Work has to be done, every day humanity is sustained by its collective effort, and without a constant recurrence1 of effort in the single man as in the race as a whole, there is neither health nor happiness. The permanent idleness of a human being is not only burthensome to the world, but his own secure misery2. But unprofitable occupation is also intended by idleness, and it may be considered whether that freedom also will be open to the Utopian. Conceivably it will, like privacy, locomotion3, and almost all the freedoms of life, and on the same terms — if he possess the money to pay for it.
That last condition may produce a shock in minds accustomed to the proposition that money is the root of all evil, and to the idea that Utopia necessarily implies something rather oaken and hand-made and primitive4 in all these relations. Of course, money is not the root of any evil in the world; the root of all evil in the world, and the root of all good too, is the Will to Live, and money becomes harmful only when by bad laws and bad economic organisation5 it is more easily attained6 by bad men than good. It is as reasonable to say food is the root of all disease, because so many people suffer from excessive and unwise eating. The sane7 economic ideal is to make the possession of money the clear indication of public serviceableness, and the more nearly that ideal is attained, the smaller is the justification8 of poverty and the less the hardship of being poor. In barbaric and disorderly countries it is almost honourable9 to be indigent10 and unquestionably virtuous11 to give to a beggar, and even in the more or less civilised societies of earth, so many children come into life hopelessly handicapped, that austerity to the poor is regarded as the meanest of mean virtues12. But in Utopia everyone will have had an education and a certain minimum of nutrition and training; everyone will be insured against ill-health and accidents; there will be the most efficient organisation for balancing the pressure of employment and the presence of disengaged labour, and so to be moneyless will be clear evidence of unworthiness. In Utopia, no one will dream of giving to a casual beggar, and no one will dream of begging.
There will need to be, in the place of the British casual wards13, simple but comfortable inns with a low tariff14 — controlled to a certain extent no doubt, and even in some cases maintained, by the State. This tariff will have such a definite relation to the minimum permissible15 wage, that a man who has incurred16 no liabilities through marriage or the like relationship, will be able to live in comfort and decency17 upon that minimum wage, pay his small insurance premium18 against disease, death, disablement, or ripening19 years, and have a margin20 for clothing and other personal expenses. But he will get neither shelter nor food, except at the price of his freedom, unless he can produce money.
But suppose a man without money in a district where employment is not to be found for him; suppose the amount of employment to have diminished in the district with such suddenness as to have stranded21 him there. Or suppose he has quarrelled with the only possible employer, or that he does not like his particular work. Then no doubt the Utopian State, which wants everyone to be just as happy as the future welfare of the race permits, will come to his assistance. One imagines him resorting to a neat and business-like post-office, and stating his case to a civil and intelligent official. In any sane State the economic conditions of every quarter of the earth will be watched as constantly as its meteorological phases, and a daily map of the country within a radius22 of three or four hundred miles showing all the places where labour is needed will hang upon the post-office wall. To this his attention will be directed. The man out of work will decide to try his luck in this place or that, and the public servant, the official, will make a note of his name, verify his identity — the freedom of Utopia will not be incompatible23 with the universal registration24 of thumb-marks — and issue passes for travel and coupons25 for any necessary inn accommodation on his way to the chosen destination. There he will seek a new employer.
Such a free change of locality once or twice a year from a region of restricted employment to a region of labour shortage will be among the general privileges of the Utopian citizen.
But suppose that in no district in the world is there work within the capacity of this particular man?
Before we suppose that, we must take into consideration the general assumption one is permitted to make in all Utopian speculations26. All Utopians will be reasonably well educated upon Utopian lines; there will be no illiterates27 unless they are unteachable imbeciles, no rule-of-thumb toilers as inadaptable as trained beasts. The Utopian worker will be as versatile28 as any well-educated man is on earth to-day, and no Trade union will impose a limit to his activities. The world will be his union. If the work he does best and likes best is not to be found, there is still the work he likes second best. Lacking his proper employment, he will turn to some kindred trade.
But even with that adaptability29, it may be that sometimes he will not find work. Such a disproportion between the work to be done and the people to do it may arise as to present a surplus of labour everywhere. This disproportion may be due to two causes: to an increase of population without a corresponding increase of enterprises, or to a diminution30 of employment throughout the world due to the completion of great enterprises, to economies achieved, or to the operation of new and more efficient labour-saving appliances. Through either cause, a World State may find itself doing well except for an excess of citizens of mediocre31 and lower quality.
But the first cause may be anticipated by wise marriage laws. . . . The full discussion of these laws will come later, but here one may insist that Utopia will control the increase of its population. Without the determination and ability to limit that increase as well as to stimulate32 it whenever it is necessary, no Utopia is possible. That was clearly demonstrated by Malthus for all time.
