Chapter V: Book III

AN EXPOSURE OF THE CONFUSIONS IMPLIED IN SOCIALISTIC
THOUGHT AS TO THE MAIN AGENT IN MODERN PRODUCTION.

I. The Confusion of Thought involved in the
Socialistic Conception of Labour—

A confusing Socialistic Formula 171
A Plausible Argument 173
A Plausible Argument analysed 174
Its implied meaning considered 175
The real Taskmaster of Labour not an Employing
Class, but Nature 176
Different position of Ability 178
The Organist and Bellows-blower 179
The Picture and the Canvas 180
The Qualifying Factor 181
Do all men possess Ability 182
Labour itself non-progressive 183
Ancient Labour equal to Modern 184
A Remarkable Illustration 185
Labour as trained by Watt 186
Labour as assisted by Maudslay 187

II. That the Ability which at any given period is a
Producing Agent, is a Faculty residing in and
belonging to living Men—

A Socialistic Criticism 188
Primæval Progress and Labour 190
Rudimentary Ability 191
Primæval and Modern Inventions 192
A more Important Point 193
The necessity for Managing Ability increased by
Inventive Ability 194
The main results of Past Ability inherited by
Living Ability 196
Productive Ability the Ability of Living Men 198
Fresh demonstration of the Productivity of Ability 200

III. That Ability is a natural Monopoly, due to the
congenital Peculiarities of a Minority. The
Fallacies of other Views exposed—

An Error of Mr. Herbert Spencer’s 202
A Philosophic Truth, but an Economic Falsehood 204
Whole body of Successful Inventors a very small
Minority 206
Ability and Opportunity 208
Ability not produced by Opportunity 209
Ability the Maker of its own Opportunities 210
Ability as a matter of Character 212
Function of such Ability 213
Characters not equalised by Education or
Opportunity 214
Progress due solely to the Few 216
Progress in the Iron Industry 217
Early Applications of Ability to British
Iron Production 218
Ability opposed by the Age instead of
representing it 220
Isolated Action of Ability 222
Arkwright and his associates 223
The Value of Watt’s Patent as estimated by
his Contemporaries 224
Industrial Progress the work of the Few
only 226

IV. The Conclusion arrived at in the preceding Book
restated. The Annual Amount produced by
Ability in the United Kingdom—

Grades of Ability 228
Proportion of Able Men to Labourers 230
A Rough Calculation 231
More than half our National Income produced by
a Small Minority 232