IV. Systems of Property and Labour
Based on his premise that distribution is a matter of human choice, Mill conducts a comparative analysis of existing and theoretical systems of property and labor.
- The Institution of Private Property
Mill argues that private property has never “had a fair trial in any country” because its distribution has been the result of “conquest and violence,” not just partition or industry. Its essential principle is “to assure to all persons what they have produced by their labour and accumulated by their abstinence.” He argues that this does not necessarily extend to:
- Inheritance: The right of bequest is an attribute of property, but the right of inheritance (the automatic transfer to children or relatives in the absence of a will) is a matter of social expediency. He argues against the right of children to be left rich without exertion and proposes limiting inheritances to a “moderate independence,” with the surplus escheating to the state.
- Landed Property: Because land is not the produce of labor, property in it is a different matter. The state’s claim is “altogether subordinate to the general policy of the State,” and it is at liberty to regulate it for the public good, provided it offers fair compensation to existing owners. He advocates for a future tax on the “spontaneous increase of rent” that accrues to landlords without any effort on their part.
- Alternative Systems: Communism and Socialism
Mill gives serious consideration to socialist critiques of private property. He concludes that if the choice were between the current state of society—”with all its sufferings and injustices”—and “Communism, with all its chances,” then “all the difficulties, great or small, of Communism would be but as dust in the balance.”
- Communism: He dismisses the objection that people would not work without direct individual incentive by noting that most work under the current system is already done by salaried employees who lack such an incentive. He also believes the problem of over-population would be better managed under Communism, where the negative consequences would be immediately felt by all.
- Main Objection: Mill’s primary concern is whether Communism would be consistent with “the greatest amount of human liberty and spontaneity” and whether the “absolute dependence of each on all” would “grind all down into a tame uniformity of thoughts, feelings, and actions.”
- Fourierism: He describes this as “the most skilfully combined” form of Socialism, as it retains private property and inheritance, sharing produce among Labour, Capital, and Talent.
- Analysis of Labour Tenures
Mill analyzes four distinct systems of land tenure and labor:
| Tenure System | Description | Mill’s Assessment |
| Slavery | The landowner owns the labor, and all produce belongs to the landlord. | “Incompatible with any high state of the arts of life, and any great efficiency of labour.” A “detestable constitution of society.” |
| Peasant Proprietors | The laborer owns the land. The whole produce belongs to a single owner. | The state where laborers are “the most uncontrolled arbiters of their own lot.” Praised for fostering “almost superhuman industry,” prudence, self-control, and intelligence. The “magic of property” turns “sand into gold.” |
| Metayer System | The land is cultivated by a laborer who shares the produce (typically half) with the landlord, who provides the land and stock. | A step above a day-laborer, as the metayer is a “half-sharer” in the gains. Has some advantages of peasant properties but to a lesser degree. |
| Cottier System | The laborer contracts for land directly, and rent is determined not by custom but by fierce competition. | The primary example is Ireland. Competition forces rent to the highest point consistent with keeping the population alive, leaving the cottier with no incentive for industry or prudence. Mill calls it a “situation more devoid of motives to either labour or self-command, imagination itself cannot conceive,” and refutes the attribution of Irish poverty to “inherent natural differences” in the “Celtic race.” |