LONDON：
LONGMAN，REES，ORME，BROWN，GREEN，&；LONGMAN，PATERNOSTERROW。
1834。
TOTHE
ELECTORSANDINHABITANTS
OF
BOLTON。GENTLEMEN，Ihavebeen，forsometime，engagedinpreparinganextensiveworkuponthefinancialandcommercialresourcesofthe
country。Thisworkcontainssomechaptersuponwages，andupontheeffectsofcombinationsforregulatingthem，which
appearpeculiarlyapplicableatthepresentcrisis；and，therefore，withoutwaitingforthemoregeneralwork，ofwhichtheyformacomponentpart，Ipublishtheminadetachedandseparateform。TotheInhabitantsofBolton，itisofparamountimportance，thatwagesshouldbepermanentlyhigh。Thegreatmajorityof
thepeople，whoseonlysourceofincomeistheirlabour，haveadirectandimmediateinterestinobtainingforthatlabourthe
greatestpossiblereward；thehousekeeperswhoengageinthelocaltradeofthedistrict，haveamoreindirect，butanotless
certaininterestinhighwages，inasmuchas，withtheincreaseinthelabourers’meansofpurchasing，theirbusinessandtheir
profitsmustincreasealso；andtheproprietorsofhouses，ofcottages，andofbuildingground，haveaninterestinhighwages，
because，inproportiontothegeneralprosperity，thedemandfortenementswillincrease，andrentswillimprove，andbe
morepunctuallypaid。Thus，itistheuniversalinterestofthetown，thatlabourshouldobtainanamplereward；and，asthe
representativeofthatuniversalinterest，Ihavefeltittobemydutytoendeavourtoascertain，uponwhatprinciples，andtowhatextent，itispracticabletoincreasewages。Boltonhashadthehonouroforiginatingsomeofthemostimportantimprovementsinthegreatstaplemanufactureof
England；andItrustthatitisdestinedtohavethefurtherhonour，ofsettinganenlightenedexample，ofthemannerinwhich
thoseimprovementsmayberenderedmostconducivetotheprosperityofthecountry，andtothepermanentcomfortandhappinessofthepeople。WiththeseviewsIrequestpermission，todedicatethefollowingpagestoyou，asatestimonyofmysincererespect，andasa
memorialoftheenduringgratitudeIfeel，fortheprouddistinctionwhichyourpartialfavourhasconferreduponme。
Ihavethehonortobe，GENTLEMEN，YourfaithfulServant，andverysincereFriend，R。TORRENS
ContentsChap。I。—OnthegeneralPrincipleswhichregulateWages。
Chap。II—OntheEffectofMachineryuponWages。
Chap。III—OntheEffectofCombinationsforreducingWages。
Chap。IV—OntheEffectofCombinationsforRaisingWages。
Chap。V—OnMrFielden’sSchemeforLimitingtheHoursofLabour。ChapVI—OntheQuestion，wouldtheProfitsoftheFarmerbeReducedbysuchareductioninthevalueofFood，aswouldadmitofanIncreaseofrealWages？Chap。VII—OntheQuestion，wouldaFreeTradeinCorndiminishEmployment，andreduceWages，bycontractingthe
HomeMarket，inagreaterproportionthatitextendedtheForeignMarket？
ON
WAGESANDCOMBINATION。CHAPTERI。ONTHEGENERALPRINCIPLESWHICHREGULATEWAGES。Theprincipleswhichregulatethewagesoflabourform，withoutanyexception，themostinterestingandthemostimportant
divisionofPoliticalEconomy。Thelabouringclassescomposethegreatbulkofeverycommunity；andacountryishappyor
miserable，astheyarewellorillsuppliedwiththenecessaries，comforts，andenjoymentsoflife。ThestudyofPolitical
Economy，ifitdidnotteachthewayinwhichlabourmayobtainanadequatereward，mightservetogratifyamerely
speculativecuriosity，butcouldscarcelyconducetoanypurposesofpracticalutility。Itclaimsthepeculiarattentionofthe
benevolentandgood，mainlybecauseitexplainsthecauses，whichdepressandelevatewages，andtherebypointsoutthe
means，bywhichwemaymitigatethedistress，andimprovethecondition，ofthegreatmajorityofmankind。Political
Economyisnot，ashasbeenerroneouslystated，theappropriatescienceofthestatesmanandthelegislator；itispeculiarly
andemphatically，thescienceofthepeople。
DefinitionoftheTermLabour。Tomanyofourreadersitmaybematterofsurprisethatweshoulddeemitnecessarytogiveaformaldefinitionofaword
sosimple，andsogenerallyunderstood，asthetermlabour。Thefactis，thatrecenteconomicalwriters，ofnoinconsiderable
eminence，haveemployedtheirtermsinsomanydifferentsenses，andextendedtheirsignificationtosomanydissimilar
things，thatthelanguageofthesciencehasbeenrenderedlooseandindeterminate；andthat，inusingthemostfamiliarwords，itoftenbecomesnecessary，notonlytoexplainwhattheirmeaningis，buttopointoutwhatitisnot。Ourfirstparents，evenbeforethecondemnationto\"eatbythesweatoftheirbrow，\"couldnothavebroughtthefruitsof
Edentotheirlipsbyathought，orawish；theymusthaveemployedsomedegreeofmuscularormanualexertion，inorderto
gatherthem。Nowmuscular，ormanualexertion，employedinordertoprocuretheobjectsofdesire，isthatwhich，inthelanguageofPoliticalEconomy，wedenominatelabour。Mentalexertion，whenemployed，asitoftenis，inprocuringforustheobjectsofourdesire，iscalledmental，orintellectuallabour。Wheneverthetermisusedwithoutsuchqualifyingepithets，itmeanshumanmuscularexertion，andnothingmore。Intheproductionofwealth，theagencyoftheinferioranimals，theagencyofmachines，andtheagencyofthepowersof
nature，arefrequentlyemployedtoproduceeffectssimilartothose，whichareproducedbyhumanagency。Butitisnot，
therefore，correcttospeak，assomeeconomicalwritersdo，（1）ofthelabourofcattle，thelabourofmachines，andthelabour
ofnature。InthelanguageofPoliticalEconomy，everythingshouldbepreciseanddefinite；andourterms，insteadofbeinggeneralized，soastoconfounddistinctions，shouldbeparticularized，soastomarktheshadesofdifferencebetween
analogousobjectsandtoplacethembeforeusseparate，and，asitwere，atadistancefromeachother。Insteadofapplying
thesamecommontermtotheseveralagenciesofmen，ofcattle，ofmachines，andofnatureweshouldsaythelabourofmen，theworkofcattle，theactionofmachines，andtheoperationsofnature。Itissometimessaid，that\"intheideaoflabour，theideaofsubsistenceisincluded；\"（2）andthat\"whenwespeakoflabourasathingbyitselftheideaofsubsistenceisincludedinit。\"Suchloosemodesofexpressionare，tosaytheleastofthem，neitherverylogical，norveryintelligible。Labourisonething；thesubsistencewhichsupportsthelabourerisanother，andaverydifferentthing；andconfounding
thesetwodifferentthingsunderonecommonterm，canonlyleadtoambiguity，misconception，anderror。Tosay，that，when
weconsiderlabourasathingbyitselfweincludeintheconsiderationanotherandadifferentthing，ismanifestlyabsurdandcontradictory。Inthewritingsofpoliticaleconomists，wefrequentlymeetwiththephrases\"accumulatedlabour，\"\"hoardedlabour。\"These
formsofexpressionareincorrect。Wemayaccumulateandhoardthearticleswhichlabourhasproduced；butthelabour
itself，theactionofthehumanmuscles，ceasedtoexisttheinstantitwasperformed，andbecame，inthenatureofthings，
incapableofbeingeitheraccumulatedorhoarded。\"Accumulatedlabour，\"and\"hoardedlabour，\"are，atthebest，but
figurativeexpressions，notofthehappiestkind；andtointroducethemintothepreciseandaccuratediscussionsofPoliticalEconomy，istosubstitutethedictionofpoetryforthenomenclatureofscience。Thetermlabour，then，whenitsmeaningisunqualifiedbytheepithet\"mental，\"or\"intellectual，\"signifiestheactionofthehumanmuscles，directedtoobtaintheobjectsofdesire；anditsignifiesnothingmore。DefinitionofWagesWhenmenceasetoworkupontheirownaccount，theymustreceivefromtheiremployers，inexchangefortheirlabour，
sucharticlesofwealth，asmaybenecessarytopreservetheminworkingcondition，andtoenablethemtokeepuptherace
oflabourers。Thearticlesofwealthwhichthelabourerreceives，inexchangeforhislabour，aredenominatedwages。When
thequantityofnecessariesandcomfortswhichthelabourerreceivesislarge，wagesaresaidtobehigh；whenitissmall，theyaresaidtobelow。Whenmoneybecomestheinstrumentofexchangingonethingforanother，adistinctionmustbemadebetweenmoney
wages，andcommoditywages；or，inotherwords，betweennominalandrealwages。Realwagesconsistofthequantityof
necessariesandcomfortswhichthelabourerreceives；nominalwagesofthesumofmoney，inwhichheispaid。Ifmoney
alwaysretainedthesamevalue，inrelationtothenecessariesandcomfortsoflife，nominalwageswouldalwaysbeacorrect
measureofrealwages；andbothwouldriseorfalltogether，andinthesameproportion。Buttheexchangeablepowerof
moneyisliabletoconstantfluctuations，andthereforenominalwagesoftenrisewhilerealwagesfall，andfallwhilereal
wagesrise。Itisalmostsuperfluoustoadd，thatitisonthestate，notofnominal，butofrealwages，thattheconditionoftheworkingclassesdepends。Itissometimessaidthatwagesriseandfall，notasthelabourerreceivesagreateroralessquantityofwealth；（3）but，onthe
contrary，ashereceivesagreateroralessproportionofthewholewealthproduced。Thus，ifthelabourerhadreceived，as
hisannualwages，fiftyquartersofcornandfiftysuitsofclothing，whenthewholeannualproduceofhislabourwasone
hundredquartersandonehundredsuits；then，ifheshouldreceiveonlytwenty—fivequartersandtwenty—fivesuitswhenthe
wholeproduceofhislabourbecameonlyfortyquartersandfortysuits，hiswages，insteadofhavingfallenone—half，would
haveexperiencedaconsiderablerise；becausetheproportionoftwenty—fivetoforty—fiveisgreaterthantheproportionof
fiftytoonehundred。Inthissenseoftheterms，wagesmaybefallingwhilethelabourerisearningamoreabundantquantity
ofallthenecessariesandcomfortsoflife；andmayberising，whileheissinkingtoastateoftheutmostdestitution，andactuallyperishingoffamine。Thisisastrangeandunnecessary，nottosayabsurd，perversionoflanguage。Thetermwagesissometimesemployedinaveryextensivesense，beingmadetosignifynotonlythatwhichisgiventothe
labourer，butalltheotheradvancesofthecapitalist。Thisgeneralizationisimproper。Thetermcapitalisthegeneralterm，
comprisingthatwhichisgiventothelabourer，andthatwhichadvancedasseed，material，andmachinery；thetermwagesis
thespecificterm，markingthatparticularportionofthecapitalist’sadvanceswhichisgiventothelabourerforhislabour。
Whenweextendthesignificationofthetermwagestoseed，material，andmachinery，werenderitsynonimouswiththeterm
capital。Forthesakeofconvenienceandprecision，itisnecessarythatsomeonetermshouldbeappropriatedtosignifythat
particularportionofcapitalwhichisadvanceddirectlyandimmediatelytothelabourer，inpaymentforhislabour；andthe
termwhichgeneralusagehassoappropriatediswages。Tocallseed，material，andmachinery，wages，isaconfoundingof
terms；tocallthemthewagesofthatnon—entity，accumulatedlabour，isstillworse。Suchvaguegeneralizationinvolvesusin
endlessambiguity，obscurity，andconfusion。InthevocabularyofPoliticalEconomy，asinthelanguageofcommonlife，the
termwagessignifiesthatwhichispaidforlabour，andsignifiesnothingmore。
TheMaximumofWages。Aswagesarepaidoutoftheproduceofindustry，itisobviousthattherearenaturalandnecessarylimits，beyondwhichthey
cannotbepermanentlyincreased。Thus，if100labourersexpend200quartersofcornforseedandimplements，andraisea
returnof500quarters，itisphysicallyimpossiblethattheirwagesshouldcontinuetobemorethan300quarters；because，if
theydid，seedandimplementswouldnotbereplaced，andthecapitalistscouldnotcontinuethecultivationoftheearth。
Again，ifitwerenecessarytoresorttoaninferiorsoil，uponwhich100labourers，withanexpenditureof200quartersfor
seedandimplements，couldraisenomorethan400quarters，then，forthesamereason，itwouldbecomephysicallyimpossiblethattheannualwagesof100menshouldexceed200quartersofcorn。Intheabovecases，thelabourerissupposedtoreceiveashiswagesthewholeproduceoflabour，whichremainsafterthe
replacementofthecapitalist’sotheradvances。Thiscanoccuronlyinthoserareinstancesinwhichthecapitalist，without
seekinganyprofitforhimself，employslabourersfrompurebenevolenceandcharity。Inthevastmajorityofactualcases，the
capitalist，inadditiontothereplacementofallhisadvances，willreserveaportionoftheproduceofindustryashisprofit；
andthoughtherewillexistnophysical，yettherewillbeamoralimpossibility，thatwagesshouldexceedthat，whichremains
afterthecapitalist’sotheradvanceshavebeenreplaced，withthelowestrateofincrease，forthesakeofwhichhewillcarry
onhisbusiness。This，then，wemaycallthemoralmaximumofwages。Thelabourermayreceivemore，asabenevolentgift，
frommenoffortune，whodonotliveupontheirindustry；buthecannotreceivemore，inexchangeforcommonlabour，inthosegreatandpermanentbranchesofemploymentwhichsupplythecommunitywiththenecessariesandcomfortsoflife。Therateofincrease，whichissufficienttoinducethecapitalisttocontinueinbusiness，varies，fromcauses，whichitisnot
necessaryheretoexplain。Wemayforthepresentsafelyassume，thatthecapitalistwillnotengageintheworkofproduction，unlesshecanobtainaprofitofsevenpercent。Ifwetakesevenpercent。asthelowestrateofprofit，thenthemaximum，beyondwhichwagescannotrise，willbethat
portionoftheproduce，whichremains，afterreplacingtheadvancesnotconsistingofwages，anddeductingwhatisequi—
valenttosevenpercent。uponthewholeadvances。Thus，ifafarmeradvanceto100labourers200quartersofcorn，as
wages，with200quartersmoreforseedandimplements；andifheobtainareturnof428quarters，wageswillbeatthe
maximum，for，ifwetakefromthewholeproduceof428quarters，200quarters，toreplacetheseedandimplements
consumed，andalsodeduct28quarters，orsevenpercent，uponthewholeadvanceof400quarters，thenjust200quarters
willremaintobeagainadvancedaswages。Underthesecircumstances，itisself—evidentthatwagescouldnotriseabove
200quartersfor100men，forweremorethanthisgiventothelabourers，toolittlewouldremain，eitherforseedsandimplements，orforthatlowestrateofprofitwhichwillinducethefarmertocultivate。Itisobvious，thatthemaximumofwagesmayberaised，eitherbythecultivationoflandofabetterquality，orby
improvementsintheeffectivepowersofindustry；andthatitmaybelowered，eitherbyresortingtopoorersoils，orbya
fallingoffintheeffectivepowersofindustry。Inanimprovingcountry，bettermodesofculturearegraduallyintroduced，and
labourismoreeffectuallyapplied，particularlyinmanufactures。Buttheeffectofsuchimprovements，inraisingthemaximum
ofwages，isingeneralcounterbalancedbythenecessityofresortingtoinferior，ormoredistantsoilsforthesupplyoffoodandmaterial。Thecircumstances，whichraisethemaximumofwagestothehighestpoint，arethoseinwhichathickly—peopledcountry，
excellinginmanufacturingindustry，carriesonaperfectlyfreetradewiththinly—peopledcountries，inwhichnonebutsoilsoffirst—ratequalityareundertillage。Asimpleillustrationwilldemonstratethis。Ifamastermanufactureremploy100labourers，whofabricateforhim428suitsofclothing，andif，fromtheinferiorquality
ofthesoilundercultivation，heisobligedtogive200suitsforthematerialsheworksup，itisevidentthatthehighestpoint
towhichthewagesofthe100labourerscanascendwillbe200suitsofclothing；becauseifmoreweregivenforlabour，thecapitalistwouldhavelessthanthelowestrateofprofit，whichisnecessarytoinducehimtocontinueinbusiness。Now，letanunrestrictedcommerceinagriculturalproducebeestablishedwithanewcountry，cultivatingnonebutfirst—rate
soils，andletrawproducebeinconsequencesoreducedinvalueascomparedwithwroughtgoods，thatthemanufacturer
canpurchasehisrawmaterialfor100，insteadoffor200suitsofclothing；andimmediatelythemaximumofwages，forthe
100labourers，willrisefrom200to300suitsbecausethecapitalist，obtaining428suits，andadvancingonly100for
materials，maygive300tohislabourers，andyetretain28suits，orsevenpercent。uponhiswholeadvanceof400suits。
Measuredinclothing，maximumwageswillhaverisen50percent，measuredinrawproducetheywillappeartohaverisen300percent。Englandhavingacquiredinmanufacturingindustryanefficacyunexampledinthehistoryoftheworld，andhavingthenew
countriesoftheAmericancontinentopentohercommerce，isplacedinthatprecisesituation，inwhichthemaximumof
wagesmaybeelevatedtothehighestattainablepoint。Butthevast，theincalculableadvantagesofthissituationare
counteractedbytherestrictivesystem，whichexcludescheaprawproducefromourmarkets。
TheMinimumofWages。Theminimumbelowwhichwagescannotpermanentlyfall，consistsinaquantityofthenecessariesandconveniencesoflife
sufficienttopreservethelabourerinworkingcondition，andtoinducehimtokeepuptheraceoflabourers。Thepoint，
belowwhichwagescannotfall，isnotafixedandimmutablepoint，butis，onthecontrary，liabletoconsiderablevariation。
Theshelterandclothingindispensableinonecountrymaybeunnecessaryinanother。AlabourerinHindostanmaycontinue
toworkwithperfectvigour，whilereceivingasupplyofclothingwhichwouldbeinsufficienttopreservealabourerin
Russiafromperishing。Evenincountries，situateinthesameclimate，differenthabitsoflivingwilloftenoccasionvariationsintheminimumofwages，asconsiderableasthosewhichareproducedbynaturalcauses。ThelabourerinIrelandwillrearafamilyundercircumstanceswhichwouldnotonlydeteranEnglishworkmanfrom
marriage，butwouldforcehimontheparishforpersonalsupport。Now，itiscertain，thatagradualintroductionofcapital
intoIreland，accompaniedbysuchadiffusionofinstructionamongstthepeople，aswouldimparttothematasteforthe
comfortsoflife，mightraisetheminimumofwagesinthatcountrytoanequalitywiththeirminimuminEngland；andwecan
conceiveasuccessionofimpoverishingandcalamitouscauses，whichmightsoreducethespiritofthepeopleofEngland，as
torenderthemsatisfiedwiththescantypittance，thatthelabourerobtainsinthesisterisland。Alterations，however，inthe
minimumofwagescannotbesuddenlyeffected。Sofarasthisminimumdependsuponclimate，itisunchangeable；andeven
sofarasitisdeterminedbythehabitsofliving，andtheestablishedscaleofcomfort，itcanbeeffectedonlybythose
circumstancesofprosperityordecay，andbythosemoralcausesofinstructionandcivilization，whichareevergradualin
theiroperation。Theminimumofwages，therefore，thoughitvariesunderdifferentclimates，andwiththedifferentstagesof
nationalimprovement，may，inanygiventimeandplace，beregardedasverynearlystationary。
Onthecircumstances，whichdeterminethepoint，atwhichactualWagessettle。Wehaveseen，thattheminimumofwagesisthatquantityoftheproducts，ofindustry，whichclimateandcustomrender
necessary，inordertosupportthelabourerwhileatwork，andtoinducehimtokeepuptheraceoflabourers；andithas
appearedthatthemaximumofwagesisthatquantityoftheproductsofindustrywhichremains，afterreplacingthe
advances，notconsistingofwages，andpayingthecapitalistthelowestrateofprofit，whichwillinducehimtocontinuetheworkofproduction。Now，whenclimateandcustomhavefixedtheminimum，belowwhichtherewardoflabourcan—notfall，andwhenthe
qualityofthesoil，theskillwithwhichlabourisapplied，andthedegreeoffreedomwhichisallowedtotrade，havedeter—
minedthemaximum，beyondwhichitcannotrise，whatistheprecisecircumstancewhichfixesthepointatwhichactualwagessettle？Inordertoputthisimportantquestioninamoreexactanddefiniteform，wewillassumethattheminimumwagesofthe
labourerarefivequartersofcornayear；andthattheminimumprofit，forthesakeofwhichthecapitalistwillmake
advances，issevenpercent。；andwewillsupposethatafarmer，byemploying100labourers，andadvancing500quartersof
cornforseedandimplements，obtainsareproductionof1605quarters。Inthiscase，whatistodeterminethewageswhich
the100labourersshallreceive？Theymayreceiveonly500quarters，shouldwagesfalltotheminimum；ortheymayreceive
1000quarters，shouldwagesrisetothemaximum；because，asthefarmerobtainsareproductionof1605quarters，hemay，
inadditiontohisadvanceof500quartersforseedandimplements，pay1000quarterstohis100labourers，andstillhave，
uponthiswholeadvanceof1500quarters，theminimumprofitofsevenpercent，whichissufficienttoinducehimto
continuehisbusiness。Whatthendetermineswhetherthe100labourersshallreceiveastheirwages500quartersor1000quarters，orsomemediumquantitybetweenthesetwoextremes？Theanswertothisquestionis，thattheoneandtheonlycausewhichcandeterminewhere，betweenthemaximumand
minimum，thewagesofthese100labourersshallbefixed，is，theproportionbetweenthenumberoflabourersandthe
quantityofthatcomponentpartofourfarmer’scapital，whichhecanexchangeforlabour。Amerestatementoftherelation
betweentheamountofthecapitalandthequantityofthelabourwillrenderthisself—evident。
HowtheproportionbetweenCapitalandLabourregulatesactualWages。Thefarmer，oncommencingbusiness，commands，wewillsay，acapitalof1000quartersofcorn；500quartersofwhichhe
advancesforseedandimplements。Overandabovehisnecessaryexpenditureforthesecomponentpartsofagricultural
