第27章

类别:其他 作者:Thorstein Veblen字数:5654更新时间:18/12/26 16:50:16
Undertheformerheadareemploymentsthathavetodowithownershiporacquisition;underthelatterhead,thosethathavetodowithworkmanshiporproduction。Aswasfoundinspeakingofthegrowthofinstitutions,sowithregardtoemployments。Theeconomicinterestsoftheleisureclasslieinthepecuniaryemployments;thoseoftheworkingclasseslieinbothclassesofemployments,butchieflyintheindustrial。Entrancetotheleisureclassliesthroughthepecuniaryemployments。 Thesetwoclassesofemploymentdiffermateriallyinrespectoftheaptitudesrequiredforeach;andthetrainingwhichtheygivesimilarlyfollowstwodivergentlines。Thedisciplineofthepecuniaryemploymentsactstoconserveandtocultivatecertainofthepredatoryaptitudesandthepredatoryanimus。Itdoesthisbothbyeducatingthoseindividualsandclasseswhoareoccupiedwiththeseemploymentsandbyselectivelyrepressingandeliminatingthoseindividualsandlinesofdescentthatareunfitinthisrespect。Sofarasmen’shabitsofthoughtareshapedbythecompetitiveprocessofacquisitionandtenure;sofarastheireconomicfunctionsarecomprisedwithintherangeofownershipofwealthasconceivedintermsofexchangevalue,anditsmanagementandfinancieringthroughapermutationofvalues; sofartheirexperienceineconomiclifefavorsthesurvivalandaccentuationofthepredatorytemperamentandhabitsofthought。 Underthemodern,peaceablesystem,itisofcoursethepeaceablerangeofpredatoryhabitsandaptitudesthatischieflyfosteredbyalifeofacquisition。Thatistosay,thepecuniaryemploymentsgiveproficiencyinthegenerallineofpracticescomprisedunderfraud,ratherthaninthosethatbelongunderthemorearchaicmethodofforcibleseizure。 Thesepecuniaryemployments,tendingtoconservethepredatorytemperament,aretheemploymentswhichhavetodowithownership——theimmediatefunctionoftheleisureclassproper——andthesubsidiaryfunctionsconcernedwithacquisitionandaccumulation。Thesecovertheclassofpersonsandthatrangeofdutiesintheeconomicprocesswhichhavetodowiththeownershipofenterprisesengagedincompetitiveindustry; especiallythosefundamentallinesofeconomicmanagementwhichareclassedasfinancieringoperations。Tothesemaybeaddedthegreaterpartofmercantileoccupations。Intheirbestandclearestdevelopmentthesedutiesmakeuptheeconomicofficeofthe“captainofindustry。“Thecaptainofindustryisanastutemanratherthananingeniousone,andhiscaptaincyisapecuniaryratherthananindustrialcaptaincy。Suchadministrationofindustryasheexercisesiscommonlyofapermissivekind。Themechanicallyeffectivedetailsofproductionandofindustrialorganizationaredelegatedtosubordinatesofaless“practical“turnofmind——menwhoarepossessedofagiftforworkmanshipratherthanadministrativeability。Sofarasregardstheirtendencyinshapinghumannaturebyeducationandselection,thecommonrunofnon-economicemploymentsaretobeclassedwiththepecuniaryemployments。Sucharepoliticsandecclesiasticalandmilitaryemployments。 Thepecuniaryemploymentshavealsothesanctionofreputabilityinamuchhigherdegreethantheindustrialemployments。Inthiswaytheleisure-classstandardsofgoodreputecomeintosustaintheprestigeofthoseaptitudesthatservetheinvidiouspurpose;andtheleisure-classschemeofdecorousliving,therefore,alsofurthersthesurvivalandcultureofthepredatorytraits。Employmentsfallintoahierarchicalgradationofreputability。Thosewhichhavetodoimmediatelywithownershiponalargescalearethemostreputableofeconomicemploymentsproper。Nexttotheseingoodreputecomethoseemploymentsthatareimmediatelysubservienttoownershipandfinanciering——suchasbankingandthelaw。 Bankingemploymentsalsocarryasuggestionoflargeownership,andthisfactisdoubtlessaccountableforashareoftheprestigethatattachestothebusiness。Theprofessionofthelawdoesnotimplylargeownership;butsincenotaintofusefulness,forotherthanthecompetitivepurpose,attachestothelawyer’strade,itgradeshighintheconventionalscheme。 