Tomorrow and Tomorrow/Chapter V

CHAPTER V

Solution of the Economic Problem

It may be that the chief motivations, as well as the chief earthly needs of human beings, are economic. Certainly the economic problems of the world have taken front page position today. And owing to the extraordinary ideological cleavage of the world’s peoples today along lines of economic theory and practice, even such major problems as world peace and world federation are subject to the prior solution of the economic conflict.

The idea of bringing spiritual values into a discussion of a remedy for our economic predicament would seem far-fetched to most economists. Yet, in the thousands of strikes that have harassed the industrial world in the last half century, what has been the demand of the strikers? Justice. And what is Justice but a moral, or spiritual quality? In economics it expresses itself in the proper distribution of life’s necessities and comforts in return for work or services performed. Recently, in discussing some world problems with a brilliant lawyer and public relations expert in Washington, I suddenly asked him, “If you were asked to select one word, one single principle that would solve all humanity’s problems, what would it be?” He reflected a moment and then said, “Justice!”

Marxism accuses re_li_gLQn_gf__Wtgetraying the masses. YetJ,_f_i'grn_w_l1”at_sg;1If_g_e_ save religion spring our concepts of such moral pTi?iEipTe'§""2!S"Tu§fiE’€? Science makes no pretense of inculcating such principles into the human consciousness. But religion does and has always done so. However, until our era no religion has explicitly entered the field of economics. But in 29

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cluded in the voluminous teachings which Bahá’u’lláh bequeathed to the world some eighty years ago are certain basic principles of a global economic pattern.

The principles enunciated by Bahá’u’lláh were: (1) social security; (2) graduated income tax; (3) industrial profit sharing.

(1) When the Persian sage announced these principles in 1870, the concept of social security was hardly existent. Bahá’u’lláh declared that it is a responsibility of the State to concern itself with the livelihood of its individual citizens. No person should be left the prey to dire poverty. Where and when employment is not available, the laborer must receive minimum support.

It took the Great Depression of the ’30’s to bring the world to this same conviction. Government had not hitherto considered that its function had anything to do with the livelihood of the individual citizen. Property it must support and protect. But human living must be left to chance or to charity.

Such rapid advances have been made in the concept and practice of social security that today no government could stand which callously announced that the livelihood of its citizens was of no concern to it. On the contrary, governments today are rising and falling on the strength of their apparent concern for the welfare of their citizens, not only collectively but as individuals.

So it appears that this first great principle of Bahá’u’lláh—the welfare and economic normalcy of the individual——is being established once and for all as a world-accepted idea.

This consummation is, of course, not due only to the annunciations of Bahá’u’lláh. His followers would say that it is due to the same planetary inspirations which poured so powerfully through their prophet. It is a part of the Spirit—of—the-Times, like world peace and world federation. A vital necessity in the evolution of

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humanity as an organized whole, it has at last received intelligent recognition and practice.

(2) The concept of graduated income—tax, when annunciated by Bahá’u’lláh, was not formulated or practiced anywhere in the world. This idea began to emerge with the dawn of the twentieth century and by now has found general acceptance and practice. It is founded on Justice. Its limits have perhaps not yet been reached. As practiced in conjunction with social security, it tends to remove the vast gulf which has hitherto existed between the miseries and tragedy of extreme poverty and the glamour of colossal wealth with its futile and wasteful luxuries. This new equity the awakened consciousness of humanity is everywhere demanding.

Bahá’u’lláh gave no intimation of how far the leveling process was to go. This would be left to future governments. But as later expounded by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, the aim and result would be to reduce large incomes and to insure to all humans at least a sufficiency for the daily needs. The right of human competence to win superior financial rewards, incomes, and luxuries would still be preserved.

The practice of graduated income—tax is today entrenched in all countries of the world. It is irksome to people of large incomes. Few people of any income welcome it. The fact is, the public as a whole has not yet awakened to the vast importance of income-taxation as a balancer of fortune, a pledge to social justice and a supreme duty of the modern citizen.

When the day comes that income~tax will be contributed with spiritual motivation, as suggested by Bahá’u’lláh, the millennium will have arrived! Speaking to this point in 1912, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá stated that citizens

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of the future would voluntarily and with a sense of spiritual responsibility join in the principle of wealth sharing. Oliver Wendell Holmes demonstrated this attitude in his bequest of personal wealth to his nation.

