As regards the falling-off in production, it may be mentioned that in the United States the production of cast-iron, which had been 26,000,000 tons in 1907, was only 16,000,000 tons in 1908.
In times of crisis, the price of commodities falls. The capitalist magnates, eager to continue profit making, do not hesitate to impair the quality of production. The coffee-growers of Brazil dumped innumerable sacks of coffee into the sea in order to keep up prices. At the present time the whole world is suffering from hunger and from the non-production of goods, the result of the capitalist war. For these things are the offspring of capitalism, which decreed the disastrous war. In times of peace, capitalism was overwhelmed by a glut of products, which, however, did not advantage the workers. Their pockets were empty. The glut brought nothing to the workers except unemployment, with all its attendant evils.
17. The Development of Capitalism and of Class. The Intensification of the Class Struggle.
We have seen that capitalist society is affected by two fundamental contradictions, two fundamental ills. In the first place, it is “anarchistic”; it lacks organisation. In the second place, it is in fact composed of two mutually hostile societies (classes). We have also seen that, as capitalism develops, the anarchy of production, finding expression in competition, leads to ever-increasing strife, disorder, and ruin. The disintegration of society, far from diminishing, is actually increasing. Now all this arises from the splitting-up of society into two portions, into classes. As capitalism develops, this severance, this cleavage between classes, likewise continues to increase. On one side, that of the capitalists, all the riches of