capital，hehasbut500quartersdisposable；andthereforeitisphysicallyimpossiblethatheshouldgivetohis100labourersmorethanthose500quartersastheirwages。Thefarmerobtainsareproductionof1605quarters；butif605quartersoftheseareabsorbedinthecurrentexpensesofhis
family，hiscapital，atthecommencementofthesecondyear，willremainexactlythesameasitwasatthecommencementofthefirst，andanyincreaseofwageswillcontinuetobeimpossible。Butsupposingthatourfarmer，outofthe605quartersformerlydevotedtothecurrentexpensesofhisfamily，contrivesto
save250quarters，andaddsthemtohiscapitalof1000quarters，thenitwillimmediatelybecomepossibleforanadvanceof
wagestotakeplace；andassumingthatthenumberoflabourersremainasbefore，anadvanceofwagesequaltotheincrease
ofcapitalnecessarilywilltakeplace；the100labourersreceiving725quartersinsteadof500quarters。Forwhenthefarmer，
inordertoextendhiscultivation，makesanadditiontohiscapital，hewillrequireagreaternumberofhands，andwillseekto
temptthemintohisemploybytheofferofhigherwages。Butastheincreaseofcapitalissupposedtobegeneral，allother
capitalistswillrequireadditionalhandsaswellasourfarmer，andwillbeofferinghigherwagesalso。Allthecapitalistswill
beunwillingtolettheiradditionalcapitallieidleforwantofhands，and，withthetwo—foldobjectofretainingtheirown
labourers，andofobtainingthoseoftheirneighbours，willgoonadvancingwages，untilthewholeoftheiradditionalcapitalisabsorbed。Assumingthatallthelabourersarealreadyemployed，andthatnoadditionismadetotheirnumbers，itismorallycertain，
thatthewholeofeverynewaccumulationofcapitalwillassumetheformofincreasedwages，untiltherewardofthe
labourerhasreacheditsmaximum。Newaccumulationsofcapitalaremadeforthesakeofobtainingadvantagetherefrom。
Butitisimpossiblethatnewaccumulationsofcapitalshouldbeadvantageouslyemployed，unlesslabourerscanbeprocured。
Thenewcapital，accumulatedforthepurposeofgaininganadvantagebytheemploymentoflabourers，comesintothe
marketandbidsforhands；theoldcapital，inordertoretainitshands，iscompelledtobidagainstthenew，andthisprocess
goesonuntilthewholeexistingcapitalisinvestedinwages，seed，materials，andmachinery。Butasagivennumberofhands
canuseonlyagivenquantityofseed，materials，andmachinery，theseingredientsorcomponentpartsofcapitalcannotbe
increased，whilethequantityoflabourremainsthesame；andthereforeitisonlyintheformofincreasedwagesthatthenewaccumulationsofcapitalcanappear。Whenthenumberoflabourersremainsthesame，nothingcanpreventnewaccumulationsofcapitalfromappearingunder
theformofincreasedwages，exceptsuchanintimateunderstandingandconcertamongstcapitalists，aswouldinduceeach
individualoftheclass，insteadofseekingforadditionalhands，toallowallhisnewaccumulationsof’capitaltoremainidle
andunproductive。Butthesuppositionofanintimateconcertamongstcapitalists，forsuchapurpose，involvesthismanifest
contradictionandabsurditynamely，thattheyaccumulatecapitalforthesakeofemployingitadvantageously，atthesame
timethattheyresolvenottoemployitatall。Iftherewereanunderstandingthatallnewcapitalshouldbekeptunemployed，
nonewaccumulationwouldtakeplace。Whenevernewaccumulationsdotakeplace，theysupplyacompletedemonstration
thatnocombinationforthepurposeofnotemployingthemexists。Ifsuchnewaccumulationsaremade，itisinorderthat
theymaybeemployed；andiftheyareemployedthequantityoflabour，andthestateofknowledgeinapplyingmechanicalpowerremainingthesame，thereisnoforminwhichtheycanappear，exceptinthatofincreasedwages。Onthisprinciple，ifourfarmer，employingasbefore，100labourers，advancing500quartersofcornasseedandimplements，
andobtainingareproductionof1605quarters，were，outofthe605quartersformerlydevotedtothecurrentexpensesofhis
family，tosave500quartersinsteadof250quarters，thenthesecond250quarters，therebyaddedtohiscapital，would，like
thefirst，taketheformofincreasedwages，andtherewardofthe100labourers，whichhadbeforerisenfrom500to750
quarters，wouldnowriseto1000quarters。Herewageswouldhavereachedtheirmaximum；forthefarmer，advancing500
quartersforseed，and1000quartersforlabour，andobtainingareproductionof1605quarters，wouldgainnomorethantheminimumprofitofsevenpercent。，which，bythesupposition，isnecessary，toinducehimtocarryonhisbusiness。Underthesecircumstances，itisplainthatifthenumberoflabourersdidnotincrease，wageswouldcontinueattheir
maximum。Shouldthelabouringclass，duringtheincreaseofcapitalandadvanceofwages，haveacquiredatastefor
superiormodesofliving，theminimum，belowwhichwagescannotfallwithoutreducingthesupplyoflabour，mightbe
madetocoincidewiththemaximum，beyondwhichtheycannotrisewithoutsuspendingtheemploymentofcapital。When
thecoincidenceofminimumandmaximumwagesisbroughtaboutbysuperiorhabitsoflivingamongthepeople，raisingthe
formertothelevelofthelatter，thelabouringclasseswillbeinthemostaffluentconditioninwhich，inthenatureofthings，itispossibletheyshouldbeplaced。Thisaffluentconditioncanbepreservedtothelabouringclassessolongonlyastheymayrefusetoburthenthemselveswith
familiessufficienttokeepuptherace，unlesstheyreceivethehighestwageswhichcanbepaid，withouttrenchinguponthe
minimumrateofprofit。Anincreaseinthenumberoflabourers，withoutacontemporaneousandproportionalincreaseinthe
quantityofthoseingredientsofcapitalbywhichlabouris，maintained，isinevitablyfollowedbyadeclineofwages。While
ourfarmer’scapitalconsistsofseedandimplementssufficienttoemploy100labourers，andofaquantityofnecessaries
sufficienttopaythemwages，attherateof10quartersofcornperman，itisphysicallyimpossiblethatheshould，withthiscapital，giveemploymentto110labourersatthesamewages。Itnecessarilyfollows，fromtheprinciplesofrent，thatwhen，onthelastlandresortedto，thesmallnessoftheproduce
obtained，deprivesthefarmerofthepowerofgivinghislabourersmorethanissufficientforthesupportofanimallife，the
highrentwhichcompetitioncausestobepaidforallthemorefertilesoils，reducesthecultivatorofthebesttothesamelevelwiththecultivatoroftheworst，andbringsdownuniversallythemaximumofwagestotheminimum。Hithertowehavetakenourproofsandillustrationsfromagriculturallabour，becauseinagriculturetheprincipalthings
expended，suchasfoodandseed，beinghomogeneouswiththethingsreproduced，weareenabledtoformadirect
comparisonbetweenthequantitiesexpendedandthequantitiesreproduced，andthustogiveasimplicityanddistinctnessto
ourillustrations，whichcouldnototherwisebeobtained。Theprinciples，however，whichregulatewagesinagriculture，also
regulatetheminmanufactures。Where，asisnowthecaseinthiscountry，competitionisallowedtooperate，thevalueofthe
commonlabouremployedinproducingthefirstnecessariesoflifewillregulatethevalueofallotherkindsoflabour；
allowancebeingmadefordifferentdegreesofhardshipandofhazard，andforthetimeandexpenserequiredinlearninga
trade。
Beyondacertainpoint，theproportionbetweenCapitalandLabourceasestohaveanyinfluenceonWages。Ithasappearedthatminimumwagesarefixedbyclimate，andbythehabitsoflivingprevalentamongthelabouringclasses；
thatmaximumwagesaredeterminedbythequalityofthesoilundercultivation，bytheskillwithwhichlabourisapplied，and
bythedegreeoffreedomallowedtotrade；andthatthepointatwhichactualwagessettleisregulatedbytheproportion
whichexistsbetweenthenumberoflabourerstobemaintained，andthequantityofthoseingredientsofcapitalwhicharedestinedfortheirmaintenance。Theratiobetweenlabourandcapitalappearssometimestobeconsideredastheonlyregulatorofwages。Iftheconditionof
thegreatbodyofthepeoplebeeasyandcomfortable，itiscontendedthatallthatisnecessarytokeepitsoistomakecapital
increaseasfastaspopulation；or，ontheotherhand，topreventpopulationfromincreasingfasterthancapital；andthatifthe
conditionofthepeoplebenoteasyandcomfortable，itcanbemadesoonlybyquickeningtherateatwhichcapitalincreases，orbyretardingtherateatwhichpopulationincreases。（4）Thisistakinganarrowandincompleteviewofthecircumstanceswhichregulatewages。Theratiobetweenlabourand
capitalisnottheonlycause；itisbutoneoutoftheseveralcausesbywhichwagesaregoverned。Whenclimateandcustom
havedeterminedthepointbelowwhichtherewardoflabourcannotfall，andwhenthequalityofthesoil，andtheskillwith
whichin—dustryisapplied，havefixedthemaximumbeyondwhichitcannotrise，thentheratiobetweenpopulationand
capital，or，morecorrectly，betweenthequantityoflabourandthequantityoftheingredientsofcapitaldestinedforits
maintenance，determinestheintermediatepointatwhichactualwagessettle。Butthoughlabourandcapitalshouldgoon
increasinginthesameproportion，andthoughtheyshouldconstantlypreservethesameratiotoeachother，yetthenecessity
ofresortingtoinferiorsoilsmightgraduallyreducethemaximumofwagesuntilitcoincidedwiththeextrememinimum，
belowwhichlabourcannotbesustained。Atthispointthesupplyoflabourcouldbenofurtherincreased；andifhabitsof
frugalityamongsttheopulentclassescontinuedtoconvertrevenueintocapital，theratioofcapitaltopopulationmightgoonincreasing，withoutproducingtheslightestadvanceofwages。When，intheprogressofwealthandpopulation，wagesandprofitshavefallentotheirminimum，andwhenthenextquality
oflandtobetakenincannotbemadetoyieldareproductionsufficienttopaytheseminimumwagesandtoreplaceadvances
withminimumprofits，thenthatwhichissavedfromrevenuetobeaddedtocapitalcannotbeemployedathome，andwillbe
investedinforeignloansandforeignadventures。Atthispointthemostrapidaccumulationofcapital，thoughgoingonwhile
populationremainedstationary，couldhavenopossibleinfluenceonwages。
ThemeansbywhichWagesmaybeincreased。Thecircumstancesmostfavourabletothecomfortandhappinessofthegreatbodyofthepeople，arethoseinwhichthe
cultivationofnonebutsuperiorsoils，andthedivisionsofemployment，withtheaidofmachinery，raisetheeffectivepowers
ofindustry，and，consequently，themaxi—mumofwagestothehighestpoint；whiletherapidincreaseofcapital，orthe
prudentialhabitsofthepeoplewithrespecttoincreasingtheirnumbers，preservesbetweenthequantityoflabourandthe
quantityofthoseingredientsofcapitalwhichareapplicabletoitssupport，thatproportionwhichbringsactual，uptothelevelofmaximumwages。Thecircumstancesmostunfavourabletothecomfortandhappinessofthelabouringclass，arethoseinwhichthelow
effectivepowers，eitherofagriculturalorofmanufacturingindustry，bringdownthemaximumofwagestoalevelwiththe
extrememinimum，belowwhichthemerelyanimalwantsofthelabouringpopulationcannotbesupplied。Undersuch
circumstances，theconditionofthegreatbodyofthepeopleismelancholyandcalamitousinthehighestdegree。Already
standingontheextremevergeofexistence，oneverystagnationoftradeanddeficientharvest，theyaredeprivedofsupport，andvisitedbyfamine。Shouldtheresortingtosoilsofaninferiorquality，andtheloweffectivepowersofagriculturalindustryconsequentthereto，
bethecausewhichbringsdownthemaximumofwagestotheleveloftheirextrememinimum，thenthedegradationand
miseryofthepeoplecannotberemoved，unlesstheinferiorlandsarethrownoutofcultivation，eitherbythefree
importationofforeignagriculturalproduce，orbysuchareductionofthepopulationasmayenablethelandsofsuperiorqualitytoyieldasufficientsupplyoffoodandmaterialforthenumberswhichremain。Itistobecarefullyremembered，however，thattheimportationofforeignagriculturalproduce，andtheconsequentthrowing
outofinferiorsoils，thoughtheywillhavetheeffectofraisingmaximumorpossiblewages，cannotraisetheactualwages
received，unlesstheproportionwhichthequantityoflabourbearstothequantityoftheingredientsofcapitalapplicableto
itsmaintenanceshouldbeatthesametimereduced。If，previoustotheimportationofforeigncorn，100labourers，withan
expenditureof500quartersforseedandimplements，couldraise749quartersfromthelastqualityofsoilbroughtunder
cultivation，then，minimumprofitsbeingsevenpercent。，themaximumwagesof100menwouldbe200quarters；andif，
aftertheimportationofforeigncorn，allsoilswerethrownoutoftillage，exceptthosefromwhich100labourers，withan
expenditurefor500quartersforseedandimplements，couldproduce1605quarters，thenthemaximumwagesofthe100
labourerswouldrisefrom200quartersto1000quarters。Butthoughmaximum，orpossiblewages，mightthusadvance，itis
self—evidentthatactualwagescouldnotberaisedtothismaximum，unlessthequantityoflabourhadsodiminished，orthe
amountofcapitalhadsoincreased，thatforevery100labourerstobeemployed，thefarmer，inadditiontohisnecessaryadvancefor500quartersforseedandimplements，had1000quarterstoadvanceaswages。Itisalsotoberemembered，thatinacountrywhichhasapproachedtheultimatelimitsofheragriculturalresources，and
whichrefusestoadmitforeignagriculturalproduce，areductionofthepopulation，sufficienttothrowtheinferiorlandoutof
cultivation，thoughitincreasesmaximumorpossiblewages，yetwillnotadvanceactualwages，ifcapitalshouldbereduced
inthesameproportionwithpopulation。Ifthefarmer，whoemploys100men，hasacapitalofonly400quartersofcorn，and
ifheisobligedtoadvance200quartersforseedandimplements，thewagesofthe100menwillnecessarilybe200quarters，
whetherthesoiltheycultivateyields428or856quarters。Intheformercasethefarmer’sprofitswillbesevenpercent。；in
thelattertheywillbe114percent。Thisveryhighrateofprofitwouldoccasionarapidincreaseofcapital；andifthe
population，remainingstationary，rendereditun—necessaryagaintoresorttotheinferiorland，thewagesofthe100
labourerswouldrisefrom200quartersto600quarters，theextrememaximumdeterminedbythesuperiorqualityofthesoilundercultivation。Fromallthathasbeensaid，itmustbeevidentthattheimportantpowerofincreasing，orofdiminishing，therewardof
labour，is，bytheessentialorderofsociety，placedinthehandsofthelabourersthemselves。Irregularitiesintheseasons
bringingonscarcityandfamine，foreignincursions，ordomesticcommotions，destroyingproperty，orsuspendingproduction
byrenderingitinsecure，maysometimesoccasionadepressionofwages，whichnoprudenceonthepartofthelabouring
classescanavertormitigate。Butunderallordinarycircumstances，whentheusualcourseofnatureispreserved，andwhen
lawandorderaremaintained，itdependsuponthelabouringclassesthemselveswhetherwagesshallascendtotheultimate
maximum，orsinktotheextrememini—mum。Bydulyregulatingtheirnumbers，inrelationtotheextentandfertilityofthe
soil，theyenlargetherangeofmaximumwages；andbyregulatingtheirnumbers，inrelationtothecomponentpartsofcapitalemployed，theycauseactualwagestoascendtotheirultimatemaximum。Undersuchcircumstanceseveryimprovementinagricultureeveryadditiontomechanicalpowereverynewfacilityafforded
tocommunicationandtransporteverything，inshort，whichreducesthecostofbringingthenecessariesoflifetomarket，
raises，atoneandthesametime，bothpossibleandactualwages，bestowsuponthelabouringclassesmoreamplemeansofcomfortandenjoyment，andliftsthemtoahigherplaceuponthescaleofsociety。Ontheotherhand，whenthelabouringclassesallowtheirnumberstobearahighproportion，eithertotheextentoffertile
land，ortotheamountofcapitalapplicabletotheirmaintenance，wageswillsettledowntotheextrememinimum，below
whichanimalexistencecannotbesustained。Undersuchcircumstances，everyfluctuationoftheseasons，everystagnationor
revulsionintrade，willbringdownuponthelabouringpopulationallthemiseriesofwant，anddegradethemtoastatemore
precariousandwretchedthanthatofnegroservitude。
ThereisnotendencyinPopulationtoincreasefasterthanCapital，andthustodegradeWages。Wereittrue，ashasbeensometimesstated，thatpopulationhasatendencytoincreasemorerapidlythancapital，（5）all
endeavourstoimprovetheconditionofthepeoplewouldbecompletelyidleandabortive。Theexistenceofsuchatendency
wouldfixthelabouringclassinastate，notonlyofhopeless，butofperpetuallyincreasingmisery，andwouldcauseineach
succeedingyearagreaternumbertobecutoffbyfamine，andbytheepidemicsitengenders。Thefact，thattheconditionof
thelabouringclasseshasimprovedwiththeprogressofwealthandcivilization，demonstratesthatpopulationhasnotatendencytoincreasefasterthancapital。AdamSmithhastoldus，thatintheuniversalopulenceofanimprovingcountry，thecommonlabourercancommanda
greaterquantityofthenecessariesandcomfortsoflifethanmanyanAfricanking，theabsolutemasterofthelivesand
fortunesofthousandsofsubjectsavages。Atthepresenttime，acommonlabourer，inEngland，isbetteroff，withrespectto
food，clothing，andfurniture，thanwerethechiefmenofthelandinthedaysoftheSaxonHeptarchy；andmanyaninhabitant
ofawork—houseisbetteraccommodatednowthanweretheKingsofBritainattheperiodoftheRomaninvasion。Thesefactsaretotallyinconsistentwiththesupposition，thatpopulationhasatendencytoincreasefasterthancapital。Thepovertyandmiseryofmankind，inalmostallpartsoftheglobe，isnoproofthatpopulationhasatendencytoincrease
fasterthancapitalhasactuallyincreased。Toprovetheexistenceofsuchatendency，otherfactsmustbesupplied。Itmustbe
shown，notonlythatthelabouringclassesaregenerallyinastateofmiseryandpoverty，butthat，fromthetimethat
capitalistsandlabourersbecamedistinctclasses，themiseryandpovertyofthelatterhasgoneonincreasing。Eventhisisnot
enough。Whenthefactoftheconstantlyincreasingwretchednessofmankindhasbeenestablished，itisfurthernecessaryto
show，thattheincreasingmiseryhasnotbeenproducedbyanothercause，fullyadequatetotheeffect；namely，byanincrease
intheratioofpopulationtotheextentofthefertilelandsfromwhicherroneouslegislationpermitssubsistencetobeobtained。Whenweexaminethisquestionwiththeattentionandaccuracywhichitsgreatimportancedemandsandcomparethe
motiveswhichinfluencemankindinincreasingtheirnumbers，andinaccumulatingwealth，wefindthat，inalmostevery
society，thetendencyisnottoincreasepopulationfasterthancapital；but，onthecontrary，toincreasecapitalmorerapidlythanpopulation。Innewcountries，likeNorthAmerica，whereabundanceoffertilelandremainstobereclaimed，andwheretheobstacleto
productionisthewantofapopulationsufficientlydenseforthedivisionofemployment，andtheco—operationofonedistinct
branchofindustrywithanother，alargefamilybecomesanimportantsourceofwealth；thedesireofbetteringtheircondition
actsinconjunctionwiththeinstinctofnatureinimpellingthelabouringclassestoearlymarriages；andpopulationincreases
withasmuchrapidityasthehumanconstitutionwilladmit。Yetinnewcountries，wherepopulationdoublesintheshortest
possibleperiod，theaccumulationofwealthisatleastasrapid；andcapitalcontinuestobearthatproportiontolabourwhich
makesactualwagespermanentlyhigh。Inoldandwell—peopledcountries，suchasEng—land，theincreasingcostofprocuring
rawproducegivesahighvaluetofood，andtothosecoarsemanufacturedarticlesintowhichrawmateriallargelyenters。
Thehighvaluethusgiventothethingswhichconstituterealwages，isofnoadvantagetothemarriedlabourer，whomust
consume，inthemaintenanceofhisfamily，allthesubsistencehereceives；butisofgreatadvantagetotheunmarried
labourer，who，receivingmorefoodandclothing，orthepriceofmore，thanhecanhimselfconsume，hasasurplusquantity，
orthepriceofasurplusquantity，withwhichtopurchasethefinermanufacturedgoods，andthearticlesofconvenienceand
luxury，whichhavefalleninvalueascomparedwiththenecessariesoflife。Hencetheunmarriedlabourerfindshimselfin
muchmoreaffluentcircumstancesthanthemarriedlabourer。Whileinanewcountryanumerousfamilyisapowerfulmeans
ofbetteringtheconditionofthelabourer，inanoldcountry，wheretheproduceofthesoilhasacquiredahighvalue，sucha
familydeprivestheworkingmanoftheease，andcomfort，andindependencewhichheenjoysinthesinglestate。Itfollows，
thatasacountryapproachesthelimitsofheragriculturalresources，marriagesbecomelessfrequent；andthepower\"to
increaseandmultiply，\"insteadofbeingstimulatedtoitsutmostactionbytheconsiderationsofprudence，andthedesireof
betteringourcondition，ischeckedandcontrouledbytheprevailingefficacyofthesecausestosuchanextent，thatthe
tendencyineverycivilizedcommunityisnotforpopulationtoin—creasefasterthancapital，butforcapitaltoincreasefasterthanpopulation。TheseprinciplesareestablishedbytheactualconditionofthelabouringclassesineverycountryofEuropeexceptIreland。
Thestrengthofthemotivesbywhichinanoldcountrytheimpulsetoanincreaseofnumbersiscontrouled，cannotbe
sufficientlyappreciated，unlesswetakeintoourconsiderationthefact，thatthesemotiveshavehithertoactedunderallthe
discouragementsoferroneousopinion，andmistakenlegislation。Whenthelawswhichgiveabountytoover—population