By the proper administration of graduated income and inheritance tax, economic justice will be assured. This economic equilibrium is but one of the detailed applications of the great law of Justice with which it was Bahá’u’lláh’s self-imposed mission to impregnate the individual and collective life of humanity.

(3) Highly important to 21 successful economic pattern is an adjustment of the respective interests of capital and labor in such a way as to secure industrial harmony and stability. The convulsions, the cataclysmic adjustments, the revolutions violent or peaceful which are taking place over the planet concern mainly this problem. And if this problem can be solved, once and for all, the rest of the worlds economic problems can be peacefully and szmely solved by wise international effort.

The problems of international trade, of technological utilization of the planet’s natural resources, of increase in agricultural productivity,—all of these are less obdurate than the problem of capital and labor. The former problems, important as they are, the world is tackling with reasonable hope of solution. It requires only time and patience—in a humanity consecrated to peace—to put solutions into effect.

But as between capital and labor there is no universally agreed-upon solution. All the troubles in the world today spring from the world’s major crisis,—the awakening of the masses to their power, and their demand for an equitable adjustment of the factors of production, wages and consumption.

In January, 1947, Theodore Helme wrote in the “New Age Interpreter”: “The workers of the world are in rebellion, and rebellion arises out of an instinct deeper

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than they themselves recognize. It springs from their social rating as a commodity to be bought and sold in the highest labor market. But workers are not a commodity; they are human beings endowed with spiritual impulses which for their natural expression require a freedom not existent within the material and psychological limitations which the present class status imposes upon them.

“It is inevitable that this spiritual repression and resultant inner lack should be felt most keenly by those whose life has become the most machine-like. In our industrial civilization they constitute a vast number. They have grown into a mighty power. In the terminology of the class struggle they are the proletariat. In the American scene they make up what we call Labor. Within this massive grouping a sort of spiritual ferment is taking place.”

Rudolph Steiner, occult sociologist, has stated:“the destiny of world history for the present and the immediate future depends on what is going through the heads of this modern proletariat. For the proletariat is striving for power, for control by means of the majority, and it is to be considered in its actions as we consider the results of the necessary course of nature, of elemental occurrences. . . . It must be judged by its actions somewhat as we judge an earthquake, or the spring tide of the sea.

“The old formulas will accomplish nothing toward solving the labor riddle. It will simply be a continuation of the see-saw enactments designed to keep two irreconcilable elements from getting out of hand and going on a rampage of national sabotage. The corrective measures necessary must be taken on more fundamental levels.

“In order to do this, labor cannot be treated as an isolated problem. It must first of all be dealt with

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in relation to the social whole. A reorganization of our social structure must be effected in such a way that no man will henceforth be relegated to a class status, but integrated into the social organism in such a way that whatever his work may be, he will in some way participate creatively in the economic, political and spiritual life of the collective body of which he is a part.

“This is not possible in the present one-fold structure of society. It can come to pass only when the three primary departments of life——namely the economic, the political and the spiritual—will be so constituted as to function autonomously, each according to their own inherent natures, yet coordinated into a unified whole.”

What shall be the answer? Communism makes its claims. Socialism experiments. Free capitalistic enterprise tries to hold to its ancestral pattern of production. And a myriad of varied theories range between these extremes.

To find the answer is important. For this is not an academic problem, It is a problem which is being fought with “blood and iron” the world over. The economic factor is the very life-pulse of humanity. A stable and successful pattern must be found, or civilization may collapse in the class struggle.

Labor unionism is not the answer to the problem of capital and labor, and it never can be. The organization of labor, as at present constituted, is for the purpose of industrial warfare—-if and when necessaryto gain its desired ends. Therefore the present industrial situation is one in which industrial warfare constantly impends.

This statement is not intended as a condemnation of unionism, or a condemnation even of its use of warfare to attain its ends. The industrial situation being

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what it has been—past to present—labor has had no other way of attaining what it considers to be its just dues. And the history of unionism is, in the main, the history of significant benefits to labor, attained through arduous and dangerous struggle.

