ABSTRACT
The French economists of the middle of the 18th century made very clear the distinction between productive and unproductive labour. The original theory made productive labour a very small class, and unproductive labour a very big class. The modern theory makes productive labour a very large class and unproductive labour almost negligible. The important thing at the present juncture is to realise the importance of getting a right balance between the different sections in the productive labour class. In England, Trade Unions have been much more wisely organised and have acted much more circumspectly than Unions in any other part of the world. The English Trade Unions may not be perfect, but taken as a whole the English Trade Unions are superior to anything else in the world as labour organizations, and they have set the whole world a very high example.