shallberepealed，andwhenprudenceandprecautioninenteringuponthemarriagestate，andinlimitingthenumbersof
families，insteadofbeingobjectsofcensureanddislike，receivefromtheapprobationofanenlightenedpublicvoice，the
rewardtowhichtheirprevailinginfluenceonhumanhappinessentitlesthem，thenwillpopulationbeatalltimesso
regulated，thatthesupplyoflabourwillbedulyapportionedtothequantityoffertileland，andtotheamountofcapital
employed；andthelabouringclasseswillemergefromtheirdegradation，andwillpermanentlyenjoyindependenceandcomfort，unaccompaniedbytheexhaustionofimmoderatetoil。TherapiditywithwhichallkindsofusefulinstructionareatthistimespreadingamongstthelabouringclassesofGreat
Britainwouldspeedilybringaboutthisconsummation，sodevoutlytobewished，wereitnotforonemostfatalcounter—
actingcausetheannualinundationsofIrishlabour。Untilthiscauseisremoved，noconsider—ableimprovementinthe
conditionofthelabouringclassesinEnglandandScotlandcan，bypossibility，takeplace。Untilatasteforahigherscaleof
comfortbecomesprevalentamongstthepeopleofIreland，noprudentialcalculations，nodesireofliftingthemselvesfrom
theirdegradation，willcontroulthepowerofincrease，andthusraisetherewardoftheirlabourtoalevelwiththatwhichis
obtainedinEngland。ButthetwoislandsaresointimatelyconnectedsteamnavigationhasbroughttheirshoresintosuchimmediatecontactthatifIrishwagesdonotrisetothelevelofEnglish，EnglishwagesmustfalltothelevelofIrish。LetthepeopleofEnglandlooktothis。LetthelabouringclassesthroughoutEnglandandScotlandrestassured，thatif
effectualmeansbenotappliedforimprovingthehabitsoftheirIrishbrethren，thepoliticaldegradationintowhichtheyhave
fallenwill，inthere—actionofmoralcauses，sinkthegreatbodyofthepeoplethroughouttheUnitedKingdomtoone
commonlevelofextremeandhopelessmisery。
CHAPTERII。
ONTHEEFFECTOFMACHINERYUPONWAGES。Fromtheprinciplesestablishedintheprecedingchapter，itmustbeevident，thatinwhateverdegreetheemploymentof
machinerymaydiminishthecostofproduction，itmustinthesamedegreeraisemaximumorpossiblewages。Assuming，as
before，thatsevenpercentisthelowestrateofprofit，forthesakeofwhichindustrywillbecontinued，thenifafarmer，
employing100labourers，withanexpenditureof500quartersforseedandimplements，couldraise749quarters，the
maximumwagesofthe100men，shouldnorentbepaid，wouldbe200quarters，ortwoquartersperman。Nowsuppose
thatthefarmer，byintroducingathreshingmachine，awinnowingmachine，andasowingmachine，canraise749quarters
fromthelandundercultivation，withthelabourof50insteadof100men，thenitisself—evidentthatmaximumorpossible
wageswillbedoubled，andwillrisefromtwoquarterstofourquartersperman。Beforetheintroductionofthesemachines，
itwasphysicallyimpossiblethatanyeffortofprudence，anydiminutionofthesupplyoflabour，oranyincreaseinthe
demandforit，couldenablethelabourerstoearn，astheirpermanentwages，morethantwoquartersperman。But，nowthat
thecostofproductionhasbeenloweredbytheemploymentofmachinery，anincreaseinthedemandforlabour，ora
diminutioninitssupply，maydoublewages。Acapabilityofbetteringtheconditionoftheworkingpeoplehasbeen
createdtheobstacle，formerlyinsuperable，totheirimprovementhasbeenremoved。
Butthepracticallyimportantquestionsarewouldimprovementreallytakeplacewhenitceasedtobeimpossible？Wouldactualwagesrisebecausemaximumwageshadrisen？Letussee。Theemploymentofthemachineshascausedanenormousincreaseintheprofitsofthefarmer。Whilehisproduce，equivalent
to749quarters，remainsasbefore，hisexpenditure，whichwas500quartersforseedandimplements，and200quartersfor
wagesfor100men，isnowreducedto500quartersforseedandimplements，with100quartersforwagesfor50men。His
profitis，therefore，raisedfromsevento24percent。Nowthisincreasedrateofprofit，occasionedbythediminishedcostofproduction，willbefollowedbyanincreaseinactual，aswellasinmaximumwages。The100quarterswhichthefarmerformerlypaidaswagesto50men，andwhicharenowaddedtohisprofits，hecannoteat，
andhewillnotdestroy。Hewillexpendthem，eitherunproductivelyasrevenue，orproductivelyascapital。Shouldheexpend
themunproductively，uponanadditionalquantityofarticlesofdressandfurnitureproducedwithinthecountry，theywillgo
topaythewagesoftheadditionalnumberoflabourersrequiredtofabricatethisadditionalsupplyofhome—madegoods。
Shouldheexpendthemunproductivelyuponforeignluxuries，theywillgotopaythewagesoftheadditionalnumberof
labourers，requiredtoproducetheadditionalquantityofhome—madegoods，withwhichtheadditionalsupplyofforeign
luxuriesmustbepurchased。Ineithercase，theunproductiveexpenditureofthe100quarters，addedtothefarmer’sprofits，
willcreateanewdemandforlabour，exactlyequaltothequantityoflabourthrownoutofemploybytheintroductionofthe
machines。Thediminisheddemandforagriculturallabourwillbebalancedbytheincreaseddemandformanufacturing
labour，andtheaggregatedemandwillremainundiminished。Thechangeofoccupationwill，inthefirstinstance，be
accompaniedbyconsiderablelocaldistress；butafterthenewproportions，betweentheagriculturalandmanufacturing
populations，havebeenadjusted，thesamenumberoflabourerswillbeemployedatthesamerateofwagesasbefore。Onthe
supposition，therefore，thatthefarmerexpendsthewholeofhisincreasedprofitsunproductively，theultimateeffectwillbe，
thatmaximumwageswillbeincreased，whileactualwageswillremainunchanged。Thequantitiesofrawmaterialsandfood，
thefundsforemployingandmaintaininglabour，willremainasbefore；and，shouldnovariationtakeplaceinthenumberstobeemployedandmaintained，wageswillremainasbefore。Butwhentheintroductionofthemachinesincreasedthefarmer’sprofitfromsevento24percent。thewholeofthis
increasedprofitwouldnotbeexpendedunproductively。Increasingprofitsalwaysoccasionamorerapidaccumulationof
capital，andanincreaseofproductiveexpenditure。Wehave，therefore，toconsiderwhateffectwouldbeproducedupon
actualwagesbythemorerapidaccumulationofcapital，andtheincreasedproductiveexpenditure，consequentupontheemploymentofthemachines。Previoustotheemploymentofthemachines，thefarmerobtained，fromthemostinferiorsoilsthenundertillage，therateof
profitrequisitetoinducehimtoinvestcapitalincultivation。Hecannowobtainthisrateofprofitfromlandswhichcould
notbeforebetilled。Whentheexpenditure，uponagivenquantityofland，was700quarters，thelowestqualityofsoilwhich
couldbecultivatedwiththeminimumprofitofsevenpercent。musthaveyielded749quarters；nowthatthemachineshave
reducedtheexpenditureuponthisquantityoflandto600，aqualityofsoilyielding642willaffordthisrateofprofit；anew
andextensivefieldforthe`employmentofaccumulatingcapitalwillbecreated；thatportionofthefarmer’sin—creased
profitswhichheaddstohiscapitalwillbeemployedinbringingadditionallandintotillage；anincreasedquantityof
subsistencewillberaised；and，unlessthesupplyoflabourshouldincreaseinthesameproportion，actualwageswilladvance。Theemploymentofimprovedmachineryinmanufactureswouldproducepreciselysimilareffects。Letustaketheinstanceofthepower—loom，and，forthesakeofdistinctness，letustracetheresultinfigures。Amanufacturer’sexpenditureis，inthefirstinstance，rawmaterialandwearandtear，equivalentto500quarters，andwages
to100hand—loomweavers，equivalentto200quarters，andwiththisexpenditurehefabricatesclothequivalentto749
quarters。Hesubsequentlyintroducesthepower—loom，which，byenablinghimtogetthesameworkdoneby50labourers，
effectsasavingofthewagesformerlyadvancedtotheother50，whoarethrownoutofemploy。Thethingsconstitutingthe
wagesthussaved，themanufacturerwillnotdestroyhewilladvancethemeitherinpurchasing，orinproducingotherthings；
andineithercase，theaggregatequantityoffoodandclothingappropriatedtothemaintenanceofthelabouringclasseswill
suffernodiminution。Thenewdistributionofemploymentwill，foraconsiderableperiod，beaccompaniedbygreatprivation
anddistress；butwhenasufficientnumberofthehand—loomweavers，forwhoseworkthereisadiminisheddemand，shallbe
transferredtothoseothertrades，inwhichthereisanincreaseddemand，therewillnotbe，uponthewhole，anyreductionin
actualwages，evenuponthesuppositionthatthewholesavinginthecostofproductionisexpendedunproductively，and
thatnoadditionismadetothoseingredientsofcapitalwhichareapplicabletothemaintenanceoflabour。Butthis
suppositionwouldbecontrarytofact。Thesavingwhichtheintroductionofimprovedmachinerywouldeffectinthecostof
producingmanufacturednecessaries，wouldspeedilyoccasionanincreasedcreationofthefundsapplicabletothe
maintenanceoflabour；and，unlessaproportionalincreaseshouldatthesametimetakeplaceinthesupplyoflabour，would
causeactualwagestoadvance。Thedemandforlabourwouldberenderedeithermoreintenseormoreextensive，or，in
otherwords，eitherthesamenumberoflabourerswouldbeemployedathigherwages，orelseagreaternumberatthesame
wages。Thereductioninthecostofpreparingwroughtgoods，occasionedbytheemploymentofmachineryinmanufactures，
reducesthevalueofthatportionofthefarmer’sadvanceswhichconsistsofclothing，furniture，andimplements，andthereby
enableshimtoobtainadditionalsuppliesoffoodandrawmaterials，fromtractswhichcouldnotformerlybetilled。Letustakeanexample。###第2章Wewillassumethat，beforetheintroductionofimprovedmachineryinmanufactures，thatpartofthefarmer’sadvances
whichconsistsofwroughtgoodsisofequalvaluewiththatpartwhichconsistsofrawproduce。Inthiscase，ifheadvance
100quartersasfoodandseed，hemustalsoadvanceclothing，furniture，andimplements，equivalentto100quarters；andhe
willbeunabletocultivate，withtheminimumprofitofsevenpercent。，anylandwhichdoesnotyieldtothisadvancea
produceof214quarters。Now，lettheemploymentofim—provedmachineryinmanufacturesdiminishbyone—halfthe
productivecost，andthevalueofwroughtgoods，andthefarmer’sadvance，whichwasbeforeequivalentto200quarters，
willnowbeequivalentonlyto150quarters；andhewillbeabletocultivate，withtheminimumofsevenpercent，land
yieldingonly160？quarters。Tractswhichcouldnotformerlybereclaimedfromtheiroriginalwildandforeststate，will
nowbebroughtundertheplough，andtherewillnotonlybeagreatlyincreaseddemandforagriculturallabour，butlarge
additionalsuppliesoffoodandrawmaterialwillberaised，tomaintainandemployamorenumerousmanufacturingpopulation。Machineswork，butdonoteat。Whentheydisplacelabour，andrenderitdisposable，theyatthesametimedisplaceand
renderdisposabletherealwages，thefoodandclothing，whichmaintainedit。Theaggregatefundforthesupportoflabouris
notdiminished，andtherefore，unlessthenumberstobemaintainedshouldincrease，eachindividual，assoonasthefree
subsistenceandfreelabourarereadjustedtoeachother，willhavethesamecommandofthenecessariesoflifeasbefore。
Butmachinesnotonlyleavetheaggregatefundforthemaintenanceoflabourundiminished，theyactuallyincreaseit。They
areemployed，becausetheyreduceproductivecost；andwhethersuchreductiontakeplaceinagriculture，orin
manufactures，itallowscultivationtoextendoverdistrictswhichcouldnototherwisebetilled，andcausesadditionalfunds
forthemaintenanceoflabourtobecreated。Whenamachineisemployedinagriculture，thequantityoffoodandclothing
expendedinraisingagivenproduceisreduced；andwhenitisemployedinmanufactures，thevalueoftheclothingand
implementsexpendedinraisingagivenproduceisreduced；andtherefore，ineithercase，theploughisdrivenoverregions
intowhichcultivationcouldnototherwiseextendthesameeffectisproducedasifincreasednaturalfertilityhaddescended
onthesoilthefundforthemaintenanceoflabourisenlarged，andthesamenumberswillobtainhigherwages，oradditionalnumberswillobtainemployment。Mr。Ricardohasstatedanhypotheticalcase，inwhichtheemploymentofmachinerymightdiminishthefundforthe
maintenanceoflabour，andinjuretheworkingclasses。Thecaseisthis。Shouldanynumberoflabourers，nowemployedin
producingthenecessariesoflife，bewithdrawnfromthatoccupation，andemployedinconstructingmachines，theimmediate
consequencewouldbe，adiminutioninthequantityofthenecessariesoflife；and，asthediminishedquantitywouldhaveto
bedividedamongstthesamenumberofpersonsasbefore，alessquantitywouldfalltotheshareofeachindividual，andreal
wageswouldbereduced。Thediminutionofthefundsforthemaintenanceoflabour，andtheconsequentfallofrealwages，
couldonlybetemporary。Assoonasthemachineswerecompleted，thelabourersemployedinconstructingthemwould
againbecomedisposablefortheproductionofnecessaries，whiletheincreasedefficiencyofindustry，occasionedbyamore
extendedapplicationofmechanicalpowerinaidoflabour，wouldleadtoextendedtillage，andcauseaugmentedsuppliesoffoodandrawmaterialtoberaisedfromsoilswhichcouldnotbeforeremuneratethecultivator。Itistobeobserved，thatthishypotheticalcase，putbyMr。Ricardo，neveroccursinpractice。Thelabourersemployedin
agriculture，andinmanufacturingnecessaryarticlesofclothingandfurniture，areneverwithdrawnfromtheseoccupations
forthepurposeofconstructingmachines。（6）If，inanygivenyear，themanufactureofmachineryweretoincreaseten—fold，suchincreasewouldnotoccasion，eveninthatsameyear，anyperceptiblediminutioninthesupplyofthenecessariesoflife。Theonlycaseinwhichtheemploymentofmachinerycaninpracticediminishthefundsforthemaintenanceoflabour，isthat
inwhichthemachineryisworked，notbymechanical，butbyanimalpower。Should100labourers，employedinspade
husbandry，consume200quartersofcorn，andproduce220quarters，thefarmer，whoadvancedtheirconsumption，would
obtain20quartersashisprofit。Now，lettheploughbesubstitutedforthespade，andhorsesforlabourers，andthenitis
possiblethattheprofitsofthefarmermaybeincreased，whilethefundsforthemaintenanceoflabourarediminished。Forif
20horses，consuming40quarters，candotheworkof50men，consuming100quarters，thefarmer’swholeexpenditurewill
bereducedfrom200quartersto140quarters，andhisreturnof220quarterstothisreducedexpenditure，willleave80
quartersinsteadof20quarters，ashisprofit。Butinthiscase，thefundforthemaintenanceoflabourwouldbereducedtothe
wholeextentoftheconsumptionofthehorses。Therewillbe50agriculturallabourersthrownoutofemployment；butthere
willnotbe，asiftheploughswereworkedbyanon—food—consumingpower，anequivalentsupplyofsubsistencesetfreetosupporttheminotheroccupations。Itistoberemarked，however，thattheinjuriouseffectofsubstitutinghorsepower，forhumanlabour，wouldbegradually
counteractedbytheextendedtillage，renderedpracticablebythediminutioneffectedinthecostofproduction。Whilethe
farmeremployedinspadehusbandry100men，consuming200quarters，hecouldnotcultivate，withtheminimumprofitof
sevenpercent，anylandyieldingtothisexpenditurealessproducethan214quarters。Butwhenthesubstitutionofploughs
andhorsesreduceshisexpenditurefrom200to140quarters，hecanimmediatelyextendcultivationoverinferiorsoils，
yieldingtothisreducedexpenditureaproduceofonly150quarters；andthus，bytheextensionoftillage，thefundsforthe
maintenanceoflabourwouldbeagainenlarged。Inacountrynotexportingtherawproduceofthesoil，thepermanent
interestoftheworkingclassesmustalwaysbepromotedbythesubstitutionofacheaperforamoreexpensiveinstrumentof
production。Whencheaperinstrumentsofproductionareemployed，maximumorpossiblewagesareraised，andunlessthe
supplyoflabourincreaseswiththeincreasedpowerofextendingcultivationoverinferiorsoils，actualwagesaremadetoapproximatetotheirmaximum。Thefundsforthemaintenanceoflabourreceivetheirgreatestpossibleincrease，when，intheworkingofmachines，horse
powerissuperseded。Inthiscase，humansubsistenceisaugmented，notonlybytheextensionoftillagerenderedpracticable
bythereductioninthecostofproduction，butalsobythewholequantityofproducewhichthehorsesformerlyconsumed。
Thismostimportantaugmentationinthesupplyofhumansubsistencehasnowcommenced。Alreadyinthiscountrysteamis
supersedinghorses，anditisscarcelypossibletomeasuretheextenttowhichthissupplantingprocessmaybecarried。Ina
fewyearsdraughthorsesmaydisappearfromallthegreatlinesoftrafficthroughoutEngland；anditseemsnotimprobable，
thatatnodistantperiodtheploughandtheharrowwillbemovedbysteam，aswellasthecarriageandthewaggon。Upon
thefundsforthemaintenanceoflabour，thesubstitutionofsteamforcattlewillhavethesameeffectasthatwhichwouldbe
producedbydoublingthefertilityofthesoil。Therewillbeanunprecedentedincreaseinthedemandforlabour；doublethenumberofpeoplemaybeemployedatthesamewages，orthesamenumberatdoublewages。Fromthisexaminationoftheresultsofmachinery，itappearsthatallinventionsforabridginglabour，anddiminishingthe
costofproduction，withtheexceptionofthoseinwhichcattleareemployedasthemovingpower，augmentthefundsforthe
maintenanceoflabour，andhavetheeffectofincreasingbothmaximumandactualwages。Italsoappears，thatthegeneral
goodwhichresultsfromtheemploymentofnewandimprovedmachineryisaccompaniedbypartialevil。Whilethepublic
acquiresadditionalwealth，theindividualswhoaresupplantedintheiraccustomedoccupationsarereducedtopoverty。
Humanityandjusticedemand，thatthosewhothussufferforthepublicgoodshouldberelievedatthepublicexpense。
Wheneveranewapplicationofmechanicalpowerthrowsaparticularclassofoperativesoutofemployment，anationalfund
shouldbeprovided，toaidtheminbetakingthemselvestootheroccupations。ItisadisgracetotheLegislatureandtothe
country，thatthenumerousbodyofhand—loomweaversshouldhavebeenleftsolonginmiseryanddestitution，andtoiling
tothedeathinhopelesscompetitionwiththepower—loom。Acomprehensiveplanfomtheirreliefshouldbeoneofthe
earliestmeasuresofthereformedParliament。
CHAPTERIII。
ONTHEEFFECTOFCOMBINATIONS
FORREDUCINGWAGES。InordertotracetheeffectofCombinationsforLoweringWages，letussuppose，inthefirstin—stance，thatthefarmersinan
agriculturalparish，inadditiontotheirseedandimplements，haveeachafundof200quartersofcornforthemaintenanceof
labour，whichfundisadvancedto50labourers。Inthiscase，therealwages，estimatedincorn，ofeachlabourer，willbefourquarters。Letusnowsuppose，inthesecondinstance，thatallthefarmersoftheparishenterintoacombinationforreducingthe
wagesoftheirworkmenfromfourtothreequarters；andthattothisreductionthelabourersarecompelledtosubmit。Theimportantquestionis，whatwouldbethefinaleffectsofthiscombination？Itisobviousthatthefirsteffectmustbeagreatincreaseintheprofitsofthefarmers。Allthatthelabourerslost，thefarmerswouldgain。Itisequallyobviousthatthefarmerscouldretainthisadvantageonlysolongastheyagreedamongstthemselvestoemploy
theirincreasedprofits，notinaddingtotheircapital，butinaugmentingtheirunproductiveexpenditure。Theycouldnot
employadditionalcapitalwithoutbiddingagainsteachotherforadditionalhands，andthusbreakingupthecombinationfor
thereductionofwages。Theexistenceofthecombinationinvolvesthenecessityofdevotingthewholeoftheincreasedprofits，resultingfromit，toimmediateenjoyment。Thisbeingthecase，thereductioninagriculturalwagesgivestoeachfarmeranadditionalrevenueof50quartersofcornto
beexpendedbyhisfamilyinthedecorationsofdressandfurniture。Inthemanufacturingtowns，therefore，therewillbean
increaseddemandforthosearticles，whiletherewillbeadiminisheddemandforthewroughtnecessaries，usedbythe
agriculturallabourerswhosewagesarereduced。Buttheincreaseinthedemandformanufacturedluxuries，willbegreater
thanthediminutioninthedemandformanufacturednecessaries；because，therevenuewhichtheagriculturallabourershave
lostwaspartlyexpendeduponfood，andpartlyuponmanufacturedgoods；whilethewholeoftherevenuewhichthefarmers
havegained，andwhichisequivalenttothewholewhichthelabourershavelost，isexpendeduponmanufacturedluxuries。Theresultmust，therefore，beaconsiderableincreaseinthedemandformanufacturedgoods。Theincreaseddemandformanufacturedgoodswillcreateanincreaseddemandforlabourinthemanufacturingtowns；and
inthosetowns，therefore，wageswilladvance。Butifwagesriseinthetowns，whiletheyfallinthecountry，aportionofthe
ruralpopulationwillseekemploymentinthetowns。Adiminutioninthesupplyoflabourinoneagriculturalparish，
threateningtocontractcultivation，willthereforecompelthefarmers，notwithstandingtheircombination，toconsenttoanadvanceofwages。Butsupposethatthecombinationforthereductionofwagesextendstothetowns，andthatallmastermanufacturersagree
