Page:Karl Marx - The Poverty of Philosophy - (tr. Harry Quelch) - 1913.djvu/115

 "the first day of the second creation," has not advanced a step. This manner of explaning things derived at the same time from the Greek and the Hebrew, which is at once mystic and allegorical, gives to M. Proudhon the perfect right to say, "I have demonstrated by theory and by facts the principle that all labor must leave a surplus."

The facts, they are the famous progressive calculation; the theory, it is the myth of Prometheus.

"But," continues M. Proudhon, "this principle, accurate as an arithmetical proposition, is yet far from being realised for everybody. While by the progress of collective industry, each day of individual labor creates a larger and still larger product, and by a necessary consequence, while the worker, with the same wages, must become richer every day, there exist in society some classes which thrive and others which perish." In 1770 the population of the United Kingdom of Great Britain was fifteen millions and the productive population three millions. The scientific power of production would about equal a population of twelve more millions; thus making a total of fifteen millions of productive forces. Thus the productive power was to the population as 1 is to 1, and the scientific power was to manual power as 4 is to 1.

In 1840 the population did not exceed thirty millions: the productive population was six millions, while the scientific power amounted to 650 millions, that is to say that is was to the whole population as 21 to 1, and to manual power as 108 to 1.

In English society, the day of labor had thus acquired in seventy years a surplus of 2,700 per cent. of productivity, that is to say that in 1840 it produced twenty-seven times as much as in 1770. According to M. Proudhon it is necessary to put the following question: