Is Labour Entitled to all it Produces ?

Maoriland Worker, Volume 2, Issue 19, 14 July 1911, Page 5

Is Labour Entitled to all it Produces ?

Well, now, is it ? We have often heard it said that labor is entitled to all it produces. But is it ? Why is it ? Is it not possible that we have accepts ed this statement as blindly and with as little consideration as our fathers accepted the ideas of patriotism ana priestcraft ? Have we thought about it ? Let us see. No intelligent rebel will deny that might is right. We are not metaphysicians. We are materialists. Theretore we know that all things follow the line of least resistance, and that power is what decides the direction of all things. This is proved in physics, in chemistry, in biology, and finally in sociology. It is the supreme rule of action of the unh erse. POWER, Le it mental or physical, individual or collective, is always supreme. We know there is no such thing as right. It is a meaningless phrase, invented by the fertile minds of priests and prophets to secure their own meal tickets and to befuddle the workers. It has served its purpose for centuries, for ages. Is it RIGHT for a wolf to devour a lamb P Or for a man to eat the ox ? The wolf and the man (in their respective cases) say "Yes." The wolf and the man feed their babies with the flesh of the slain animals. It is to their interest to slay —and therefore it ia right (from their point of view). But how about the lamb and the ox ? Do they likewise claim that it is right for them to .be slaughtered? Far from it. It is unjust. It is wrong. WhyP Because it is not to their interest. And suppose the man wished to slaughter tho lamb for his children—would he

then say it was right for the wolf to feed the lamb to the little wolf pups? By no means. The wolf Is wrong. He is a criminal. It is not to the interest of the man for the wolf to eat the lamb. It is always INTEREST. Note this; note it well. And now for labor and capital. Just why do we want the full product of our toil? For exactly the same reason that the bo; 3 wants it—because it brings ease and enjoyment to whoever possesses it. lb is for this reason we want the things we produce. We do not want them because it is right or just. These words are mere empty Ehrases. We want what we produce clause it tends to make life' more worth living. For no other reason And now, are we entitled to them? Here we havo another meaningless phrase. Being "entitled" to goods that we have not the power to take is like being free 'when wo are slaves—like be ing 'Totally" at liberty wnen we are still behind the bars. Are we entitled to anything we do not poss-iss and cannot take? Are we asking the boss for the full product of our toil because we are entitled to it P No; a thousand times no! And why are we entitled to it P It would seem to a man with half an eye that the boss is "entitled" to it just as long as we permit him to TAKE it. He has possession; therefore, he is entitled to )t. When the worJtingclass organise as a class and have the POWER to take the full product of their labor, then they will have the RIGHT to it, not before. Agitate, Educate, Organise I—"lndustrial Worker." ( (Sent .by Canterbury Recruitine Union 1.W.W.)