Spencer Heath Archive

Item 2151

Penciling in a small, black pocket-size notebook containing dates 1935-1936

 

 

 

The Animal Economy

The Human or Capital Economy

 

Two Kinds of Economy

Animal and Human

 

So there are two kinds of relationship between men.

 

1.  The Animal Relationship of Dominance and Destruction — The Slave Relationship involving Fear, Hate and Warfare.
2.  The Human Relationship of Mutual Service and Creation. The Free Relationship involving Association, Cooperation and Love.

 The Great Metabolism of Society is the Services of each part to every other part by free exchange and interchange of Service by the free use and exchange of capital which consists of materials and facilities.

 

 Capital is manipulated by two classes of persons: (1) Those whose recompense is fixed as to time and amount and is called wages. (2) Those whose recompense is deferred and contingent and is called profit, or, sometimes, wages of enterprise. These are the persons who exercise authority and direction over enterprises and over wage workers of every degree.

 

 The first of these classes are engaged in two kinds of Enterprises — Public (by governmental power and authority) and Private (by spontaneous association).

 

 In Public Enterprises the wage workers are not directed and paid except by other wage workers. They therefore have no directors or supervisors and no paymasters. The net profits of Public Enterprise, if and when any, go to persons called proprietors or Land Owners. Such profits are called Rent or Annual Value. Rent is precarious because Proprietors do not pay the wages and other costs and exercise supervision over the Public Enterprises from which they receive the profits.

 

 In Private Enterprises the persons who receive the profits are those who pay the wages and other costs and also direct and supervise them. This is why the administration of private enterprises is relatively efficient while that of public services and enterprises is generally inefficient, even if not corrupt.