Page:Manual of Political Economy.djvu/32

Rh Contents. xxi was established to supply goods to cooperative stores — This society manufactures many of the goods it sells — The Scotch wholesale — Cooperative production — The progress of cooperative production in the cotton trade — The question of the right of labour to a share in the profits of cooperative societies is still unsettled — It is much ' easier to apply cooperation to distribution than to production — Co- operative production has been carried out on a larger scale in Paris than in England— Cooperative Dairying in Denmark and Ireland — Cooperative banking— A description of the cooperative banks in Germany founded by M. Schulze-Delitzsch — The Kaiffeisen Banks — The legislative enactments which have impeded cooperation in England — A description of some undertakings which are partly cooperative in their character, such as building societies PAOBS 263—287 Chapter XI. State Socialism and the NationMisation of the Land. The characteristic of modern socialism is its reliance on the State — Schulze-Delitzsch and Lassalle the founders of two opposite schools of social reformers— Schulze-Delitzsch advocates schemes based on self- help such as cooperation — Lassalle is the advocate of increased State assistance — He was the founder of the International — The most impor- tant scheme of State socialism is the Nationalisation of the Land — Special attention has been directed to the subject in England by Mr. Wallace's and Mr. Henry George's books — The difference pointed out between the State re-appropriating land which it had relinquished and retaining possession of existing rights — This illustrated by perma- nent settlement in India — The importance of the State not surrenderinff the whole of its proprietary rights in the lands— This illustrated by land sales in Australia— If nationalisation carried out on the plan of giving no compensation or inadequate compensation the scheme is unjust— if full compensation were given great pecuniary loss would result, which would have to be borne by general body of tax-payers —Nationalisation involves this dilemma — If the land were let at less than market price then an unlimited opportunity would be offered for State favouritism ; if the market price is charged the cultivators would not be benefited — lleasons against State appropriation of the unearned increment in the value of land— The policy of the Government undertaking the construc- tion of public works considered, with special reference to India and to France — Harm would be done to cooperation if cooperative institutions obtained State loans — Some of the disadvantages pointed out of using public funds for the creation of a class of peasant proprietors — The effects likely to be produced by the State or municipality undertaking to erect houses for the working-classes — Among other disadvantskges it would discourage the efforts the working classes are now making to supply themselves with better houses through the agency of buildinsr societies— The scheme of Prince Bismarck for providing insurance and annuities for workmen by a special tax upon employers — This tax must either wholly or in large part ultimately fall upon the employed — Therefore the scheme is one of compulsory insurance — The disadvan- tages of compulsory thrift — The State may legitimately offer facilities for saving, but any institution, such as the Post Office Savings' Bank, should be self-supporting — It is not safe to condemn a scheme because it is socialistic— Thus the English poor law is based on socialism but Digitized by Google