of
the 'classes.'"[225]

The theory of dividing society into two classes, capitalists and
workers, or as others put it, "exploiters and exploited," is
manifestly absurd, and its absurdity has been pointed out by a few
Socialists. "It is not true that there are only two great economic
classes in the community. The Communist Manifesto, even in its day,
admitted as much, but made no place for the fact in its theories.
There is an economic antagonism between landlords and capitalists as
well as between capitalists and workmen."[226] Besides, most
capitalists are workers, and probably the great majority of English
workers are capitalists to a larger or smaller extent.

Now let us study the Socialists' description of the hostile forces
which are engaged in the Class War.

According to the Socialist teaching, the property-owners as a class
are useless idlers who impoverish the workers and who shamelessly
spend their whole income on demoralising luxuries. "The idlers and
non-workers produce no wealth and take the greater share. They live on
the labour of those who work. Nothing is produced by idleness; work
must be done to obtain a thimble, a pin, and even a potato for dinner.
The non-workers get the greater share of the wealth, and the greater
part of this share is wasted. Therefore it is not good to have any
people in the land who do not work. Only those who are old or sick
should be kept by the toil of the rest."[227] Taking their figures
from the pamphlet "Facts for Socialists," of which details have been
given on pp. 41-48, the Independent Labour party states under the
heading of "Wealth Makers and Wealth Takers": "The total incomes of
persons in the United Kingdom amount in round figures to
_1,800,000,000l._ How is this wealth distributed? 250,000 persons
actually receive a total of _585,000,000l._--that is, one-thirtieth of
the population receive one-third of the national income. Nearly the
whole of these large incomes are unearned--_i.e._ they are made up of
rents, interest, dividends, &c. This small class of rent and interest
receivers perform no useful function. We may describe these people as
social parasites, absolutely useless, yet levying toll to the extent
of _6s. 8d._ in every _20s._ value of wealth created."[228] "At
present more than _600,000,000l._ of the national income goes in the
form of unearned rent and interest to support an idle class who spend
it mainly on profitless and demoralising luxuries."[2