what he suffered when I tell you that he was in those days a genuine
artist, a man of genius, and a revolutionist."

"I think I do understand," said I: "but now, as it seems, you have
reversed all this?"

"Pretty much so," said he. "The wares which we make are made because
they are needed: men make for their neighbours' use as if they were
making for themselves, not for a vague market of which they know
nothing, and over which they have no control: as there is no buying
and selling, it would be mere insanity to make goods on the chance of
their being wanted; for there is no longer anyone who can be
compelled to buy them. So that whatever is made is good, and
thoroughly fit for its purpose. Nothing can be made except for
genuine use; therefore no inferior goods are made. Moreover, as
aforesaid, we have now found out what we want, so we make no more
than we want; and as we are not driven to make a vast quantity of
useless things we have time and resources enough to consider our
pleasure in making them. All work which would be irksome to do by
hand is done by immensely improved machinery; and in all work which
it is a pleasure to do by hand machinery is done without. There is
no difficulty in finding work which suits the special turn of mind of
everybody; so that no man is sacrificed to the wants of another.
From time to time, when we have found out that some piece of work was
too disagreeable or troublesome, we have given it up and done
altogether without the thing produced by it. Now, surely you can see
that under these circumstances all the work that we do is an exercise
of the mind and body more or less pleasant to be done: so that
instead of avoiding work everybody seeks it: and, since people have
got defter in doing the work generation after generation, it has