首页 >出版文学> The Theory of Business>第7章
  Thelikeholdstruefortheworkandpayoftheforceofworkmenengagedintheindustrialprocessesunderbusinessmanagement。Itholds,inameasure,ofallmodernindustrythatproducesforthemarket,butitholdstrue,inaneminentdegree,ofthoselinesofindustrythataremorefullyundertheguidanceofmodernbusinessmethods。Thesearemostcloselyintouchwiththemarketandaremostconsistentlyguidedbyconsiderationsofvendibility。Theyarealso,onthewhole,morecommonlycarriedonbyhiredlabor,andthewagespaidarecompetitivelyadjustedongroundsofthevendibilityoftheproduct。Thebruteserviceabilityoftheoutputoftheseindustriesmaybealargefactorinitsvendibility,perhapsthelargestfactor;butthefactremainsthattheendsoughtbythebusinessmenincontrolisaprofitablesale,andthewagesarepaidasameanstothatend,nottotheendthatthewayoflifemaybesmootherfor。theultimateconsumerofthegoodsproduced。27*
  Theoutcomeofthisrecital,then,isthatwhereverandinsofarasbusinessendsandmethodsdominatemodernindustrytherelationbetweentheusefulnessoftheworkforotherpurposesthanpecuniarygainandtheremunerationofitisremoteanduncertaintosuchadegreethatnoattemptatformulatingsucharelationisworthwhile。Thisiseminentlyandobviouslytrueoftheworkandgainsofbusinessmen,inwhateverlinesofbusinesstheyareengaged。Thisfollowsasanecessaryconsequenceofthenatureofbusinessmanagement。
  Workthatis,onthewhole,uselessordetrimentaltothecommunityatlargemaybeasgainfultothebusinessmanandtotheworkmenwhomheemploysasworkthatcontributessubstantiallytotheaggregatelivelihood。Thisseemstobepeculiarlytrueofthebolderflightsofbusinessenterprise。Insofarasitsresultsarenotdetrimentaltohumanlifeatlarge,suchunproductiveworkdirectedtosecuringanincomemayseemtobeanidlematterinwhichtherestofthecommunityhasnosubstantialinterests。Suchisnotthecase。Insofarasthegainsoftheseunproductiveoccupationsareofasubstantialcharacter,theycomeoutoftheaggregateproductoftheotheroccupationsinwhichthevariousclassesofthecommunityengage。
  Theaggregateprofitsofthebusiness,whateveritscharacter,aredrawnfromtheaggregateoutputofgoodsandservices;andwhatevergoestothemaintenanceoftheprofitsofthosewhocontributenothingsubstantialtotheoutputis,ofcourse,deductedfromtheincomeoftheothers,whoseworktellssubstantially。
  Thereare,therefore,limitstothegrowthoftheindustriallyparasiticlinesofbusinessjustspokenof。A
  disproportionategrowthofparasiticindustries,suchasmostadvertisingandmuchoftheothereffortsthatgointocompetitiveselling,aswellaswarlikeexpenditureandotherindustriesdirectedtoturningoutgoodsforconspicuouslywastefulconsumption,wouldlowertheeffectivevitalityofthecommunitytosuchadegreeastojeopardizeitschancesofadvanceorevenitslife。Thelimitswhichthecircumstancesoflifeimposeinthisrespectareofaselectivecharacter,inthelastresort。Apersistentexcessofparasiticandwastefuleffortsoverproductiveindustrymustbringonadecline。Butowingtotheveryhighproductiveefficiencyofthemodernmechanicalindustry,themarginavailableforwastefuloccupationsandwastefulexpendituresisverygreat。Therequirementsoftheaggregatelivelihoodaresofarshortofthepossibleoutputofgoodsbymodernmethodsastoleaveaverywidemarginforwasteandparasiticincome。Sothatinstancesofsuchadecline,duetoindustrialexhaustion,drawnfromthehistoryofanyearlierphaseofeconomiclife,carrynowell-definedlessonastowhatamodernindustrialcommunitymayallowitselfinthisrespect。
