There are few
commodities
which are not more or less affected in their
price by the rise of raw produce, because some raw material from the
land enters into the composition of most commodities.
price by the rise of raw produce, because some raw material from the
land enters into the composition of most commodities.
Ricardo - On The Principles of Political Economy, and Taxation
The circumstance however, of gold being a
foreign production, will not invalidate the truth of the argument,
because it may be shewn, that whether it were found at home, or were
imported from abroad, the effects ultimately and indeed immediately
would be the same.
When wages rise, it is generally because the increase of wealth and
capital have occasioned a new demand for labour, which will infallibly
be attended with an increased production of commodities. To circulate
these additional commodities, even at the same prices as before, more
money is required, more of this foreign commodity from which money is
made, and which can only be obtained by importation. Whenever a
commodity is required in greater abundance than before, its relative
value rises comparatively with those commodities with which its purchase
is made. If more hats were wanted, their price would rise, and more gold
would be given for them. If more gold were required, gold would rise,
and hats would fall in price, as a greater quantity of hats and of all
other things would then be necessary to purchase the same quantity of
gold. But in the case supposed, to say that commodities will rise,
because wages rise, is to affirm a positive contradiction; for we first
say that gold will rise in relative value in consequence of demand, and
secondly, that it will fall in relative value because prices will rise,
two effects which are totally incompatible with each other. To say that
commodities are raised in price, is the same thing as to say that money
is lowered in relative value; for it is by commodities that the relative
value of gold is estimated. If then all commodities rose in price, gold
could not come from abroad to purchase those dear commodities, but it
would go from home to be employed with advantage in purchasing the
comparatively cheaper foreign commodities. It appears then, that the
rise of wages will not raise the prices of commodities, whether the
metal from which money is made be produced at home or in a foreign
country. All commodities cannot rise at the same time without an
addition to the quantity of money. This addition could not be obtained
at home, as we have already shewn; nor could it be imported from abroad.
To purchase any additional quantity of gold from abroad, commodities at
home must be cheap, not dear. The importation of gold, and a rise in the
price of all home-made commodities with which gold is purchased or paid
for, are effects absolutely incompatible. The extensive use of paper
money does not alter this question, for paper money conforms, or ought
to conform to the value of gold, and therefore its value is influenced
by such causes only as influence the value of that metal.
These then are the laws by which wages are regulated, and by which the
happiness of far the greatest part of every community is governed. Like
all other contracts, wages should be left to the fair and free
competition of the market, and should never be controlled by the
interference of the legislature.
The clear and direct tendency of the poor laws, is in direct opposition
to these obvious principles: it is not, as the legislature benevolently
intended, to amend the condition of the poor, but to deteriorate the
condition of both poor and rich; instead of making the poor rich, they
are calculated to make the rich poor; and whilst the present laws are in
force, it is quite in the natural order of things that the fund for the
maintenance of the poor should progressively increase, till it has
absorbed all the neat revenue of the country, or at least so much of it
as the state shall leave to us, after satisfying its own never failing
demands for the public expenditure. [9]
This pernicious tendency of these laws is no longer a mystery, since it
has been fully developed by the able hand of Mr. Malthus; and every
friend to the poor must ardently wish for their abolition. Unfortunately
however they have been so long established, and the habits of the poor
have been so formed upon their operation, that to eradicate them with
safety from our political system requires the most cautious and skilful
management. It is agreed by all who are most friendly to a repeal of
these laws, that if it be desirable to prevent the most overwhelming
distress to those for whose benefit they were erroneously enacted, their
abolition should be effected by the most gradual steps.
It is a truth which admits not a doubt, that the comforts and well being
of the poor cannot be permanently secured without some regard on their
part, or some effort on the part of the legislature, to regulate the
increase of their numbers, and to render less frequent among them early
and improvident marriages. The operation of the system of poor laws has
been directly contrary to this. They have rendered restraint
superfluous, and have invited imprudence by offering it a portion of the
wages of prudence and industry.
The nature of the evil points out the remedy. By gradually contracting
the sphere of the poor laws; by impressing on the poor the value of
independence, by teaching them that they must look not to systematic or
casual charity, but to their own exertions for support, that prudence
and forethought are neither unnecessary nor unprofitable virtues, we
shall by degrees approach a sounder and more healthful state.
No scheme for the amendment of the poor laws merits the least attention,
which has not their abolition for its ultimate object; and he is the
best friend to the poor, and to the cause of humanity, who can point out
how this end can be attained with the most security, and at the same
time with the least violence. It is not by raising in any manner
different from the present, the fund from which the poor are supported,
that the evil can be mitigated. It would not only be no improvement, but
it would be an aggravation of the distress which we wish to see removed,
if the fund were increased in amount, or were levied according to some
late proposals, as a general fund from the country at large. The present
mode of its collection and application has served to mitigate its
pernicious effects. Each parish raises a separate fund for the support
of its own poor. Hence it becomes an object of more interest and more
practicability to keep the rates low, than if one general fund were
raised for the relief of the poor of the whole kingdom. A parish is much
more interested in an economical collection of the rate, and a sparing
distribution of relief, when the whole saving will be for its own
benefit, than if hundreds of other parishes were to partake of it.
