Page:Peter Alexeivitch Kropotkin - Modern Science and Anarchism (1912).pdf/81

 other factors come in in a capitalist society, so as to alter the simple relation that may have existed once between labour and exchange value. But modern economists take no heed of that: they go on repeating what Ricardo wrote in the first half of the nineteenth century.

The same remark which we make concerning Value applies to most of the assertions that are made by the economists and the so-called "scientific Socialists," who continually represent their guesses as "natural laws." Not only do we maintain that most of these would be "laws" are not correct, but we are certain that those who believe in such "laws" would themselves recognise their mistake as soon as they would realise, as naturalists do, the necessity of submitting every numerical, quantitative statement to a numerical, quantitative test.

All Political Economy takes, in an Anarchist's view, an aspect quite different from the aspect given to it by the economists, who, being unaccustomed to use the scientific, inductive method, even do not realise what a "natural law" is, although they very much like to use this expression. They even do not notice the conditional character of all so-called natural "laws."

In fact, every natural law always means this:—"If such and such conditions are at work, the result will be this and that.—If a straight line crosses another line, so as to make equal angles on both its sides at the crossing point, the consequences will be such and such.—If those movements only which go on in the interstellar space act upon two bodies, and there is not, at a distance which is not infinitely great, a third, or a fourth body acting upon the two, then the centres of gravity of these two bodies will begin to move towards each other at such a speed" (this is the law of gravitation). And so on.

Always, there is an if—a condition to be fulfilled.

Consequently, all the so-called laws and theories of political economy are nothing but assertions of the following kind:—

"Supposing that there always are in a given country a considerable number of people who cannot exist one month, or even one fortnight, without earning a salary and accepting for that purpose the conditions which the State will impose upon them (in the shape of taxes, land-rent, and so on), or those which will be offered to them by those whom the State recognises as owners of the soil, the factories, the railways, etc.—such and such consequences will follow."

Up till now, the academic economists have always simply