The second cause is not so easily anticipated, but then, though its immediate33 result in glutting34 the labour market is similar, its final consequences are entirely35 different from those of the first. The whole trend of a scientific mechanical civilisation36 is continually to replace labour by machinery37 and to increase it in its effectiveness by organisation, and so quite independently of any increase in population labour must either fall in value until it can compete against and check the cheapening process, or if that is prevented, as it will be in Utopia, by a minimum wage, come out of employment. There is no apparent limit to this process. But a surplus of efficient labour at the minimum wage is exactly the condition that should stimulate new enterprises, and that in a State saturated38 with science and prolific39 in invention will stimulate new enterprises. An increasing surplus of available labour without an absolute increase of population, an increasing surplus of labour due to increasing economy and not to proliferation, and which, therefore, does not press on and disarrange the food supply, is surely the ideal condition for a progressive civilisation. I am inclined to think that, since labour will be regarded as a delocalised and fluid force, it will be the World State and not the big municipalities ruling the force areas that will be the reserve employer of labour. Very probably it will be convenient for the State to hand over the surplus labour for municipal purposes, but that is another question. All over the world the labour exchanges will be reporting the fluctuating pressure of economic demand and transferring workers from this region of excess to that of scarcity40; and whenever the excess is universal, the World State — failing an adequate development of private enterprise — will either reduce the working day and so absorb the excess, or set on foot some permanent special works of its own, paying the minimum wage and allowing them to progress just as slowly or just as rapidly as the ebb41 and flow of labour dictated42. But with sane marriage and birth laws there is no reason to suppose such calls upon the resources and initiative of the world more than temporary and exceptional occasions.
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1
recurrence
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| n.复发，反复，重现 | |
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2
misery
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| n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦 | |
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3
locomotion
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| n.运动，移动 | |
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primitive
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| adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物 | |
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organisation
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| n.组织，安排，团体，有机休 | |
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6
attained
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| （通常经过努力）实现( attain的过去式和过去分词 )； 达到； 获得； 达到（某年龄、水平、状况） | |
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7
sane
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| adj.心智健全的，神志清醒的，明智的，稳健的 | |
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8
justification
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| n.正当的理由；辩解的理由 | |
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honourable
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| adj.可敬的；荣誉的，光荣的 | |
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indigent
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| adj.贫穷的，贫困的 | |
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11
virtuous
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| adj.有品德的，善良的，贞洁的，有效力的 | |
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12
virtues
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| 美德( virtue的名词复数 )； 德行； 优点； 长处 | |
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13
wards
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| 区( ward的名词复数 )； 病房； 受监护的未成年者； 被人照顾或控制的状态 | |
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14
tariff
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| n.关税，税率；(旅馆、饭店等)价目表，收费表 | |
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permissible
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| adj.可允许的，许可的 | |
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incurred
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| [医]招致的，遭受的； incur的过去式 | |
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decency
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| n.体面，得体，合宜，正派，庄重 | |
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18
premium
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| n.加付款；赠品；adj.高级的；售价高的 | |
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ripening
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| v.成熟，使熟( ripen的现在分词 )；熟化；熟成 | |
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margin
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| n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘 | |
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21
stranded
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| a.搁浅的，进退两难的 | |
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radius
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| n.半径，半径范围；有效航程，范围，界限 | |
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incompatible
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| adj.不相容的，不协调的，不相配的 | |
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registration
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| n.登记，注册，挂号 | |
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coupons
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| n.礼券( coupon的名词复数 )；优惠券；订货单；参赛表 | |
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speculations
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| n.投机买卖( speculation的名词复数 )；思考；投机活动；推断 | |
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27
illiterates
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| 目不识丁者( illiterate的名词复数 )； 无知 | |
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versatile
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| adj.通用的，万用的；多才多艺的，多方面的 | |
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29
adaptability
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| n.适应性 | |
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30
diminution
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| n.减少；变小 | |
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mediocre
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| adj.平常的，普通的 | |
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32
stimulate
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| vt.刺激，使兴奋；激励，使…振奋 | |
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immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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34
glutting
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| v.吃得过多( glut的现在分词 )；（对胃口、欲望等）纵情满足；使厌腻；塞满 | |
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35
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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civilisation
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| n.文明，文化，开化，教化 | |
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machinery
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| n.(总称)机械，机器；机构 | |
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38
saturated
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| a.饱和的，充满的 | |
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39
prolific
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| adj.丰富的，大量的；多产的，富有创造力的 | |
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40
scarcity
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| n.缺乏，不足，萧条 | |
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41
ebb
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| vi.衰退，减退；n.处于低潮，处于衰退状态 | |
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42
dictated
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| v.大声讲或读( dictate的过去式和过去分词 )；口授；支配；摆布 | |
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