It is to this cause, that we must ascribe the fact of the poor laws not
having yet absorbed all the net revenue of the country; it is to the
rigour with which they are applied, that we are indebted for their not
having become overwhelmingly oppressive. If by law every human being
wanting support could be sure to obtain it, and obtain it in such a
degree as to make life tolerably comfortable, theory would lead us to
expect that all other taxes together would be light compared with the
single one of poor rates. The principle of gravitation is not more
certain than the tendency of such laws to change wealth and power into
misery and weakness; to call away the exertions of labour from every
object, except that of providing mere subsistence; to confound all
intellectual distinction; to busy the mind continually in supplying the
body's wants; until at last all classes should be infected with the
plague of universal poverty. Happily these laws have been in operation
during a period of progressive prosperity, when the funds for the
maintenance of labour have regularly increased, and when an increase of
population would be naturally called for. But if our progress should
become more slow; if we should attain the stationary state, from which I
trust we are yet far distant, then will the pernicious nature of these
laws become more manifest and alarming; and then too will their removal
be obstructed by many additional difficulties.
CHAPTER V*.
ON PROFITS.
The profits of stock in different employments, having been shewn to bear
a proportion to each other, and to have a tendency to vary all in the
same degree and in the same direction, it remains for us to consider
what is the cause of the permanent variations in the rate of profit, and
the consequent permanent alterations in the rate of interest.
We have seen that the price[10] of corn is regulated by the quantity of
labour necessary to produce it, with that portion of capital which pays
no rent. We have seen too that all manufactured commodities rise and
fall in price, in proportion as more or less labour becomes necessary
to their production. Neither the farmer who cultivates that quality of
land, which regulates price, nor the manufacturer, who manufactures
goods, sacrifice any portion of the produce for rent. The whole value of
their commodities is divided into two portions only: one constitutes the
profits of stock, the other the wages of labour.
Supposing corn and manufactured goods always to sell at the same price,
profits would be high or low in proportion as wages were low or high.
But suppose corn to rise in price because more labour is necessary to
produce it; that cause will not raise the price of manufactured goods in
the production of which no additional quantity of labour is required. If
then wages continued the same, profits would remain the same; but if, as
is absolutely certain, wages should rise with the rise of corn, then
profits would necessarily fall.
If a manufacturer always sold his goods for the same money, for 1000_l. _
for example, his profits would depend on the price of the labour
necessary to manufacture those goods. His profits would be less when
wages amounted to 800_l. _ than when he paid only 600_l. _ In proportion
then as wages rose, would profits fall. But if the price of raw produce
would increase, it may be asked, whether the farmer at least would not
have the same rate of profits, although he should pay an additional
price for wages? Certainly not: for he will not only have to pay, in
common with the manufacturer, an increase of wages to each labourer he
employs, but he will be obliged either to pay rent, or to employ an
additional number of labourers to obtain the same produce; and the rise
in the price of raw produce will be proportioned only to that rent, or
that additional number, and will not compensate him for the rise of
wages.
If both the manufacturer and farmer employed ten men, on wages rising
from 24_l. _ to 25_l. _ per annum. per man, the whole sum paid by each
would be 250_l. _ instead of 240_l. _ This is, however, the whole addition
that would be paid by the manufacturer to obtain the same quantity of
commodities; but the farmer on new land would probably be obliged to
employ an additional man, and therefore to pay an additional sum of
25_l. _ for wages; and the farmer on the old land would be obliged to pay
precisely the same additional sum of 25_l. _ for rent; without which
additional labour, corn would not have risen. One will therefore have to
pay 275_l. _ for wages alone, the other, for wages and rent together;
each 25_l. _ more than the manufacturer: for this latter 25_l. _ they are
compensated by the addition to the price of raw produce, and therefore
their profits still conform to the profits of the manufacturer. As this
proposition is important, I will endeavour still further to elucidate
it.
We have shewn that in early stages of society, both the landlord's and
the labourer's share of the _value_ of the produce of the earth, would
be but small; and that it would increase in proportion to the progress
of wealth, and the difficulty of procuring food. We have shewn too, that
although the value of the labourer's portion will be increased by the
high value of food, his real share will be diminished; whilst that of
the landlord will not only be raised in value, but will also be
increased in quantity.
The remaining quantity of the produce of the land, after the landlord
and labourer are paid, necessarily belongs to the farmer, and
constitutes the profits of his stock. But it may be alleged, that though
as society advances, his proportion of the whole produce will be
diminished, yet as it will rise in value, he, as well as the landlord
and labourer, may, notwithstanding, receive a greater value.
It may be said for example, that when corn rose from 4_l. _ to 10_l. _,
the 180 quarters obtained from the best land would sell for 1800_l. _
instead of 720_l. _; and therefore, though the landlord and labourer be
proved to have a greater value for rent and wages, still the value of
the farmer's profit might also be augmented. This however is impossible,
as I shall now endeavour to shew.
In the first place, the price of corn would rise only in proportion to
the increased difficulty of growing it on land of a worse quality.