Thelawyerisexclusivelyoccupiedwiththedetailsofpredatoryfraud,eitherinachievingorincheckmatingchicanery,andsuccessintheprofessionisthereforeacceptedasmarkingalargeendowmentofthatbarbarianastutenesswhichhasalwayscommandedmen’srespectandfear。Mercantilepursuitsareonlyhalf-wayreputable,unlesstheyinvolvealargeelementofownershipandasmallelementofusefulness。Theygradehighorlowsomewhatinproportionastheyservethehigherorthelowerneeds;sothatthebusinessofretailingthevulgarnecessariesoflifedescendstothelevelofthehandicraftsandfactorylabor。Manuallabor,oreventheworkofdirectingmechanicalprocesses,isofcourseonaprecariousfootingasregardsrespectability。Aqualificationisnecessaryasregardsthedisciplinegivenbythepecuniaryemployments。Asthescaleofindustrialenterprisegrowslarger,pecuniarymanagementcomestobearlessofthecharacterofchicaneryandshrewdcompetitionindetail。Thatistosay,foranever-increasingproportionofthepersonswhocomeincontactwiththisphaseofeconomiclife,businessreducesitselftoaroutineinwhichthereislessimmediatesuggestionofoverreachingorexploitingacompetitor。 Theconsequentexemptionfrompredatoryhabitsextendschieflytosubordinatesemployedinbusiness。Thedutiesofownershipandadministrationarevirtuallyuntouchedbythisqualification。 Thecaseisdifferentasregardsthoseindividualsorclasseswhoareimmediatelyoccupiedwiththetechniqueandmanualoperationsofproduction。Theirdailylifeisnotinthesamedegreeacourseofhabituationtotheemulativeandinvidiousmotivesandmaneuversofthepecuniarysideofindustry。TheyareconsistentlyheldtotheapprehensionandcoOrdinationofmechanicalfactsandsequences,andtotheirappreciationandutilizationforthepurposesofhumanlife。Sofarasconcernsthisportionofthepopulation,theeducativeandselectiveactionoftheindustrialprocesswithwhichtheyareimmediatelyincontactactstoadapttheirhabitsofthoughttothenon-invidiouspurposesofthecollectivelife。Forthem,therefore,ithastenstheobsolescenceofthedistinctivelypredatoryaptitudesandpropensitiescarriedoverbyheredityandtraditionfromthebarbarianpastoftherace。 Theeducativeactionoftheeconomiclifeofthecommunity,therefore,isnotofauniformkindthroughoutallitsmanifestations。Thatrangeofeconomicactivitieswhichisconcernedimmediatelywithpecuniarycompetitionhasatendencytoconservecertainpredatorytraits;whilethoseindusstrialoccupationswhichhavetodoimmediatelywiththeproductionofgoodshaveinthemainthecontrarytendency。Butwithregardtothelatterclassofemploymentsitistobenoticedinqualificationthatthepersonsengagedinthemarenearlyalltosomeextentalsoconcernedwithmattersofpecuniarycompetition(as,forinstance,inthecompetitivefixingofwagesandsalaries,inthepurchaseofgoodsforconsumption,etc。)。 Thereforethedistinctionheremadebetweenclassesofemploymentsisbynomeansahardandfastdistinctionbetweenclassesofpersons。 Theemploymentsoftheleisureclassesinmodernindustryaresuchastokeepalivecertainofthepredatoryhabitsandaptitudes。Sofarasthemembersofthoseclassestakepartintheindustrialprocess,theirtrainingtendstoconserveinthemthebarbariantemperament。Butthereissomethingtobesaidontheotherside。Individualssoplacedastobeexemptfromstrainmaysurviveandtransmittheircharacteristicseveniftheydifferwidelyfromtheaverageofthespeciesbothinphysiqueandinspiritualmake-up。thechancesforasurvivalandtransmissionofatavistictraitsaregreatestinthoseclassesthataremostshelteredfromthestressofcircumstances。Theleisureclassisinsomedegreeshelteredfromthestressoftheindustrialsituation,andshould,therefore,affordanexceptionallygreatproportionofreversionstothepeaceableorsavagetemperament。Itshouldbepossibleforsuchaberrantoratavisticindividualstounfoldtheirlifeactivityonante-predatorylineswithoutsufferingaspromptarepressionOreliminationasinthelowerwalksoflife。 Somethingofthesortseemstobetrueinfact。