The Worker |
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THE WORKER
On Mediterranean shores, on the sands of Waikiki, on Caribbean waters, these are
among the places where the worker is to be found. But not in great number and not
stretched out on his back. He will be found in these places in just those numbers that
are required to wash, clothe, feed and minister in other ways to the wants and
comforts of people who have neither the need nor the urge to look after themselves.
There are places where the worker can be found in far greater numbers: the swamps of
Florida, the forests of British Columbia, the auto plants of Michigan, the mining camps of
Ontario; places that he is far more accustomed to, where the produce of nature is moulded into
things useful to man; far places, near places, places of dirt and smoke, sweat and work.
The worker is a handy sort of person to have around. Without him the Mediterranean shores
would lose most of their splendour, the waves would wash over Waikiki unsung by travel
agencies, the waters of the Caribbean would abound in ocean life undisturbed by intrepid
sportsmen. Without him there would be no smoke over Pittsburgh, no satellites over Moscow,
no grandeur in Rome, no pomp in London; no magnificence in Washington, no bull in
Ottawa; no joy in the hearts of those who live without working.
To ensure that he creates an abundance of the finer things of life for other people and a
sufficiency of other things to care for his own needs, in the way of food, clothing and shelter,
plus a bit extra for tobacco and the raising of a family to take his place in production when he
grows old, and also to ensure that this state of affairs be protected to infinity, is the fondest
aim of those in whose care rests the destiny of society .That is the blessed eternity that the
owners of the world and their spokesmen dream and yearn and sigh for. What finer world
could be envisaged than one in which the workers work happily on simple fare and the nonworkers
live happily on the rest?
Somehow this doesn't sound just right, does it? Somehow it seems that somebody is getting
away with something; that there should be a better set-up than one in which the workers wind
up with rations, while people who do nothing useful live on the fat of the land. Yet that's how
it is.
There is a lot said in high places about talking turkey to the Russians and hanging one on the
nose of some other foreigner. There are grandiose plans in governing circles for intercontinental
guided missiles and improved types of atomic bombs. There is much said about
foreign trade, tariffs, agreements and embargoes. The world we live in treats the wealth of the
owning class with the greatest reverence. It has to be guarded by every means, shifted here
and shifted there, moved within the terms of international understanding, cared for and catered
to in every way that will benefit the owners. And these antics are all assumed to be in the
interest of the whole community, the theory being that what is good for General Bullmoose is
good for everybody. But after everything has been done according to plan, it still works out
that the worker finds himself by the palm trees, the rolling waves, the silvery sands, for no
better reason than to work. Either that or he is trespassing.
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It doesn't have to be like that. But if someone thinks that maybe the other fellow will do
something about it, he had better move back to the beginning and start thinking some more.
The other fellow has too many things to do. He has a world in his lap, placed there by the
worker. How can he enjoy to the full the bounteous produce of labour and at the same time
concern himself about its grubby producer: Besides, what can be wrong with a world that is so
full of wonderful things and places - and so much time in which to enjoy them:
Thoughts like these are hard to counter. There is logic in the other fellow's position - logic for
him. But it could be different for the worker. This kind of logic doesn't help to build up his
supply of caviar or contribute to the upkeep of his coach and four. He needs more. And when
he has gotten down to some serious thought and study and found out what really goes in on
society, there is no doubt whatever about the outcome: he will know what needs to be done
and he will know who has to do it.
He will know that the reason he and his family and his kind receive so little, while the other
people mentioned receive so much, is that he and his kind are members of the working class,
having no share in the ownership of the means of production and distribution and forced in
order to live to work for these other people, the members of the capitalist class. He will know
that the workers are forced to do this because the capitalists own the means of production and
distribution and will allow their operation only on condition that it brings them a profit. He
will know too that this profit comes from the amount of wealth produced by the workers in
excess of their own essential needs, and that the capitalists' constant pressure is to increase
this excess and so their profit, even to the extent of lowering the subsistence level of the
workers. Knowing this he will also know that the only way for the workers to rid themselves
of the shackles of subservience and want is to transform the means of production and
distribution from capitalist property to common property, introducing at last a condition in
which human needs will be satisfied, unaffected by the restraints, dictates and diversions of an
owning class.
And since the class ownership of the means of life is protected for the capitalists by their
control over the government, the worker will know too that he and his fellows must become
organized in a political party designed to bring about the necessary transformation. Then he
will join the Socialist Party.