It has been already remarked, that if the labour of ten men will, on
land of a certain quality, obtain 180 quarters of wheat, and its value
be 4_l. _ per quarter, or 720_l. _; and if the labour of ten additional
men, will on the same or any other land, produce only 170 quarters in
addition, wheat would rise from 4_l. _ to 4_l. _ 4_s. _ 8_d. _; for 170:
180:: 4_l. _: 4_l. _ 4_s. _ 8_d. _ In other words, as for the production of
170 quarters, the labour of ten men is necessary, in the one case, and
only that of 9. 44 in the other, the rise would be as 9. 44 to 10, or as
4_l. _ to 4_l. _ 4_s. _ 8_d. _ In the same manner it might be shewn, that if
the labour of ten additional men would only produce 160 quarters, the
price would further rise to 4_l. _ 10_s. _; if 150, to 4_l. _ 16_s. _, &c.
&c.
But when 180 quarters were produced
on the land paying no rent, and its
price was 4_l. _ per quarter, it sold for £720
And when 170 quarters were produced
on the land paying no rent, and the
price rose to 4_l. _ 4_s. _ 8_d. _ it still sold for 720
So, 160 quarters at 4_l. _ 10_s. _ produce 720
And 150 quarters at 4_l. _ 16_s. _ produce the
same sum of 720
Now it is evident, that if out of these equal values, the farmer is at
one time obliged to pay wages regulated by the price of wheat at 4_l. _,
and at other times at higher prices, the rate of his profits will
diminish in proportion to the rise in the price of corn.
In this case, therefore, I think it is clearly demonstrated that a rise
in the price of corn, which increases the money wages of the labourer,
diminishes the money value of the farmer's profits.
But the case of the farmer of the old and better land will be in no way
different; he also will have increased wages to pay, and will never
retain more of the value of the produce, however high may be its price,
than 720_l. _ to be divided between himself and his always equal number
of labourers; in proportion therefore as they get more, he must retain
less.
When the price of corn was at 4_l. _, the whole 180 quarters belonged to
the cultivator, and he sold it for 720_l. _ When corn rose to 4_l. _ 4_s. _
8_d. _ he was obliged to pay the value of ten quarters out of his 180 for
rent, consequently the remaining 170 yielded him no more than 720_l. _:
when it rose further to 4_l. _ 10_s. _ he paid twenty quarters, or their
value, for rent, and consequently only retained 160 quarters, which
yielded the same sum of 720_l. _
It will be seen then, that whatever rise may take place in the price of
corn, in consequence of the necessity of employing more labour and
capital to obtain a given additional quantity of produce, such rise will
always be equalled in value by the additional rent, or additional labour
employed; so that whether corn sells for 4_l. _, 4_l. _ 10_s. _, or 5_l. _
2_s. _ 10_d. _, the farmer will obtain for that which remains to him,
after paying rent, the same real value. Thus we see, that whether the
produce belonging to the farmer be 180, 170, 160, or 150 quarters, he
always obtains the same sum of 720_l. _ for it; the price increasing in
an inverse proportion to the quantity.
Rent then, it appears, always falls on the consumer, and never on the
farmer; for if the produce of his farm should uniformly be 180
quarters, with the rise of price, he would retain the value of a less
quantity for himself, and give the value of a larger quantity to his
landlord; but the deduction would be such as to leave him always the
same sum of 720_l. _
It will be seen too that, in all cases, the same sum of 720_l. _ must be
divided between wages and profits. If the value of the raw produce from
the land exceed this value, it belongs to rent, whatever may be its
amount. If there be no excess, there will be no rent. Whether wages or
profits rise or fall, it is this sum of 720_l. _ from which they must
both be provided. On the one hand, profits can never rise so high as to
absorb so much of this 720_l. _, that enough will not be left to furnish
the labourers with absolute necessaries; on the other hand, wages can
never rise so high as to leave no portion of this sum for profits.
Thus in every case, agricultural, as well as manufacturing profits are
lowered by a rise in the price of raw produce, if it be accompanied by
a rise of wages. [11] If the farmer gets no additional value for the corn
which remains to him after paying rent, if the manufacturer gets no
additional value for the goods which he manufactures, and if both are
obliged to pay a greater value in wages, can any point be more clearly
established than that profits must fall, with a rise of wages?
The farmer then, although he pays no part of his landlord's rent, that
being always regulated by the price of produce, and invariably falling
on the consumers, has however a very decided interest in keeping rent
low, or rather in keeping the natural price of produce low. As a
consumer of raw produce, and of those things into which raw produce
enters as a component part, he will in common with all other consumers,
be interested in keeping the price low. But he is most materially
concerned with the high price of corn as it affects wages. With every
rise in the price of corn, he will have to pay out of an equal and
unvarying sum of 720_l. _, an additional sum for wages to the ten men whom
he is supposed constantly to employ. We have seen in treating on wages,
that they invariably rise with the rise in the price of raw produce. On
a basis assumed for the purpose of calculation, page 106, it will be
seen that if when wheat is at 4_l. _ per quarter, wages should be 24_l. _
per annum.
£ _s. _ _d. _ £ _s. _ _d. _
{ 4 4 8 } { 24 14 0
When Wheat { 4 10 0 } wages would be { 25 10 0
is at { 4 16 0 } { 26 8 0
{ 5 2 10 } { 27 8 6
Now, of the unvarying fund of 720_l. _ to be distributed between
labourers and farmers,
£ _s. _ _d. _ _s. _ _d. _ £ _s. _ _d. _
When the { 4 0 0 } the { 240 0 } the { 480 0 0
price of { 4 4 8 } labourer { 247 0 } farmer { 473 0 0
Wheat is { 4 10 0 } will { 255 0 } will { 465 0 0
at { 4 16 0 } receive { 264 0 } receive { 456 0 0
{ 5 2 10 } { 274 5 } { 445 15 [12]
And supposing that the original capital of the farmer was 3000_l. _, the
profits of his stock being in the first instance 480_l. _, would be at
the rate of 16 per cent. When his profits fell to 473_l. _, they would be
at the rate of 15. 7 per cent.
