Amschel Mayer bounced back into the discussion. “And then, enter the priest, enter the war lord. Enter the smart operator who talks or fights himself into a position where he’s free from drudgery. In short, enter the class-divided society, the rulers and the ruled.”

Joe Chessman said reasonably, “If you don’t have the man with leisure, society stagnates. Somebody has to have time off for thinking, if the whole group is to advance.”

“Admittedly!” Mayer said. “I’d be the last to contend that an upper class is necessarily parasitic.”

Plekhanov grumbled. “We’re getting away from the subject. In spite of Mayer’s poorly founded opinions, it is quite obvious that only a collectivized economy is going to enable these Rigel planets to achieve an industrial culture in as short a period as half a century.”

Amschel Mayer reacted as might have been predicted. “Look here, Plekhanov, we have our own history to go by. Earth history. Man made his greatest strides under a freely competitive system.”

“Well now…” Chessman began.

“Prove that!” Plekhanov insisted. **Your so-called free economy countries such as England, France and the United States began their industrial revolution in the early part of the nineteenth century. It took them a hundred years to accomplish what the Soviets did in fifty, in the next century.”

“Just a moment, now,” Mayer said. That is very fine, but the Soviets were able to profit by the pioneering the free countries did. The scientific developments, the industrial techniques, were handed to her on a platter.”

Specialist Martin Gunther, thus far quiet, as was his basic nature, put in his opinion. “Actually, it seems to me the fastest industrialization comes under a paternal guidance from a more advanced culture. Take Japan. In 1854 she was opened to trade by Commodore Perry. In 1871 she abolished feudalism and, encouraged by her own government and utilizing the most advanced techniques of a sympathetic West, she began to industrialize.”