第5章

processofcultivationmustbeemployedwhichwillgive，notabsolutelythegreatestamountofproduce，butthegreatestafter

deductingtheexpenses。Forthispurposeatractoffivehundredacres，fromwhichfiftyfamiliesproducedtheirown

subsistence，andproducedscarcelyanythingmore，maybeconvertedintoonefarm，andwiththelabouroftenfamilies，and

asmanyhorses，mayproducethesubsistenceofonlythirtyfamilies。Fortunately，however，theperiodatwhichthese

alterationstakeplaceisgenerallyoneofgreatsocialimprovement;sothat，afterashortinterval，theincreaseddiligence

andskillwithwhichlabourisapplied，occasionanincreaseofeventhegrossproduce。Thefundforthemaintenanceof

labourersnowbecomesincreasedfromtwodifferentsources——partlyfromtheincreasedefficiencyofhumanlabour。when

aidedbythatofhorsesandcattle，andpartlyfromtheresultsofapartofthehumanlaboursetfreebythesubstitutionof

brutes。Theultimateconsequencesofsuchachangearealwaysbeneficial;thechange。itselfmust，ingeneral，beaccompaniedbydistress。Butwiththeexceptionofthesetwocases，oneofwhichproducesonlytemporaryeffects，andtheother，though

:apparently。possible，seemneveractuallytooccur，it。appearstomedearthattheuse。ofmachinerymusteitherrasethegeneralrateofwages，orleaveitunaltered。Whenmachineryisappliedtotheproductionofcommoditieswhicharenotintended，directlyorindirectly，fortheuseof

labourers，itoccasionsnoalterationinthegeneralrateofwages;——Isaythegeneralrateofwages;becauseitmaydiminish

therateofwagesinsomeemployments，——adiminution。alwayscompensatedbyacorrespondingincreaseinsomeothers。I

wasshownatBirminghamasmallscrew，which，inthemanufactureofcorkscrews，performedtheworkoffifty—ninemen;

withitsassistanceonemancouldcutaspiralgrooveinasmanycorkscrewshanksassixtymencouldhavecutinthesame

timewiththetoolspreviouslyinuse。Astheuseofcorkscrewsislimited，it。isnotprobablethatthedemandforthemhas

sufficientlyincreasedtoenablethewholenumberoflabourerspreviouslyemployedintheirmanufacture，toremainso

employedaftersuchanincreaseintheirproductivepower。Someofthecorkscrew—makers，therefore，musthavebeen

thrownoutofwork，andtherateofwagesinthattradeprobablyfell。Butasthewholefundforthemaintenanceof

labourers，andthewholenumberoflabourerstobemaintained，remainedunaltered，thatfallmusthavebeenbalancedbya

risesomewhereelse——arisewhichwemaytracetoitsproximatecause，byrecollectingthatthefallinthepriceof

corkscrewsmusthavelefteverypurchaserofacorkscrewafundforthepurchaseoflabour，ratherlargerthanhewouldhavepossessedifhehadpaidtheformerprice。If，however，machinerybeappliedtotheproductionofanycommodityusedbythelabouringpopulation，thegeneralrate

ofwageswillrise。Thatitcannotfallisclear，onthegroundswhichIhavejuststated。Iftheimprovementbegreat，andthe

commoditynotsubjecttoacorrespondingincreaseofdemand，someofthelabourersformerlyemployedinitsproduction

willbethrownoutofemployment，andwages，inthattrade，willfall——afallwhich，asthewholefundforthemaintenance

oflabourisnotdiminished，mustbemetbyacorrespondingriseinsomeothertrade。Butthefundwillbeincreasedbythe

additionalquantityproducedofthecommoditytowhichtheimprovementhasbeenapplied:estimatedinthatcommodity，

therefore，thegeneralrateofwages，or，inotherwords，thequantityofcommoditiesobtainedbythelabouringpopulation，willbeincreasedbytheintroductionofmachinery;estimatedinallothers，itwillbestationary。Theexampletakenfromthemanufactureofcorkscrewsisasunfavourabletotheeffectsofmachineryascanbeproposed;

fortheuseofthecommodityissupposedtobeunabletokeepupwiththeincreasedproduction，andthewholenumberof

