A B C of modern socialism

47 no reason why harmony should not prevail between these Estates of the Realm. Nor, as we shall see, need any dangerous discord occur between the National Guilds or the Houses of Industry and Culture. The fact, attested by experience, is that friction is more frequent in the lower than in the higher ranks. This may be explained, at least partly, by the intensity of the industrial struggle, which the lower we go the more acute it becomespartly also due to ignorance. But where function tules, these factors disappear, for the reason that functional harmony is impossible without absolute personal security. And since we predicate wage abolition, with its logical sequel of partnership, it follows that, once we are in the Guild we are there for life.

Guild Relations

Tn conside1ing the relations between the National Guilds we must keep constantly in mind a cardinal fact: no question of profit can arise. It is fundamental that all goods brought shall be at bare cost. To charge a single farthing over cost would be profit, and that would be inadmissible. From beginning to end all dealings must be on a strictly functional basis. And function knows nothing of profit. It is concerned only with quantity and quality. Into that cost must enter all Guild commitments—taxation, capital outlay, permanent pay and compensation. Beyond that nothing. The cost can be determined by the Guild accountant, possibly in co-operation with a Board of Accountancy appointed by the House of Industry.