465_l. _ 15. 5
456_l. _ 15. 2
445_l. _ 14. 8
But the _rate_ of profits will fall still more, because the capital of
the farmer, it must be recollected, consists in a great measure of raw
produce, such as his corn and hay-ricks, his unthreshed wheat and
barley, his horses and cows, which would all rise in price in
consequence of the rise of produce. His absolute profits would fall from
480_l. _ to 445_l. _ 15_s. _; but if from the cause which I have just
stated, his capital should rise from 3000_l. _ to 3200_l. _ the rate of
his profits would, when corn was at 5_l. _ 2_s. _ 10_d. _, be under 14 per
cent.
If a manufacturer had also employed 3000_l. _ in his business, he would
be obliged in consequence of the rise of wages, to increase his capital,
in order to be enabled to carry on the same business. If his commodities
sold before for 720_l. _, they would continue to sell at the same price;
but the wages of labour, which were before 240_l. _, would rise when corn
was at 5_l. _ 2_s. _ 10_d. _ to 274_l. _ 5_s. _ In the first case he would
have a balance of 480_l. _ as profit on 3000_l. _, in the second he would
have a profit only of 445_l. _ 15_s. _, on an increased capital, and
therefore his profits would conform to the altered rate of those of the
farmer.
There are few commodities which are not more or less affected in their
price by the rise of raw produce, because some raw material from the
land enters into the composition of most commodities. Cotton goods,
linen, and cloth, will all rise in price with the rise of wheat; but
they rise on account of the greater quantity of labour expended on the
raw material from which they are made, and not because more was paid by
the manufacturer to the labourers whom he employed on those commodities.
In all cases, commodities rise because more labour is expended on them,
and not because the labour which is expended on them is at a higher
value. Articles of jewellery, of iron, of plate, and of copper, would
not rise, because none of the raw produce from the surface of the earth
enters into their composition.
It may be said that I have taken it for granted, that money wages would
rise with a rise in the price of raw produce, but that this is by no
means a necessary consequence, as the labourer may be contented with
fewer enjoyments. It is true that the wages of labour may previously
have been at a high level, and that they may bear some reduction. If
so, the fall of profits will be checked; but it is impossible to
conceive that the money price of wages should fall, or remain stationary
with a gradually increasing price of necessaries; and therefore it may
be taken for granted that, under ordinary circumstances, no permanent
rise takes place in the price of necessaries, without occasioning, or
having been preceded by a rise in wages.
The effects produced on profits, would have been the same, or nearly the
same, if there had been any rise in the price of those other
necessaries, besides food, on which the wages of labour are expended.
The necessity which the labourer would be under of paying an increased
price for such necessaries, would oblige him to demand more wages; and
whatever increases wages, necessarily reduces profits. But suppose the
price of silks, velvets, furniture, and any other commodities, not
required by the labourer, to rise in consequence of more labour being
expended on them, would not that affect profits? certainly not: for
nothing can affect profits but a rise in wages; silks and velvets are
not consumed by the labourer, and therefore cannot raise wages.
It is to be understood that I am speaking of profits generally. I have
already remarked that the market price of a commodity may exceed its
natural or necessary price, as it may be produced in less abundance than
the new demand for it requires. This however is but a temporary effect.
The high profits on capital employed in producing that commodity will
naturally attract capital to that trade; and as soon as the requisite
funds are supplied, and the quantity of the commodity is duly increased,
its price will fall, and the profits of the trade will conform to the
general level. A fall in the general rate of profits is by no means
incompatible with a partial rise of profits in particular employments.
It is through the inequality of profits, that capital is moved from one
employment to another. Whilst then general profits are falling, and
gradually settling at a lower level in consequence of the rise of wages,
and the increasing difficulty of supplying the increasing population
with necessaries, the profits of the farmer, may, for an interval of
some little duration, be above the former level. An extraordinary
stimulus may be also given for a certain time, to a particular branch of
foreign and colonial trade; but the admission of this fact by no means
invalidates the theory, that profits depend on high or low wages, wages
on the price of necessaries, and the price of necessaries chiefly on the
price of food, because all other requisites may be increased almost
without limit.
It should be recollected that prices always vary in the market, and in
the first instance, through the comparative state of demand and supply.
Although cloth could be furnished at 40_s. _ per yard, and give the usual
profits of stock, it may rise to 60 or 80_s. _ from a general change of
fashion, or from any other cause which should suddenly and unexpectedly
increase the demand, or diminish the supply of it. The makers of cloth
will for a time have unusual profits, but capital will naturally flow to
that manufacture, till the supply and demand are again at their fair
level, when the price of cloth will again sink to 40_s. _, its natural or
necessary price. In the same manner, with every increased demand for
corn, it may rise so high as to afford more than the general profits to
the farmer. If there be plenty of fertile land, the price of corn will
again fall to its former standard, after the requisite quantity of
capital has been employed in producing it, and profits will be as
before; but if there be not plenty of fertile land, if, to produce this
additional quantity, more than the usual quantity of capital and labour
be required, corn will not fall to its former level. Its natural price
will be raised, and the farmer, instead of obtaining permanently larger
profits, will find himself obliged to be satisfied with the diminished
rate which is the inevitable consequence of the rise of wages, produced
by the rise of necessaries.
