But if we shade our eyes from all this dazzle of detail;if we simply ask what has been the main feature,the upshot,the final fruit of the capitalist system,there is no doubt about the answer.The special and solid result of the reign of the employers has been--unemployment.
Unemployment not only increasing,but becoming at last the very pivot upon which the whole process turns.
Or,again,if you visit the villages that depend on one of the great squires,you will hear praises,often just,of the landlord's good sense or good nature;you will hear of whole systems of pensions or of care for the sick,like those of a small and separate nation;you will see much cleanliness,order,and business habits in the offices and accounts of the estate.But if you ask again what has been the upshot,what has been the actual result of the reign of landlords,again the answer is plain.
At the end of the reign of landlords men will not live on the land.The practical effect of having landlords is not having tenants.The practical effect of having employers is that men are not employed.The unrest of the populace is therefore more than a murmur against tyranny;it is against a sort of treason.It is the suspicion that even at the top of the tree,even in the seats of the mighty,our very success is unsuccessful.