together，toreducethewagesoftheirworkmen，inthesameproportioninwhichthefarmershavereducedthewagesofagriculturallabour。Theeffectsofthismoreextendedcombinationitwillbeimportanttotrace。When，inthetowns，theemployersoflabourhavereducedwagesbyone—fourth，aconsiderablereductionwilltakeplacein
thequantityandqualityofthefoodconsumedbythelabouringclassesinthetowns。Hence，whilethereductionofwages，
andtheconsequentdiminutionintheconsumptionoffoodinthecountrydistricts，leavethefarmersagreaterquantityof
agriculturalproducetobringtomarket，thetowndemandfortheirproducewilldecline。One—fourthofthefoodandraw
materialsofnecessaries，formerlyconsumedbythelabouringclass，willbeunsaleable；onefourthofthelandmustbethrown
outofcultivation；andone—fourthoftheagriculturalpopulationmustbetransferredtothetowns，theretofabricatetheincreasedquantityofmanufacturedluxuries，forwhichtheincreaseofprofitscreatesademand。Whilethisprocessisgoingon，therewillbeagreatdestructionofagriculturalcapital，andmanyfarmerswillbeinvolvedin
distressandruin。Butweassume，forthesakeofargument，thatnot—withstandingthedistressandruin，throughwhichthe
classoffarmersmustpassinattainingtheirobject，theyneverthelessadheretothecombination，andultimatelysucceededin
effectingauniversalreductionofone—fourthintherateofwages。Letusendeavourtotracetheconsequenceswhichwouldflowfromthisreduction。Thefirsteffectoftheuniversalreductionofwageswouldbe，anenormousriseintherateofprofit。Wecanestimate，not
indeedtheexact，buttheproximateextentofthisrise。Itwillbedeterminedbytheaverageproportionwhich，beforethey
werereduced，wagesboretothewholeadvancesofthecapitalist。Thus，ifwagesbeforetheywerereduced，constituted
one—halfofthecapitalist’sadvances，theirreductionbyafourthwoulddiminishhisadvancesbyaneighth；and，ashisreturn
wouldremainthesameasbefore，theextentoftheincreaseofprofitswillimmediatelyappear。Forif，beforethereductionof
wages，thefarmers，orothercapitalists，advanced100quartersaswages，and100quartersforotheroutgoings，andobtained
areproductionof220quarters，oraprofitof10percent，thenitisevidentthatwhenwagesarereducedfrom100to75，the
capitalist’sreproductionof220tohisreducedexpenditureof175，willyieldhimaprofitof25percent。Itisobvious，thatif，
ontheaverage，wagesconstitutedmorethanone—halfofthewholeadvances，theriseofprofitswouldbegreater；while，if
wagesconstitutedlessthanone—halfthewholeadvances，theriseofprofitswouldbeless。Theprincipleis，thatanygivenfall
inthegeneralrateofwageswillcauseagreaterorlessriseintherateofprofits，accordingaswages，ontheaverage，forma
greateroralessproportionofthecapitalist’swholeadvances。Forthepurposesofourargument，itisasufficient
approximationtotheactualstateofthings，toassumethatwagesformone—halfofthecapitalist’sadvances；andthat，
therefore，ageneralfallofwages，totheextentofone—fourth，willraisetherateofprofit，ifithadbeen10percentbeforethefallofwages，to25percent。Nowtheimportantpracticalquestionsforourconsiderationare，woulditbepossibletokeepthingsinthisstate？Wouldit
bepracticabletoperpetuatethisforceddepressionofwagesandriseofprofits？Alittlecarefulinquirywillconvinceusthat
itwouldbequiteimpracticable，andthatthefinaleffectofthecombinationwouldbe，nottoraiseprofitsattheexpenseof
wages，but，onthecontrary，toelevatewagesattheexpenseofprofits。Letusconsider，inthefirstplace，thecircumstances
whichwouldrenderitimpracticabletokeepwagesatthereducedleveltowhichthecombinationofemployershadforced
themdown，andthenproceedtotracethereactionandrecoilbywhichtheywouldascend，notmerelytotheirformer，buttoastillhigherlevel。Tokeepwagesatthelowleveltowhich，bythesupposition，thecombinationhasreducedthem，itwouldbenecessarythat
thefollowingcircumstances，eachmorallyimpossible，shouldconcurFirst。Itwouldbenecessarythatthewholeoftheemployersoflabourthroughoutthecountry，shouldexpendthewholeof
theirprofitsunproductively。Noadditionmustbemadetotheaggregateamountofcapitalwhichtheyemploy。Thefarmer
mustnotextendhiscultivation，northemanufacturerincreasehistransactions。Childrenmustnotbeputouttotrade，but
mustcontinuetobedependentupontheprofitsrealizedbytheirparents，untiltheirparentsdieoff，andmakeplaceforthem
tocarryonbusinessontheirownaccount。Shouldanyoftheseeventsoccur（andunlesstheprinciplesandmotivesofhuman
conductwerereversed，theywouldoccurperpetually），thecombinationwouldbeneutralized，thedemandforlabourwouldbeincreased，andwageswouldadvance。Secondly。Itwouldbenecessary，notonlythatallfarmersandmastermanufacturers，actuallyanddirectlyemployinglabour，
shouldabstain，asabove，fromincreasingtheircapital，andextendingtheirtransactions；butalsothatallmoniedcapitalists，
bankers，merchants，traders，annuitants，civilandmilitaryfunctionaries，togetherwithalllandedproprietorsthroughoutthe
country，shouldbecomepartiestoacombinationforoppressingthelabourer，andinflictingpositiveevilandgrievousinjury
uponthemselves。Thewholeoftheseclassesmustspendthewholeoftheirincomesunproductively；or，iftheymake
savings，musthoardthem。Theiraccumulations，whenmade，theymustneitheremployproductivelythemselves，norlend
out，tobeemployedproductivelybyothers。Thereductionofwageshascausedtherateofprofittoriseto25percent，and
thethrowingoutofone—fourthofthelandwhichsuppliedthelabouringclasseswithfoodandtherawmaterialsof
manufacturednecessaries，bylimitingthenecessaryextentoftillagetosoilsofasuperiorquality，musthaveoccasioneda
stillfurtherincreaseofprofits，andhaveraisedthemto30，perhapsto35percent。Thenaturaleffectofahighrateofprofit
istoraisetherateof’interestalso。If30，oreven25percentcouldbemadebytheemploymentofborrowedcapital，
individualsdestituteofcapitalthemselves，buthavingtheskill，industry，andintegritywhichcommandcredit，mightbe
willingtogive15or20percentfortheuseofmoney。Butifmoneybelenttobeemployedproductively，thecombination
cannotbemaintained。Inordertomaintainit，itisnecessarythatpersonshavingmoneyatcommandshouldhoarditin
strongboxes，orburyitunderground，ratherthanlenditat15or20percent。Again，thecombinationforthereductionof
wageshasthrownoutofcultivationone—fourthofthelandwhichformerlysuppliedthelabouringpopulationwithfoodand
thematerialsofwroughtnecessaries，andhasthereforeoccasionedatotallossofrentuponallthelandsthrownout，anda
considerablefallofrentsuponallthebettersoilsstillremainingundertillage。Inordertomaintainthecombination，itis
furthernecessarythatthelandedproprietorsshouldjoinintheleagueforreducinganddestroyingthevalueoftheirown
property。Theymustnotlendtheirmoney，ortheircredit，ataninterestof15or20percent。toindustriousandhonest
tenants，whowouldcultivatethelandswhichhadbeenthrownout，andoccasionarecoveryofrents；because，shouldthey
advancetheirmoney，ortheircredit，forsuchapurpose，thefundsforthemaintenanceoflabourwouldbeincreased，wageswouldrise，andtheeffectofthecombinationwouldbedestroyed。Thirdly。Itwouldbenecessary，inordertomaintainthecombination，thattheinfluxofforeigncapitalshouldbeprohibited。
Thoughallthefarmersandmastermanufacturersthroughoutthecountryshouldjoinintheconspiracyforthereductionof
wages；andthoughmoniedcapitalists，andmerchants，andbankers，andannuitants，andpublicfunctionaries，andlanded
proprietors，shouldenterintoasolemnleagueandcovenant，tolendneithermoney，norcredit，toanyonedesirousof
engagingintheworkofproduction，yetthecombinationwouldbeinoperativeandabortiveiftheimportationofforeign
capitalwerepermitted。Therateofprofithasatendencytopreserveacertainlevel，notonlythroughouttheseveraldistricts
ofthesamecountry，butalsothroughouttheseveralcountriesofthecommercialworld。Shouldthedepressionofwages，
andthethrowingoutofinferiorland，raisetherateofprofit，inEngland，inanyconsiderabledegreeabovethelevelithad
ordinarilypreserved，inrelationtotheratesofprofitinHollandandinFrance，thedisengagedandfloatingcapitalofthese
countrieswouldflowintoEngland，andthereseekproductiveinvestment。Thecombinationwouldthereforebeineffectual，
unlesstheconspiratorsagainstwagescouldsecuretheco—operationoftheLegislature，andobtainanActofParliament
prohibitingtheimportationoffoodandofrawmaterials，andalltheingredientsofdirectlyproductivecapital，whichconstitutethefundforthemaintenanceoflabour。Afterthisenumerationofthecircumstanceswhichmustconcur，inordertogiveeffecttoacombinationforthereductionof
wages，itwouldbesuperfluoustogointoanyargumentorillustrationtoshowthatthemaintenanceofsuchacombination
wouldbeutterlyimpracticable。Itisonlynecessarytotraceouttheprocessbywhich，wereitpossible，whichitclearlyisnot，
togivesuchacombinationabriefandpartialexistence，itwouldnecessarilycounterworkitself，andultimatelytend，nottodepress，buttoelevatewages。Wehaveseenthattheminimumbelowwhichwagescannotpermanentlyfall，consistsofthatquantityofthenecessariesof
lifewhichisrequisitetokeepupthelabouringpopulation；andwehaveseen，thatthisquantityofnecessariesisnotafixed
immutablequantity，butvariesunderdifferentclimates，andundertheinfluenceofdifferenthabitsofliving。Itisself—evident，
thatshouldwagesbeattheirphysicalminimum，asdeterminedbyclimate，acombinationdepressingthembelowthispoint
wouldcutoffaportionofthepopulation；thatitwoulddiminishthesupplyoflabourinrelationtothedemand；andthatits
ultimateeffectwouldbe，nottodepressbuttoelevatewages。Amoment’sconsiderationwillrenderitapparent，thatshould
wagesbeatthemoralmini—mum，asdeterminedbyhabitsofliving，acombinationfordepressingthem，ifforatimesuccessful，wouldbefollowedbysimilarresults。Customisasecondnature，andthingsnotoriginallynecessarytohealthfulexistencebecomesofromhabit。ThoughtheIrish
peasantry，livinguponpotatoesandbutter—milk，arenotsubjectedtogreatermortalitythantheirneighbours，yetwerethe
labouringclassesinEngland，broughtupuponthemoresubstantialdietofbreadandcheese，andbutchers’meat，reducedto
thelessnutritiousfoodwhichusehasrenderednotunhealthfulinIreland，debilityanddiseasewouldrapidlythintheirranks。
Ahigherrateofmortalityamongthelabouringclasseswouldspeedilyfollowtheestablishmentofacombinationfor
reducingwages。Wheretherewerenumerousfamiliestheywouldbethinnedbydeath；thedelicateandinfirmwouldsink
prematurelytothegrave；andwhilemoredied，fewerwouldbeborn。Thecautiousandtheprudent，andthosewhowere
attachedtotheformersuperiorscaleofcomfort，wouldabstainfrommarriage，andfromencumberingthemselveswith
families；andthus，byrenderingdeathsmorenumerousandbirthslessfrequent，aneffectualcombinationforthereductionof
wages，howeverbriefitsexistence，would，forawholegeneration，reducethesupplyoflabourinrelationtothedemand。
Nothingcouldnowpreventtherecoilofwages。Aneffectivecombinationforthereductionofwageswouldbearwithinit
theprincipleofalmostimmediateself—destruction；and，afterabriefexistence，wouldleavewagesatahigherlevelthanthat
fromwhichtheyhadfallen。For，theinstantthecombinationshouldbebrokenup，increasedcapitalaccumulatedathome，or
importedfromabroad，wouldbeemployedincultivatingthelandwhichhadbeenabandoned，andinsupplyingtherenewed
consumptionofthenecessariesoflife。Thustherewouldbeanincreaseddemandforlabour，actinguponadiminished
supply。Thesupplyoflabour，inrelationbothtolandandcapital，wouldbelessthanbefore，and，therefore，upontheprinciplesalreadyexplained，bothmaximumandactualwageswouldbehigherthanbefore。Fromallthathasbeensaid，itmustbeapparent，thataneffectualcombinationforthereductionofwagescanneverby
possibilityexist。Inthefirstplace，suchacombinationcouldnotbeestablished；and，inthesecondplace，ifitcouldbe
established，itcouldnotbemaintained。Ifnotimmediatelybrokenup，byproductiveadvances，madefromincome，orbythe
importationofcapitalfromabroad，itwouldspeedilyperishbyself—destruction；anditsevilinfluence，afterhavingforatime
afflictedthelabouringclasses，wouldrecoilupontheinsaneconspirators，lowering，insteadofraising，therateofprofit，andelevating，insteadofdepressing，wages。CHAPTERIV。ONTHEEFFECTOFCOMBINATIONSFORRAISINGWAGES。Inacountrynotdependinguponforeignmarkets，Combination。mayraiseWagestotheirmaximum，providedthesupplyoflabourdonotincrease。Thelabouringclassesformthegreatmajorityofeverycommunity，and，ashasbeenalreadyobserved，acountrymustbe
consideredashappyormiserable，inproportionasthoseclassesareabundantlyorscantilysuppliedwiththenecessariesand
comfortsoflife。Fromthisprincipleitneces—sarilyfollows，thatcombinationsforloweringwages，couldtheybeeffectual，
mustberegardedasconspiraciesforincreasinghumanmisery；andthatcombinationsforraisingwages，couldtheybe
effectual，mustbeapprovedasassociationsforthepromotionofhumanhappiness。Inthewholecompassofeconomical
science，themostimportantpracticalquestionisthis，namely，cancombinations，amongstthelabouringclasses，effectapermanentincreaseofwages？Itisevident，thatifwageswerealreadyattheirmaximum，acombinationwhichshouldhavetheimmediateeffectofraising
wages，mustspeedilyterminateinreducingthem。Whenwagesareattheirmaximum，profitsareattheirminimum。Butwhen
profitsareattheirminimum，anincreaseofwagesmustcheckproduction，diminishthefundforthemaintenanceoflabour，andleaveforeachlaboureralessquantityofthecomfortsandnecessariesoflife。Supposing，asinourformercases，thatthelowestrateofprofit，forthesakeofwhichthecapitalistwillcontinuetheworkof
production，issevenpercent。，then，shouldthefarmer，advancing100quartersofcornforseed，and100quartersforthe
wagesof25men，cultivateatractoflandyielding214quarters，profitswouldbeattheirminimum，andwagesattheir
maximum。Underthosecircumstances，ifthe25labourersweretocombinetogether，andrefusetowork，unlesstheirwages
wereraisedfrom100to115quarters，itisevidentthatallprofitwouldbeabsorbed，thatthetractoflandmustbe
abandoned，andthatthe25labourers，insteadofcontinuingtoreceivetheincreasedwageswhichtheydemandedfromthefarmer，would，atnodistantperiod，bethrownoutofwork。Now，supposethatprofits，insteadofbeingattheminimumofsevenpercent。，were10percent。Inthiscase，wagesmight
risesoastoreduceprofitsbythreepercent。，beforethelastqualityoflandundertillagewouldbethrownoutofcultivation。
Our25labourersmightthereforecombine，untileachreceivedashiswagesfourquarters，andthefractionofaquarter，
insteadoffourquarters。Butshouldthisimmediateimprovementintheircondition，bydiminishingdeaths，orincreasing
births，causetheirnumberstoincreasefrom25to27，theultimateresultwouldbe，notanadvance，butadeclineofwages。
Whenthefarmer，cultivatingatractoflandyielding220quarters，advanced100quartersasseed，and100quartersaswages
to25labourers，herealisedaprofitoftenquarters，whichisthreepercent。abovetheassumedminimum。Butifheadvances
100quartersasseed，andfourquarterseachto27labourers，hisadvanceswillbe208quarters，andwillyieldaprofitless
thantheminimumofsevenpercent。Hewill，therefore，eitherreducethewagesofhis27labourersbelowtheoriginalrateoffourquartersaman，orelseabandonhisfarm，andthrowthemoutofemployment。Inacountrygrowingitsownsuppliesofrawproduce，notexportingmanufacturedgoods，andthereforenotexposedto
foreigncompetition，acombinationforraisingwagescanbemaintainedonlywhenaccompaniedbyanauxiliarycombination
amongstthelabouringclasses，forpreventingtheincreaseoftheirnumbers。Letusproceedtoconsidertheeffectofa
combinationforraisingwagesinacountrywhich，importingrawmaterials，andexportingmanufacturedgoods，isexposedtoforeigncompetition。Thisisthepractical，and，totheoperativesofEngland，thevitallyimportantbranchofthesubject。Inacountrydependinguponforeignmarkets，CombinationsforraisingWagesbeyondthelimitdeterminedbyforeigncompetition，ultimatelyoccasion，notanadvance，butareductionofWages。Asbeforewewillassume，forthesakeofillustration，thattheactualratesofprofitinEnglandandinFrancearetenpercent，
andthat，inbothcountries，theminimumrateofprofit，withoutwhichthecapitalistwillnotcontinueproduction，isseven
percent。Underthesecircumstances，letussupposethattheoperativesinEnglandcombine，andobtainsuchanincreaseof
wagesaswillreducetheprofitsoftheirmasterstotheminimumofsevenpercent。InthiscasetheEnglishmanufacturer
cannotpermanentlyreducethepriceofhisgoodsintheforeignmarket，because，ifhedid，hecouldnotrealiseminimum
profits。ButtheFrenchmanufacturercanaffordtounderselltheBritishmanufacturerintheforeignmarket，byone，two，or
threepercent。，andstillrealisehisminimumprofitofsevenpercent；and，therefore，thenecessaryeffectofthecombinationwillbe，tocausethemanufacturersofFrancetodrivethemanufacturersofEnglandoutoftheforeignmarket。Writersuponcommercialpolicy，whoseopinionsareentitledtogreatrespect，havecontendedthatariseofwageshasno
influenceuponforeigntrade。Theymaintain，thatariseofwagesisaccompaniedbyacorrespondingfallofprofits，anddoes
notthereforeraiseprices；andtheyfurtheraffirm，thatafallintherateofprofitdoesnotsubjectthecountryinwhichit
takesplace，tobeundersoldintheforeignmarket，byothercountriesinwhichprofitsarehigher。（7）Thereasonadvancedfor
thedoctrine，thathighwagesandlowprofitsdonotsubjectacountrytoanydisadvantageintheforeignmarketis
thisShouldalowerrateofwagesrenderthecostofproductioninFrancethreepercent。lessthaninEngland，andshould
therateofprofitbethreepercent。higherinFrancethaninEngland，theFrenchproducersmightselltheirgoodsinany
foreignmarket，threepercentlowerthantheEnglishproducerscouldsellsimilargoods，byconsenting，liketheEnglish
producers，toacceptaprofitofsevenpercent。Butitiscontendedthat，underthesecircum—stances，theFrenchproducers
wouldnotconsenttomanufacturefortheforeignmarket，ataprofitofsevenpercent，fortheobviousreason，thattheycouldmake10percentupontheircapitalinanyoccupation。Thisargument，whenstatedingeneralterms，appears，atfirstsight，satisfactory；but，whenconsideredstrictlyandanalytically，itwillbeseentobewhollyfallacious。Thesubjectissoveryimportant，thatitrequiresadetailedexamination。LetussupposethatanEnglishandaFrenchmanufacturerhaveeachinvested50，000l。inbuildingsandmachinery，andthat
theyeachexpend，inayear，50，000l。inmaterialsandwages。Letusalsosupposethat，inconsequenceoflowerwagesin
France，theFrenchmanufacturerisabletoemploymorelabourers，andtousemorematerialthantheEnglish，andtherefore
fabricates，bysixpercent。uponhisfloatingcapital，agreaterquantityofgoods。Thegoodsbeingsimilarinkind，andin
quality，thepricesobtainedforthemintheforeignmarketwillbeinproportiontotheirquantities，andtheFrench
manufacturerwillsellhisgoodsforagreatersum，bysixpercent。uponhisfloatingcapitalof50，000l。，thantheEnglish。If
theEnglishgoodssoldfor57，000l。，theFrench，beinggreaterinquantityintheproportionstated，wouldsellfor60，000l。
Underthesecircumstances，woulditbetheinterestoftheFrenchmanufacturertosellhisgreaterquantityofgoodsforthesamesumthattheEnglishmanufacturersoldthelessquantity，andthussecureasuperiorityintheforeignmarket？WhentheEnglishmansellshisgoodsfor57，000l。，hereplaceshisfloatingcapital，andobtainsaprofitofsevenpercent。，
bothuponhisfloatinganduponhisfixedcapital；andwhentheFrench—mansellshisgoodsfor60，000l。，hereplaceshis
advanceforwagesandmaterials，andrealizesaprofitoftenpercent。uponhiswholecapital。Now，iftheFrenchmanwould
sellhisgreaterquantityofgoodsforthesamesumforwhichtheEnglishmansellsthelessquantity，andwouldbesatisfied
forashorttimewithsevenpercent。uponhisoriginalcapitalof100，000l。，hemightunderselltheEnglishmanufacturer，and
drivehisgoodsoutoftheforeignmarket。TheFrenchmanufacturermightnowselldoublehisformerquantityofgoods。He
mightadvanceanadditional50，000l。inwagesandmaterials，andselltheadditionalquantityofgoodsforanadditionalsum
of57，000l。；and，shouldnoadditionaloutlayberequisiteforbuildingsandmachines，thiswouldyieldhim，onhissecond
portionoffloatingcapital，aprofit，notofseven，butoffourteenpercent。Itisself—evident，therefore，thatifagreater
quantityofmaterialscanbeworkedupwithoutanadditionaloutlayforfixedcapital，itwillbetheinterestoftheFrench
manufacturertotakelessthantheaveragerateofprofitinFranceuponthefirstportionofhisadvances，inordertogain