The natural tendency of profits then is to fall; for, in the progress of
society and wealth, the additional quantity of food required is obtained
by the sacrifice of more and more labour. This tendency, this
gravitation as it were of profits, is happily checked at repeated
intervals by the improvements in machinery, connected with the
production of necessaries, as well as by discoveries in the science of
agriculture which enable us to relinquish a portion of labour before
required, and therefore to lower the price of the prime necessary of the
labourer. The rise in the price of necessaries and in the wages of
labour is however limited; for as soon as wages should be equal (as in
the case formerly stated) to 720_l. _, the whole receipts of the farmer,
there must be an end of accumulation; for no capital can then yield any
profit whatever, and no additional labour can be demanded, and
consequently population will have reached its highest point. Long indeed
before this period, the very low rate of profits will have arrested all
accumulation, and almost the whole produce of the country, after paying
the labourers, will be the property of the owners of land and the
receivers of tithes and taxes.
Thus, taking the former very imperfect basis as the grounds of my
calculation, it would appear that when corn was at 20_l. _ per quarter,
the whole net income of the country would belong to the landlords, for
then the same quantity of labour that was originally necessary to
produce 180 quarters, would be necessary to produce 36; since 20_l. _ :
4_l. _ :: 180 : 36. The farmer then, who originally produced 180
quarters, (if any such there were, for the old and new capital employed
on the land would be so blended, that it could in no way be
distinguished,) would sell the
180 qrs. at 20_l. _ per qr. or £3600
the value of 144 qrs. {to landlord for rent, being the }
--- {difference between 36 and 180 qrs. } 2880
36 qrs. 720
the value of 36 qrs. to labourers ten in number 720
---
leaving nothing whatever for profit.
At this price of 20_l. _ the labourers would continue to consume
three quarters each per annum or £60
And on other commodities they would expend 12
--
72 for each labourer.
--
And therefore ten labourers would cost 720_l. _ per annum.
In all these calculations I have been desirous only to elucidate the
principle, and it is scarcely necessary to observe, that my whole basis
is assumed at random, and merely for the purpose of exemplification. The
results though different in degree, would have been the same in
principle, however accurately I might have set out in stating the
difference in the number of labourers necessary to obtain the successive
quantities of corn required by an increasing population, the quantity
consumed by the labourer's family, &c. &c. My object has been to
simplify the subject, and I have therefore made no allowance for the
increasing price of the other necessaries, besides food, of the
labourer; an increase which would be the consequence of the increased
value of the raw material from which they are made, and which would of
course further increase wages, and lower profits.
I have already said, that long before this state of prices was become
permanent, there would be no motive for accumulation; for no one
accumulates but with a view to make his accumulation productive, and it
is only when so employed that it operates on profits. Without a motive
there could be no accumulation, and consequently such a state of prices
never could take place. The farmer and manufacturer can no more live
without profit, than the labourer without wages. Their motive for
accumulation will diminish with every diminution of profit, and will
cease altogether when their profits are so low as not to afford them an
adequate compensation for their trouble, and the risk which they must
necessarily encounter in employing their capital productively.
I must again observe, that the rate of profits would fall much more
rapidly than I have estimated in my calculation: for the value of the
produce being what I have stated it under the circumstances supposed,
the value of the farmer's stock would be greatly increased from its
necessarily consisting of many of the commodities which had risen in
value. Before corn could rise from 4_l. _ to 12_l. _ his capital would
probably be doubled in exchangeable value, and be worth 6000_l. _ instead
of 3000_l. _ If then his profit were 180_l. _, or 6 per cent. on his
original capital, profits would not at that time be really at a higher
_rate_ than 3 per cent. ; for 6000_l. _ at 3 per cent. gives 180_l. _; and
on those terms only could a new farmer with 6000_l. _ money in his pocket
enter into the farming business.
Many trades would derive some advantage, more or less, from the same
source. The brewer, the distiller, the clothier, the linen manufacturer,
would be partly compensated for the diminution of their profits, by the
rise in the value of their stock of raw and finished materials; but a
manufacturer of hardware, of jewellery, and of many other commodities,
as well as those whose capitals uniformly consisted of money, would be
subject to the whole fall in the rate of profits, without any
compensation whatever.
We should also expect that, however the rate of the profits of stock
might diminish in consequence of the accumulation of capital on the
land, and the rise of wages, yet the aggregate amount of profits would
increase. Thus supposing that, with repeated accumulations of
100,000_l. _, the rate of profit should fall from 20 to 19, to 18, to 17
per cent. , a constantly diminishing rate, we should expect that the
whole amount of profits received by those successive owners of capital
would be always progressive; that it would be greater when the capital
was 200,000_l. _, than when 100,000_l. _; still greater when 300,000_l. _;
and so on, increasing, though at a diminishing rate, with every increase
of capital. This progression however is only true for a certain time:
thus 19 per cent. on 200,000_l. _ is more than 20 on 100,000_l. _; again
18 per cent. on 300,000_l. _ is more than 19 per cent. on 200,000_l. _;
but after capital has accumulated to a large amount, and profits have
fallen, the further accumulation diminishes the aggregate of profits.