labourersemployedonitis，consequently，diminished。This，however，isaveryrareoccurrence。Theusualeffectofan

increaseinthefacilityofproducingacommodityissotoincreaseitsconsumptionastooccasiontheemploymentofmore，notless，labourthanbefore。Ihavealreadycalledyourattentiontotheeffectsofmachineryinthemanufactureofcottonandinprinting。Eachofthese

tradesprobablyemploystentimesasmanylabourersasitwouldhaveemployedifspinning—jenniesandtypeshadnotbeen

invented。Undersuchcircumstances（andtheyaretheusualones），thebenefitsofmachineryarenotalloyedbyevenpartialinconvenience。Fifthly。Closelyconnectedwiththismistake，andoccasionedbythesamehabitofattendingonlytowhatistemporaryand

partial，andneglectingwhatispermanentandgeneral;ofdwellingontheevilthatisconcentrated，andbeinginsensibleof

thebenefitthatisdiffused，isthecommonerrorofsupposingthatthegeneralrateofwagescanbereducedbythe

importationofforeigncommodities。Infacttheopeningofanewmarketispreciselyanalogoustotheintroductionofa

newmachine，exceptthatitisamachinewhichitcostsnothingtoconstructortokeepup。Iftheforeigncommoditybenot

consumedbythelabouringpopulation，itsintroductionleavesthegeneralrateofwagesunaffected;ifitbeusedbythem，

theirwagesareraisedasestimatedinthatcommodity。IftheabsurdlawswhichfavourthewinesofPortugaltothe

exclusionofthoseofFrancewererepealed，morelabourerswouldbeemployedinproducingcommoditiesfortheFrench

market，andfewerforthePortuguese。Wageswouldtemporarilyfallintheonetrade，andriseintheother。Theclear

benefitwouldbederivedbythedrinkersofwine，who，atthesameexpense，wouldobtainmoreandbetterwine。Soifwhat

arccalledtheprotectingdutiesonFrenchsilkswereremoved，fewerlabourerswouldbeemployedinthedirectproduction

ofsilk，andmoreinitsindirectproduction，bytheproductionofthecottons，orhardware，withwhichitwouldbe

purchased。Thewearersofsilkwouldbetheonlyclassultimatelybenefited;andasthelaboutingpopulationneitherwear

silknordrinkwine，thegeneralrateofwageswould，inbothcases，remainunaltered。Butifthelawswhichprohibitour

obtainingonthemostadvantageoustermstea，andsugar，andcorn，werealtered，thatportionofthe。fundforthe

maintenanceoflabour，whichconsistsofcorn，sugar，andtea，wouldbeincreased。Andthegeneralrateofwages，asestimatedinthethreemostimportantarticlesoffood，wouldberaised。Sixthly。TheviewswhichIhavebeenendeayouringtoexplain，areinconsistentwiththecommonopinion，thatthe

unproductiveconsumptionoflandlordsandcapitalistsisbeneficialtothelabouringclasses，becauseitfurnishesthemwithemployment。Themaintainersofthistheorymustforgetthatitisnotemployment，butfood，clothing，shelter，andfuel——in

short，thematerialsofsubsistenceandcomfort，thatthelabouringclassesrequire。Thewordemploymentismerelya

conciseformofdesignatingtoil，trouble，exposure，andfatigue。Allthese，perse，areevils，andthelessofthemthatis

requiredforobtainingagivenamountofsubsistenceandcomfort，——or，inotherwords，thegreaterthefacilityofobtaining

thatgivenamount，——thebetter，caeterisparibus，willbetheconditionofthelabouringclasses;indeed，ofallclassesinthe

community。Whatoccasionstheprosperityofacolony？Notthedearnessofsubsistence，butitscheapness;notthe

difficultyofobtainingfood，clothing;shelter，andfuel，butthefacility。Nowhowcanunproductiveconsumptionincrease

thisfacility？Howcanthefundfromwhichallaretobemaintainedbeaugmentedbythedestructionofaportionofit？If

thehigherordersweretoreturntothecustomsofacenturyago，andcovertheircoatswithgoldlace，theymightenjoy

theirownfinery;buthowwouldthatbenefittheirinferiors？ThetheorywhichIamconsidering，repliesthattheywouldbe

