The Zollverein and British Industry

By: MacDonald, J. Ramsay

"This book is an official pronouncement upon the Zollverein and Free Trade, from the Socialist and Labour standpoint." The author is the secretary and, we may add, one of the leading spirits of the Labour Representation Committee. It is not, therefore, surprising that he is sometimes obliged to sacrifice a scientific examination of the issues to the necessity of writing a political manifesto. The first eighteen pages, for instance, consist of a by no means flattering account of Mr. Chamberlain's career.The distinctive feature of the book is its insistence upon the necessity of meeting Mr. Chamberlain's proposals by an alternative scheme. The strictly logical method is, of course, to discuss one thing at a time. If it can be shown that the new proposals will do harm, this is by itself sufficient grounds for rejecting them, whether alternatives are suggested or not. But the agitation has certainly created in many minds an impression, often, perhaps, rather vague, that something must be done. Here is the opportunity for each party to put forward its particular remedy. Just, therefore, as Henry George devoted nearly half his "Protection or Free Trade," to advocating the Single Tax, so the Labour Party is taking advantage of the occasion to urge a policy of collectivism. "As a leader the mere Free Trader is hopeless. . . . Ultimately the Socialist constructive policy must become the alternative to the inefficiency and timorousness of Protection."--The Economic Journal, Volume 14

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1657614816
• ISBN13: 9781657614819
• Release Date: January 1
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 166 Pages
• Weight: 0.51 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 6.0" x 9.0"