Thus suppose the accumulation should be 1,000,000_l. _, and the profits 7
per cent. the whole amount of profits will be 70,000_l. _; now if an
addition of 100,000_l. _ capital be made to the million, and profits
should fall to 6 per cent. , 66,000_l. _ or a diminution of 4000_l. _ will
be received by the owners of stock, although the whole amount of stock
will be increased from 1,000,000_l. _ to 1,100,000_l. _
There can, however, be no accumulation of capital, so long as stock
yields any profit at all, without its yielding not only an increase of
produce, but an increase of value. By employing 100,000_l. _ additional
capital, no part of the former capital will be rendered less productive.
The produce of the land and labour of the country must increase, and its
value will be raised, not only by the value of the addition which is
made to the former quantity of productions, but by the new value which
is given to the whole produce of the land, by the increased difficulty
of producing the last portion of it, which new value always goes to
rent. When the accumulation of capital, however, becomes very great,
notwithstanding this increased value, it will be so distributed that a
less value than before will be appropriated to profits, while that which
is devoted to rent and wages will be increased. Thus with successive
additions of 100,000_l. _ to capital, with a fall in the rate of profits,
from 20 to 19, to 18, to 17 per cent. &c. the productions annually
obtained will increase in quantity, and be of more than the whole
additional value, which the additional capital is calculated to produce.
From 20,000_l. _ it will rise to more than 39,000_l. _ and then to more
than 57,000_l. _, and when the capital employed is a million, as we
before supposed, if 100,000_l. _ more be added to it, and the aggregate
of profits is actually lower than before, more than 6000_l. _ will
nevertheless be added to the revenue of the country, but it will be to
the revenue of the landlords; they will obtain more than the additional
produce, and will from their situation be enabled to encroach even on
the former gains of the capitalist. Thus, suppose the price of corn to
be 4_l. _ per quarter, and that therefore, as we before calculated, of
every 720_l. _ remaining to the farmer after payment of his rent, 480_l. _
were retained by him, and 240_l. _ were paid to his labourers; when the
price rose to 6_l. _ per quarter, he would be obliged to pay his
labourers 300_l. _ and retain only 420_l. _ for profits. Now if the
capital employed were so large as to yield a hundred thousand times
720_l. _ or 72,000,000_l. _ the aggregate of profits would be
48,000,000_l. _ when wheat was at 4_l. _ per quarter; and if by employing
a larger capital, 105,000 times 720_l. _ were obtained when wheat was at
6_l. _, or 75,600,000_l. _, profits would actually fall from
48,000,000_l. _ to 44,100,000_l. _ or 105,000 times 420_l. _, and wages
would rise from 24,000,000_l. _ to 31,500,000_l. _ Wages would rise
because more labourers would be employed, in proportion to capital; and
each labourer would receive more money wages; but the condition of the
labourer, as we have already shewn, would be worse, inasmuch as he would
be able to command a less quantity of the produce of the country. The
only real gainers would be the landlords; they would receive higher
rents, first, because produce would be of a higher value, and secondly,
because they would have a greatly increased proportion.
Although a greater value is produced, a greater proportion of what
remains of that value, after paying rent, is consumed by the producers,
and it is this, and this alone, which regulates profits. Whilst the land
yields abundantly, wages may temporarily rise, and the producers may
consume more than their accustomed proportion; but the stimulus which
will thus be given to population, will speedily reduce the labourers to
their usual consumption. But when poor lands are taken into cultivation,
or when more capital and labour are expended on the old land, with a
less return of produce, the effect must be permanent. A greater
proportion of that part of the produce which remains to be divided,
after paying rent, between the owners of stock and the labourers, will
be apportioned to the latter. Each man may, and probably will, have a
less absolute quantity; but as more labourers are employed in proportion
to the whole produce retained by the farmer, the value of a greater
proportion of the whole produce will be absorbed by wages, and
consequently the value of a smaller proportion will be devoted to
profits. This will necessarily be rendered permanent by the laws of
nature, which have limited the productive powers of the land.
Thus we again arrive at the same conclusion which we have before
attempted to establish:--that in all countries, and at all times,
profits depend on the quantity of labour requisite to provide
necessaries for the labourers, on that land or with that capital which
yields no rent. The effects then of accumulation will be different in
different countries, and will depend chiefly on the fertility of the
land. However extensive a country may be where the land is of a poor
quality, and where the importation of food is prohibited, the most
moderate accumulations of capital will be attended with great reductions
in the rate of profit, and a rapid rise in rent; and on the contrary a
small but fertile country, particularly if it freely permits the
importation of food, may accumulate a large stock of capital without any
great diminution in the rate of profits, or any great increase in the
rent of land. In the Chapter on Wages, we have endeavoured to shew that
the money price of commodities would not be raised by a rise of wages,
either on the supposition that gold, the standard of money, was the
produce of this country, or that it was imported from abroad. But if it
were otherwise, if the prices of commodities were permanently raised by
high wages, the proposition would not be less true, which asserts that
high wages invariably affect the employers of labour, by depriving them
of a portion of their real profits. Supposing the hatter, the hosier,
and the shoemaker, each paid 10_l. _ more wages in the manufacture of a
particular quantity of their commodities, and that the price of hats,
stockings, and shoes, rose by a sum sufficient to repay the manufacturer
the 10_l. _; their situation would be no better than if no such rise took
place. If the hosier sold his stockings for 110_l. _ instead of 100_l. _,
his profits would be precisely the same money amount as before; but as
he would obtain in exchange for this equal sum, one tenth less of hats,
shoes, and every other commodity, and as he could with his former amount
of savings employ fewer labourers at the increased wages, and purchase
fewer raw materials at the increased prices, he would be in no better
situation than if his money profits had been really diminished in
amount, and every thing had remained at its former price. Thus then I
have endeavoured to shew, first, that a rise of wages would not raise
the price of commodities, but would invariably lower profits; and
secondly, that if the prices of commodities could be raised, still the
effect on profits would be the same; and that in fact the value of the
medium only in which prices and profits are estimated would be lowered.
