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ŠTRAJKOVI
STRIKES

1 Pitali ste me o štrajkovima. To je pitanje bilo i bit će još dugo predmetom velikih poteškoća. Postoje dva uzroka štrajkova. Jedan su krajnja pohlepa i lakomost tvorničara i industrijalaca; drugi su ispadi, pohlepa i nepopustljivost radnika i obrtnika. Stoga je potrebno imati na umu ova dva uzroka. You have questioned me about strikes. This question is and will be for a long time the subject of great difficulties. Strikes are due to two causes. One is the extreme greed and rapacity of the manufacturers and industrialists; the other, the excesses, the avidity and intransigence of the workmen and artisans. It is, therefore, necessary to remedy these two causes.
2 No glavni uzrok ovih poteškoća leži u zakonima sadašnje civilizacije; jer oni vode k malom broju pojedinaca koji akumuliraju neusporediva bogatstva koja nadilaze njihove potrebe, dok veći broj ostaje bez osnovnih sredstava za život, gol i u najvećoj bijedi. To je protivno pravdi, ljudskosti, pravičnosti; to je vrhunac nejednakosti, suprotan onome što uzrokuje božansko zadovoljstvo. But the principal cause of these difficulties lies in the laws of the present civilization; for they lead to a small number of individuals accumulating incomparable fortunes, beyond their needs, while the greater number remain destitute, stripped and in the greatest misery. This is contrary to justice, to humanity, to equity; it is the height of iniquity, the opposite to what causes divine satisfaction.
3 Ovaj je kontrast svojstven svijetu čovjeka: kod drugih stvorenja – to znači, kod gotovo svih životinja – postoji neka vrsta pravde i ravnopravnosti. Tako ravnopravnost postoji u pastirovom stadu i u krdu jelena na selu. Isto tako kod ptica u preriji, ravnici, na brežuljcima ili u voćnjaku i među svim vrstama životinja prevladava neka vrsta ravnopravnosti. Među njima se ne može naći takva razlika životnih sredstava; stoga oni žive u potpunom miru i radosti. This contrast is peculiar to the world of man: with other creatures—that is to say, with nearly all animals—there is a kind of justice and equality. Thus equality exists in a shepherd’s flock and in a herd of deer in the country. Likewise, among the birds of the prairie, of the plain, of the hills or of the orchard, and among every kind of animal some kind of equality prevails. With them such a difference in the means of existence is not to be found; so they live in the most complete peace and joy.
4 Posve je drugačije s ljudskom vrstom, koja ustrajava u najvećoj zabludi i u krajnjoj nejednakosti. Promislite o pojedincu koji je nagomilao blaga kolonizacijom neke zemlje radi svoje dobiti: on je stekao neusporedivo bogatstvo i osigurao dobit i prihode koji teku poput rijeke, dok stotinu tisuća nesretnika, slabih i nemoćnih trebaju zalogaj kruha. Nema tu ni jednakosti ni dobrohotnosti. Dakle, vidite da su opći mir i radost uništeni i da se dobrobit čovječanstva negira u tolikoj mjeri da život mnogih čini jalovim. Jer, bogatstvo, časti, trgovina i industrija su u rukama nekolicine industrijalaca, dok su ostali ljudi osuđeni na čitav niz poteškoća i bezgraničnih nevolja: oni nemaju ni prednosti, ni dobiti, ni udobnosti, ni mira. It is quite otherwise with the human species, which persists in the greatest error, and in absolute iniquity. Consider an individual who has amassed treasures by colonizing a country for his profit: he has obtained an incomparable fortune and has secured profits and incomes which flow like a river, while a hundred thousand unfortunate people, weak and powerless, are in need of a mouthful of bread. There is neither equality nor benevolence. So you see that general peace and joy are destroyed, and the welfare of humanity is negated to such an extent as to make fruitless the lives of many. For fortune, honors, commerce, industry are in the hands of some industrialists, while other people are submitted to quite a series of difficulties and to limitless troubles: they have neither advantages, nor profits, nor comforts, nor peace.