  Whileitisinthenatureofthingsunavoidablethatthemanagementofindustrybymodernbusinessmethodsshouldinvolvealargemisdirectionofeffortandaverylargewasteofgoodsandservices,itisalsotruethattheaimsandidealstowhichthismannerofeconomiclifegiveseffectactforciblytooffsetallthisincidentalfutility。Thesepecuniaryaimsandidealshaveaverygreateffect,forinstance,inmakingmenworkhardandunremittingly,sothatonthisgroundalonethebusinesssystemprobablycompensatesforanywastesinvolvedinitsworking。Thereseems,therefore,tobenotenablegroundforthinkingthattheworkingofthemodernbusinesssysteminvolvesacurtailmentofthecommunity’slivelihood。Itmakesupforitswastefulnessbytheaddedstrainwhichitthrowsuponthoseengagedintheproductivework。
  1。TheulteriorgroundofeffortsdirectedtotheaccumulationofwealthisdiscussedatsomelengthintheTheoryoftheLeisureClass,ch。II。andV,andtheeconomicbearingofthebusinessman’sworkistreatedinapaperon“IndustrialandPecuniaryEmployments,“intheProceedingsofthethirteenthannualmeetingoftheAmericanEconomicAssociation。Cf。alsoMarshall,PrinciplesofEconomics3ded。,bk。I。ch。III,bk。IV。ch。
  Itissignificantthatjoint-stockmethodsoforganizationandmanagement——thatistosay,impersonallycapitalisticmethods——aretraceable,fortheiroriginandearlyformulation,totheshippingcompaniesofearlymoderntimes。Cf。K。Lehmann,DiegeschichtlicheEntwickelungdesAktienrechtsbiszumCodedeCommerce。ThelikeviewisspokenforbyEhrenberg,ZeitglterderFugger;seevol。II。pp。325etseq。
  Cf。Cantillon,EssaisurleCommerce,1epartie,ch。III,VI,IX,XIV,XV,WealthofNations,bk。I;Bucher,EnstehungderVolkswirtschaft3ded。,ch。IVandV;Sombart,Kapitalismus,Vol。Ibk。I。
  Sombart,vol。I。ch。IV-VIII;Ashley,EconomicHistoryandTheory,bk。II,ch。VI,especiallypp。389-397。
  Cf。Marshall,PrinciplesofEconomics,onthe“LawofSubstitution,“e。g。bk。VI。ch。I。Thelawofsubstitutionimpliesfreedomofinvestmentandappliesfullyonlyinsofarastheinvestorinquestionisnotpermanentlyidentifiedwithagivenindustrialplantorevenwithagivenlineofindustry。Itrequiresgreatfacilityinshiftingfromonetoanotherpointofinvestment。Itisthereforeonlyasthebusinesssituationhasapproachedthemodernformthatthelawofsubstitutionhascometobeofconsiderableimportancetoeconomictheory;foratheoryofbusiness,suchasbusinesswasinmediaevalandearlymoderntimes,thislawneedscarcelyhavebeenformulated。
  SeeSombart,Kapitalismus,vol。1。chap。VIII。
  Itischieflythepassiveownerofstockandthelikethatholdspermanentlytoagivenenterprise,underthefullydevelopedmodembusinessconditions。Theactivebusinessmanofthelargersortisnotinthiswayboundtotheglebeofthegivenbusinessconcern。
  Cf。testimonyofJ。B。Dill,ReportoftheIndustrialCommission,vol。I。pp。1078,1080-1085;“DigestofEvidence,“
  p。,77。alsotestimonyofvariouswitnessesonstockspeculationandcorporatemanagement,andparticularlythespecialreporttotheCommission,on“SecuritiesofIndustrialCombinationsandRailroads,“vol。XIII。,especiallypp。920-922。
  Thehistoryoftheformationofanyoneofthegreatindustrialcoalitionsofmodemtimeswillshowhowgreatandindispensableafactorinthelargebusinessistheinventionandorganizationofdifficultiesdesiredtoforcerivalenterprisestocometoterms。E。g。themanoeuvrespreliminarytotheformationoftheUnitedStatesSteelCorporation,particularlythemovementsoftheCarnegieCompany,showhowthisworksonalargescale。Cf。E。S。Meade,TrustFinance,pp。204-217。ReportoftheIndustrialCommission,vol。XIII。,“ReviewofEvidence,“
  pp。v-vii,withthetestimonyrelatingtothistopic。Thepressurewhichbringsaboutanewadjustmentcoalitioniscommonlyspokenofas“excessivecompetition。“
