Page:James Ramsay MacDonald - The Socialist Movement.pdf/52

 48 form of shares, it is controlled by a board of directors, generally by a managing director, and those who have provided it have practically no voice in the management of the business. Shareholders' meetings are held occasionally, but apart from the fact that many shareholders never attend these meetings, the power which the shareholder has does not amount to much more than to express gratitude or to grumble. Except at a crisis the directors, working within the bounds of the articles of association, hold an absolute authority.

Thus, one of the first results of the concentration of capital in industrial undertakings has been the supplanting of the individual and responsible capitalist by the official agent who represents many capitalists. The "captain of industry" is thus no more a man working with his own capital, but an agent working with other people’s capital, and the capitalist himself is ceasing to be a business man and is becoming a mere financier. This change from personal to impersonal capitalism, from ownership control to agency control, is another important link in the chain of socialist evolution and argument.

One erroneous deduction from this change ought to be disposed of at once. It is often assumed that under a system of joint stock companies the dividends and profits previously made by a small class of industrial capitalists are spread over a wider field, and a better national distribution is thus secured. Elderly ladies with small savings get an income from