5 Treba, dakle, uspostaviti pravila i zakone koji bi regulirali višak bogatstava određenih pojedinaca i udovoljili potrebama milijuna siromašnih masa; tako bi se postigla određena umjerenost. Međutim, potpuna ravnopravnost je jednako tako nemoguća, jer bi apsolutna jednakost u bogatstvima, počastima, trgovini, poljoprivredi i industriji završila neredom, kaosom, dezorganizacijom životnih sredstava i sveopćim razočaranjem: red zajednice bio bi posve uništen. Isto će tako doći do poteškoća kad se nametne neopravdana jednakost. Stoga je bolje da se umjerenost uspostavi uz pomoć zakona i propisa kako bi se spriječilo prekomjerno bogaćenje nekih pojedinaca i zaštitile suštinske potrebe masa. Na primjer, tvorničari i industrijalci svakodnevno gomilaju blago, a siromašni obrtnici ne zarade ni za svoje dnevne životne potrebe: to je vrhunac nejednakosti i nijedan je pravedan čovjek ne može prihvatiti. Stoga treba uspostaviti zakone i propise koji će radnicima omogućiti da od tvorničara dobiju svoje nadnice i udio u četvrtini ili petini dobiti, u skladu s kapacitetom tvornice; ili bi na neki drugi način tijelo radnika i tvorničara trebalo ravnopravno dijeliti dobiti i prednosti. Uistinu, kapital i menadžment dolaze od vlasnika tvornice, a trud i rad od tijela radništva. Ili bi radnici trebali primati nadnice koje im osiguravaju odgovarajuću potporu kako bi – kad prestanu raditi, postanu slabi i bespomoćni – mogli imati dovoljna primanja iz dohotka industrije; ili bi nadnice morale biti dovoljno visoke da zadovolje potrebe radnika iznosom koji zarade tako da bi oni sami mogli manji iznos pričuvati za dane oskudice i nemoći. Then rules and laws should be established to regulate the excessive fortunes of certain private individuals and meet the needs of millions of the poor masses; thus a certain moderation would be obtained. However, absolute equality is just as impossible, for absolute equality in fortunes, honors, commerce, agriculture, industry would end in disorderliness, in chaos, in disorganization of the means of existence, and in universal disappointment: the order of the community would be quite destroyed. Thus difficulties will also arise when unjustified equality is imposed. It is, therefore, preferable for moderation to be established by means of laws and regulations to hinder the constitution of the excessive fortunes of certain individuals, and to protect the essential needs of the masses. For instance, the manufacturers and the industrialists heap up a treasure each day, and the poor artisans do not gain their daily sustenance: that is the height of iniquity, and no just man can accept it. Therefore, laws and regulations should be established which would permit the workmen to receive from the factory owner their wages and a share in the fourth or the fifth part of the profits, according to the capacity of the factory; or in some other way the body of workmen and the manufacturers should share equitably the profits and advantages. Indeed, the capital and management come from the owner of the factory, and the work and labor, from the body of the workmen. Either the workmen should receive wages which assure them an adequate support and, when they cease work, becoming feeble or helpless, they should have sufficient benefits from the income of the industry; or the wages should be high enough to satisfy the workmen with the amount they receive so that they may themselves be able to put a little aside for days of want and helplessness.
6 Kad se stvari tako urede, vlasnik tvornice neće više svakodnevno odvajati blago koje mu uopće nije potrebno (jer, ako je bogatstvo neproporcionalno, kapitalist podliježe užasnom teretu i upada u najveće poteškoće i neprilike; administracija prekomjernog bogatstva vrlo je teška i iscrpljuje čovjekovu prirodnu snagu). A radnici i obrtnici neće više živjeti u najvećoj bijedi i oskudici; neće više biti osuđeni na najveću neimaštinu na kraju svoga života. When matters will be thus fixed, the owner of the factory will no longer put aside daily a treasure which he has absolutely no need of (for, if the fortune is disproportionate, the capitalist succumbs under a formidable burden and gets into the greatest difficulties and troubles; the administration of an excessive fortune is very difficult and exhausts man’s natural strength). And the workmen and artisans will no longer be in the greatest misery and want; they will no longer be submitted to the worst privations at the end of their life.
7 Jasno je onda i očito da raspodjela prekomjernih bogatstava među malim brojem pojedinaca – dok mase oskudijevaju – znači nejednakost i nepravdu. Na isti način, apsolutna jednakost bila bi prepreka životu, dobrobiti, redu i miru čovječanstva. U tom slučaju poželjna je umjerenost. Ona se sastoji u umjerenosti kapitalista u stjecanju dobiti, kao i u njihovu razumijevanju za dobrobit siromašnih i potrebitih – dakle, da radnici i obrtnici primaju fiksnu, kao i utvrđenu dnevnu nadnicu, te imaju udjela u općim dobitima tvornice. It is, then, clear and evident that the repartition of excessive fortunes among a small number of individuals, while the masses are in need, is an iniquity and an injustice. In the same way, absolute equality would be an obstacle to life, to welfare, to order and to the peace of humanity. In such a question moderation is preferable. It lies in the capitalists’ being moderate in the acquisition of their profits, and in their having a consideration for the welfare of the poor and needy—that is to say, that the workmen and artisans receive a fixed and established daily wage—and have a share in the general profits of the factory.
8 Bilo bi dobro, s obzirom na zajednička prava tvorničara, radnika i obrtnika, da se uspostave zakoni koji bi tvorničarima omogućavali umjerenu dobit, a radnicima potrebna sredstva za egzistenciju i sigurnost u budućnosti. Tako da kad oslabe i prestanu raditi, ostare i postanu bespomoćni ili ostave iza sebe maloljetnu djecu, oni i njihova djeca ne budu uništeni prekomjernim siromaštvom. A iz prihoda same tvornice, na koji imaju pravo, dobit će dio – ma koliko malen – za život. It would be well, with regard to the common rights of manufacturers, workmen and artisans, that laws be established, giving moderate profits to manufacturers, and to workmen the necessary means of existence and security for the future. Thus when they become feeble and cease working, get old and helpless, or leave behind children under age, they and their children will not be annihilated by excess of poverty. And it is from the income of the factory itself, to which they have a right, that they will derive a share, however small, toward their livelihood.