thereis,forinstance,anappreciableproportionoftheupperclasseswhoseinclinationsleadthemintophilanthropicwork,andthereisaconsiderablebodyofsentimentintheclassgoingtosupporteffortsofreformandamelioration,Andmuchofthisphilanthropicandreformatoryeffort,moreover,bearsthemarksofthatamiable“cleverness“andincoherencethatischaracteristicoftheprimitivesavage。Butitmaystillbedoubtfulwhetherthesefactsareevidenceofalargerproportionofreversionsinthehigherthaninthelowerstrata,Evenifthesameinclinationswerepresentintheimpecuniousclasses,itwouldnotaseasilyfindexpressionthere;sincethoseclasseslackthemeansandthetimeandenergytogiveeffecttotheirinclinationsinthisrespect。Theprimafacieevidenceofthefactscanscarcelygounquestioned。 Infurtherqualificationitistobenotedthattheleisureclassoftodayisrecruitedfromthosewhohavebeensuccessfulinapecuniaryway,andwho,therefore,arepresumablyendowedwithmorethananevencomplementofthepredatorytraits。 Entranceintotheleisureclassliesthroughthepecuniaryemployments,andtheseemployments,byselectionandadaptation,acttoadmittotheupperlevelsonlythoselinesofdescentthatarepecuniarilyfittosurviveunderthepredatorytest。Andsosoonasacaseofreversiontonon-predatoryhumannatureshowsitselfontheseupperlevels,itiscommonlyweededoutandthrownbacktothelowerpecuniarylevels。Inordertoholditsplaceintheclass,astockmusthavethepecuniarytemperament; otherwiseitsfortunewouldhedissipatedanditwouldpresentlylosecaste。Instancesofthiskindaresufficientlyfrequent。 Theconstituencyoftheleisureclassiskeptupbyacontinualselectiveprocess,wherebytheindividualsandlinesofdescentthatareeminentlyfittedforanaggressivepecuniarycompetitionarewithdrawfromthelowerclasses。Inordertoreachtheupperlevelstheaspirantmusthave,notonlyafairaveragecomplementofthepecuniaryaptitudes,buthemusthavethesegiftsinsuchaneminentdegreeastoovercomeverymaterialdifficultiesthatstandinthewayofhisascent。 Barringaccidents,thenouveauxarriv衢醩areapickedbody。 Thisprocessofselectiveadmissionhas,ofcourse,alwaysbeengoingon;eversincethefashionofpecuniaryemulationsetin——whichismuchthesameassaying,eversincetheinstitutionofaleisureclasswasfirstinstalled。Buttheprecisegroundofselectionhasnotalwaysbeenthesame,andtheselectiveprocesshasthereforenotalwaysgiventhesameresults。Intheearlybarbarian,orpredatorystageproper,thetestoffitnesswasprowess,inthenaivesenseoftheword。togainentrancetotheclass,thecandidatehadtohegiftedwithclannishness,massiveness,ferocity,unscrupulousness,andtenacityofpurpose。thesewerethequalitiesthatcountedtowardtheaccumulationandcontinuedtenureofwealth。theeconomicbasisoftheleisureclass,thenaslater,wasthepossessionofwealth;hutthemethodsofaccumulatingwealth,andthegiftsrequiredforholdingit,havechangedinsomedegreesincetheearlydaysofthepredatoryculture。Inconsequenceoftheselectiveprocessthedominanttraitsoftheearlybarbarianleisureclasswereboldaggression,analertsenseofstatus,andafreeresorttofraud。themembersoftheclassheldtheirplacebytenureofprowess。Inthelaterbarbarianculturesocietyattainedsettledmethodsofacquisitionandpossessionunderthequasi-peaceableregimeofstatus。Simpleaggressionandunrestrainedviolenceingreatmeasuregaveplacetoshrewdpracticeandchicanery,asthebestapprovedmethodofaccumulatingwealth。Adifferentrangeofaptitudesandpropensitieswouldthenbeconservedintheleisureclass。 Masterfulaggression,andthecorrelativemassiveness,togetherwitharuthlesslyconsistentsenseofstatus,wouldstillcountamongthemostsplendidtraitsoftheclass。Thesehaveremainedinourtraditionsasthetypical“aristocraticvirtues。“Butwiththesewereassociatedanincreasingcomplementofthelessobtrusivepecuniaryvirtues;suchasprovidence,prudence,andchicanery。Astimehasgoneon,andthemodernpeaceablestageofpecuniaryculturehasbeenapproached,thelast-namedrangeofaptitudesandhabitshasgainedinrelativeeffectivenessforpecuniaryends,andtheyhavecountedforrelativelymoreintheselectiveprocessunderwhichadmissionisgainedandplaceisheldintheleisureclass。