ing and shelter. The serf divided his time between producing for
the owner of the soil and producing for his family. The slave produced
what his owner wanted; the serf produced what either he himself or his
lord wanted.

There came a time, about three hundred years ago, when the feudal
system broke down before the beginnings of capitalism, the system
which we are living under to-day, and which we Socialists think is
breaking down as all other social systems have broken down before it.
Under this system men have worked for wages and not because they
wanted the things they were producing, nor because the men who
employed them wanted the things, _but simply because the things could
be sold and a profit made in the sale_.

You will remember, Jonathan, that in a former letter I dealt with the
nature of wealth. We saw then that wealth in our modern society
consists of an abundance of things which can be sold. At bottom, we do
not make things because it is well that they should be made, because
the makers need them, but simply because the capitalists see
possibilities of selling the things at a profit.

I want you to consider just a moment how this works out: Here is a
workingman in Springfield, Massachusetts, making deadly weapons with
which other workingmen in other lands are to be killed. We go up to
him as he works and inquire where the rifles are to be sent, and he
very politely tells us that they are for some foreign government, say
the Japanese, to be used in all probability against Russian soldiers.
Suppose we ask him next what interest he has in helping the Japanese
government to kill the Russian troops, how he comes to have an active
hatred of the Russian soldiers. He will reply at once that he has no
such feelings against the Russians; that he is not interested in
having the Japanese slaughter them. Why, then, is he making the guns?
He answers at once that he is only interested in getting his wages;
that it is all the same to him whether he makes guns for Christians or
Infidels, for Russians or Japs or Turks. His only interest is to get
his wages. He would as soon be making coffins as guns, or shoes as
coffins, so long as he got his wages.

Perhaps, then, the company for which he is employed has an interest in
helping Japan defeat the troops of Russia. Possibly the shareholders
in the company are Japanese or sympathizers with Japan. Otherwise,
why should they be bothering themselves getting workpeople to make
g