9 Na isti način, radnici ne bi više trebali postavljati pretjerane zahtjeve i buniti se niti tražiti nešto što je izvan njihovih prava; ne bi više trebali izlaziti na štrajkove; trebali bi biti poslušni i potčinjeni i ne tražiti prekomjerne nadnice. Uzajamna i razumna prava obje udružene strane bit će pravno utvrđena i uspostavljena u skladu s običajem pravednih i nepristranih zakona. U slučaju da jedna od dvije strane prekrši zakon, vrhovni bi sud trebao kazniti prekršitelja, a izvršna grana donijeti presudu; tako bi se ponovno uspostavio red, a problemi riješili. Miješanje vrhovnih sudova i vlade u sadašnje poteškoće između tvorničara i radnika legalno je stoga što se trenutačni sukobi između radnika i tvorničara ne mogu usporediti s običnim sukobima među privatnim osobama, a koji se ne tiču javnosti i kojima se vlada ne bi trebala baviti. U stvarnosti, premda nisu privatne stvari, ove poteškoće između dvije strane nanose štetu javnosti; naime, trgovina, industrija, poljoprivreda i opći poslovi zemlje usko su uzajamno povezani. Ako se bilo što od toga zloupotrijebi, mase će biti oštećene. Tako poteškoće između radnika i tvorničara postaju uzrok opće štete. In the same way, the workmen should no longer make excessive claims and revolt, nor demand beyond their rights; they should no longer go out on strike; they should be obedient and submissive and not ask for exorbitant wages. But the mutual and reasonable rights of both associated parties will be legally fixed and established according to custom by just and impartial laws. In case one of the two parties should transgress, the court of justice should condemn the transgressor, and the executive branch should enforce the verdict; thus order will be reestablished, and the difficulties, settled. The interference of courts of justice and of the government in difficulties pending between manufacturers and workmen is legal, for the reason that current affairs between workmen and manufacturers cannot be compared with ordinary affairs between private persons, which do not concern the public, and with which the government should not occupy itself. In reality, although they appear to be private matters, these difficulties between the two parties produce a detriment to the public; for commerce, industry, agriculture and the general affairs of the country are all intimately linked together. If one of these suffers an abuse, the detriment affects the mass. Thus the difficulties between workmen and manufacturers become a cause of general detriment.
10 Vrhovni sud i vlada stoga imaju pravo miješanja. Kad dođe do problema između dva pojedinca s obzirom na njihova privatna prava, nužno je da treći riješi to pitanje. To je uloga vlade. Kako onda problem štrajkova – koji izaziva nevolje u zemlji i često je vezan uz pretjeran gnjev radnika, kao i uz pohlepu tvorničara – može ostati zanemaren? The court of justice and the government have, therefore, the right of interference. When a difficulty occurs between two individuals with reference to private rights, it is necessary for a third to settle the question. This is the part of the government. Then the problem of strikes—which cause troubles in the country and are often connected with the excessive vexations of the workmen, as well as with the rapacity of manufacturers—how could it remain neglected?
11 Dobri Bože! Zar je moguće da, vidjevši kako njegova ljudska braća umiru od gladi, lišeni svega, čovjek može ostati miran i živjeti udobno u luksuznom zdanju? Onaj koji vidi drugoga u najvećoj bijedi, može li uživati u svom bogatstvu? Zato se u Božjoj religiji propisuje i utvrđuje da bi bogati ljudi morali svake godine dati određeni dio svoga bogatstva za uzdržavanje siromaha i nesretnika. To je temelj Religije Božje i sve obvezuje. Good God! Is it possible that, seeing one of his fellow-creatures starving, destitute of everything, a man can rest and live comfortably in his luxurious mansion? He who meets another in the greatest misery, can he enjoy his fortune? That is why, in the Religion of God, it is prescribed and established that wealthy men each year give over a certain part of their fortune for the maintenance of the poor and unfortunate. That is the foundation of the Religion of God and is binding upon all.
12 A budući da čovjeka na to ne primorava niti ne obvezuje vlada, već prirodna sklonost njegova dobrog srca koje dobrovoljno i rado iskazuje dobrohotnost prema siromašnima, takvo je djelo mnogo hvaljeno, priznato i blagoslovljeno. And as man in this way is not forced nor obliged by the government, but is by the natural tendency of his good heart voluntarily and radiantly showing benevolence toward the poor, such a deed is much praised, approved and pleasing.
13 Takvo je značenje dobrih djela Božanskih knjiga i Ploča. Such is the meaning of the good works in the Divine Books and Tablets.