Ajanta: The Colour and Monochrome Reproductions of the Ajanta Frescoes Based on Photography v1.c1: Front matter
Ajanta: The Colour and Monochrome Reproductions of the Ajanta Frescoes Based on Photography v1.c1
- Language
- English
Front matter
v1.c1.1
the guilds¹ of the Middle Ages, and the modern trade unions, are not the same thing. The medieval guild was an association of masters, not of workmen; it was an organization of employers, not of employees. It was a monopoly of the market, not a combination of labor. The guild-master owned his tools and his raw material, and he sold his finished product. He was a capitalist, though a small one. The journeyman, who worked for him, was not a member of the guild, and had no voice in its management. The guild was a protective association of the masters against the competition of outsiders, and against the encroachments of the nobility and the crown. It was a device for maintaining the standard of quality and the price of the product. It was a social and religious fraternity, as well as an economic organization. It provided for the burial of its members, for the support of their widows and orphans, and for the celebration of religious festivals. It was a part of the life of the community, and its members were bound together by ties of fellowship and mutual aid. The modern trade union, on the other hand, is an association of workmen, not of masters. It is an organization of employees, not of employers. It is a combination of labor, not a monopoly of the market. The trade unionist does not own his tools or his raw material, and he does not sell his finished product. He sells his labor. He is a wage-earner. The trade union is a protective association of the workmen against the competition of other workmen, and against the encroachments of the employers. It is a device for maintaining the standard of wages and the conditions of labor. It is not a social or religious fraternity, though it may have social features. It is an economic organization, and its members are bound together by ties of common interest and collective bargaining. The difference between the two is fundamental. The guild was an organization of the *haves*, the trade union is an organization of the *have-nots*. The guild was a product of a society in which the master-workman was the typical industrial unit; the trade union is a product of a society in which the wage-earner is the typical industrial unit. The guild was a conservative institution, designed to preserve the status quo; the trade union is a progressive institution, designed to improve the status of its members. The guild was a local institution, confined to a single town; the trade union is a national, and often an international, institution. The guild was a creature of the medieval city; the trade union is a creature of the modern industrial system.
v1.c1.2
¹ The term "guild" is used here in its general sense, including both merchant and craft guilds.
v1.c1.4
AJANTA