e the duty of labor upon every competent person. The Pauline
injunction, "If any man will not work, neither shall he eat," would be
applied in the Socialist state to all except the incompetent to labor.
The immature child, the aged, the sick and infirm members of society,
would alone be exempted from labor. The result of this would be that
instead of a large unemployed army, vainly seeking the right to work, on
the one hand, accompanied by the excessive overwork of the great mass of
the workers fortunate enough to be employed, a vast increase in the
number of producers from this one cause alone would make possible much
greater leisure for the whole body of workers. Benjamin Franklin
estimated that in his day four hours' labor from every adult male able
to work would be more than sufficient to provide wealth enough for human
wants; and it is certain that, without resorting to any standards of
Spartan simplicity, Franklin's estimate could be easily realised to-day
with anything approaching a scientific organization of labor.

Not only would the productive forces be enormously increased by the
absorption of those workers who under the present system are unemployed,
and those who do not labor or seek labor; in addition to these, there
would be a tremendous transference of potential productive energy from
occupations rendered obsolete and unnecessary by the socialization of
society. Thus there are to-day tens of thousands of bankers, lawyers,
traders, middlemen, speculators, advertisers, and others, whose
functions, necessary to the capitalist system, would in most cases
disappear. Because of this, they would be compelled to enter the
producing class. The possibilities of the scientific organization of
industry are therefore almost unlimited. Every gain made by the state in
the direction of economy of production would test the private enterprise
existing and urge it onward in the same direction. Likewise, every gain
made by the private producers would test the social production and urge
it onward. Whether socialized production extended its sphere, or
remained confined to its minimum limitations, would depend upon the
comparative success or failure resulting. The state would not be a force
outside of the people, arbitrarily extending its functions regardless of
their will. The decision would rest with the people; they would _be_ the
state, and would, naturally, resort to social effort only where it
demonstrated its ability to