of kinds which hardly exist in a dozen minds out
of a million; and labour conduces to the production of such astonishing
structures only because it submits itself to the guidance of these
intellectual leaders. And the same is the case with modern production
generally. Though labour is essential to the production of wealth even
in the smallest quantities, the distinguishing productivity of industry
in the modern world depends not on the labour, but on the ability with
which the labour is directed; and in the modern world the primary
function of capital is that of providing ability with its necessary
instrument of direction.

No unprejudiced person, who is capable of coherent thought, can, when
the matter is thus plainly stated, possibly deny this. That it cannot be
denied will be shown in the two following chapters by recent admissions
on the part of socialists themselves, the more thoughtful of whom have
now virtually abandoned the earlier theoretical framework of socialism
altogether, and are trying to substitute a new one, with which we will
deal later, and which will indeed prove the main subject of our
inquiry.

FOOTNOTES:

[1] When I insisted on this distinction between "labour" and "ability"
in America, innumerable critics met me with two objections. One of
these, as stated by a writer who confessed himself otherwise in entire
agreement with me, was this: "It is impossible, as Mr. Mallock attempts
to do, to draw a hard-and-fast line between mental effort and muscular."
No such attempt is made. As I pointed out in one of my speeches, many
kinds of "labour" (_e.g._ that of the great painter) exhibit higher
mentality than do many kinds of ability. Further, I pointed out that, in
a technical sense, the same effort may be either an effort of labour or
ability, according to its application. Thus, if a singer sings to an
audience, his effort is technically "labour," because it ends with the
single task; but if he sings so as to produce a gramophone record, his
effort is an act of "ability," for he influences the products of other
men, by whom the records are multiplied. The second objection was
expressed by one of my critics thus: "I say that all productive effort
is labour.... I dare you to tell any one of these genii that they are
not labourers." Another critic said: "Just as 'land' in economics means
all the forces of nature, so does 'labour' mean all the forces of man.
Why, then, speak of ability?" These criticis