Nevertheless, a condition of chronic warfare is not a stabilized or advantageous condition for society. This economic warfare can be as disastrous to humanity as that warfare between nations which is now so generaily condemned by the intelligence and conscience of mankind.

What, then, is the solution? It must be one which renders justice to both the employer and the employee; and which assures such mutual advantages as to permanently stabilize the labor situation.

Mutuality, the key to stability in all human relations, can be as effective in the labor problem as it is in other problems of life. Any situation or arrangement between two parties, in which each stands satisfactorily to gain, is a stable situation; for neither party would desire to disrupt it. This holds for all relationships of life,—whether as between man and wife, householder and servant, seller and buyer, employer and employee.

A mode of expressing industrial mutuality and democracy was included by Bahá’u’lláh in the general economic pattern. It was to be an obligatory principle. Its effective operation would solve once and for all the problem of labor and capital; would secure stability and economic success to the system of free enterprise; and would ultimately bring a great enhancement of general prosperity and welfare. This magic solution of the industrial capi(al—labor problem is profit-sharing.

At the time when Bahá’u’lláh enunciated this economic fiat, profit—sharing was not anywhere being practiced as a definite and conscious economic principle. In the late eighties it was tried in France, in the nineties

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spread to England and Belgium, and during the first quarter of the present century attained to noteworthy success in a few industrial concerns in this country.

The progress of this economic movement, slow and spasmodic, was disastrously affected by depressions, especially by the Great Depression of the ’30’s. (The major crux in the application of any theory of profit sharing is not so much how to share existent profits as what to do when there are no profitsl)

True profit-sharing, as intended by Bahá’u’lláh and as defined in economic theory today, is the apportionment of a pre—determined share of the net profits to labor. Under this definition, the bonus system is not profit-sharing; nor is that system which encourages labor to buy stock in an enterprise it is engaged in; nor any system which leaves entirely to the judgment of management what profit-division it will grant to labor at the end of the year. True profit~sharing guarantees at the beginning of the employed term what percentage of net profit shall accrue to labor.

IF * =1!

Profit—sharing as an economic movement has had

1 hard up—hill climb because it has been opposed both

by labor and by management.

Labor has opposed profit-sharing for several reasons, chiefly because it is suspicious of it as a disguised method of stepping—up production. The bonus system has been used for this purpose to the disadvantage of labor. Labor must first be convinced of the utter sincerity of both motive and practice before it would even consider any application of profit—sharing to the industrial problem.

Also there are obvious self-interested motivations in unionism which have caused it persistently and historically to oppose profit—sharing.

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On the part of the industrialist, profit-sharing is viewed with disapprobation because of the technical difficulties involved in applying it to any large enterprise; because of the lack of any satisfactory solutions for periods in which there are no profits; because profitsharing implies access on the part of labor to the books in the nation’s industries, in some of which not even the stock holders are allowed to be cognizant of what are the true net profits.

Nevertheless, in spite of these staggering obstacles profit—sharing in one form or another is forging ahead and definitely demonstrating a remarkable success in producting harmony between employer and employee; increasing production within a humane and practicable degree; and so enlisting the interests of labor in the attainment of annual profits as to increase at every point efficiency both in management and production and a concomitant reduction of wastes.

III * *

Profit-sharing, where sincerely applied, produces such marked advantages to labor that in all such enterprises the problem of labor adjustments is lifted entirely out of the strike-warfare field and an era of permanently stable labor relations ensues.

On the part of the industrialist, profit-sharing presents an appeal because of its promise of peaceful and harmonious solution of the labor problem, insuring also such gains in economy of production as to largely if not entirely offset the share of capital-profits awarded to labor.

It should be here emphasized, however, that profitsharing, as intended by Bahá’u’lláh, is not a mere economic device to harmonize the relations of capital and labor. It is a further application of the great worldprinciple of Justice. It is to ensure a socially equitable division—as between labor and capital—of the profits

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earned under their mutual enterprise and endeavor. As designed by Bahá’u’lláh, profit-sharing is a mandatory measure for industrial justice; and it is to be applied regardless of whether or not it steps up production sufficiently to insure industrialists and shareholders against any net deprivation.

