers is evident to all who are not blind to fa el. It establishes classes but not necessarily “class consciousness,” “class war” and class destruction.

With the growing recognition of partnership and the interdependence of all classes the three powers of Labour, Capital and Brains will become one in social spirit to the wellbeing of humanity ns a whole. Unity in diversity is another law of nature that man is gradually learning to comprehend. (Contributed by the New Zealand Welfare League).