Port Sunlight

The Foundation.

The life of a village or town must be created of enduring materials and based on some sort of sound business principles. It is the very essence of the village of Port Sunlight that it is claimed to be a sound business enterprise. Though much more than half a million pounds of capital spent on land and buildings has been left out of count for interest, it is still maintained that all outlays have in the main been justified by sound business principles. That the well-being and comfort of their workpeople is a valuable business asset is no new belief with employers of labour. The belief has been acted upon for many years past, but its application has made rapid strides in more recent times. It is probable, however, that there is not another place where this belief has been so very completely demonstrated as at Port Sunlight. The inhabitants of this fortunate village appear to have been saved every needless risk, and have even escaped the snare of mere profit-sharing, in favour of prosperity-sharing and copartnership. It will be of interest here to quote from a Paper by the founder, Sir W. H. Lever, on prosperity-sharing, in November, 1900. “The truest and highest form of enlightened self-interest requires that we pay the fullest regard to the interest and welfare of those around us, whose well-being we must bind up with our own, and with whom we must share our prosperity. We cannot live in comfort with others if we do not share our comforts with them. If we wish men to be honest towards ourselves, we must be honest with them. If we wish men to help us to achieve prosperity, they must feel assured that we will share that prosperity with them. If capital and management think of nothing but their own narrowest, selfish self-interest, without a thought for labour, care nothing for the comfort or welfare of labour, care nothing whether labour is well or ill-housed, whether labour is provided with opportunity for reasonable and proper recreation and relief from toil or not, then capital and management are blind to their own highest interest.... Also the converse of the above is equally true.... If labour adopts the spirit of enlightened and intelligent self-interest, and if capital and management do the same, if each recognise the principle that by looking after the interests of the other they are taking the surest means to achieve their own self-interest, business will be healthier, happiness in business will be greater, the prosperity of the business of the whole country will be assured, and the bogey of foreign competition will be laid once and for all. I venture to submit that prosperity-sharing on the basis of enlightened self-interest will secure this.”