New York, August 20, 1870
PAPERS ON LABOR AND CAPITAL.
NO. VII.
PRIORITY OF RIGHT—THEIR POSITION IN THE PROCESSES OF SOCIETY—THE EARTH BELONGS TO MAN AT LARGE—INDIVIDUAL CLAIMS, PURE ASSUMPTION—PRINCIPLES, PRACTICE, REMEDIES AND CURE.
Capital, primarily, is the product of labor, but labor, in the abstract, could produce nothing of itself. It must have something upon which to apply itself. It cannot create anything; it can only alter, readjust or rearrange the materials which nature offers, and by bringing them into new relations with each other make it possible for them to subserve other and better purposes than when, in the constitution assigned them by the operation of natural laws, they are unmodified by the touch of mind. Therefore, while capital is the direct result of labor, labor would not be possible without the free gifts of nature. Absolute originality, then, or absolute priority of right, as between labor and capital, cannot be claimed by or for either.
The formula of the operation, beginning with nature and ending in the ultimate use of its productions, in contributing to the happiness of the race, is this: Nature is made up of the elements of the universe, which, compounded into forms, are offered to man to be modified into other forms and to combine in new relations which may best contribute to the needs of the human family. In this view, and in view of the inharmonious relations that exist between capital and its co-equal labor, it becomes necessary to give the whole matter a complete analysis, in order to discover, if possible, where the primary fault lies, and to find the proper solution of all differences.
The human race exists upon the earth. At a past period no human being existed upon it. At a later day the human race arose. Before man, nothing claimed the ownership of any part of the earth’s surface. When man presented himself he began to make use of various parts of it for his own ends, but to the land thus appropriated he acquired no permanent title or right of ownership. It was his to obtain from it all that his genius and strength made possible. So much as he could thus extract he could possess, but further than this his title was valueless.
The races of men that now inhabit the earth are scattered over the greater part of its surface, drawing what it spontaneously yields and what they can force it to yield. From these premises it would seem unquestionable that each individual of the human family had an equal right to its benefits. The only difference that ought to exist should be that limited and bounded by the capacity of each to produce. No person could therefore ever acquire, under the rule of universal justice, an absolute ownership to any part or portion of the earth’s surface. If the chain of title to any claimed ownership is followed backward sufficiently, it will be found to have originated in an assumption in the first instance of ownership to something that belonged to men in common.
We can now acquire landed property from the government, and this creates the most absolute ownership that can exist; but here again comes the question whether governments can do what is impossible to individuals? Can a system organized by a people perform acts not in the power of the people themselves to perform? Can a government by the mere fact of having been organized to preserve harmony among a people acquire an absolute title to the earth that is contained within its jurisdiction? If an individual cannot go into an unclaimed territory and take absolute possession of a certain portion of it, then no number of persons, nor can any government they may establish, do so. And here exists one cause of discord between labor which produces and capital which monopolizes.
All monopolies arise from landed monopolies. Were there no inequalities between men in claims to certain areas of the earth’s surface, no other monopolies would find a basis for existence. Every individual should have a right to the use of a certain quantity of the real estate of the country, and the right to all improvements he might make upon it. Here would be a basis of equity which would forever prevent the accumulation in the hands of any few persons, of vast quantities of real estate, which is the real basis of all securities. It is such a basis because everything is produced from it. All manufacturers must rely upon it for their raw material, and, therefore, a practical equality in the occupation and use of the public domain would insure a certain degree of equality in all things that might spring from it. It was the perception of this principle that caused Lycurgus to divide the lands of Lacedemon equally among all the people; and a general recognition of it should now take place.
While these are the principles that underlie the workings of society, and which must be practiced before a general equality can exist, it is not to be expected that they can be immediately introduced. There are too few who understand the real rights of man, and too many who do not wish to understand them. While this condition of ignorance and perverseness keeps the world inharmonious and subjected to suffering, we should avail ourselves of all the alleviatory methods that can be suggested in our present system. Between two evils choose the least; but in the pursuit of remedies, the root of the disease should never be lost sight of. Nor should the spirit that is exhibited in many so-called Labor and Workingmen’s Journals be encouraged. Strife and animosity will never accomplish half so much as calmness, reason and persuasion. “Come, let us reason together,” was never more judiciously proposed than it could now be by capitalists and workingmen. The latter must remember that they cannot compel capitalists to their terms, and capitalists must not forget that if there are real causes of dissatisfaction growing out of injustice, the sooner justice is done the less serious will be the reckoning with the laborer. Instead of strife let us have co-operation; instead of war let us have peace; instead of the process of fermentation let us have that of mutual understanding.