  Cf。,e。g。,theaccountsoftheformationoftheUnitedStatesSteelCorporationortheShipbuildingCompany。
  Witnesstheratewarsandtheduplicationsofinefficienttrackandterminalequipmentamongtherailways,andthesimilarduplicationsintheironandsteelindustry。ThesystemofrailwayterminalsinChicago,e。g。,isanilluminatedobject-lessonofsystematicineptitude。
  Thesplendidreachofthisinhibitoryworkofthecaptainofindustry,aswellasofhisaggressiveworkofconsolidation,iswellshown,forinstance,inthehistoryandpresentpositionoftherailwayindustryinAmerica。Itisandhasforalongtermofyearsbeenobviousthataverycomprehensiveunificationorconsolidation,inrespectofthemechanicalworktobedonebytherailwaysystem,iseminentlydesirableandfeasible,-
  consolidationofascopenotonlyequalling,butfaroutreaching,thecoalitionswhichhavelatelybeeneffectedorattempted。Thereisnohazardinventuringtheassertionthatseveralhundredsofmenwhoareengagedinthemechanicalworkofrailroading,inonecapacityandanother,areconversantwithfeasibleplansforeconomizingworkandimprovingtheservicebymorecomprehensiveandclosercorrelationofthework;anditisequallyobviousthatnothingbutthediverginginterestsofthebusinessmenconcernedhindersthesecloserandlargerfeasiblecorrelationsfrombeingputintoeffect。Itiseasilywithinthemarktosaythatthedelaywhichrailwayconsolidationhassuffereduptothepresent,frombusinessexigenciesasdistinctfromthemechanicalcircumstancesofthecase,amountstoanaverageofatleasttwentyyears。Eversincerailroadingbeganinthiscountrytherehasbeengoingonaprocessofreluctantconsolidation,inwhichthemovementsofthebusinessmenincontrolhavetardilyfolloweduptheopportunitiesforeconomyandefficientservicewhichtherailroadindustryhasoffered。
  Andtheirlatestandboldestachievementsalongthisline,asseenfromthestandpointofmechanicaladvisability,havebeenforegoneconclusionssinceadatesofarinthepastastobeforgotten,andtakenattheirbesttheyfallshortto-daybynotlessthansomefiftypercent。oftheiropportunities。Cf。ReportoftheIndustrialCommission,vol。XIX。,“Transportation,“
  especiallypp。304-348。
  Likeothercompetitivebusiness,butmoreparticularlysuchbusinessashastodowiththeinterstitialadjustmentsoftheindustrialsystem,thebusinessofrailwayconsolidationisofthenatureofagame,inwhichtheendsoughtbytheplayersistheirownpecuniarygainandtowhichtheindustrialserviceabilityoftheoutcomeisincidentalonly。Thisisrecognizedbypopularopinionandismademuchofbypopularagitators,whotaketheviewthatwhenoncethegamebetweenthecompetingbusinessinterestshasbeenplayedtoafinish,inthedefinitivecoalitionofthecompetitorsunderonemanagement,thenthegamewillgoonasasomewhatone-sidedconflictbetweentheresultingmonopolyandthecommunityatlarge。
  Soagain,asafurtherillustration,itisandfromtheoutsethasbeenevidentthattheiron-orebedsofnorthernWisconsin,Michigan,andMinnesotaought,industriallyspeaking,tohavebeenworkedasonecollectiveenterprise。Therearealsononebutbusinessreasonswhypracticallyalltheorebedsandironandsteelworksinthecountryarenotworkedasonecollectiveenterprise。Itisequallyevidentthatsuchcorrelationsofworkasarepermittedbythebusinesscoalitionsalreadyeffectedinthisfieldhaveresultedinagreateconomyofproduction,andthatthefailuretocarrythesecoalitionsfarthermeansanannualwasterunningupintothemillions。Boththeeconomiessoeffectedandthewastesoincurredaretobesetdowntotheaccountofthebusinessmannerswhohavegonesofarandhavefailedtogofarther。Thelikeisobviousasregardsmanyotherbranchesofindustryandgroupsofindustries。