BOOK III. An Exposure of the Confusions Implied in Socialistic

AN EXPOSURE OF THE CONFUSIONS IMPLIED IN SOCIALISTIC THOUGHT AS TO THE MAIN AGENT IN MODERN PRODUCTION.

I. The Confusion of Thought involved in the Socialistic Conception of Labour—

A confusing Socialistic Formula 171 A Plausible Argument 173 A Plausible Argument analysed 174 Its implied meaning considered 175 The real Taskmaster of Labour not an Employing Class, but Nature 176 Different position of Ability 178 The Organist and Bellows-blower 179 The Picture and the Canvas 180 The Qualifying Factor 181 Do all men possess Ability 182 Labour itself non-progressive 183 Ancient Labour equal to Modern 184 A Remarkable Illustration 185 Labour as trained by Watt 186 Labour as assisted by Maudslay 187

II. That the Ability which at any given period is a Producing Agent, is a Faculty residing in and belonging to living Men—

A Socialistic Criticism 188 Primæval Progress and Labour 190 Rudimentary Ability 191 Primæval and Modern Inventions 192 A more Important Point 193 The necessity for Managing Ability increased by Inventive Ability 194 The main results of Past Ability inherited by Living Ability 196 Productive Ability the Ability of Living Men 198 Fresh demonstration of the Productivity of Ability 200

III. That Ability is a natural Monopoly, due to the congenital Peculiarities of a Minority. The Fallacies of other Views exposed—

An Error of Mr. Herbert Spencer’s 202 A Philosophic Truth, but an Economic Falsehood 204 Whole body of Successful Inventors a very small Minority 206 Ability and Opportunity 208 Ability not produced by Opportunity 209 Ability the Maker of its own Opportunities 210 Ability as a matter of Character 212 Function of such Ability 213 Characters not equalised by Education or Opportunity 214 Progress due solely to the Few 216 Progress in the Iron Industry 217 Early Applications of Ability to British Iron Production 218 Ability opposed by the Age instead of representing it 220 Isolated Action of Ability 222 Arkwright and his associates 223 The Value of Watt’s Patent as estimated by his Contemporaries 224 Industrial Progress the work of the Few only 226

IV. The Conclusion arrived at in the preceding Book restated. The Annual Amount produced by Ability in the United Kingdom—

Grades of Ability 228 Proportion of Able Men to Labourers 230 A Rough Calculation 231 More than half our National Income produced by a Small Minority 232