morethanthisaveragerateupontheadditionalportionsoffloatingcapital，whichhecanemploybyundersellingtheEnglishmanufacturer，andbeatinghimoutoftheforeignmarket。Itmustbeapparent，thattheforceofthisargumentdependsuponthefact，whether，inmanufacturingindustry，additional
floatingcapitalcanbeemployedwithoutaproportionateadditionoffixedcapital……Nowwithrespecttothematteroffact
therecanbenodoubt。Themarketisoccasion—allyunder—stocked，andoccasionallyoverstocked，withmanufacturedgoods。
Whenthesupplyofsuchgoodsisdeficienttheirproductionisincreased；andwhentheirsupplyisinexcess，their
productionisdiminished。Butwhentheproductionofmanufacturedgoodsdiminishes，thefixedcapitalofthemanufacturer
ceasestobefullyemployed。Itisself—evident，therefore，that，amidtheebbingsandflowingsofthemarket，andthealternate
contractionsandexpansionsofdemand，occasionswillconstantlyrecur，inwhichthemanufacturermayemployadditional
floatingcapital，withoutemployingadditionalfixedcapital。Itadmitsofthestrictestdemonstration，thatifadditional
quantitiesofrawmaterialcanbeworkedupwithoutincurringanadditionalexpenseforbuildingsandmachinery，the
manufacturersofthecountryinwhichtherateofprofitiscomparativelyhigh，willhaveaninterestinloweringtheirpricesintheforeignmarket，soastobeatoutthefabricsofthecountryinwhichtherateofprofitiscomparativelylow。TheFrenchandEnglishmanufacturersinvest，each，50，000l。inbuildingsandmachines；and，whentheirfixedcapitalisin
fullaction，eachcanemployafloatingcapitalof50，000l。inwagesandrawmaterials。TheFrenchman，payinglessfor
labour，isabletoworkupmorematerial，andproducesaquantityofgoodsgreatertotheextentofsixpercent。uponhis
floatingcapitalof50，000l。thanthequantityproducedbytheEnglishman。Thegoodsofeachbeingsimilarinkindand
quality，ifthoseoftheEnglishmansellfor57，000l。thoseoftheFrenchmanwillsellfor60，000l。Nowitisself—evident，that，
underthesecircumstances，itwouldnotbetheinterestoftheFrenchmanufacturertounderselltheEnglish，anddrivehim
fromtheforeignmarket。Forhismachinerybeingfullyemployed，hecannotadvanceadditionalfloatingcapitalforwages
andmaterials，withoutmakingaproportionaladditiontohisfixedcapital；andhecannotrealize10percent，thecustomary
rateofprofitinFrance，uponhisadvances，unlessthegoodsproducedbyafixedcapitalof50，000l。，andafloatingcapital
of50，000l。，continuetosellintheforeignmarketfor60，000l。Hecannot，therefore，underselltheEnglishmanufacturer
withoutemployingadditionalcapitalintheforeigntrade，atalessrateofprofitthanthatwhichhemightobtaininotheroccupations。Verydifferentwouldbetheresult，shouldarevulsionoftradecheckproduction，andpreventthefixedcapitalinvestedin
manufacturesfrombeingfullyemployed。Letussupposethatthequantityofgoodsonhandissomuchinexcess，thatour
manufacturersareobligedtodiminishthesupply，and，insteadofemployingafloatingcapitalof50，000l。each，canemploy
floatingcapitalofonly25，000l。each。Inthiscase，thefactorieswillworkonlyhalftime；onlyhalfthequantityofgoodswill
beproduced，and，pricesremainingthesame，（8）theFrenchman’sgoods，insteadofsellingfor60，000l。willsellforonly
30，000l。Thiswillreplacehisfloatingcapitalof25，000l。withasurplusof50001。，whichwillamounttoaprofitofsixand
two—thirdspercent。uponhiswholecapitalof75，000l。Underthesecircumstances，itwillbethedecidedinterestofthe
Frenchmanufacturertolowerhisprices，anddrivetheEnglishmanufactureroutoftheforeignmarket。Bydoingso，hewill
beabletoemployanadditionalfloatingcapitalof25，000l。，withoutincurringanadditionalexpenseforfixedcapital；and
mayproduceanadditionalquantityofgoods，greaterbythreepercent。thanthequantitywhichtheEnglishmanufacturer
soldfor28，500l。Shouldhesellhisgreaterquantity，forthesamesumof28，500l。，forwhichtheEnglishmanufacturersold
hislessquantity，hewilldrivetheEnglishmanufactureroutoftheforeignmar—ket，andobtainareturnof28，500l。foran
advanceof25，000l。Thiswillbeaprofitof14percentupontheadditionalfloatingcapitalemployed。Now，bythe
supposition，thegeneralrateofprofitinFranceisonly10percent。Insteadofobtainingless，theFrenchmanufacturerwill
gainmuchmorethanthecustomaryrateofprofit，byemployingallthefloatingcapitalhecancom—mand，infabricatingmoregoodsatlowerprices，andtherebyexpellingcompetitorsfromtheforeignmarket。Thusweseethattheargument，soconfidentlyadvancedinsupportofthedoctrine，thatariseofwageshasnoinjurious
effectuponforeigntrade，isaltogethererroneous，andinvolvesthefallacy，unfortunatelytooprevalentamongsteconomical
writers，ofconfoundingdistinctionsbyhastygeneralizations，andofattributingtodifferentthingsthesamecommonproperties，becauseweclassthemunderthesamecommonname。Thebuildingsandmachinesofthemanufacturer，aswellasthemoneywithwhichhepayshiswages，andpurchaseshisraw
materials，areclassedunderthegeneraldenominationofcapital；andthosewho，intheirpronenessforgeneralreasoning，
forgetthatscienceisanalysis，fallintotheerrorofconceiving，thatbecausecapital，consistingofmoney，maypassfrom
employmenttoemployment，inordertoobtainthecustomaryrateofprofit，capital，consistingofbuildingsandmachinery，
maybeequallylocomotive。Thereasoninginsupportoftheposition，thathighcomparativewages，andlowcomparative
profits，arenotinjurioustoforeigntrade，anddonotinvolvethedangerofforeigncompetition，wouldbeperfectlycorrect，
providedfixedcapitalwerenotfixed。Ifmoneysunkinbuildingsandmachinerycouldbemadetorealizethesame
customaryrateofprofitwhenthemachineryisnotemployed，aswhenitisemployed，then，indeed，themanufacturersina
countryinwhichprofitswerecomparativelyhigh，wouldhavenoinducementtoundersellthemanufacturerofacountryin
whichthecustomaryrateofprofitswerelow；because，inthiscase，thehighcomparativerateofprofitmight，atalltimes，be
obtaineduponthewholecapital，fixedaswellasfloating，whichthemanufacturersofthehigh—profit—countryemployed。But
solongasbuildingsandmachinery，whennotinwork，existasdeadstock，realizingnoprofitatall，solongwillitbethe
interestofproducerstoemploy，atthecustomaryrateofprofit，asmuchoftheirfloatingcapitalaspossible，without
referencetotheconsiderationwhether，bysoemployingit，theyrealizethecustomaryprofitupontheirfixedcapitalalso。
Thisisaconsiderationwhichwillalwaysdeterminewhethernewandadditionalbuildingsandmachinesshallbeerected；but
whenoncetheyareerected，itwillbethedecidedinterestofthemanufacturertokeeptheminfullwork，providedhecan
therebysecurethecustomaryprofituponthefloatingcapitalemployedinpayingwages，andinpurchasingrawmaterials。
Hence，whentheforeignmarketisoverstocked，itwillhetheinterestofthemanufacturerofthehigh—profit—countryto
continuetosupplyitatpricesgreatlybelowthoseordinarypriceswhichgavethecustomaryreturnuponhiswholecapital，
fixedandfloating。Thiscustomaryprofitonhiswholecapitalwasnecessarytoinducehimtocommencebusiness，butisnot
necessarytoinducehimtocontinueit。Tosecurethis，itissufficientthatheobtainsthecustomaryprofituponthatportionofhiscapitalwhichhecantransferwithoutlosstootheroccupations。Anobjectionmayherebeurged。Itmaybecontended，thattheargumentcutsbothways，andisasapplicabletothe
manufacturersofthelow—profit，astothemanufacturersofthehigh—profit—country。Ifitbetheinterestofthelatterto
continuetosupplytheforeignmarket，atpricessoreducedastoleavethecustomaryrateofprofitonlyonthemoveable
portionoftheircapital，itmustbetheinterestoftheformertodosolikewise。Butifthemanufacturersofthe
low—profit—countryfoundittheirinteresttocontinuetosupplytheforeignmarketatareductionofpriceswhichleftthem
customaryprofitsontheirfloatingcapitalonly，themanufacturersofthehigh—profit—countrycouldnotundersellthem
withoutadiminutionoftheircustomaryrateofprofituponthatportionoftheircapitalwhichtheycouldtransfertomore
advantageousoccupations。Itfollows，therefore，thatacomparativelylowrateofprofitcannothavetheeffectofcontractingtheextentofforeigntrade。Thisobjectionproceedsupontheassumption，thatpricesintheforeignmarketneverfallbelowthatpointatwhichthe
manufacturerobtainshiscustomaryrateofprofituponthatportionofhiscapitalwhichcanbetransferredwithoutlossto
otheroccupations；and，werethisassumptionconformabletofact，theobjectionwouldbevalidandconclusive。Butthe
assumptioniscontrarytofact。Frequentisthefallofpricesbelowthepointsupposed。Revulsionsoccasionallyoccur，during
whichthemanufacturerscarcelyobtainsareturnsufficienttoreplacethefloatingcapitalheadvances。Nay，inthevibrations
ofthemarket，thedepressionoftradewillsometimesbesogreatthatthemanufacturercannot，atexistingprices，replacehis
floatingcapital，andthathecontinuestoadvancewagesandmaterialsatapositiveloss，becausehecannot，without
incurringagreaterloss，abandonhisbuildingsandmachinery；orbecauseheisabletokeephisgoodsonhanduntiltheglut
isremoved，andpriceshaverecovered。Now，onallsuchoccasions，themanufacturersofthehigh—profit—countrywillhavea
decidedadvantageoverthoseofthelow—profit—country，andwilldrivethemoutoftheforeignmarket。Letusexemplifythisprocessbyareferencetoourformercase。AFrenchmanufactureradvancesafloatingcapitalof50，000l。，andproduces10，300balesofgoods；anEnglish
manufactureralsoadvancesafloatingcapitalof50，000l。，but，asfromthehigherrateofwageswhichhepays，canemploy
fewerhands，andpurchaselessmaterial，heproducesonly10，000bales。Underthesecircumstances，letussupposethatthe
pricesoftheforeignmarketfallsolow，thattheEnglish10，000balesselltherefornomorethan50，000l。，whiletheFrench
10，300bales，ofthesamekindandquality，sellforagreatersuminproportiontotheirgreaterquantity，orfor51，500l。In
thiscasetheEnglishmanufacturerjustsaveshimself，whiletheFrenchmanufacturerrealizesaprofitofthreepercent。uponhisfloatingcapital。Letusnowsupposethatthepricesintheforeignmarketcontinuetodecline，untiltheFrenchman’s10，300bales，produced
byafloatingcapitalof50，000l。，sellfornomorethan50，000l。andtheEnglishman’sbales，producedbythesame
expenditure，sellforalesssuminproportiontotheirlessquantity。InthiscasetheFrenchmanwilljustsavehimself，whiletheEnglishmanwillin—curapositiveloss。Thusitisself—evident，thatinallrevulsionsofforeigntradetherewillbe，inthecountryinwhichprofitsarecomparatively
low，amuchheavierloss，andamuchgreaterdestructionofcapital，thanincountriesinwhichprofitsarecomparatively
high。Shouldthedifferenceintheratesofprofitbeconsiderable，thehigh—profit—countrymaycontinuetorealizemoderate
gainsunderarevulsionofforeigntrade，anddepressionofthemarkets，whichspreadbankruptcyandruinthroughoutthemanufacturingdistrictsofthelow—profit—country。###第3章Oneotherconsiderationremains，anditisamostimportantone。Floatingcapitalhasaconstanttendencytotransferitself
fromcountriesinwhichprofitsarelowtothoseinwhichtheyarehigh。Loveofcountry，theinconvenienceofconformingto
foreignmanners，andthedifficultyofacquiringforeignlanguages，may，toacertainextent，counteractthistendency；but，
notwithstandingthesebarrierstoaperfectequalization，thistendencyofprofits，throughoutthecommercialcountriesofthe
civilizedworld，togravitatetowardsacommonlevel，willpreventcapitalfromrestingonthoseplaceswherethecostof
productionhasbeenundulyelevated。Wemaylayitdownasaprincipleestablishedbyacompleteinductionfrom
experience，thatmanufacturingindustrywillestablish，andextenditself，inthosecountriesinwhichmanufacturingcapital
obtainsahighcomparativereward；andwillpartlybedriven，andpartlyretireofitsownaccord，fromthosedistrictsinwhichmanufacturingprofitsarecomparativelylow。Fromtheseillustrations，whichthevitalimportanceofthesubjecthasledusthustoextendintodemonstrativedetails，we
candistinctlytracetheultimateeffect，upontheworkingclasses，ofcombinationsforraisingwages，inacountrywhich
exportsmanufacturedgoods。Insuchcountrythepriceofmanufacturedgoodsintheforeignmarketcannotexceedtheprice
atwhichtheycanbesuppliedbytheforeignproducer。Now，whenthepriceofgoodsisthusfixed，everyincreaseofwages，
otherthingsremainingthesame，mustincreasethecostofproductionuponthedomesticproducer，andlowertherateofhis
profit；andthisreductionofprofitmustexposehimtothesuccessfulcompetitionofthoseforeignmanufacturingcountries，
inwhichacorrespondingincreaseofwageshasnotoccasionedasimilarfallintherateofprofit。Uponeveryrevulsionof
trade，andstagnationofthemarket，thisfallofprofitswillcausethedomesticproducertobeundersoldintheforeign
market；willcompelhimtocontract，ortodiscontinuehisoperations，andtothrowhislabourerspartially，orwholly，outof
employment。Thelabourers，thusthrownout，willnotbeabletoobtainotheremploymentatthesamerateofwagesas
before；because，asalessquantityofmanufacturedgoodscanbeexported，alessquantityofrawmaterialandoffoodcanbe
imported，andthegeneralfundforthemaintenanceoflabourwillbediminished。Now，ifthewholeofthefundforthe
maintenanceoflabour，thewholequantityoffoodandmaterial，bediminished，itisself—evident，thatthenumberoflabourers
remainingthesame，eachindividualmustreceivelessrealwagesthanbefore。Itthusappears，byproofamountingtostrictly
mathematicaldemonstration，thatinacountryexportingmanufacturedgoods，aneffectualcombinationforincreasing
wages，whichshouldhavetheeffectofloweringtherateofprofitbelowtherateobtainedinothermanufacturingcountries，
mustultimatelyterminate，notinanadvance，butinareductionofwages。
Inacountrypossessingsuperiorityinmanufacturingfortheforeignmarkets，Wagesmayberaisedwithinthelimitsofsuchsuperiority。Bythetermsinwhichtheimportantprincipledemonstratedintheprecedingsectionisstated，itwillbeapparent，thatitis
liable，inpractice，totwoexceptions。Itisbyincreasingthecostofproduction，andbyrenderingprofitscomparativelylow，
thatsuccessfulcombinationsforraisingwagescontractthefieldofindustry，andlimitforeigntrade，andthusultimately
terminateinthrowinglabouroutofemployment，andinrenderingwageslowerthanbefore。Itfollows，that，werethey
formedundercircumstanceswhichshouldpreventanincreaseinthecostofproduction，andarelativefallintherateof
profit，suchcombinations，insteadofcreatingthisinjuriousreaction，mightpermanentlysecure，tothelabouringclasses，a
largershareofthenecessariesandcomfortsoflife。Here，then，averyimportantpracticalquestionarises，namely，what
accompanyingcircumstanceswillpreventariseofwagesfromincreasingthecostofproduction，andfromreducingtherateofprofitbelowtheratesobtainedinothercountries？Letusinquire。Shouldalabourer，whenhedemands，andobtains，anadvanceofwages，executeanadditionalquantityofworkproportional
tothisadvance，itisevidentthatnoincreaseofproductivecost，nodeclineintherateofprofit，couldbetherebyoccasioned。
Ifthefarmerandthemanufacturerpaidmoreforlabour，theywouldcultivateandmanufacturemore。Theincreaseintheir
returnsbeinginthesameproportionastheincreaseintheiradvances，thecostofproduction，andtherateofprofit，would
remainthesame。Agreaterquantityofnecessariesandcomfortswouldbeproduced，thefundforthemaintenanceoflabour
wouldbeincreased；andthisincreasedfund，di—videdamongstthesamenumberofindividuals，wouldgiveanincreased
quantityofnecessariestoeach。Itisobvious，nay，itisself—evident，thatshouldacombinationforraisingwagesbe
accompaniedbyanancillarycombinationforincreasingthehoursoflabour，andthequantityofwork，inthesame
proportioninwhichwagesmightbeincreased，itwouldgivetothelabouringclassesanincreasedsupplyofthecomforts
andnecessariesoflife。Itmightbedifficult，itmightbeimpracticable，toestablishtheseco—operatingcombinations；but，were
theyoncefairlyestablished，noinjuriousreaction，orrecoil，couldbeoccasioned，andwageswouldbepermanentlyincreased。Thereisanotherlimitationoftheprinciple，that，inacountryexportingmanufacturedgoods，andimportingfoodandraw
materials，theultimateeffectofcombinationsforraisingwagesis，toreducethembelowthepreviouslevel。Insucha
countrythemannerinwhichacompulsoryelevation，occasionsapermanentdepressionofwages，is，byreducingtherates
ofprofitbelowtheratesobtainedinothermanufacturingcountries，andthusgivingtosuchcountriesasuperiorityinthe
foreignmarket。Now，shouldtheparticularcountryinwhichthecompulsoryriseofwagestookplace，possessanadvantage
overothermanufacturingcountries，insupplyingthearticlesdemandedintheforeignmarket，thisparticularcountrymight
payhighcomparativewages，andyetretainitssuperioritywithrespecttoforeigntrade，providedthedisadvantagecreated
bythehighwages，werelessthantheadvantagearisingfromothercauses。Forexample，if，infabricatingagivenquantityof
cloth，theEnglishmanufacturerexpends100l。infuelandmachinery，100l。inmaterials，and100l。inwages；whilethe
Frenchmanufacturerexpends150l。infuelandmachinery，100l。inmaterial，and100l……inwages；thenitisevident，thata
combinationmightraisewagesinEnglandfrom1001。to140l。，andyetleavetoEnglandthepowerofundersellingFrance
intheforeignmarket。ThedisadvantagearisingfromthehighpriceoflabourinEngland，wouldbemorethan
counterbalancedbytheadvantagecreatedbythelowpriceoffuelandmachinery。Aftertheriseofwages，thewholecostof
producingtheclothinEnglandwillbe340l。，whileinFranceitwillbe350l。；andtheFrenchmanufacturerwillstillbe
unabletocompetewiththeEnglishintheforeignmarket。Norwouldsuchariseintherewardoflabourbeinjurioustotheemployersoflabour。Inacountrywhichcanmanufacturefortheforeignmarketatalesscostthanothers，acompulsoryriseofwages，providedit
didnotgothelengthofequalizingproductivecost，wouldnothavetheeffectofreducingmanufacturingprofits。Undersuch
circumstances，thepriceofmanufacturedgoodswouldriseintheforeignmarket，anditwouldbetheforeignconsumer，and
notthehomecapitalist，whowouldpaytheadvanceofwagesobtainedbytheoperativeclass。Thegreatvalueandimportanceofthisfactwilljustifyusinagainresortingtpthedetailsofanillustrativeexample。If，inEnglandandinFrance，thecostofproductionwereequal，andtheordinaryrateofprofit10percent。，thenshouldthe
EnglishandtheFrenchmanufacturerexpendeach100l。infabricatingandconveyingagivenquantityofclothforthe
foreignmarket，inthatmarketthisquantityofclothwouldsellfor110l。Now，supposethat，inEngland，thediscoveryof
cheaperfuel，oranimprovedmachine，enablesthemanufacturertofabricateandconveythisquantityofclothfor90l。，
insteadoffor100l；then，whileitcontinuestosellintheforeignmarketfor110l。，hewillrealizeaprofitof22percent。
Butthishighrateofprofitwouldattractcapitaltothebusinessoffabricatingcloth，untiltheincreasingsupplyofthearticle
soreduceditsprice，astoleavetheproducernomorethantheordinaryprofitof10percent。Thequantityofclothwhich
hadsoldfor110l。，whenitsproductivecostwas100l。，willsellfornomorethan99l。，whenitscostisreducedto90l。The
Frenchmanufacturerwouldbedrivenoutoftheforeignmarket：butthoughtheEnglishmanufacturerwouldobtaintheexclusivesupplyingofthatmarket，andwouldconsequentlybeabletosellamuchlargerquantityofgoodsthanbefore，yet，domesticcompetitionwouldeffectuallypreventhimfromrealizingahigherrateofprofitthanbefore。Letusnowsuppose，that，aftertheseeffectshavebeenproduced，theoperativesinEnglandcombine，andobtainanadvance
ofwages，whichraisesthecostoffabricatingthegivenquantityofcloth，from90to98，whilethisquantityofcloth
continuestosellintheforeignmarketfornomorethan99。Thisadvanceofwageswillreducethemanufacturer’sprofitfrom
10tolittlemorethanonepercent。Butcapitalwouldgraduallybewithdrawnfromanoccupationyieldingsoslendera
return；and，evenifnotwithdrawnfromtheactualfabricationofcloth，themorewealthymanufacturerswouldkeeptheir
goodsonhand，untilthediminishedsupplyintheforeignmarketelevatedprices，andenabledthemtorealizeordinary
profits。Thequantityofclothwhich，beforetheriseofwages，andtheconsequentincreasedcostofproduction，hadsoldfor
99l。，willnowsellfor108l。intheforeignmarket。ThisriseinthepriceofBritishgoodswillnot，however，deprivethe
Britishmanufactureroftheexclusivesupplyoftheforeignmarket；for，bythissupposition，heisstillabletoundersellthe
Frenchmanufacturer，bynearlytwopercent。But，iftheBritishmanufacturerrealizesthesamerateofprofitasbefore，and
retains，asbefore，theexclusivesupplyoftheforeignmarket，itisevident，thattheadvanceofwagesobtainedbytheoperative，mustbepaidbytheforeignconsumer，intheincreasedpriceofcloth。Thusitappears，uponthefullestevidence，thatinacountrypossessingasuperiorityoverothermanufacturingcountries，in
