Page:The Economics of Unemployment.djvu/117

With any strong economic revival some improvement in their condition may be expected. But the spread of educational opportunities must definitely weaken their position as claimants for income. Always a saving class, their contribution to the general investment fund will be diminished.

Set on the other hand a remarkable strengthening of the economic position of farmers and agriculturists in every country. Here, again, the war has accelerated a tendency visible before, viz. a relative shortage of the world supply of staple foods and raw materials and a consequent rise of prices. War profits made by these classes in all countries, belligerent or neutral, were immense, and in few cases was any successful attempt made by governments to secure an adequate contribution to the war or post-war taxation. This failure to impose taxation upon recent increments of land values and agricultural incomes, is largely responsible for the excessive taxes which in some countries are crippling industrial enterprise. Here is an aspect of the important economic and political cleavage between town and country. The large savings made in recent years by this notoriously thrifty class passed largely into the possession of landlords, where tenants used their profits to purchase their farms or where landlords were free to raise their rents. But in countries where peasant ownership prevailed, these gains were largely invested in war loans and other public securities, and involved an important change in the balance of class power in national policy, especially on matters of taxation and finance.

Thirdly, a certain levelling up of wages as between