Page:Karl Kautsky - The Social Revolution - tr. Wood Simons (1902.djvu/45

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page needs to be proofread.
THE SOCIAL REVOLUTION.
39

Meanwhile, there are calculations upon the growth of wages and other incomes. One of these, the latest that I know of, is given herewith:



Year. Total Annual Wage Income. Income Not Arising From Wages.
Subject to Income Tax. Not Subject to Income Tax.
Million Pounds Sterling. Per Cent of Total Social Income. Million Pounds Sterling. Per Cent of Total Social Income. Million Pounds Sterling. Per Cent of Total Social Income.
1860 392 47 376 45⅓ 64 7⅔
1866 464 45 485 47 81 8
1870 486 44½ 521 48 85 7⅓
1874 609 45¼ 635 47¼ 100
1877 591 43 652 47⅓ 130 9⅓
1880 567 42 652 48½ 126 9⅓
1883 609 42⅔ 696 49 122
1886 605 42 715 49½ 125
1891 699 43½ 782 48½ 130 8


Many observations can be offered against this presentation. It appears to me too optimistic and gives the appearance of a much greater increase in wages than actually exists. In the reckoning of the total wages the compiler took no notice of the unemployed and besides this he omitted to note a whole list of important variations inside of the laboring class which, if considered, would greatly change the result. As a statistician, to be sure, he undoubtedly has the right to do this, but these are just the factors that change things to the disadvantage of the laboring class. Such are, for example, the relation between male and female labor and between skilled and unskilled labor.

Of still greater consequence is the fact that