producinggoodsfortheforeignmarket，therateofwagesmaybeincreasedabovetheratesobtainedinothercountriesto
nearlythewholeextentofsuchsuperiority，withoutreducingtherateofprofit，orexposingthemanufacturertoforeign
competition。Butitwillalsoappear，uponevidenceequallyconclusive，thatthishigherscaleofwagescannotbemaintained，
iftheoperativesincreasetheirnumbersbeyondthedemandforlabour。If，inanyneighbourhood，onethousandhandsare
requiredtofabricatethegoodsdemandedintheforeignmarket，andifthehandsincreasefromonethousandtoeleven
hundred，nopossiblecombinationamongsttheoperativescanavertafallofwages。Wehaveseen，thatallthatitispossible
forthemostperfectcombinationtoperformis，toincreasetherateofwagestonearlythewholeextentofwhatever
superioritythecountrymaypossess，insupplyinggoodsfortheforeignmarket。Whenariseofwagestothisextenthasbeen
obtainedforthatnumberoflabourerswhichmayberequiredtofabricatethequantityofgoodsdemandedintheforeign
market，thepriceoflabourcannotbefurtherincreased，withoutlosingtheforeignmarket。Butifacombinationsolimited
thehoursoflabour，thatitrequiredelevenhundredtodotheworkformerlydonebyathousand，andifeachoftheeleven
hundredshouldreceivethesamewagesformerlyreceivedbyeachofthethousand，thepriceoflabourandthecostof
productionwouldbeincreased，theforeignmarketwouldbelost，andthewholeofthelabourerswhichsupplieditwouldbe
thrownoutofemployment。Ifthecombinationshouldlimitthehoursoflabour，thewagesofeachlabourermustbereduced，
inpro—portiontothediminutionintheworkheperformed；andshouldthecombination，withoutreducingthehoursof
labour，limitthenumberofhandswhoshouldofferthemselvesforemployment，thosewhowereemployedwouldhaveto
maintainthosewhowereunemployed，whichwouldbethesamethingineffect，asareductionofwages。Toretain
possessionoftheforeignmarket，andatthesametimetoincreasethepriceofagivenquantityofwork，beyondthe
proportionofthesuperioritypossessedinsupplyingtheforeignmarket，ismanifestlyimpossible。Butifthepriceofagiven
quantityofworkcannotbein—creased，whilethehandsemployedinperformingitareincreased，itisself—evidentthatthe
wagesofeachindividualmustbereduced。Inacountrypossessingsuperiorityinsupplyinggoodsfortheforeignmarket，a
combination，coulditbeformedandmaintained，mighteffectanadvanceofwages，withinthelimitsofthatsuperiority，
providedthenumberofhandsseekingforemployment，didnotincreaseinagreaterproportionthanthequantityofworktobeperformed。TheCornLaw’sdeprivetheoperativesofEnglandofthehighcomparativeWagesduetothesuperioritywhichEnglandpossessesinmanufacturingfortheforeignmarket。Theprincipleswhichhavebeenestablishedintheprecedingsectionareliabletoexceptionandlimitation，intheirapplication
totheactualcircum—stancesofthiscountry。InEngland，theoperativesexecuteinagiventime，sayaweekoramonth，a
muchgreaterquantityofworkthantheoperativesofthecontinent；and，inEngland，coal，andiron，canals，railroads，coasts，
harbours，andgeographicalposition，givetothemanufactureramostdecidedsuperiorityinsupplyingtheforeignmarket
withmanufacturedgoods。Yet，notwithstandingallthesepeculiaradvantageswhichhepossesses，theEnglishmanufacturer
issonearlyundersoldbytheforeigner，thatanymaterialadvanceintherealwagesoftheoperativeclasses，woulddisable
himfromencounteringthecompetitiontowhichheisexposed；and，ifrenderedcompulsory，eitherbyanactofthe
Legislature，orbycombinationamongtheworkingpeople，woulddestroymanufacturingprofits，andtransfertheseatsofmanufacturingindustrytoothercountries。Thesefacts，apparentlysoirreconcilable，arefullyestablishedbytheevidencegivenbeforesuccessiveparliamentary
committees。Thefact，thattheoperativesinEnglandexecute，inagiventime，amuchgreaterquantityofworkthanthe
operativesofthecontinent，isprovedbythewit—nessesexaminedbytheCommitteeonArtisansandMachinery，whichsat
inthesessionof1824。ManyofthesewitnesseswereEnglishmanufacturers，whohadworkedinFrance。Theyagreeasto
thecomparativeindolenceoftheFrenchlabourer，evenduringhishoursofemployment。Oneofthewitnesses，Adam
Young，hadbeentwoyearsinoneofthebestmanufactoriesofAlsace。（9）Heisasked，\"Didyoufindthespinnersthere，as
industriousasthespinnersinEngland？\"andreplies，\"No；aspinnerinEnglandwilldotwiceasmuchasaFrenchman；they
getupatfourinthemorning，andworktilltenatnight；butourspinnerswilldoasmuchinsixhoursastheywilldointen。\"
\"HadyouanyFrenchmenemployedunderyou？\"\"Yes，eight。\"\"SupposingyouhadeightEnglishcordersunderyou，howmuchmoreworkcouldyouhavedone？\"\"WithoneEnglishmanI
couldhavedonemoreworkthanIdidwiththoseeightFrenchmen。Itcannotbecalledworktheydo；itisonlylookingatit，andwishingitdone。\"Upongeneralprinciples，thisgreatsuperiorityintheefficacyofBritishlabour，aided，asitis，bybettermachinery，cheaper
fuel，andcheapercarriage，shouldgiveanextensivemargin，enablingtheoperativesofEnglandtoobtainaconsiderable
increaseofwagesabovethoseoftheircontinentalbrethren，withoutdeprivingtheBritishmanufacturerofhissuperiorityin
theforeignmarket，orexposinghimtothedangerofforeigncompetition。Butwefind，bytheevidencegivenbeforethe
CommitteeoftheSessionof1833，thattheBritishmanufacturerisalreadystandinguponthatextremeanddangerousverge，
beyondwhichhisforeignrivalcanencounterhimuponequalterms；andthatanincreaseofwages，relativelytothewages
obtaineduponthecontinent，woulddeprivehimofhisfootingintheforeignmarket。Whatthenisthecounteracting
circumstancewhichtakesfromtheoperativeclassesofEnglandthepowerofobtaininganincreaseofwages，withinthe
limitsofthegreatsuperiorityintheefficacyoftheirlabourarisingfromtheextraordinaryadvantages，naturalandacquired，
whichtheypossess？Thiscounteractingcircumstanceisthehighpriceoffood；andthecauseofthehighpriceoffood，isthe
existingCornLaws。Averybriefillustrationwillbesufficienttodemonstrate，thatwhilethepriceofcorninEnglandremains
nearlytwiceashighasuponthecontinent，itismorallyimpossiblefortheEnglishoperativetoobtain，eitheranincreaseof
wages，oradiminutioninthehoursofhistoil。
LettheexpenseofmanufacturingagivenquantityofclothinEnglandandinFrancebeasstatedinthefollowingcases：
CASEI。ENGLAND。Wagesof200men，at4quartersofcornperman，800
quarters，at40s。perquarter？1600
Rawmaterials400
Fuel，wearandtearofmachinery950
Carriage50
TotalcosttoEnglishmanufacturer？3000
CASEII。FRANCE。Wagesof300men，at2quartersperman，600quarters，at
40s。perquarter？1200
Rawmaterials400
Fuel，wearandtearofmachinery1350
Carriage80
TotalcosttoFrenchmanufacturer？3030Inthesecases，thepriceofprovisionsisassumedtobeequal；butas200Englishoperativesworkupasmuchmaterialas
300French，andastheexpenseofmachinery，andfuel，andcarriage，whichisonly1000l。inEngland，is14301。inFrance，
theEnglishmanufacturercanaffordtounderselltheFrenchmanufacturerintheforeignmarketbyonepercent，thoughinEnglandtherealrateofwagesis100percenthigherthaninFrance。Nowletussuppose，thatwhileallotherthingsremainthesame，thefirstnecessariesoflifebe—come100percentdearerin
EnglandthaninFrance；thepriceofaquarterofcornrisingfrom40s。to50s。intheformercountry，andremainingat40s。in
thelatter。InthiscasetheEnglishmanufacturercannotretainhisformersuperiorityintheforeignmarket，withoutmakinga
deductionof50percent。，oronehalfinthecorn—wagesofhisworkmen。Thus，CASEIII。ENGLAND。
Wagesof200men，at2quartersofcornperman，400quarters，at80s。perquarter？1600
Rawmaterials400
Fuelandmachinery950
Carriage50
CosttoEnglishmanufacturer？000
CosttoFrenchmanufacturerasinCaseII。？3030Underthesecircumstances，ifour200Englishlabourersweretocombine，andrefusetoworkuntiltheyobtained425
quarters，thistriflingdifferenceoftheeighthpartofaquarterofcornintherealwagesofeachindividual，woulddrivethe
manufacturerfromtheforeignmarket，andwouldthrowoutofemploymentallthosewhodependedupontheforeigntrade
fortheirsubsistence。ForiftheEnglishmanufacturer，whencornwasat80s。，advancedtohis200labourers425quarters，
insteadof400quarters，hisoutlayforwageswouldbeincreasedfrom16001。to1700l。，andhiswholecostfrom30001。to
31001。ButthewholecostoftheFrenchmanufacturercontinuestobeonly30301。TheEnglishmanufacturer，therefore，
insteadofpossessingintheforeignmarketanad—vantagetotheextentofonepercent。wouldnowbeundersold，andwould
becompelled，eithertoreducetherealwagesofhislabourers，orelsetoabandontheforeigntrade，andthrowthemaltogetheroutofwork。Theillustrationsnowproducedwillbesufficient，itishoped，todemonstratethemannerinwhichthehighcomparativevalue
offoodinthiscountry，counteractsallouractualandacquiredsuperiorityinproducinggoodsfortheforeignmarket，and
bringsussoneartothevergeofequalitywithourcontinentalrivals，astorenderitimpossiblethatouroperativesshould
obtainanymaterialincreaseofpriceforthequantityofworkwhichtheyperform。SolongastheexistingCornLawsremain，
solongwillitbefoundimpracticable，eithertodiminishthehoursoflabour，ortoincreasewages；andsolongwillevery
attempttodoeither，inflictadditionalprivationupontheworkingclasses，bynarrowingtheforeignmarket，andcontractingtrade。Nomeasuresforincreasingtherewardoflabourcanbesuccessful，untiltheCornLawshavebeenfirstabolished。
Benevolentindividuals，inattentivetotheparalysinginfluenceoftheselaws，havesoughttoimprovetheconditionofthe
peoplebylimitingthesupply，andtherebyincreasingthevalueoflabour；andwiththisview，haveatonetimerecommended，
thatthelabouringclassesshouldreducetheirnumbersbyaprudentialabstinencefrommarriage；and，atanothertime，have
urgedthemtoobtain，eitherbyLegislativeenactment，orbycombinationsamongstthemselves，alimitationofthehoursof
labour。Eitherofthesemodesofdiminishingthesupplyoflabourinthemarket，mighthavetheeffectofraisingrealwages，
providedthenaturalandacquiredsuperioritywhichEnglandpossessesinmanufacturingindustry，werenotcounteractedby
thehighcomparativevalueoffood。ButwhiletheCornLawscontinuetokeepupthevalueoffood，andtoplaceus，inthe
foreignmarket，onthevergeofequalitywithourcontinentalcompetitors，neitherthese，noranyotherconceivablemeasures，
canhavetheeffectofimprovingtheconditionoftheoperativeclasses。Areferencetotheprecedingillustrationswill
immediatelydemonstratethis。WhileaFrenchmanufacturer，inproducingagivenquantityofgoods，advances1680l。for
materials，machinery，andcarriage，and600quartersofcornat40s。perquarter，or1200l。，forthewagesof300men；and
whiletheEnglishmanufacturer，inproducingthesamequantityofgoods，advances1400l。formaterial，machinery，and
carriage，and400quartersofcornat80s。，or1600l。，forthewagesof200men；adiminutioninthesupply，andincreasein
thepriceoflabour，compellinghimtoadd25quarters，or100l。，tohisadvanceforwages，wouldenabletheFrench
manufacturer，whomhehadpreviouslyunder—sold，todrivehimoutoftheforeignmarket。Itwouldsignifynothing，from
whatcausethediminutioninthesupply，andriseintheprice，oflabourmightproceed。Whetherthereductioninthesupply
oflabourwereoccasionedbyaprudentialabstinencefrommarriage，orbyacombinationforlimitingthehoursofwork，the
effectwouldbethesame；andtheabortiveattempttoforceupwagesbeyondtheartificialmaximumcreatedbytheCorn
Lawsforenhancingthevalueoffood，wouldterminateinthelossofemployment，andinoverwhelmingcalamity。Werefood
ascheapinEnglandasitisinothermanufacturingcountries，itwouldbepracticabletosecuretotheoperativeclasses，in
England，ahigherrateofrealwageswithinthelimitofthesuperiority，whichmoreefficaciouslabour，cheaperfueland
carriage，andbettermachinery，allcontributetoconferuponEngland，inproducinggoodsfortheforeignmarket。Butwhile
thevalueoffoodinEnglandisartificiallyraisedaboveitsvalueinthoseothermanufacturingcountries，whichareour
competitorsintheforeignmarket，suchanimprovementintherateofrealwagesismorallyimpossible。Untilanalterationin
theCornLawsshallhavesecuredusagainstforeigncompetition，allprojectsforraisingwageswillbefounderroneousin
principle，andruinousinpractice。
CHAPTERV。
ONMR。FIELDEN’SSCHEMEFORLIMITINGTHEHOURSOFLABOUR。Mr。Fielden，thememberforOldham，incon—junctionwiththebenevolentmono—maniac，RobertOwen，haspropoundeda
planforthebenefitoftheworkingclasses，whichitmaynotbeimproperorunusefultoexamine。Theplanis，thatauniversal
combinationshallbeformedforlimitingthehoursoflabourforadults，aswellasforchildren，toeighthoursaday；andfor
securingtotheworkpeople，afterthetimeoflabourshallbethusreduced，thesamewageswhichtheynowreceive，Inexplainingthisplan，Mr。Fieldenstates，thatifthechangeweregeneral，thelesserquantityproducedwouldcommandas
muchmoneyasthegreaterquantitynowdoes；\"andthat\"thoseemployedinfactories，inmakingcloth，&；c。，wouldonlybeabletoprocurethreegarments，orthreeotherthings，aftertheadvance，wheretheynowpurchasefour。\"Herewehaveasingularinconsistencynay，apalpablecontradiction。Theoperativesaretoreceivethesamewagesasat
present，whiletheirwagesarereducedone—fourth。Thebenefitstheyaretoderivefromtheproposedcombinationamounttothis，that，whenthechangebecomesgeneral，theyshallgetthreegarments，andthreeotherthings，wheretheynowgetfour。Mr。Fieldenstates，andstatesmostcorrectly，that\"ourforeigntraderesolvesitselfintobarter；\"andthat，aftertheproposed
planshallbecarriedintoeffect，\"themanufacturerwillgivetotheforeigner，andothers，thesamequantityofhis
manufactures，forthesamequantityofrawmaterials，ashenowgives；whichquantitytheforeignerwillhave，ornot
continuetotradewithhim。\"Mr。Fieldenstatesthesefacts，toshowthatunderthechangeheproposes，\"weshouldnotlose
ourforeigntrade。\"Butthefacts，ashehashimselfstatedthem，leadtoadirectlyoppositeconclusion。Itcanbeprovedby
thestrictestdemonstrationnay，itamountsverynearlytoaself—evidentpropositionthatwerethecircumstancesassumedbyMr。Fielden，reallytooccur，theforeigntradeofEnglandmustbeinstantlysuspended。ThefactsassumedbyMr。Fieldenare，thatthecombinationtoworkonlyeighthoursadaywilldiminishthequantityof
goodsone—fourth；andthatthediminishedquantitywillsellforthesamepriceforwhichthelargerquantityformerlysold；so
thatif400l。wasformerlythepriceof100balesofanykindofgoods，400l。willbethepriceof75balesofthesamegoods。
Nowitmustbeapparent，uponamoment’sconsideration，thatthisextraordinaryriseinthepriceofallBritishgoods，would
havetheeffectofarrestingtheexporttrade，andofprodigiouslyincreasingtheimporttrade。Butiftheexporttrade
diminished，andtheimporttradeincreased，Englandwouldbecomeindebtedtoothercountries；and，inordertobalanceher
foreignaccounts，moneymustbesentabroad，insteadofgoods。Nowifmoneywere，inthismanner，sentabroad，the
currencywouldbecontracted，andpriceswouldcomedownasrapidlyastheyhadrisen。Butinwhatconditionwouldthe
manufacturernowbeplaced？Heisobligedtopaythesamemoney—wagestohislabourersasbefore，whilehereceives，for
thediminishedquantityofgoodswhichtheyproduce，onlythree—fourthsofthesumwhichheformerlyreceived。Hisprofitisturnedintoloss。Hemustleaveoffbusiness，orbecomeabankrupt。Letusshow，byfigures，inwhatmannertheruinofthemanufacturerwouldbebroughtabout。Wewillstatehiscaseinthree
differentways：1st，beforethehoursoflabourarereduced，asbytheplanproposed；2nd。afterthehoursoflabourhavebeen
reduced，andwhiletheincreasedpriceofgoods，assumedbyMr。Fielden，continues；and，3rd。afterpriceshavefallenback
totheoriginallevelfromwhichtheywereraised。
I。CaseoftheManufacturerbeforetheReductioninthehoursoflabour。
EXPENDITURE。
Wagesto100menworking12hours？2000
Fuelandmachinery1000
Rawmaterials1000
Totalexpenditure？4000
RETURN。
1100balesofgoods，at41。perbale？4400
Deductexpenditure4000
Profit400II。CaseoftheManufactureraftertheReductionofthehoursoflabourfrom12to8，andwhilethediminished
quantitiesofallgoodssellsforthesamesumforwhichtheundiminishedquantitiesformerlysold。EXPENDITURE。
Wagesto100menworking8hours？2000
Three—fourthsofformerfuelandmachinery1000
Three—fourthsofformerquantityofmaterials1000
Totalexpenditure？4000
RETURN。
Three—fourthsofformerquantityofgoods，or825bales？4400
Deductexpenditure4000
Profit？400III。CaseoftheManufacturerafterthereturnofPricestotheirformerlevel，andwhilehecontinuestopayfull
wagesfor8hourswork。
EXPENDITURE。
Wagesto100menworking8hours？2000
Three—fourthsthequantityoffuelandmachineryemployedinCaseI。750
Three—fourthsformerquantityofmaterialusedinCaseI。750
Totalexpenditure？3500
RETURN。
Three—fourthsofformerquantityofgoods，or825bales？3300
Excessofexpenditure，ordeadloss？200Thuswesee，thatitamountstoastrictlymathematicaldemonstration，thatunlessthepricesofallgoodscanbepermanently
raised，bythediminutionofproduction，reducingthehoursoflabourbyone—fourth，orfrom12to8hours，whilewages
remainunreduced，mustoccasionalosstothemanufacturerequivalenttoone—fourthofthewageswhichhepays。Ifhis
profithadpreviouslybeenjustequaltoone—fourthofthewagesheadvanced，thislosswouldabsorballprofit；andif，asin
practicemustalmostalwaysbethecase，hisprofitswerelessthanone—fourthofthewagesadvanced，thenthelossequivalenttoone—fourthofhisexpenditureforwages，wouldnotonlyabsorballprofit，butwouldtrenchuponhiscapital。AllMr。Fielden’sargumentsinsupportofhisplan，turnupontheassumption，thatpriceswillriseintheproportioninwhich
productionisdiminished；buthehasbroughtforwardneitherfactnorargument，toprovethatforeignconsumerswould
consenttopurchaseBritishmanufactures，werefive—and—twentypercent。addedtotheirpresentprice。Thecontinentof
Europe，andtheUnitedStatesofNorthAmericacannowmanufacturenearlyascheapasEngland，andcouldmanufacture
muchcheaper，werethepricesofBritishgoodsincreasedbytwenty—fivepercent。GrantMr。Fieldenhisassumption，thathis
planwouldhavetheeffectofraisingthepricesofBritishgoodsbyfive—and—twentypercent，anditfollows，asanecessary
consequence，that，ontheadoptionofhisplan，Englandmustceasetobeamanufacturingcountry。Denyhisassumption，
respectingtheincreaseofprices，andequalruinwillbewrought，thoughinasomewhatdifferentway。Themerchantmayin
thiscasecontinuetosellBritishgoodsintheforeignmarket，untilthedestructionofthemanufacturerputsanendtotheir
production。Thisdestruction，aswehavealreadyseen，wouldfollowcertainlyandrapidlyupontheadoptionofaplanfor
compellingthemanufacturertopaythesamemoney—wagesasatpresentforworkingupadiminishedquantityofgoods，
whichhecouldnotsellatadvancedmoney—prices。WhetherMr。Fielden’sassumptionrespectingtheriseofpricesbeadmitted，ordenied，hisprojectfordiminishingproductionwillbefoundequallyimpracticable，andequallyruinous。Mr。Fieldentellsus，andtellsusmosttruly，thattheforeignerwillnotcontinuetotradewithus，unlesswegivehimthesame
quantityofmanufacturesforthesamequantityofrawmaterial。Butgoldisamaterialproducedinaforeigncountry；andon
Mr。Fielden’sownprinciple，theforeignerwillnotcontinuetodealwithus，unlesswegivehimthesamequantityof
manufacturedgoodsforthesamequantityofgold。Now，ifgoodsandgoldexchangeinthesameproportionsasbefore，
priceswillbethesameasbefore。Mr。Fielden，therefore，assumestwofacts，whichareatvariancewith，anddestructiveof，
eachother。Iftheforeignerwillnotcontinuetogiveusagreaterquantityofmaterialforthesamequantityofgoods，hewill
notgiveusagreaterquantityofgoldforthesamequantityofgoods。andpriceswillnotrise；andifhewillcontinuetogive
agreaterquantityofgoldforthesamequantityofgoods，soastomakepricesrise，hewillgiveagreaterquantityof
materialforthesamequantityofgoods。ThusMr。Fieldenanswers，andoverthrowshisownargument。Whenhetellsus，and
tellsustruly，thatforeigntraderesolvesitselfintobarter；andthattheforeignerwillnotcontinuetodealwithus，unlesshe
obtainthesamequantityofmanufacturesforthesamequantityofmaterial；he，byanecessaryinference，alsotellsus，andtellsustruly，thathisassumption，respectingtheriseofprices，iserroneous。Mr。Fielden’smotives，inendeavouringtoaidthelabouringclassesintheirlaudableendeavourstoimprovetheircondition，
entitlehimtopublicapprobation。Butitisevident，that，inundertakingthismomentoustask，hehasfailedinmakinghimself
sufficientlyacquaintedwiththecauseswhichdeterminetherealrateofwagesinamanufacturingcountryextensively
engagedinthebusinessofsupplyinggoodsfortheforeignmarket。Ifsuchacountrydoesnotpossesspeculiaradvantages