benefitedbybeingemployedinmakingthelace。Itistruethatacoat，insteadofcosting5l。，wouldcost55l。Butwhat

becomesnowoftheextra50l。？foritcannotbesaidthatbecauseitisnotspentonalacedcoat，itdoesnotexist。Ifa

landlordwith10，000l。ayearspendsitunproductively，hepaysitawaytothosewhofurnishtheembellishmentsofhis

houseandgrounds，andsupplyhisstable，hisequipage，andhisclothes。Supposehimnowtoabandonallunproductive

expenditure，toconfinehimselftobarenecessaries，andtoearnthembyhisownlabour，thefirstconsequencewouldbe，

thatthoseamongwhomhepreviouslyspenthis10，000l。ayearwouldlosehimasanemployer;andbeyondthisthetheory

inquestionseesnothing。Butwhatwouldhedowiththe10，000l。whichhewouldstillannuallyreceive？Noonesupposes

thathewouldlockitupinabox，orburyitinhisgarden。Whetherproductivelyorunproductively，itstillmustbespent。If

spentbyhimself，asbythesuppositionitwouldbespentproductively，itmustincrease，andeveryyearstillfurtherincrease

thewholefundapplicabletotheuseoftherestofthecommunity。Ifnotspentbyhimself，itmustbelenttosomeother

person，andbythatpersonitmustbespentproductivelyorunproductively。Hemight，perhaps，buywithitpropertyinthe

Englishfunds;butwhatbecomesofitinthehandsoftilepersonwhosellstohimthatfundedproperty？Hemightbuywith

itFrenchrentes;butinwhatformwouldthepriceofthoserentesgotoParis？——Intheform，aswehaveseen，of

manufacturedcommodities。Quacunqueviadata，everymanmustspendhisincome;andthelesshespendsonhimself，themoreremainsfortherestoftheworld。Thelasttheory，inconsistentwithmyownviews，towhichIshallcallyourattention，isthatproposedbyMr。Ricardointhefollowingpassage:——\'Thelabouringclasshavenosmallinterestinthemannerinwhichthenetincomeofthecountryisexpended，althoughitshould，inallcases，beexpendedforthegratificationandenjoymentofthosewhoarefairlyentitledtoit。\'Ifalandlord，oracapitalist，expendshisrevenueinthemannerofanancientbaron，inthesupportofagreatnumberof

retainersormenialservants，hewillgiveemploymenttomuchmorelabourthanifheexpendeditonfineclothesorcostlyfurniture。\'Inbothcasesthenetrevenuewouldbethesame，andsowouldbethegrossrevenue，buttheformerwouldberealizedin

differentcommodities。Ifmyrevenuewere10，000l。，thesamequantitynearlyofproductivelabourwouldbeemployed，

whetherIrealizeditinfineclothesandcostlyfurniture，etc。etc。，orin\'aquantityoffoodandclothingofthesamevalue。If，

however，Irealizedmyrevenueinthefirstsetofcommodities，nomorelabourwouldbeconsequentlyemployed:Ishould

enjoymyfurnitureandmyclothes，andtherewouldbeanendofthem;butifIrealizedmyrevenueinfoodandclothing，

andmydesirewastoemploymenialservants，allthosewhomIcouldsoemploywithmyrevenueof10，000l，orwiththe

foodandclothingwhichitwouldpurchase，wouldbetobeaddedtotheformerdemandforlabourers，andthisaddition

wouldtakeplaceonlybecauseIchosethismodeofexpendingmyrevenue。Asthelabourers，then，areinterestedinthe

demandforlabour，theymustnaturallydesirethatasmuchaspossibleshouldbedivertedfromexpenditureonluxuries，tobeexpendedinthesupportofmenialservants。Inthesamemanneracountryengagedinwar，andwhichisunderthenecessityofmainmininglargefleetsandarmies，

employsagreatmanymorementhanwillbeemployedwhenthewarterminates，andtheannualexpenseswhichitbringswithitcease。IfIwerenotcalleduponforataxof500l。duringthewar，whichisexpendedonmeninthesituationsofsoldiersand

