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BRITAINFOR THE BRITISHBYROBERT BLATCHFORD
BRITAINFOR THE BRITISHBYROBERT BLATCHFORD
EDITOR OF THE CLARION LONDON CLARION PRESS, 72 Fleet Street , E. C. CHICAGO CHARLES H. KERR & COMPANY 56 Fifth Avenue Copyright, 1902, By Charles H. Kerr & Company. Printed in the United States. DEDICATED TO A. M. THOMPSON AND THE CLARION FELLOWSHIP CONTENTS...
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THE TITLE OF THIS BOOK
THE TITLE OF THIS BOOK
The motto of this book is expressed in its title: Britain for the British. At present Britain does not belong to the British: it belongs to a few of the British, who employ the bulk of the population as servants or as workers. It is because Britain does not belong to the British that a few are very rich and the many are very poor. It is because Britain does not belong to the British that we find amongst the owning class a state of useless luxury and pernicious idleness, and amongst the working c
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THE PURPOSE OF THIS BOOK
THE PURPOSE OF THIS BOOK
The purpose of this book is to convert the reader to Socialism : to convince him that the present system—political, industrial, and social—is bad; to explain to him why it is bad, and to prove to him that Socialism is the only true remedy....
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FOR WHOM THIS BOOK IS INTENDED
FOR WHOM THIS BOOK IS INTENDED
This book is intended for any person who does not understand, or has, so far, refused to accept the principles of Socialism . But it is especially addressed, as my previous book, Merrie England , was addressed, to John Smith , a typical British working man, not yet converted to Socialism . I hope this book will be read by every opponent of Socialism ; and I hope it will be read by all those good folks who, though not yet Socialists , are anxious to help their fellow-creatures, to do some good in
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THE METHOD OF THIS BOOK
THE METHOD OF THIS BOOK
As to the method of this book, I shall begin by calling attention to some of the evils of the present industrial, social, and political system. I shall next try to show the sources of those evils, the causes from which they arise. I shall go on to explain what Socialism is, and what Socialism is not. I shall answer the principal objections commonly urged against Socialism . And I shall, in conclusion, point out the chief ways in which I think the reader of this book may help the cause of Sociali
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FOREWORDS
FOREWORDS
Years ago, before Socialism had gained a footing in this country, some of us democrats used often to wonder how any working man could be a Tory. To-day we Socialists are still more puzzled by the fact that the majority of our working men are not Socialists. How is it that middle class and even wealthy people often accept Socialism more readily than do the workers? Perhaps it is because the men and women of the middle and upper classes are more in the habit of reading and thinking for themselves,
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CHAPTER I THE UNEQUAL DIVISION OF WEALTH
CHAPTER I THE UNEQUAL DIVISION OF WEALTH
Section A: the Rich Non-socialists say that self-interest is the strongest motive in human nature. Let us take them at their word. Self-interest being the universal ruling motive, it behoves you, Mr. Smith, to do the best you can for yourself and family. Self-interest being the universal ruling motive, it is evident that the rich man will look out for his own advantage, and not for yours. Therefore as a selfish man, alive to your own interests, it is clear that you will not trust the rich man, n
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CHAPTER II WHAT IS WEALTH? WHERE DOES IT COME FROM? WHO CREATES IT?
CHAPTER II WHAT IS WEALTH? WHERE DOES IT COME FROM? WHO CREATES IT?
Those who have read anything about political economy or Socialism must often have found such thoughts as these rise up in their minds— How is it some are rich and others poor? How is it some who are able and willing to work can get no work to do? How is it that some who work very hard are so poorly paid? How is it that others who do not work at all have more money than they need? Why is one man born to pay rent and another to spend it? Let us first face the question of why there is so much pover
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CHAPTER III HOW THE FEW GET RICH AND KEEP THE MANY POOR
CHAPTER III HOW THE FEW GET RICH AND KEEP THE MANY POOR
We have already seen that most of the wealth produced by labour goes into the pockets of a few rich men: we have now to find out how it gets there. By what means do the landlords and the capitalists get the meat and leave the workers the bones? Let us deal first with the land, and next with the capital. A landlord is one who owns land. Rent is a price paid to the landlord for permission to use or occupy land. Here is a diagram of a square piece of land— In the centre stands the landlord (L), out
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CHAPTER IV THE BRAIN WORKER, OR INVENTOR
