THE 40-HOUR WEEK
[To the Editor of THE SPECTATOR.]
SIR,—Surely Mr. Mender is fundamentally in error in the argument upon which he bases his case for the 40-hour week ? He says that, because of rationalization, there " is not now enough work to employ the population of the world."
Surely this is an immense presumption 1 Before one can truly say that" enough work " has been done one must know that every home in every country provides every citizen of the world and all his family with everything that they would be glad to work for and possess. If and when that has hap- pened you may say that " enough work" has been done.
'Should that standard be finally set at the level of a decent niiddle-class citizen of this country (and even he " Wants more " !) and even should science fail to produce more " Wants " (such as wireless) then we may say that the demand on industry would be increased by many thousands per cent., and men who wanted to work king hours in return for fuller satisfactions would be in' high demand.
In every sphere of 'ptoduCticiu to-day politicians are vying with coat-other in proposals for restrictions, Let there, be less work, less production, less exchange. And poverty spreads like the disease that it is. The remedy for our present evils is a greater freedom of exchange. Within this country and between countries the freest interchange of commodities and the freest. access to capital and land that is possible under conditions permitting private ownership. These, Sir, are the desiderata toward which we should work. Restriction is pre- posteroUS in a world that cries aloud for work.—I am, Sir, &c.,
Mirfield, Yorkshire.
RONALD T. WALKER.
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