CHAPTER VI.
ON FOREIGN TRADE.
No extension of foreign trade will immediately increase the amount of
value in a country, although it will very powerfully contribute to
increase the mass of commodities, and therefore the sum of enjoyments.
As the value of all foreign goods is measured by the quantity of the
produce of our land and labour, which is given in exchange for them, we
should have no greater value, if by the discovery of new markets, we
obtained double the quantity of foreign goods in exchange for a given
quantity of ours. If by the purchase of English goods to the amount of
1000_l. _ a merchant can obtain a quantity of foreign goods, which he can
sell in the English market for 1,200_l. _, he will obtain 20 per cent.
profit by such an employment of his capital; but neither his gains, nor
the value of the commodities imported, will be increased or diminished
by the greater or smaller quantity of foreign goods obtained. Whether,
for example, he imports twenty-five or fifty pipes of wine, his interest
can be no way affected, if at one time the twenty-five pipes, and at
another the fifty pipes, equally sell for 1,200_l. _ In either case his
profit will be limited to 200_l. _, or 20 per cent. on his capital; and
in either case the same value will be imported into England. If the
fifty pipes sold for more than 1,200_l. _, the profits of this individual
merchant would exceed the general rate of profits, and capital would
naturally flow into this advantageous trade, till the fall of the price
of wine had brought every thing to the former level.
It has indeed been contended, that the great profits which are sometimes
made by particular merchants in foreign trade, will elevate the general
rate of profits in the country, and that the abstraction of capital from
other employments, to partake of the new and beneficial foreign
commerce, will raise prices generally, and thereby increase profits. It
has been said, by high authority, that less capital being necessarily
devoted to the growth of corn, to the manufacture of cloth, hats, shoes,
&c. while the demand continues the same, the price of these commodities
will be so increased, that the farmer, hatter, clothier, and shoemaker,
will have an increase of profits, as well as the foreign merchant. [13]
They who hold this argument agree with me, that the profits of different
employments have a tendency to conform to one another; to advance and
recede together. Our variance consists in this: They contend, that the
equality of profits will be brought about by the general rise of
profits; and I am of opinion, that the profits of the favoured trade
will speedily subside to the general level.
For, first, I deny that less capital will necessarily be devoted to the
growth of corn, to the manufacture of cloth, hats, shoes, &c. , unless
the demand for these commodities be diminished; and if so, their price
will not rise. In the purchase of foreign commodities, either the same,
a larger, or a less portion of the produce of the land and labour of
England will be employed. If the same portion be so employed, then will
the same demand exist for cloth, shoes, corn, and hats, as before, and
the same portion of capital will be devoted to their production. If, in
consequence of the price of foreign commodities being cheaper, a less
portion of the annual produce of the land and labour of England is
employed in the purchase of foreign commodities, more will remain for
the purchase of other things. If there be a greater demand for hats,
shoes, corn, &c. than before, which there may be, the consumers of
foreign commodities having an additional portion of their revenue
disposable, the capital is also disposable with which the greater value
of foreign commodities was before purchased; so that with the increased
demand for corn, shoes, &c. there exists also the means of procuring an
increased supply, and therefore neither prices nor profits can
permanently rise. If more of the produce of the land and labour of
England be employed in the purchase of foreign commodities, less can be
employed in the purchase of other things, and therefore fewer hats,
shoes, &c. will be required. At the same time that capital is liberated
from the production of shoes, hats, &c. more must be employed in
manufacturing those commodities with which foreign commodities are
purchased; and consequently in all cases the demand for foreign and home
commodities together, as far as regards value, is limited by the revenue
and capital of the country. If one increases, the other must diminish.
If the importation of wine, given in exchange for the same quantity of
English commodities be doubled, the people of England can either consume
double the quantity of wine that they did before, or the same quantity
of wine and a greater quantity of English commodities. If my revenue had
been 1000_l. _, with which I purchased annually one pipe of wine for
100_l. _ and a certain quantity of English commodities for 900_l. _; when
wine fell to 50_l. _ per pipe, I might lay out the 50_l. _ saved, either
in the purchase of an additional pipe of wine, or in the purchase of
more English commodities. If I bought more wine, and every wine-drinker
did the same, the foreign trade would not be in the least disturbed;
the same quantity of English commodities would be exported in exchange
for wine, and we should receive double the quantity, though not double
the value of wine. But if I, and others contented ourselves with the
same quantity of wine as before, fewer English commodities would be
exported, and the wine-drinkers might either consume the commodities
which were before exported, or any others for which they had an
inclination. The capital required for their production would be supplied
by the capital liberated from the foreign trade.