CHAPTER IV THE BRAIN WORKER, OR INVENTOR
It has, I think, never been denied that much wealth goes to the capitalist, but it has been claimed that the capitalist deserves all he gets because wealth is produced by capital. And although this is as foolish as to say that the tool does the work and not the hand that wields it, yet books have been written to convince the people that it is true. Some of these books try to deceive us into supposing that capital and ability are interchangeable terms. That is to say, that "capital," which means
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CHAPTER V THE LANDLORD'S RIGHTS AND THE PEOPLE'S RIGHTS
CHAPTER V THE LANDLORD'S RIGHTS AND THE PEOPLE'S RIGHTS
Socialists are often accused of being advocates of violence and plunder. You will be told, no doubt, that Socialists wish to take the land from its present owners, by force, and "share it out" amongst the landless. Socialists have no more idea of taking the land from its present holders and "sharing it out" amongst the poor than they have of taking the railways from the railway companies and sharing the carriages and engines amongst the passengers. When the London County Council municipalised th
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CHAPTER VI LUXURY AND THE GREAT USEFUL EMPLOYMENT FRAUD
CHAPTER VI LUXURY AND THE GREAT USEFUL EMPLOYMENT FRAUD
There is one excuse which is still too often made for the extravagance of the rich, and that is the excuse that " The consumption of luxuries by the rich finds useful employment for the poor ." It is a ridiculous excuse, and there is no eminent economist in the world who does not laugh at it; but the capitalist, the landlord, and many pressmen still think it is good enough to mislead or silence the people with. As it is the only excuse the rich have to offer for their wasteful expenditure and co
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CHAPTER VII WHAT SOCIALISM IS NOT
CHAPTER VII WHAT SOCIALISM IS NOT
It is no use telling you what Socialism is until I have told you what it is not. Those who do not wish you to be Socialists have given you very false notions about Socialism , in the hope of setting you against it. They have brought many false charges against Socialists, in the hope of setting you against them. So you have come to think of Socialism as a thing foolish, or vile, and when it is spoken of, you turn up your noses (instead of trying to see beyond them) and turn your backs on it. A fr
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CHAPTER VIII WHAT SOCIALISM IS
CHAPTER VIII WHAT SOCIALISM IS
To those who are writing about such things as Socialism or Political Economy, one of the stumbling-blocks is in the hard or uncommon words, and another in the tediousness—the "dryness"—of the arguments and explanations. It is not easy to say what has to be said so that anybody may see quite clearly what is meant, and it is still harder to say it so as to hold the attention and arouse the interest of men and women who are not used to reading or thinking about matters outside the daily round of th
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CHAPTER IX COMPETITION v. CO-OPERATION
CHAPTER IX COMPETITION v. CO-OPERATION
A comparison of competition with co-operation is a comparison of non-Socialism with Socialism. For the principle of non-Socialism is competition, and the principle of Socialism is co-operation. Non-Socialists tell us that competition is to the general advantage, because it lowers prices in favour of the consumer. But competition in trade only seems desirable when we contrast it with private monopoly. When we compare the effects of trade competition with the effects of State or Municipal co-opera
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CHAPTER X FOREIGN TRADE AND FOREIGN FOOD
CHAPTER X FOREIGN TRADE AND FOREIGN FOOD
We have heard a great deal lately about the danger of losing our foreign trade, and it has been very openly suggested that the only hope of keeping our foreign trade lies in reducing the wages of our British workers. Sometimes this idea is wrapped up, and called "reducing the cost of production." Now, if we must have foreign trade, and as much of it as we have now, and if we can only keep it by competing against foreign dealers in price, then it is true that we must try to reduce the cost of pro
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CHAPTER XI HOW TO KEEP FOREIGN TRADE
CHAPTER XI HOW TO KEEP FOREIGN TRADE
The problem is how to keep our foreign export trade. We are told that unless we can compete in price with foreign nations we must lose our foreign trade; and we are told that the only means of competing with foreign nations in price is to lower the wages of the British worker. We will test these statements by looking into the conditions of one of our great industries, an industry upon which many other industries more or less depend: I mean the coal trade. At the time of the great coal strike the
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CHAPTER XII CAN BRITAIN FEED HERSELF?
CHAPTER XII CAN BRITAIN FEED HERSELF?