overtheothermanufacturingcountrieswhicharehercompetitorsintheforeignmarket，itismorallyimpossibletosecure
forheroperativesahigherrateofwagesthanthatwhichprevailsintherivalmanufacturingcountries。Andontheother
hand，ifsuchacountrydoespossesspeculiaradvantagesinthefabricationofgoodsfortheforeignmarket，then，withinthe
limitsoftheseadvantagesitbecomespossible，underjudiciousarrangement，torenderthewagesofheroperatives
permanentlyhigherthanthewagesobtainedbytheoperativesofothercountries。NowtheplanproposedbyMr。Fielden，is
notinconformitywiththesefundamentalprinciples，but，onthecontrary，isindirectoppositiontothem。Oneofthemost
considerableadvantageswhichEnglandpossessesoverothermanufacturingcountries，andwhich，ifnotcounter—balancedby
thehighvalueoffood，wouldenableheroperativestoreceivehigherwagesthantheoperativesofothercountries，consists
inthatsuperiorenergyoflabour，bywhich，aswehaveshown，agivennumberoflabourersexecute，withintheyear，amuch
greaterquantityofworkthanthesamenumberoflabourersinothercountries。Thisadvantage，andthistitletosuperior
wages，theplanofMr。Fieldengoestodestroy。IfthetimeoflabourshouldbelimitedinEnglandtoeighthoursaday，while
onthecontinentitcontinuestobeextendedto12and14hours，nohumanpowercansavetheoperativesofEnglandfrom
thenecessityofsubmittingtoalowerrateofwagesthanthatwhichtheoperativesofthecontinentreceive。Nocandidman
candenythatMr。Fieldenis，inintention，thefriendoftheworkingpeople；butnoloveroftruth，acquaintedwiththecauses
whichregulatetheamountofwages，willhesitatetosay，that，inpractice，theplanwhichbehasproposedfortheiradoptionwouldleadthemtodestruction。TheoperativesofEnglandmayobtain，underjudiciousarrangement，eitherasuperiorrateofwages，orareductioninthe
hoursoflabourwithinthelimitsofthesuperiority，naturalandacquired，whichEnglandpossessesinsupplying
manufacturedgoodsfortheforeignmarket。ThissuperiorityconsistsinthegreaterquantityofworkwhichanEnglishman
performsinadayoryear，andinthegreatercheapnessofmachinery，offuel，andofcarriage；andthissuperiorityis
counteractedandlimited，bythecomparativedearnessoffood。Noplanforimprovingtheconditionofthepeoplecanby
possibilitybeeffectual，unlessitincreasesthequantityofworkwhichcanbeexecutedinadayoryear，orthecomparative
cheapnessofmachinery，fuelandcarriage，ordiminishesthecomparativedearnessoffood。Allprojectsforincreasingwages，
orfordiminishingthehoursoflabour，whichdonotcontainefficientprovisionsforaccomplishingoneormoreofthose
objects，arefoundedinignoranceandindelusion，andmustterminateindisappointment，andinaggravateddistress。Thefirst
steptowardsimprovementmustbetheabolitionoftheCornLaws。
CHAPTERVI。ONTHEQUESTION，WOULDTHEPROFITSOFTHEFARMERBEREDUCEDBYSUCHAREDUCTIONINTHEVALUEOFFOOD，ASWOULDADMITOFANINCREASEOFREALWAGES？Inmanufacturingindustry，theelementarycostofproductionconsistsoffoodandrawmaterial。Itthereforeamountstoa
self—evidentproposition，that，otherthingsremainingthesame，theprofitsofthemanufacturermustfall，asthevalueof
agriculturalproducerisesinrelationtomanufacturedgoods。Itissometimesimagined，however，thatthiscircumstancedoes
notreduceagriculturalprofits；butthat，onthecontrary，anincreaseinthevalueofrawproduceisbeneficialtothefarmer，
inthesameproportioninwhichitisprejudicialtothemanufacturer。Thisisafundamentalerror，anditsprevalenceamongst
theagriculturalclass，leadstothemostmischievouspracticalresults。Inthelongrun，theinterestsofthecapitalist，who
engagesinagriculture，areidenticalwiththeinterestsofthecapitalistwhoengagesinmanufactures。Thesamecauseswhich
raiseorlowertherateofprofitinoneoccupation，raiseorloweritinall。Whenrentsareadjustedtothepriceofproduce，a
fallinthevalueoffoodandrawmaterial，isasbeneficialtothefarmer，astoallothercapitalists；andariseintheirvalue，as
injurious。Theseprinciplesaresoseldomacknowledged，andareofsuchvastpracticalim—portance，thatitmaybeexpedient
brieflytodemonstratethem。Inendeavouringtodothis，wewillsuppose，forthesakeofavoidingcomplexdetails，thatthat
partofproductiveexpenditurewhichconsistsofwroughtgoodsisrepresentedbyyardsofcloth；andthatpartwhich
consistsofrawproduce，byquartersofcorn。Thiswillgreatlysimplifyourproofs，withoutinanywayimpairingtheir
conclusiveness。
CASE1。Inwhichayardofclothisequalinvaluetoaquarterofcorn。
MANUFACTURERADVANCESFoodandrawmaterial，equivalentto100quartersof
corn=100yardsofcloth100yds。
Clothing，furniture，andmachinery，equivalentto100yards100
200
OBTAINS
Returnsequivalentto300yards300
Gainsaprofitof，being50uponhisadvances100
FARMERADVANCES
Foodandseed==100quartersofcorn100qrs。
Clothingandfurniture，equivalentto100suitsofclothing=100quarters100
200
OBTAINS
Areturnof400quarters400
Grosssurplusofreturnsaboveadvance200
Paysasrent，100quarters100
Nettsurplus，orprofitof50percent。100CASEII。Inwhichtheincreasedvalueofagriculturalproduce，inrelationtomanufacturedgoods，causesonequarterof
corntobeworththreeyardsofcloth。
MANUFACTURERADVANCES
Foodandrawmaterial，equivalentto100quarters=150yards150yds。
Clothing，furniture，machinery，=100
yards100
250
OBTAINS
Return，300yards300yds。
Profit20percent。uponadvances50
FARMERADVANCES
Foodandseed=100quarters100qrs。
Clothing，implements，furniture=100suits=66quarters66
166
OBTAINS
Produce，400quarters400
Grosssurplus234
Rent201
Profitof20percent。uponadvance166quarters33Inthesetwocasesthecapitalsemployedareidentical。Inboth，theadvancesofthefarmer，aswellasthoseofthe
manufacturer，consistofagriculturalproduceequivalentto100quartersofcorn，andofmanufacturedgoodsequivalentto
100yardsofcloth。When，asinCaseI，aquarterofcornandayardofclothwereofequalvalue，therateofprofit，bothin
agricultureandinmanufactures，was50percent。；becausethefarmer，ascompetitionwillalwayscompelhimtodo，paid
away，asrent，aportionofhisproducesufficienttoreducethesurplusremaininginhishandstoanequalitywiththesurplus
realizedbythemanufacturer。When，asinCaseII，thevalueofagriculturalproduceinrelationtomanufacturedgoods，rose
50percent。，andtwoquartersofcornexchangedforthreeyardsofcloth，thentherateofprofit，aswellinagricultureasin
manufactures，fellfrom50to20percent；competition，asbefore，compellingthefarmertopay，asrent，allthatportionof
hissurpluswhichexceededthesurplusgainedbythemanufacturer。InCaseII，rentisraisedfrom100to201quartersof
corn；and，asbythesupposition，thevalueofagriculturalproduce，inrelationtomanufacturedgoods，hasrisen50percent。，
these201quarterswillcommandinexchange301？yardsofcloth。Measuredincorn，rentwillbedoubled；measuredin
cloth，itwillappeartobetrebled。Theownerofthelandwillobtainanenormousadvantage；buttheadvantagethusgained
bytheownerofland，sofarfrombeingbeneficialtothefarmer，willbeobtainedathisexpense。Theinterestoftheowner，
andtheinterestofthecultivatorofthesoil，sofarfrombeingthesame，aredirectlyopposedtoeachother。Itcanbeshown
bystrictlymathematicaldemonstration，thatanincreaseinthevalueofagriculturalproduce，raisesthelandlord’srentbyreducingthefarmer’sprofit。Whenarisetakesplaceinthevalueofagriculturalproduce，thesubsequentfall，whichtakesplaceinthefarmer’sprofit，is
occasionedbythecompetitionwhichcompelshimtoofferahigherrent。Butwhenthefarmerhasaleaseforatermofyears，
atafixedrent，heisnotimmediatelyexposedtothiscompetition；and，consequently，duringthecurrencyofhislease，the
riseinthevalueofproducewillbeadvantageoustohim。Shouldthefarmer，underthecircumstancesstatedinCaseI，have
takenaleaseatthefixedrentof100quartersofcorn，then，whenthevalueof’hisproducerose50percent，asinCaseII，
hisprofitwouldnotfallfrom50to20percent；but，onthecontrary，wouldriseto80percent。Because，advancing100
quartersforseedandfood，and66forclothingandimplements，heobtainsagrossreturnof400quarters。Outofthis，he
pays100quartersforrent，andhastherefore，forhistotaladvanceof166quarters，anettreturnof300quarters，beinganincreaseof80percent。###第4章Forthefarmer，permanently，toretainarateofreturntohisadvanceshigherthanthatrealizedbyothercapitalists，wouldbe
morallyimpossible。Ontheexpirationofhislease，hewouldencountercompetition；hisprofitswouldsink，notmerelyto
theirformerlevel，buttothatlowerlevelnowrenderedgeneral；andtheriseinthevalueofagriculturalproduce，afterconferringatemporarybenefituponthefarmer，wouldfixhiminastateofpermanentdepression。Bythosewhohavenotgivensufficientattentiontotheimportantandfundamentalprinciple，that，otherthingscontinuing
thesame，theultimateeffectofariseinthevalueofagriculturalproduce，is，toraisetheproprietor’srent，andtolowerthe
farmer’sprofit，itmaybesupposed，perhaps，thattheproofofthisprinciple，presentedintheprecedingcases，is
inconclusive；becausetheadvancesandreturnofthemanufactureraremeasuredincloth，andthoseofthefarmer，incorn。It
willbeseen，however，thatthisdifferenceinthemeasuremakesnodifferenceintheresult。Ifweestimatetheadvancesand
thereturnsofthemanufacturerincorn，orthoseofthefarmerincloth，theconclusionwillcomeoutthesame。Thevastthe
incalculable，practicalimportanceoftheprinciplewilljustifyusinresortingtofurtherdemonstrativedetails，inorderto
showthatwhetherweemploycloth，orcorn，ormoney，asourmeasureinestimatinghisadvancesandreturns，apermanentriseinthevalueofagriculturalproduce，musthavetheeffect，asleasesexpire，ofreducingthecultivators’profit。WithrespecttoCaseI，noerrorcanbypossibilityresultfromestimatingtheadvancesandreturnsofthemanufacturerin
cloth，whilethoseofthefarmerareestimatedincorn；because，ayardofcloth，andaquarterofcorn，beingofequalvalue，it
isindifferentwhichisselectedasthemeasure。WithrespecttoCaseII，however，inwhichtwoquartersofcornareequalin
valuetothreeyardsofcloth，thosenotfamiliarwiththeprinciple，thatariseinthevalueofagriculturalproduceleadstoa
fallinagriculturalprofits，mayentertainasuspicion，that，inadoptingonemeasureforthemanufacturer，andanotherforthe
farmer，somelatentfallacymaybeinvolved。Toremovealldoubt，astothecompletenessoftheproofofthismostimportant
principle，wewillre—stateCaseII，measuringtheadvancesandreturnsofthemanufacturerincorn，andthoseofthefarmer
incloth。Itwillbeimmediatelyperceived，thattheresultswillbeidenticalwiththosewhichwereobtainedwhenthemeasure
forthemanufacturerwascloth，andthatforthefarmercorn。Whatevermaybethemeasure，therateofprofit，whichwas50
percentwhenaquarterofcornandayardofclothwereofequalvalue，willfallto20percentwhentwoquartersbecome
equivalenttothreeyards。
CASEII。REPEATED。
TheManufacturer（`measurechangedfromclothtocorn）
ADVANCESFoodandrawmaterialequivalentto100quartersofcorn100qrsClothingandimplementsequalto100yardsofcloth662/3
quarters662/3
Totaladvance1662/3
OBTAINS
Returnof300yardsofcloth，equiva—
lentto200quarters200Surplusofreturn，being20percent。abovetheadvanceof
1662/3331/3
TheFarmer（measurechangedfromcorntocloth）
ADVANCES
Foodandseed=100quarters=150
yardsl50yds。
Clothingandimplements=100yards100
Totaladvance250
OBTAINS
Produce=400quarters=600yards600yds。
350
Paysrentasbefore=200quarters=
300yards300
Retainsnettsurplus，being20percent。
uponhisoutlayof250yards50Therealcostofproduction，bothinmanufacturesandinagriculture，consistsofacertainquantityofmanufacturedgoods，
andofacertainquantityofagriculturalproduce。Inestimatingproductivecost，andincomparingthecapitalist’sreturnswith
hisadvances，wemayemployasourmeasure，agivenquantityeitherofwroughtgoods，orofrawproduce。Measuringin
kind，andbyquantities，hassomeadvantagesovermeasuringbymoneyvalue，inasmuch，asbytheformermethod，weget
ridofthecomplicationarisingfromtheconsiderationsofcurrencyandofprice，andareenabledtoperceivemore
immediatelyanddistinctlytheproportioninwhichthearticlesproduced，exceedthearticlesexpendedinproducingthem。
Butmeasuringcostandreproductioninkind，thoughitmayconducetoscientificalaccuracyandprecision，isyetliableto
theobjectionofbeinglessfamiliartothegeneralreader，thanmeasuringinmoney。Asinthepresentstateofthecountry，
thereisnodelusionmoremischievousthantheveryprevalentone，thatthehighvalueofagriculturalproduceisbeneficialto
thefarmer，itisexpedienttodemonstrate，undereverypossibleform，thegreatpracticaltruth，thatapermanentriseinthe
valueofagriculturalproduce，leadstoareductionintherateofagriculturalprofit。Withthisview，theprecedingcasesare
re—stated，withthisdifference，thatmoneyisemployedasthemeasureofvalue，inestimatingandcomposingtheadvancesandreturns。InCase1。，whenthemanufacturedgoods，andagriculturalproduceconsumedinproduction，areofequalvalue，wewill
assumethatayardofcloth，andaquarterofcorn，sellfor40s。each；andinCaseII，whentheincreaseddemandfor
agriculturalproduceadds50percenttoitsvalue，wewillassume，thatthepriceofaquarterofcornrisesto60s，whilethe
priceofayardofclothremainsat40s。
CASEI。Inwhichayardofcloth，andaquarterofcorn，selleachfor40s。
MANUFACTURERADVANCESClothing，furniture，andmachinery，equivalentto100yardsofcloth，at40s。peryard？200Foodandrawmaterial，equivalentto100quartersofcorn，
at40s。
perquarter200
TotalExpenditure？400
OBTAINS
Finishedarticles，equivalentto300yards，at40s。peryard？600Surplusorprofitof50percent。uponhisexpenditureof？400？200
FARMERADVANCESClothing，furniture，andimplements，equivalentto100yardsofcloth，at40s。peryard？200Foodandseed，equivalentto100quartersofcorn，at40s。
perquarter200
TotalExpenditure？400
OBTAINSProduce，equivalentto400quartersofcorn，at40s。per
quarter？800
Grosssurplus，200quarters400
Paysasrent，100quarters200
Nettsurplus，orprofit，being50percent。uponexpenditure？200CASEII。Inwhichthedemandforagriculturalproduceraisethepriceofcornto60s。perquarter，whilethepriceofcloth
remainsat40s。peryard。
MANUFACTURERADVANCESClothing，furniture，andmachinery，equivalentto100yardsofcloth，at40s。peryard？200Foodandrawmaterial，equivalentto100quartersofcorn，
at60s。
perquarter300
Totaladvance？500
OBTAINSFinishedgoods，equivalentto300yardsofcloth，at40s。per
yard？600
Profit，being20percent。uponexpenditureof？500？100
FARMERADVANCESClothingandimplements，equivalentto100yardsofcloth，at40s。peryard？200Foodandseed，equivalentto100quartersofcorn，at60s。
perquarter300
Totalexpenditure？500
OBTAINS
Produceequivalentto400quarters，at60s。perquarter？1200
Grosssurplus？700
Paysasrent，200quarters600Nettsurplus，beingaprofitof20percentupontheexpenditureof。？00？100Thusagainwesee，thatwhatevermediumofmeasurementweemploy，wearriveatthesameinevitableconclusion，thata
riseinthevalueofagriculturalproduce，isfollowedbyafallinagri—culturalprofits，Whenthequantityofwroughtgoods
obtainedbytheadvanceofagivenquantityofrawproduce，commands，inexchange，alessquantityofrawproducethan
before，itisself—evidentthatmanufacturingprofitsmustdecline。Hadthecultivatorsofthesoilleasesforever，atunalterable
rents，thesamecausewhichdepressedmanufacturing，wouldraiseagriculturalprofits，andthefarmerwouldflourishamidst
thegeneraldistress。Butthisisimpossible。Throughoutallthedepartmentsofindustry，theratesofprofittendtoacommon
level。Whenthequantityofmanufacturedgoodspreparedbytheexpenditureofagivenquantityofagriculturalproduce，
purchasedalessquantityofsuchproducethanbefore，thecapitalinvestedinmanufactureswouldgainaless，whilethe
capitalinvestedinagriculturewouldobtainagreater，returnthanbefore。Butaslongasthisdifferenceintheratesofreturn
tocapitalcontinued，solongwouldthecompetitionforlandberenderedmoreintense。Thenatural，thein—evitableresult
wouldbe，thattenantsatwill，andallothertenants，astheirleasesexpired，wouldbecompelledtopay，asrent，suchan
increasedportionoftheirsurplusproduce，aswouldbringdownagriculturalprofitstothereducedlevelofmanufacturing
profits。This，then，isthegreatpracticalconclusionwithwhichallshouldbefamiliar。Anincreaseinthevalueofagricultural
produce，whileitconfersatemporarybenefituponfarmers，protectedagainstcompetitionbyacurrentlease，inflictspermanentinjuryanddepressionupontheimportantclasswhoinvesttheircapitalinthecultivationofthesoil。Afallinthevalueofagriculturalproducewill，ofcourse，befollowedbyeffectsthereverseofthoseoccasionedbyarise。
Whenthequantityofmanufacturedgoodswhichisfabricatedbytheadvanceofagivenquantityoffoodandmaterials，
exchangesforagreaterquantityofthesearticlesofrawproduce，thenmanufacturingprofitsbecomehigherthanbefore；and
whenthequantityofagriculturalproduce，raisedwiththeexpenditureofagivenquantityofclothingandimplements，
exchangesforalessquantityofthesefinishedarticlesthanbefore，then，itisself—evident，thatagriculturalprofitswillbe
lowerthanbefore。This，foratime，willoccasionagriculturaldistress。Butastheprofitsofthemanufacturerincrease，and
thoseofthecultivatordecline，therewillbelesscompetitionforfarms；andtenantsatwill，andallothertenants，onthe
expirationofcurrentleases，willdemand，andmustultimatelyobtain，suchareductionofrents，aswillleaveintheirhandsa
surplusproduce，sufficienttoraiseagriculturalprofits，notmerelytotheirformerlevel，buttothathigherleveltowhich
manufacturingprofitsmayhaverisen。Thus，withrespecttotheeffectsofafallinthevalueofagriculturalproduce，the
importantpracticalprinciplesare，thatsuchfalloccasionstemporaryagriculturaldistress，whilerentsareinthecourseof
adjustmenttothereducedlevel；andthat，asthisadjustmentiseffected，thefallinthevalueofproduceconfersuponthosewhoinvestcapitalinthecultivationofthesoil，apermanentprosperity，greaterthanthatwhichtheypreviouslyenjoyed。Theprinciplesaboveunfoldedenableustoexplain，withdistinctnessaridprecision，thecausesofagriculturaldistress。When
thepriceofagriculturalproducefell，aftertheterminationofthelatewar，thereweretwo，andonlytwoways，bywhicha
considerablefallinagriculturalprofits，andadiminutionofagriculturalcapitalmighthavebeenprevented；namely，first，by
anim—mediatereductionofmoneyrents，andofothermoneychargesuponland，incorrespondencewiththediminished
priceofproduce；secondly，bysuchareductionintheancientstandardofvalue，aswouldhaveperpetuatedhighnominal
prices，andhavebeen，ineffect，thesamethingasareductionofrents，andofotherfixedmoneycharges。Hadthelanded
proprietorsofEngland，whothenpossessedthewholelegislativepower，adoptedeitherofthesecourses，nofallof
agriculturalprofits，nodestructionofagriculturalcapital，couldhaveoccurred。Theyattemptedneither。Unacquaintedwith
theprinciplesofeconomicalscience，andnotpossessingsufficientintelligencetoperceivetheirownignorance，thelanded
proprietorsofthatdaybecamewillinginstruments，andco—operatingagents，inworkingouttheirowndestruction。Ifthey
chosetoconsenttomeasuresforraisingthevalueofthecurrency，theyshould，atthesametime，havemadeacorresponding
reductionintheirownrents，andhavecompelledtheGovernmenttomakeacorrespondingreductioninthepublictaxes。
And，ontheotherhand，whentheydeterminedtokeepuptheirownrents，andtosupporttheministerinmaintaining
enormousestablishments，theyshouldhavemadeitanindispensablecondition，thatthevalueofmoneyshouldnotbe
increased。Buttheyseemtohaveactedundertheinfluenceofjudicialblindness。Theyconceived，thatwithoutlossofprofit，
anddestructionofcapital，theirtenantsmightcontinuetopayundiminishedmoneyrents，andmoneycharges，inacurrency
enhancedinvalue；and，inordertorenderanimpossibilitypossible，theyclamouredfortheCornLaws，and，blindleadersof
theblind，deludedtheirtenantryintothebelief，thatthefarmerisbenefitedbyhighpricesandhighrents。Thisdelusion，and
theexpectationthattheCornLawswouldeventuallyrestoreprices，causedthenecessaryreductioninrents，andinother
moneycharges，tobedeferred。Thecon—sequenceswere，aruinousfallintherateofagriculturalprofit；thelossof
agriculturalcapital；lessperfectcultivation；thedeteriorationofthesoil；thebankruptcyoftenants；theabandonmentofland；
thethrowingoutoflabour；theall—absorbingincreaseofthepoor’srate；andallthattrainofdesolatingevils，which，ifthe
powerofknowledgecannotnowremovethem，mustspeedilyoverwhelmlabourer，farmer，andlandlord，inonecommonruin。Howdifferentwouldhavebeentheresultshadthelandedproprietors，insteadofclamouringforaCornLaw，and
endeavouringtomakefooddear，adjustedrents，andotherfixedmoneychargesontheland，tothealteredvalueofthe
