Workers

At the base of the hierarchy are the workers, clearly the majority of New Zealanders, who are under supervision, under management.

The essence of being a worker in New Zealand at present is to be under management, and to be under management means exactly to be without complete responsibility and discretion over one's job.

This hierarchy of management might seem the most natural and proper thing in the world to most people. But what it seems to them is not the whole story.

It is axiomatic that no man is good enough to be another man's master. If so, then no man is good enough to be a manager, since a manager is a master.

It is true that society cannot exist without management, but there is no reason why management should be separated from work.

The worker can be his own manager, individually with respect to his own job, collectively through workers' councils with respect to the collective effort, and so by delegation to higher councils to the national effort. A society of this sort can exist.

The principle of such a workers' society is responsibility and discretion to the man who does the job. If a worker is not able to exercise that responsibility and discretion, then he should be doing some other job where he can.