Is it impossible for this nation to produce food for 40,000,000 of people? We cannot produce all our food. We cannot produce our own tea, coffee, cocoa, oranges, lemons, currants, raisins, figs, dates, bananas, treacle, tobacco, sugar, and many other things not suitable to our climate. But at a pinch, as during a war, we could do without most of these. Can we produce our own bread, meat, and vegetables? Can we produce all, or nearly all, our butter, milk, eggs, cheese, and fruit? And will it pay
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CHAPTER XIII THE SUCCESSFUL MAN
CHAPTER XIII THE SUCCESSFUL MAN
There are many who believe that if all the workers became abstainers, worked harder, lived sparely, and saved every penny they could; and that if they avoided early marriages and large families, they would all be happy and prosperous without Socialism. And, of course, these same persons believe that the bulk of the suffering and poverty of the poor is due to drink, to thriftlessness, and to imprudent marriages. I know that many, very many, do believe these things, because I used to meet such per
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CHAPTER XIV TEMPERANCE AND THRIFT
CHAPTER XIV TEMPERANCE AND THRIFT
I said in the previous chapter that if all the workers were very thrifty, sober, industrious, and abstemious they would be worse off in the matter of wages than they are now. This, at first sight, seems strange, because we know that the sober and thrifty workman is generally better off than the workman who drinks or wastes his money. But why is he better off? He is better off because, being a steady man, he can often get work when an unsteady man cannot. He is better off because he buys things t
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CHAPTER XV THE SURPLUS LABOUR MISTAKE
CHAPTER XV THE SURPLUS LABOUR MISTAKE
Many non-Socialists believe that the cause of poverty is "surplus labour," or over-population, and they tell us that if we could reduce our population we should have no poor. If this were true, we should find that in thinly populated countries the workers fare better than in countries where the population is more dense. But we do not find anything of the kind. The population of Ireland is thin. There are more people in London than in all Ireland. Yet the working people of Ireland are worse off t
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CHAPTER XVI IS SOCIALISM POSSIBLE, AND WILL IT PAY?
CHAPTER XVI IS SOCIALISM POSSIBLE, AND WILL IT PAY?
Non-Socialists assert with the utmost confidence that Socialism is impossible. Let us consider this statement in a practical way. We are told that Socialism is impossible. That means that the people have not the ability to manage their own affairs, and must, perforce, give nearly all the wealth they produce to the superior persons who at present are kind enough to own, to govern, and to manage Britain for the British. A bold statement! The people cannot manage their own business: it is impossibl
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CHAPTER XVII THE NEED FOR A LABOUR PARTY
CHAPTER XVII THE NEED FOR A LABOUR PARTY
I am now to persuade you, Mr. John Smith, a British workman, that you need a Labour Party. It is a queer task for a bookish man, a literary student, and an easy lounger through life, who takes no interest in politics and needs no party at all. To persuade you, a worker, that you need a worker's party, is like persuading you that you need food, shelter, love, and liberty. It is like persuading a soldier that he needs arms, a scholar that he needs books, a woman that she needs a home. Yet my chief
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CHAPTER XVIII WHY THE OLD PARTIES WILL NOT DO
CHAPTER XVIII WHY THE OLD PARTIES WILL NOT DO
The old parties are no use to Labour for two reasons:— 1. Because their interests are mostly opposed to the interests of Labour. 2. Because such reform as they promise is mostly political, and the kind of reform needed by Labour is industrial and social reform. Liberal and Tory politicians call us Socialists dreamers . They claim to be practical men. They say theories are no use, that reform can only be secured by practical men and practical means, and for practical men and practical means you m
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CHAPTER XIX TO-DAY'S WORK
CHAPTER XIX TO-DAY'S WORK
Self-interest being the strongest motive in human nature, he who wishes his interests to be served will be wise to attend to them himself. If you, Mr. Smith, as a working man, wish to have better wages, shorter hours, more holidays, and cheaper living, you had better take a hand in the class war by becoming a recruit in the army of Labour. The first line of the Labour army is the Trade Unions. The second line is the Municipality. The third line is Parliament. If working men desire to improve the
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WHAT TO READ
WHAT TO READ
The following books and pamphlets treat more fully the various subjects dealt with in Britain for the British . To-day's Work. G. Haw. Clarion Press, 72 Fleet Street. 2s. 6d. Does Municipal Management Pay? By R. B. Suthers. 6d. Clarion Press, 72 Fleet Street. Land Nationalisation. A. R. Wallace. 1s. London, Swan Sonnenschein. Five Precursors of Henry George. By J. Morrison Davidson. 1s. Labour Leader Office, 53 Fleet Street, E.C. Dismal England. By R. Blatchford. Clarion Press, 72 Fleet Street,
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APPENDIX.
APPENDIX.
The American workingman will not find it very hard to see that the lesson of "Britain for the British" applies with even greater force to the conditions in his own country. American railroads, mines, and factories exploit, cripple and kill American laborers on an even larger scale than the British ones. We have even less laws for the protection of the workers and their children and what we have are not so well enforced. No one will deny the ability of America to feed herself. She feeds the world
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BOOKS BY ROBERT BLATCHFORD ("NUNQUAM.")
BOOKS BY ROBERT BLATCHFORD ("NUNQUAM.")
MERRIE ENGLAND. —Cloth, crown 8vo, 2s, 6d., by Robert Blatchford. A book on sociology. Called by the Review of Reviews: "The Poor Man's Plato." Over a million copies sold. Translated into Welsh, Dutch, French, Spanish, German, Hebrew, Norwegian, and Swedish. TALES FOR THE MARINES. —A New Book of Soldier Stories. By Nunquam. The Daily Chronicle says: "This volume contains a batch of stories ('cuffers,' we understand is the correct technical term) supposed to be told by soldiers in the barrack-roo
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