The Burghers

The story of the Burghers I shall presently relate
Of how the Wealth of Nations and their People grew so great
And how the dreary Feudal System once was overturned
So each and every man got all — and only — what he earned.

Since ancient times the Hand of War held sway o'er men's affairs
As Kings — and other Bandits — would demand what was not theirs
And while their Martial Prowess greater than all others stood
They would have a man's Obedience, or else they'd have his Blood.

Thus were formed the Landed Classes, thus were formed the Noble Lines
Who by virtue of their Ancestry declared themselves Divines
And until a stronger Kingdom murdered them and took their place
Held absolute dominion over all the Peasant Race.

For the Tenants on their farmlands, paying Negligible Rent,
And the Villeins and Retainers, knew too well the Country Gent
Could withdraw his 'Hospitality' upon the slightest whim —
So when Able Men were called upon, they'd fight — and die ­— for him.

Now while all of this was going on, an odd thing had been found
By the men who found employment merely Moving Goods Around
That what Pennies bought in one town, bizarre as it might sound
When carried to the next could sell for nearly half a pound!

Today, of course, we're used to Trade; it doesn't seem too strange
But think of what's implied in such a Volunt'ry Exchange:
Each values less the thing he gave; the gain, he values more
And yet the objects are exactly what they were before.

Thus wealth has been created — more Wants are Satisfied
Although no more in Quantity of Goods has been supplied
By the Merchant who delivers to the Shortage from the Glut
(Making sure, for all his Trouble, to collect his Proper Cut).

Once a trade was well-established, though, the Profit Rate would fall
For Competition drives a margin arbitrary-small
So the merchants found it paid to spread their operations wide
Sending ships to ply the Seas, and bring back silver on the Tide.

They discovered Silks and Spices, foreign goods which, ounce for ounce,
Rated far above Commodities like Corn in their accounts
And when a ship returned with these Exotics in its hold
Domestically these — and other Luxuries — were sold.

(For here I must step sideways and discuss another Strand
Of how Fine Manufactures were developed in the land;
As the Artisans and Craftsmen, branching out from the mundane
Found it lucrative to feed the ostentation of the vain.

And at first this seemed to Agriculture profitable too
As the markets into which its Produce could be traded grew
For the local workmen that it fed could pay with goods compact
That had the portability the Vulgar Produce lacked.)

But then the Country Gent discovered — much to his Dismay —
That Luxuries and Tenants both were more than he could pay;
And being rather less Divine than many did suppose,
His pampered comforts Country Gent invariably chose.

So rose the Rents — so rose the price of Mutton and of Corn
And soon enough the Country Gent, however Highly Born
Had all of the conveniences of the Modern Life —
But not a chamber-maid to Wait Attendance on his Wife.

For when the price of Fodder rises, so must rise the Wage
(Or so, at least, it was before our late Commercial Age);
Machines, and mills, and fact'ries necessarily hold sway
When more must be Produced to justify a workman's Pay.

(And here I must admit that I have simplified the Tale —
For had I not, 'twould be yet more expansive in its scale —
The Factories came later.  England first Industrialised
Upon the Cottage plan; 'twas only later centralised.)

Now had the Landed Classes kept their customary Perks
They could by Force have seized the mills, the goods, and all the Works
But in the meantime Politics had intervened as well —
'Tis yet another Tale which I also need to tell.

The Kings, you see, knew all too well that though they held the Crown
And all the Nobles' Fealty, yet when the Chips were Down
Those Nobles served no Monarch's interests above their own
And each King saw his strength had waned — the Nobles' strength had grown.

But Towns, now — Towns fell outside any Noble Baron's Hand
(Unlike the Villeins, still at this point tied to farming Land)
And so each King by Charter and by Corporation-Writ
Bestowed upon the Burghers all the Rights he could permit.

So when the March of Progress brought us Industry and Trade,
A burgher class of Free Men in the Towns were ready-made
To run it on a basis — not of Force and Feudal Reign
But of Free Contract by Free Men to Mutually Gain.

At last the Hand of War was stayed — a new Hand took its place
Invisibly directing the entire Human Race
To serve the will — not of a King or Warlord of the Land
But of each other — with no need for Centralised Command.

So mock ye not the "Bourgeois" — heed not Marx's siren call
(Besides, today You are a Burgher too, as are we All) —
'Twas Bourgeois Dignity that brought the Freedoms of Today
Without them, you'd be just another Peasant forking Hay!

 - Edward Cree

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The above history is, in broad outline, inspired by Chapters III and IV of
 Book III of Adam Smith's famous Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the
 Wealth of Nations.  Many of the details, of course, derive from more recent
 economic understanding.