sailors，Imightprobablyspendthatportionofmyincomeonfurniture，clothes，books，etc。etc。，andwhetheritwas

expendedintheonewayortheother，therewouldbethesamequantityoflabouremployedinproduction;forthefoodand

clothingofthesoldierandsailorwouldrequirethesameamountofindustrytoproducethemasthemoreluxurious

commodities:but，inthecaseofwar，therewouldbetheadditionaldemandformenassoldiersandsailors;and，

consequently，awarwhichissupportedoutoftherevenue，andnotfromthecapitalofacountry，isfavourabletoanincreaseofpopulation。Attheterminationofthewar，whenpartofmyrevenuerevertstome，andisemployedasbeforeinthepurchaseofwine，

furniture，orotherluxuries，thepopulationwhichitbeforesupported，andwhichthewarcalledintoexistence，willbecome

redundant，andbyitseffectontherestofthepopulation，anditscompetitionwithitforemployment，willsinkthevalueofwages，andverymateriallydeterioratetheconditionofthelabouringclasses。\'（4）Mr。Ricardo\'s。theoryis，thatitismorebeneficialtothelabouringclassestobeemployedintheproductionofservicesthan

intheproductionofcommodities;thatitisbetterforthemtobeemployedinstandingbehindchairsthaninmakingchairs;

assoldiersorsailorsthanasmanufacturers。Nowasitisclearthatthewholequantityofcommoditiesprovidedfortheuse

oflabourersisnotincreasedbytheconversionofanartisanintoafootmanorasoldier，eitherMr。Ricardomustbewrong，ormyelementarypropositionisfalse。Mr。Ricardoseemstohavebeenledtohisconclusionsbyobservingthatthewagesofservants，sailors，andsoldiersare

principallypaidinkind——thoseofartisansinmoney。Hecorrectlystates，thatifamanwith10，000l。a—yearspendshis

incomeinthepurchaseofcommoditiesforhisownuse，heretains，afterhavingmadethosepurchases，nofurtherfundfor

themaintenanceoflabour;butthatifhespendsitinthepurchaseofcommoditiestobeemployedinmaintainingmenial

servants，hehas，inthosepurchasedcommodities，anewfundwithwhichhecanmaintainacertainnumberofmenial

servants。Itappearedtohim，therefore，thatthelandlordwould，inthelattercase，beabletospendhisincometwiceover;

tosubsisttwiceasmany。personsasbefore。Itdidnotoccurtohimthatthelandlord，bypurchasinghimselfthesubsistence

ofhisservants，merelydoesforthemwhattheywouldbeabletodobetter。forthemselves;that，insteadofspendinghis

ownincometwiceover，hemerelytakesonhimselfthebusinessofspendingtheirsforthem;（5）andthatifheweretogiveto

hisservantsthevalueoftheirwholesubsistenceinmoney，thewholebodyoflabourerswouldbejustaswellmaintainedas

inthesupposedcaseofhispurchasingtheirsubsistence，andthengivingittotheminexchangefortheirservices。Noone

wouldmaintainthatifitwerethepractice，inthiscountry，asitisinIndia，togivetoservantsboardwages，thedemandfor

labourwouldbelessened;orthatifitwerethepractice，asitisinsemi—barbarouscountries，tomaintainservantsto

producewithintheirmasterswallsthecommoditieswhichweareaccustomedtopurchasefromshops，thedemandfor

labourwouldbeincreased。Stilllesscoulditbe。maintained，thatifthoseservants，insteadofproducingcommodities，were

employedinfollowingtheirmaster\'sperson，ormountingguardbeforehisdoor，suchachangewouldcreateanadditionaldemandformen，andbefavourabletoanincreaseofpopulation。SofaramIfromconcurringinMr。Ricardo\'sopinion，thatitistheinterestofthelabourersthatrevenueshouldbespent

ratheronservicesthanoncommodities，thatIbelievetheirinteresttobepreciselyopposite。Inthefirstplace，thelabourer

cangenerallymanagebetterhisownincomethanitcanbemanagedforhimbyhismaster。Ifadomesticservantcouldearn

aswagesthewholesumwhichhecostshismaster，evenifheweretospenditashereceivedit，hewouldprobablyspendit

