F. Services, in the more limited sense of the term, which embraces personal as well as incorporeal goods; as, for instance, the labors of the doctor, teacher; virtuoso, of the statesman, judge, and of preachers, whose office it is, by way of eminence, to produce and preserve the immaterial wealth, known as the State and the Church.[239]
The order followed in the above classification is that in which the different classes of labor are wont to be historically developed.
Section XXXIX.
Labor.—Taste For Labor.—Piece-Wages.
Man's taste for labor is conditioned especially by the extent to which, and the security with which, he may hope to enjoy the fruit of his labor himself. Hence it is that, as a rule, the slave (§ [71], ff.) and socager work least willingly, the day laborer with less industry than the piece-worker,[240] who is at the same time more satisfied with himself, and gives most satisfaction to his master,[241] since he acquires more both for himself and for his master. The superiority of piece-paid labor is [pg 140] greater in proportion as the workman calculates his own advantage. It is, therefore, smallest in the case of ingenuous uneducated workmen, and in that of the really conscientious.[242] The fear of seeing one's condition grow worse, through want of industry, exerts an influence precisely similar to the hope of improving it. In both respects, free competition (§ [97]) must be considered one of the principal means of furthering the taste for labor.[243]
Among the causes which have contributed to make England the first country in the world, viewed from a politico-economical stand-point, English writers on Political Economy have pointed out as one of the principal, the prevalence there of piece-wages.[244] Payment by the piece should, of course, be [pg 141] practiced, only in cases in which the work may be broken up into a series of isolated tasks, and is completed by such a series. Hence, it is not applicable where a great many different things are required of the same workman; nor in relations in which continuity, as, for instance, of the inclination or disposition of the workman is the chief thing.[245] The further the division of labor is carried in our day, the greater the part money plays in our social economy, and the more lasting relations are dissolved, the more general becomes piece-work, which, with all its material advantages, has, speaking morally, its dark side. (Atomism!)[246] In a great many branches [pg 142] of manufactures it has been relinquished because the excellence of his work suffered from the workman's haste, and because he could not be properly controlled.[247] It is rather the quantity than the quality of work which increases with piece-work, and where the quality of the work is what is desired, this system has not the same field. And where it obtains, as, for instance, in the case of ordinary type-setters, resort is had to payment by the day for compositors engaged on mathematical treatises, fac-similes, inscriptions etc. On the side of the workman, it is generally only the idle and awkward who oppose piece-work on principle. It is a subject of regret that the best and most industrious workmen are carried away by it to an extent detrimental to their health.[248] However, many [pg 143] of the deficiencies of the piece-wage principle may be removed by agreements made with whole groups of workmen; provided, always, that the groups are not too large to prevent the mutual knowledge and surveillance of their members.[249] The quantity of work is greatest, its quality best, and the material[250] employed used most sparingly, when the workman works on his own account, or has a share in the profits. This last is proper only in those branches of the business the success of which depends on the quality of the work. To compel the workman to share in the profits alone will not do, because he is generally too poor to run any risk or to do long without his earnings. The system of paying “commissions,” therefore, is to be recommended all the more strongly, since it is a combination of fixed wages with a share in the profits. This system is very prevalent in North America, where a great deal has to be confided to the workmen. It is practiced, also, in the whale fisheries, and on the Greek ships in the Levant engaged in coasting, where much more depends on the care of the sailors than on the ability of the captain.[251] It presupposes [pg 144] good workmen, equal almost to their master in education,[252] for instance, in the case of overseers of labor; since every better inducement to the taste for labor which is not only juster but more complicative, is not only a condition but also the effect of higher culture. But if the economy of a people is ripe for share-wages, and masters begin to introduce them in earnest in individual cases, the work produced will be improved to such a degree that it can not be long before all others will be necessitated to follow them.[253]
If, however, workmen are to enjoy the fruit of their industry, it is necessary, first of all, that public order should be secure. Even the most industrious become discouraged where despotism or anarchy prevails. On the other hand, even the greatest security is no sufficient incentive to a nation of fatalists.[254]