s stones; neither should we allow
them to fare sumptuously every day. Our method of dealing with them
would be quite different from yours. In the Co-operative Commonwealth
there will be no place for loafers; whether they call themselves
aristocrats or tramps, those who are too lazy to work shall have no
share in the things that are produced by the labour of others. Those
who do nothing shall have nothing. If any man will not work, neither
shall he eat. Under the present system a man who is really too lazy to
work may stop you in the street and tell you that he cannot get
employment. For all you know, he may be telling the truth, and if you
have any feeling and are able, you will help him. But in the Socialist
State no one would have such an excuse, because everyone that was
willing would be welcome to come and help in the work of producing
wealth and happiness for all, and afterwards he would also be welcome
to his full share of the results.'

'Any more complaints?' inquired the chairman, breaking the gloomy
silence that followed.

'I don't want anyone to think that I am blaming any of these
present-day loafers,' Barrington added. 'The wealthy ones cannot be
expected voluntarily to come and work under existing conditions and if
they were to do so they would be doing more harm than good--they would
be doing some poor wretches out of employment. They are not to be
blamed; the people who are to blame are the working classes themselves,
who demand and vote for the continuance of the present system. As for
the other class of loafers--those at the bottom, the tramps and people
of that sort, if they were to become sober and industrious tomorrow,
they also would be doing more harm than good to the other workers; it
would increase the competition for work. If all the loafers in
Mugsborough could suddenly be transformed into decent house painters
next week, Nimrod might be able to cut down the wages another penny an
hour. I don't wish to speak disrespectfully of these tramps at all.
Some of them are such simply because they would rather starve than
submit to the degrading conditions that we submit to, they do not see
the force of being bullied and chased, and driven about in order to
gain semi-starvation and rags. They are able to get those without
working; and I sometimes think that they are more worthy of respect and
are altogether a nobler type of beings than a lot of broken-spirited
wretches like ourselves, who