withmoreenjoyment。Secondly，theincomespentonservicesisspentinthepurchaseofwhatperishesattheinstantofits

creation;thatspentoncommoditiesoftenleavesresultswhich，whentheirfirstpurchaserhasdonewiththem，are

serviceabletoothers。Inthiscountrythepoorare，toagreatextent，clothedwithgarmentsoriginallyprovidedfortheir

superiors。Inallthebetterclassofcottagesmaybefoundarticlesoffurniturewhichnevercouldhavebeenmadefortheir

presentpossessors。Alargeportionofthecommoditieswhichnowcontributetothecomfortofthelabouringclasseswould

neverhaveexisted，ifithadbeenthefashioninthiscountry，duringthelastfiftyyears，topreferretinueandattendanceto

durablecommodities。And，thirdly，theincomeemployedoncommoditiesisfavourabletothecreationofbothmaterialand

immaterialcapital;thatemployedonservicesisnot。Thedutiesofaservantaresoeasilylearned，thathecanscarcelybe

termedaskilledlabourer:hisaccumulationsaresmallinamount，andseldomturnedtomuchadvantage。Theartisanlearns

atrade，inwhicheveryyearaddstohisskill，andistaughtmechanicalandchemicalprocesses，oftensusceptibleof

indefiniteimprovement，andinwhichasingleinventionmayraisetheauthortowealth，anddiffuseprosperityoverawhole

district，orevenawholenation。Anindustriousartisancanoftensavealargeportionofhisincome，andinvestitwithgreat

andimmediateprofit。Hepurchaseswithhissavingsasmallstockoftoolsandmaterials，andbythevigilanceandactivity

whichcanbeappliedonlytoasmallcapital，renderseveryportionofitefficient。Theancestors，andnottheremote

ancestors，ofsomeofourrichestandourproudestfamilies，theauthorsofsomeofourmostvaluablediscoveries，were

commonmechanics。Whatmenialservanthasinthiscountry，andinmoderntimes，beenapublicbenefactor，orevenraised

himselftoaffluence？Bothhistoryandobservationshowthatthosecountriesinwhichexpenditureischieflyemployedinthepurchaseofservicesarepoor，andthoseinwhichitisemployedoncommoditiesarerich。Mr。Ricardo\'stheoryastotheeffectsofwarisstillmorestrikinglyerroneous。Itis，inthefirstplace，opentoallthe

objectionswhichIhavealreadyopposedtohisviewsrespectingmenialservants。Therevenuewhichisemployedin

maintainingsoldiersandsailorswould，evenifunproductivelyconsumed，maintainatleastanequalnumberofservantsand

artisans;andthatportionofitwhichwouldhavebeenemployedinthemaintenanceofartisanswould（aswehaveseen）

havebeenfarmorebeneficiallyemployed。Thedemandforsoldiersandsailorsisnot，ashetermsit，anadditional，itis

merelyasubstituteddemand。Butagreatpartofthatrevenuewouldhavebeenproductivelyconsumed。Insteadof

employingsomelabourersinconvertingsuburbsintofortifications，andforestsintonavies，toperishbydryrotinharbour，orbyexposure。atsea，andothersinwalkingthedeckandparadingontherampart，itwouldhaveemployedtheminaddingmoreandmore

everyyeartothefundfromwhichtheirsubsistenceisderived。Warismischievoustoeveryclassinthecommunity;butto

noneisitsuch。acurseastothelabourers。

THEEND。

NOTES:

1。Thisisoneofthemodesinwhichslaverymaybeextinguished，butitisadreadfulabuseoflanguagetocalliteuthanasia。

2。SeeMr。WilmotHorton\'s\'CausesandRemediesofPauperism，\'fourthseries。

HieetiamfatisaperitCassandrafuturisOraDeijussunonunquamcreditaTeucris。3。Andyetitappearsnowtobethought，thatwagesmayberaisedbythedestructionor（whatisthesameinimmediate

effect）thedisuseofmachinesalreadyconstructed。

4。Principles，etc。，p。475。5。Hedidnotperceivethatallthatthelandlordspendsinpurchasingthesubsistenceandclothingofhisservantsissomuch

deductedfromwhathewouldotherwisehavetopaytheminmoney。