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Chapter 3 - Progress and Poverty -
From Poverty by James Platt

P57 POVERTY.

but to store up produce or stock to enable a tradesman to do his trade with. Are we to infer that it is not necessary for tradesmen to keep stock? If stock be essential, surely the capital is necessary to support labour in producing it before it is wanted! In our trade, manufacturers submit samples in December for the next year's winter trade ; they take orders to deliver from May to August; they are paid in October.

 
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Without this foresight, it would be impossible to have stock enough to supply the wants of the people; by this foresight, in the anticipation of the people's wants, the mills are kept regularly at work. With? out capital, such arrangements would be impossible; therefore the labourer is indebted to capital, as he is kept employed through its aid. Without it, stock could not be kept, orders in anticipa? tion could not be given; the supply not being equal to the demand, goods would fluctuate in value, some articles would be at famine prices. The working class would soon find out the advantages of capital, and that, before a work which will not immediately result in wealth available for subsist? ence can be carried on, there must exist such a stock of subsistence as will support the labourer during the process. Mr. George denies this, and refers us to Robinson Crusoe, and asks if "it was necessary that, before he commenced to make his canoe, he should accumulate a stock of food suf? ficient to maintain him while he felled the tree, hewed out the canoe, and finally launched her into the sea? " Mr. George says, "Not Not at all; it was only necessary that he should devote part of his time to the procurement of food, while he was devoting part of his time to the building and launching of the canoe." Mr. George fails to see that part of the time is taken up in getting food, and that it is better for all parties for capital to supply the means to get the food, and leave the labourer free to give his whole time to the work in hand. Then he gives us another of his peculiar illustrations, how to arrange for the wants of a community like ours, by asking us to "suppose a hundred men to be landed, without any stock of provisions, in a new country ; will it be necessary for them to accumulate a season's

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Sociology

Poverty - by James Platt

© Peter Smith 2008