serable,
ragged-trousered crew around him could scarce forbear a cheer; but the
more intelligent part of the audience only laughed.

'We don't believe that there will be any such people as that,' said
Barrington.

'There's plenty of 'em about now, anyway,' sneered Crass.

'You can't change 'uman nature, you know,' cried the man behind the
moat, and the one who had the copper wire stitches in his boot laughed
scornfully.

'Yes, I know there are plenty such now,' rejoined Barrington. 'It's
only what is to be expected, considering that practically all workers
live in poverty, and are regarded with contempt. The conditions under
which most of the work is done at present are so unpleasant and
degrading that everyone refuses to do any unless they are compelled;
none of us here, for instance, would continue to work for Rushton if it
were not for the fact that we have either to do so or starve; and when
we do work we only just earn enough to keep body and soul together.
Under the present system everybody who can possibly manage to do so
avoids doing any work, the only difference being that some people do
their loafing better than others. The aristocracy are too lazy to
work, but they seem to get on all right; they have their tenants to
work for them. Rushton is too lazy to work, so he has arranged that we
and Nimrod shall work instead, and he fares much better than any of us
who do work. Then there is another kind of loafers who go about
begging and occasionally starving rather than submit to such abominable
conditions as are offered to them. These last are generally not much
worse off than we are and they are often better off. At present,
people have everything to gain and but little to lose by refusing to
work. Under Socialism it would be just the reverse; the conditions of
labour would be so pleasant, the hours of obligatory work so few, and
the reward so great, that it is absurd to imagine that any one would be
so foolish as to incur the contempt of his fellows and make himself a
social outcast by refusing to do the small share of work demanded of
him by the community of which he was a member.

'As for what we should do to such individuals if there did happen to be
some, I can assure you that we would not treat them as you treat them
now. We would not dress them up in silk and satin and broadcloth and
fine linen: we would not embellish them, as you do, with jewels of gold
and jewels of silver and with preciou