Strikes, in such an economy, would be eliminated. In case of radical dispute between management and labor the courts would have jurisdiction. And in this same connection, early in this century ‘Abdu’l-Bahá spoke of the necessary responsibility of the law and the government to maintain industrial peace:—“The interference of courts of justice and of the Government in difficulties pending between workmen and manufacturers cannot be compared with ordinary affairs between private persons, which do not concern the public, and with which the Government should not occupy itself. In reality, although they appear to be matters between private persons, these difficulties between patrons and workmen produce a general detriment; for commerce, industry, agriculture and the general affairs of the country are all intimately linked together. If one of these suflers an abuse, the detriment affects the mass. Thus the difficulties between workmen and manufactures become a cause of general detriment.”

Ill * it

In modern terminology, Bahá’u’lláh’s economic pattern may be considered to be that of a limited, equitable, humanitarian system of capitalistic free enterprise. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in his public addresses in this country, pointed out the impossibility of any success in attempting to establish economic equality. He stated—“Absolute equality is impossible. For absolute equality in fortunes, honors, commerce, agriculture, industry would end in a want of comfort, in discouragement, in disorganization of the means of existence, and in universal

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disappointment. The order of the community would be quite destroyed.” . . . A glimpse behind the Iron Curtain will verify this statement!

Although for practical purposes the economic pattern of the New World Order of Bahá’u’lláh is treated in this separate chapter, it should be realized that in actual practice economics in the Bahá’í World State would not exist as an isolated factor. This vast and potent field of human endeavor would merge into the overall pattern of a great civilization, spiritually motivated and resting on foundations of supreme justice.

As is apparent today from the ideological and military conflicts going on all over the world, what is needed is unity to take the place of the current chaos——unity between labor and production within each country, and economic unity between all the countries of the world.

Eventually, from all these economic experiments, a uniform pattern of perfection will arrive. But the Bahá’ís claim this necessary goal cannot be achieved without spiritual motivation and guidance. Supreme justice must permeate every economic relationship upon the planet. Only an awakened spiritual conscience can accomplish this. The leaders both of production and of labor must be inspired to aim at justice rather than at self-interest.

“The secrets of the whole economic question are spiritual in nature,” ‘Abdu’l-Bahá declared, “and are concerned with the world of the heart and spirit. . . . The disease which afflicts the body politic is lack of love, and absence of altruism. In the hearts of men no real love is found, and the condition is such that unless their susceptibilities are quickened by some power so that unity, love and accord develop within them, there can be no healing, no relief among mankind. Love and unity are the needs of the body politic today.” *

Bahá’í Scriptures, p. 812.

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3

In the area of economics—as in the greater area of world peace and federation—spiritual forces are deemed necessary to inspire, guide and stimulate humanity toward vitally needed planetary goals. The problem is not a secular one. It is at the bottom a spiritual one. Spiritual potencies released in individuals and in groups are essential to the effective organization of world unity, including both its political and its economic factors.

Never before has a religion so entered into the economic field, ultimately to dominate it. Some religions in the past have exerted an influence in economic field, as for example Judaism—the laws of which tended to preserve a simple agricultural economy, with individual ownership of land. (Cf. the author’s “Security for a Failing World,” p. 13.) Christianity brought in its train a wave of charitable institutions unknown to the contemporaneous pagan world, subsequently to be expanded into an intrinsic feature of the great Christian civilization. Islam in its early stages showed, like Judaism, a sincere concern for the welfare of the individual and a strong support for simple justice in his defense.

But in all these religions, as the primitive zeal and springtime fervor died out, the intended and designated patterns of justice for the common man succumbed to exploitation on the part of those in high places. It was such exploitation that Christ attacked in many of His preachments. This, and not His moral preachments, led to His crucifixion.

Bahá’u’lláh, at all times, brings the great power of Spirit to bear upon man’s mundane affairs. Nothing in human :1ctivity——either individual or collective—is to be purely secular. His pattern for a New World

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Order is everywhere suffused with Spirit. He declared, in fact, that without the power of Spirit this civilization could not come to pass. He foresaw, also, that without much travail and suffering humanity would not arrive at such a prevalence of Spirit in human motivation. He foresaw the valley of the shadow of death through which mortals would have to pass in order to attain the sunlit fields of world peace and security. We are in this dark valley now; from which, the Bahá’ís declare, we shall emerge only through the guidance and power of Spirit.