currency，andreducedscaleofprices。Areferencetothepre—cedingcaseswilldemonstrate，that，hadsuchanadjustment
takenplace，theconsequencewouldhavebeen，notafall，butariseintherateofthefarmer’sprofit。Acorrespondingriseof
profitswouldhavetakenplaceinmanufactures，andintrade。ThesuperioritywhichEnglandpossessesinmanufacturing
industry，notbeingcounterbalancedbyahighcomparativevalueoffood，realwagesmighthavebeenadvanced，without
incurringthedangerofforeigncompetition。Anabsorbingpoorratewouldnothaveincreasedthecostoftilling，orhave
threatenedtointerdictthecultivationofthesoil。Amorenumerous，andamorewealthypopulation，causingamoreintense
demandforbuildingground，forgardens，andforallthoseproductionsoftheearth，which，fromtheirbulkandperishable
nature，cannotbeimported，wouldhavesecuredtothelandedproprietors，arentalfarexceedingthatwhichitispossibleto
derivefromfarmsemployedinraisingthemainfoodofthepeople。Buttheeffectofafreeimportationoffood，inincreasing
thevalueofland，inacountrypossessingmanufacturingsuperiority，hasbeenshowninanotherplace；（10）anditis
unnecessarytopursuethediscussion，intowhichwehaveheredigressed。Sufficienthasbeensaidforthepresentpurpose，
whichis，toestablishtheprinciple，thatanunrestrictedimportationofforeigncorn，allowingofanincreaseofrealwages，withinthelimitsofourmanufacturingsuperiority，couldnothavetheeffectofreducingtherateofthefarmer’sprofit。Itishopedthattheproof’sandillustrationsinsertedintheprecedingpages，haveestablished，beyondthepossibilityofdoubt，
theimportantpracticaltruth，thatfarmershavenopermanentinterestintheserestrictionsontheimportationofforeign
agriculturalproduce，whichraisethepriceoffoodandrawmaterials。Farmers，whoareunderleasesatafixedmoneyrent，
have，nodoubt，atemporaryinterestinhighpricesduringthecurrencyoftheseleases。But，inthelongrun，protecting
duties，forraisingthepriceoffood，produceagriculturaldistressascertainlyastheyoccasionmanufacturingdistress。Never
wasdelusionmoregross，thanthatwhichtheproprietorsofthesoilpractiseupontheirtenants，whentheyadvisethemto
clamourforincreasedprotectionforthelandedinterest。Whensuchadviceistrulyinterpreted，itamountsjusttothisAid
usinenforcingarrangementswhichshall\"havetheeffectofraisingourrents，andofdecreasingyourprofits，andof
renderingitimpossibletoincreasetherealwagesoflabour，withoutlettinginforeigncompetition，andthrowingmillionsout
ofwork。\"
CHAPTERVII。ONTHEQUESTION，WOULDAFREETRADEINCORNDIMINISH
EMPLOYMENT，ANDREDUCEWAGES，BYCONTRACTINGTHEHOME
MARKETINAGREATERPROPORTIONTHANITEXTENDEDTHEFOREIGNMARKET？Theexclusiveadvocates，notofthelandedinterestatlarge，butofthelandedproprietor：inparticular，endeavourto
practiseuponthemanufacturers，aspeciesofdelusionsimilartothatwhichtheyhavehithertopractised，toosuccessfully，on
thefarmers。Theycontend，thatthehomemarketisbetterthantheforeignmarket；andthatimportingcorn，insteadof
purchasingitfromthehomegrower，wouldbecontractingthebetter，forthesakeofextendingtheworsemarket。Were
theseadvocatesofthelandedproprietorsaskedtoexplainwhattheirmeaningis，whentheysaythatthehomemarketis
betterthantheforeign，itispossiblethattheymightfindsomedifficultyingivinganintelligiblereply。Itisessential，
however，tocorrectinquiry，thatthemeaningoftermsshouldbeaccuratelyfixed。Incommondiscourse，theterm，market，
meanstheplacewherecommoditiesaresold；inthelanguageofcommerce，thetermexpressestheplacewherecommodities
findaneffectualdemand。Nowwhatisthateffectualdemand，theexistenceofwhich，inanyparticularplace，constitutesa
market，inthesenseinwhichthattermisemployedinthelanguageofcommercialscience。Effectualdemandissimply
thistheoffer，inexchangeforcommodities，ofthatwhichwillreplace，withasurplus，orprofit，thatwhichisexpendedin
reproducingthem。Now，thatwhichisexpendedinproducingmanufacturedgoods，isfoodandrawmaterial。When，
therefore，wespeakofamarketformanufacturedgoods，wespeakofaplaceinwhichtheywillexchangeforagreater
quantity，orthepriceofagreaterquantity，offoodandrawmaterial，thanthatwhichwasexpendedinproducingthem。A
goodmarketforsuchgoods，isaplacewheretheywillexchangeforaquantityoffoodandmaterialconsiderablygreater
thanthatexpendedintheirproduction；andabadmarket，isaplacewheretheywillexchangeforaquantityoffoodand
materiallittlegreaterthantheirproductioncost。Totellthemanufacturerthatthehomemarketisbetterthantheforeign，
wheninthehomemarkethisgoodsexchangeforalessquantityoffoodandmaterialthanintheforeign，istoassertagrossabsurdityapalpablecontradiction。Withrespecttoeffectualdemand，itisimportanttobearinmindthedistinctionbetweenitsextentanditsintensity。Effectual
demandisextensive，inproportiontothequantityofcommoditieswhichcanbesoldatapricewhichwillreplacethecostof
productionwithasurplusorprofit，whetherthatsurplusbegreatorsmall。Effectualdemandisintense，inproportionas
commoditiessellatapricewhichreplacesthecostofproductionwithalargesurplus，whetherthequantityofgoodswhich
canbethussoldbegreatorsmall。Itisplainthatdemandmaybeextensive，withoutbeingintense；andintense，withoutbeingextensive。Fromwhathasbeenalreadysaid，itmustbeapparent，thatwhen，bydutiesontheimportationofagriculturalproduce，we
increasetheextentoftheeffectualdemandofthehomemarket，wemust，bytheself—sameprocess，diminishitsintensity。
Whenthevalueoffoodandrawmaterialisin—creased，inrelationtowroughtgoods，suchgoodsmustsellatapricewhich
replacestheelementsofproductionwithalesssurplusthanbefore；or，inotherwords，theintensityofthedemandmustbe
diminished。Theextentofthedemandmeasurestheamountofbusiness；theintensityofthedemandmeasurestherateof
profitatwhichbusinessmaybedone。Thecultivationofinferiorland，raising，inrelationtohisfinishedgoods，thevalueof
themanufacturer’selementaryexpenditure，canincreasetheamountofhistransactionsinthehomemarket，onlyby
reducing，atthesametime，therateofprofitheisabletorealize。Competitionevertendstobringprofitstoacommonlevel。
Whentheprofitsofthemanufacturerwhosuppliesthehomemarketarebroughtdown，thoseofthemanufacturerwhoworksfortheforeignmarket，mustspeedilycomedownalso。TheeffectsoftheCornLawsinloweringtherateofprofitinamanufacturingcountry，wouldhavebeensufficientlyobvious
toreason，eveniftheyhadnotbeenbroughthometooursensesbypainfulexperience。Onenecessaryandveryinjurious
consequenceofafallintherateofprofit，istothrowsmallcapitalsoutofemployment，andtocausewealthtoaccumulatein
afewhands。Themiddleclassesarepresseddown，andtheextremesofopulenceandofpovertyriseinprominentcontrast。
Whenprofitsarehigh，fortunesarerealizedfromsmallbeginnings，andthereisaconstantbountyuponindustryand
frugality。Butwhenprofitsarelow，thestimulusofhopeiswithdrawnfromthosewhoarenotborntowealth，andreckless
indifferencereplacesperseveringexertion。Asprofitsfall，thecapitalistisdriventopressmoreandmoreheavilyuponthe
operativeswhomheemploys。ThisistheworsteffectoftheCornLaws，andofthelowrewardofindustrywhichthey
occasion。Acapitalist，wewillsuppose，pays1000l。inwages，and1000l。formaterials，andgetsafinishedarticle，whichhe
sellsfor2200l。Butthe200l。，thusgaineduponhisadvances，forwagesandmaterials，isinsufficienttopaytherentofhis
buildings，andthewearandtearofhismachines，andheperceivesthathemusteitherdobetter，orgiveuphisbusiness。Now
inwhatwaycanhedobetter？Hecannotgetmoreforhisgoodshecannotgethismaterialsforlessandhecannotdo
withoutbuildingsandmachines。Hethereforegoestotheoperative，andsays，Icannotemployyouonthesametermsasbefore；youmustconsenttotakelesswages，ortoworkagreaternumberofhours。Whenalowrateofprofitpredisposesindustrytoperiodicalparoxysmsofdistress，itwillnotunfrequentlyoccur，that
thoughwageshavecomedowntothestarvingpoint，andthoughthehoursofworkhavebeenextendedtotheutmostlimits
ofhumanendurance，yetthefinishedarticlewillnotsellatapricewhichwillreplaceitscost。Itisobviouslyimpossiblethat
thisshouldlongcontinue。Whatthencanbe（lone？newmachineryisresortedto，whichneithereatsnortires，andthus
humanlabourissupplantedbymechanicalpower。TherecanbenodoubtthattheCornLawshavecausedmachinerytobe
employedinthiscountrymoreextensivelythanitotherwisewouldhavebeen。Whenthepriceofprovisionsislow，human
labourmaybecheaperthanmechanicalpower。Butasfoodbecomesdear，themachine，whichdoesnoteat，willbecomeless
costlythantheoperative，whomustbefedwhileatwork。Inmanybranchesoftrade，itisthepriceofcornwhichdetermines
whethermachinerycanbeadvantageouslyintroducedornot。Otherthingsremainingthesame，asthevalueoffoodisraised，
mechanicalpowerwillbebroughtmoreandmoreintocompetitionwithhumanlabour；andtheoperativewillbeemployedatwagesreducedtothestarvingpoint，andforthelongestperiodoftimewhichnaturecanendure。Thisisthestateofthingstowhichwearerapidlyapproaching；thestateofthingsatwhich，insomeoftheprincipalseatsof
industry，wealreadyhavearrived。Theconditionoftheworkingpeopleisatoncedistressingandalarming，anddemandsthe
immediateattentionoftheLegislature。Parliamentcannotcompelthecapitalisttocarryonhisbusinessataloss。Itisboth
morallyandphysicallyimpossible，thatproductionshouldbelongcontinued，whenitsexpensesceasetobereplaced。Asthe
valueofrawproducerisesinrelationtowroughtgoods，weatlengtharriveatthepointatwhichthefinishedarticleceases
tobeworththefoodandmaterialwhich，inthepreviousstateofwages，wereconsumedinpreparingit。Whenthingshave
beenbroughttothispass，theoperativehasbutonealternative：hemusteitherdomoreworkforthesamewages，orelsebe
thrownaltogetheroutofemployment。Nocombination，nobill，forregulatingthehoursoflabour，can，bypossibility，relievehimfromthishardnecessity。HasParliament，then，nopowertorelievethepeoplefromthedistresswhichoverwhelmsthem？Yes：ithasthepowertogo
atoncetotherootoftheevil，andtoremoveentirelythecauseofthedisease。ParliamenthaspowertoabolishtheCorn
Laws，andtoopenafreetradewiththosecountrieswhich，havingvastregionsoffertileterritoryyettoreclaim，can，with
thegreatestadvantagetothemselves，giveuscheaprawproduceinexchangeforourwroughtgoods。Thisisthatwhichwouldrelievethepeople。Nootherremedycaneradicatethenationaldisease。Russia，andtheUnitedStatesofNorthAmerica，aretheprincipalcountrieswithwhichafreetrade，consistingofthe
interchangeofwroughtgoodsforrawproduce，canbeestablished。Toregulatethetradewiththesecountriesuponthe
principlesofreciprocityandfreedom，isthemainobjecttowhichtheattentionoftheLegislatureshouldbedirected。Toits
attainment，noinsuperable，noseriousdifficultyisopposed。Itistheobvious，thedecidedinterestofRussia，andofthe
UnitedStates，toestablishwithEnglandcommercialrelations，foundedontheseprinciples。Givingrawproduceforwrought
goods，aspeciesoftradewhichwouldimpoverishanddepopulateFrance，wouldimpartadditionalmomentumtothe
progressofRussiaandAmerica；and，rapidastheadvanceofthesegreatcountrieshithertohasbeen，wouldrenderit，infuture，morerapidstill。Whereabundanceofnewandfertilelandremainstoberesortedto，thecauseofretardationis，thedifficultyofworkingup
therawproduceofthesoil。Thiscauseofretardation，freetradewithamanufacturingcountryimmediatelyremoves。If，ina
remoteandthinly—peopleddistrictofRussia，100menraisedfoodfor300，whileitrequired200mentomakeclothingfor
300，thenasthelabourof800woulddonomorethanjustreplacethefoodandclothingconsumedby300，industrywould
besuspended；forthesimplereason，thatitcouldrealizenoprofit。ButwerethefoodraisedinRussiaby100mensentto
England，andwereclothingfor300broughtbackinexchange，theninRussiatheadvanceoffoodandclothingfor200
wouldbringareturnoffoodandclothingfor300；andtheprofitsofagriculture，whichbeforewerenothing，would，throughtheinterventionofcommerce，become50percent。Thus，inurgingRussiatoestablishwithEnglandanunfetteredandreciprocaltrade，wecanprovetoher，byreasoning
strictlydemonstrative，that，byadoptingthisliberalpolicy，shewouldobtainforherselfthemostdecisiveadvantage。But，
lesttheprospectofadvantageshouldbein—sufficienttoinducehertodepartfromestablishedusage，weoughtatthesame
timetoquickenherapprehension，bythefearofloss。Withthisview，whileweproposetotakeofftheimportdutiesupon
thecorn，andtallow，andhides，producedinthedominionsofRussia，ontheconditionthatRussiashouldremitherduties
upontheimportationofBritishgoods，weshouldatthesametimedistinctlyinformher，thatifshepersistsinenforcingher
tariffagainstus，weshallnotonlyretainourexistingimportdutiesupontheproductsoftheRussianterritory，butwill
reimpose，asrespectsRussia，thedutyuponhemp，prematurelytakenoffbythelastParliament，whilewereceive，dutyfree，
thecorn，andhemp，andtallow，andhides，fromallothercountries，consentingtoamoreliberalcommercialcode。This
modeofproceedingwouldbeeffectual。ThehopeofobtainingamoreextendedexporttradetoEngland，combinedwiththe
fearofthrowingintothehandsofothercountriesapartofthatwhichshenowenjoys，wouldconstrainRussiatolowerher
tariffinfavourofourmanufacturedgoods。Weknow，byrepeatedexperience，thattheRussiangovernment，despoticthough
itbe，darenotoffendthegreatproprietorsofthesoil，byriskingthatexporttradetoEngland，uponwhichtheirrevenue
principallydepends。Ononeoccasion，whentheautocratinterdictedtheexportationofhemp，andothernavalstoresto
England，hepaidforhistemeritytheforfeitofhislife。Andatalaterperiod，itwasthenationalresentmentkindledinRussia，
bytheinterruptionofcommerce，whichgavebirthtothegrandeffortagainstFrance，thenapparentlyirresistible，whichendedinthedown—fallofNapoleon。Therecanexistnodoubtbutthat，byatemperate，firm，andjudiciousenforcementoftheprincipleofreciprocity，wemay
succeedinestablishingwithRussiaatradefreeonbothsides，andconsistingoftheinterchangeofwroughtgoodsandraw
produce。Theadvantagesofsuchatradeitwouldbedifficulttoestimate。Ascultivationextendedoverthevastregionsof
theRussianempire，themarketforBritishfabricswouldperpetuallyexpand。Whocancalculatewhattheextentandthe
intensityofdemandmightbecome，ascanalsandrail—roadsconveyedfoodandrawmaterials，fromremoteinteriorregions，
toallthenavigablestreamsfallingintotheBalticandtheBlackSea；andthusenabledtheBritishmanufacturertoreplace，atdecreasingcost，theelementsofhisproductivecapital。Itmaybethoughtthatthisisdrawingtoolargelyonthefuture；andthat，withrespecttoRussia，thedayisyetfardistant
whensuchimprovementscanberealized。Beitso，withrespecttoRussia。WithrespecttotheUnitedStates，thedayisnot
distantitisnowathanditalreadyhasarrived。Inthatcountryofthefree，thereisapopulationoftwelvemillions，doubling
inaperiodofaboutfive—and—twentyyears。Themeanannualincreaseisupwardsofhalfamillionofsouls；andofthis
increase，thegreaterportionspreadsovertheunreclaimedlandsofthewesternterritory。Heretheforestrecedesbeforethem
；townsandvillagesriseupasbyenchantment；andthetideofagriculturalimprovement，andofChristiancivilization，flowswithstillincreasingvelocity，fromtheshoresoftheAtlantictowardsthoseofthePacific。Letusdescendfromgeneralstoparticulars。Wefind，fromaninspectionofthedocumentsaccompanyingthePresident’s
messagetoCongress，thatitisstated，inthereportoftheCommissionersoftheGeneralLandOffice，thatthequantityof
landpurchasedfromindividualsbytheGovernment，duringtheyear1826，was1，274，644acres。Someyearspriortothis，
thelandsintheGeneseecountry，nowformingtheStateofOhio，werepurchasedfromtheUnitedStatesforabout3s。an
acre，though，attheperiodofthepurchase，therewasscarcelyachristianinhabitantthroughoutthewholedistrict。In1821，
however，thepopulationoftheStateofOhioamountedto500，000souls；sincethatperiod，hundredsofthousandshave
passedintoothernewstates，foundedstillfurtherwestward；andnowthroughoutthevastregionsoftheOhio，theWabash，
theMissouri，andMississippi，cultivationisspreadingwithmiraculousrapidity。Here，thereisamarketinwhich，for
generations，thedemandforwroughtgoodsmustincreasebothinextentandinintensity。ThevalleyoftheMississippi，1400
milesinlength，andnearlythesameinbreadth，andintersectedthroughoutallitsvastextentbynavigablestreams，isitself
capableofsupplyingfoodandrawmaterialforapopulationgreaterthanthatofthewholeofEurope。Whenthelanded
proprietorsurgethemerchantsandmanufacturers，topreferthehometotheforeignmarket，theirlanguage，truly
interpreted，amountstothis，\"Aidusinraisingthevalueofyourfoodandrawmaterials，andinexcludingyoufrommarkets
ofincalculableextent，inorderthatwe，thelordsofthesoil，maykeepuptherentsofland，andkeepdowntheprofitsoftrade，andthewagesoflabour。\"Neverbefore，in。thehistoryoftheworld，hadanytwocountriessovastandextraordinaryapowerofpromotingthe
prosperityofeachother，asthatpossessedbyEnglandandtheUnitedStates。Eachhasanunlimitedcommandoverthat，
which，inthepeculiarcircumstancesoftheother，istheonethingneedful。Withhoweversmallaproportionofhislabour，
theagriculturistmaybeabletoraisethefoodandseedconsumedincultivation，ifitrequirealargeproportionofhis
produce，toreplacehisclothingandimplements，thesurplusorprofitcannotbegreat。And，ontheotherhand，withhoweversmallaportionoflabour，themanufacturercanworkuptheclothingandmachineryheexpends，ifitrequiresagreatproportionofhisfinishedarticles，toreplacefoodandmaterial，profitwillbereducedtothelowestrateatwhichbusiness
canbecarriedon，andwageswillsinktothestarvingpoint。IntheagriculturalregionsofAmerica，prosperityislessrapid
thanitotherwisemightbe，becausethevalueofrawproduceislow，inrelationtowroughtgoods；while，inthe
manufacturingdistrictsofEnglanddistressprevails，becausethevalueofwroughtgoodsislow，inrelationtofoodand
material。WerethemanufacturesofEnglandadmitteddutyfreeintoAmerica，prosperitywouldbethereaccelerated；and
weretheagriculturalproduceofAmericaadmitteddutyfreeintoEngland，thecauseofthepressureuponthepeoplewouldberemoved，andtherewardoflabourmightbecomeasampleasitisintheUnitedStatesofNorthAmerica。Neverbefore，inthehistoryoftheworld，didanytwocountriespossess，insoextraordinaryadegree，thepowerof
promotingtheprosperityofeachother；andneverbefore，intheannalsofhumanfolly，wastheresomelancholyanexample
\"ofthesmallportionofwisdomwhichgovernsnations，\"asthatexhibitedbyEnglandandtheUnitedStates，inrefusingto
receivefromeachothertheinestimablegiftswhichanunrestrictedcommercialintercoursewouldhavebrought。Inthisrace
ofwretchedabsurdity，AmericawasoutstrippedbyEngland。ThetariffridersoftheUnitedStates，incheckingthe
importationofmanufacturedgoods，haveloweredprofits，andretardedprosperity；whiletheborougholigarchyofEngland，
inexcludingforeignagriculturalproduce，havenotonlyplunderedthecapitalist，buthavebroughtsomeportionsofthe
workingclassestothevergeofstarvation。Butinbothcountriesabettersystemisapproachingagreatandbeneficial
changeisathand。ThesouthernstatesoftheAmericanUnionwillnolongersubmittobeplunderedbythetariff；andnow
thatthegreatmanufacturingtownsofEnglandarere—presentedinParliament，theywillnolongersubmittobeplunderedbytheCornLaws。TheabolitionoftheCornLaws，isthegreatmeasureofnationalrelief，whichthepeopleshoulddemand，andwhichthe
Parliamentshouldadopt。Werethehoursoflabourreduced，withoutareductioninthevalueoffood，eitherprofitsor
wages，orboth，mustcomedown。Butcanthemastermanufacturergoon，ifprofitsfall？Cantheoperativelive，ifwagesare
reduced？Thesearequestionsoffearfulimport。Ifindustrybenotrelievedbyreducingthevalueofrawproduceinrelation
towroughtgoods，itwillrequirenospiritofprophecytopredictthecalamitousresult。Weshallhavefirst，adistressing
stagnationoftrade，andthenaterrificconvulsion。Whilethereisyettimetoavertthedanger，letmastersandoperatives，
insteadofengaginginruinouscontestswitheachother，uniteinpetitioningtheLegislaturefortheimmediate
commencementofthatreforminourcommercialpolicy，withoutwhichthedistressofthepeoplecannotberelieved，northe
peaceofthecountrypreserved。
FINIS。
1。M’Culloch。
2。Mill。
3。Ricardo，M’Culloch，Mill。
4。Mill。
5。Mill。
6。SeeSenior’sableLecturesonWages。
7。M’Culloch。8。Underthecircumstances，priceswouldfall；butthis，insteadofweakeningthecaseasnowput，wouldrenderitstill
stronger。
9。Senior’sLecturesonWages。
10。Essay，ontheExternalCornTrade，FourthEdition。Seealso，arecentpublication，entitled，\"EnglandandAmerica。\"