There are two ways in which capital may be accumulated: it may be saved
either in consequence of increased revenue, or of diminished
consumption. If my profits are raised from 1000_l. _ to 1200_l. _ while my
expenditure continues the same, I accumulate annually 200_l. _ more than
I did before. If I save 200_l. _ out of my expenditure while my profits
continue the same, the same effect will be produced; 200_l. _ per annum
will be added to my capital.
foreign production, will not invalidate the truth of the argument,
because it may be shewn, that whether it were found at home, or were
imported from abroad, the effects ultimately and indeed immediately
would be the same.
When wages rise, it is generally because the increase of wealth and
capital have occasioned a new demand for labour, which will infallibly
be attended with an increased production of commodities. To circulate
these additional commodities, even at the same prices as before, more
money is required, more of this foreign commodity from which money is
made, and which can only be obtained by importation. Whenever a
commodity is required in greater abundance than before, its relative
value rises comparatively with those commodities with which its purchase
is made. If more hats were wanted, their price would rise, and more gold
would be given for them. If more gold were required, gold would rise,
and hats would fall in price, as a greater quantity of hats and of all
other things would then be necessary to purchase the same quantity of
gold. But in the case supposed, to say that commodities will rise,
because wages rise, is to affirm a positive contradiction; for we first
say that gold will rise in relative value in consequence of demand, and
secondly, that it will fall in relative value because prices will rise,
two effects which are totally incompatible with each other. To say that
commodities are raised in price, is the same thing as to say that money
is lowered in relative value; for it is by commodities that the relative
value of gold is estimated. If then all commodities rose in price, gold
could not come from abroad to purchase those dear commodities, but it
would go from home to be employed with advantage in purchasing the
comparatively cheaper foreign commodities. It appears then, that the
rise of wages will not raise the prices of commodities, whether the
metal from which money is made be produced at home or in a foreign
country. All commodities cannot rise at the same time without an
addition to the quantity of money. This addition could not be obtained
at home, as we have already shewn; nor could it be imported from abroad.
To purchase any additional quantity of gold from abroad, commodities at
home must be cheap, not dear. The importation of gold, and a rise in the
price of all home-made commodities with which gold is purchased or paid
for, are effects absolutely incompatible. The extensive use of paper
money does not alter this question, for paper money conforms, or ought
to conform to the value of gold, and therefore its value is influenced
by such causes only as influence the value of that metal.
These then are the laws by which wages are regulated, and by which the
happiness of far the greatest part of every community is governed. Like
all other contracts, wages should be left to the fair and free
competition of the market, and should never be controlled by the
interference of the legislature.
The clear and direct tendency of the poor laws, is in direct opposition
to these obvious principles: it is not, as the legislature benevolently
intended, to amend the condition of the poor, but to deteriorate the
condition of both poor and rich; instead of making the poor rich, they
are calculated to make the rich poor; and whilst the present laws are in
force, it is quite in the natural order of things that the fund for the
maintenance of the poor should progressively increase, till it has
absorbed all the neat revenue of the country, or at least so much of it
as the state shall leave to us, after satisfying its own never failing
demands for the public expenditure. [9]
This pernicious tendency of these laws is no longer a mystery, since it
has been fully developed by the able hand of Mr. Malthus; and every
friend to the poor must ardently wish for their abolition. Unfortunately
however they have been so long established, and the habits of the poor
have been so formed upon their operation, that to eradicate them with
safety from our political system requires the most cautious and skilful
management. It is agreed by all who are most friendly to a repeal of
these laws, that if it be desirable to prevent the most overwhelming
distress to those for whose benefit they were erroneously enacted, their
abolition should be effected by the most gradual steps.
It is a truth which admits not a doubt, that the comforts and well being
of the poor cannot be permanently secured without some regard on their
part, or some effort on the part of the legislature, to regulate the
increase of their numbers, and to render less frequent among them early
and improvident marriages. The operation of the system of poor laws has
been directly contrary to this. They have rendered restraint
superfluous, and have invited imprudence by offering it a portion of the
wages of prudence and industry.
The nature of the evil points out the remedy. By gradually contracting
the sphere of the poor laws; by impressing on the poor the value of
independence, by teaching them that they must look not to systematic or
casual charity, but to their own exertions for support, that prudence
and forethought are neither unnecessary nor unprofitable virtues, we
shall by degrees approach a sounder and more healthful state.
No scheme for the amendment of the poor laws merits the least attention,
which has not their abolition for its ultimate object; and he is the
best friend to the poor, and to the cause of humanity, who can point out
how this end can be attained with the most security, and at the same
time with the least violence. It is not by raising in any manner
different from the present, the fund from which the poor are supported,
that the evil can be mitigated. It would not only be no improvement, but
it would be an aggravation of the distress which we wish to see removed,
if the fund were increased in amount, or were levied according to some
late proposals, as a general fund from the country at large. The present
mode of its collection and application has served to mitigate its
pernicious effects. Each parish raises a separate fund for the support
of its own poor. Hence it becomes an object of more interest and more
practicability to keep the rates low, than if one general fund were
raised for the relief of the poor of the whole kingdom. A parish is much
more interested in an economical collection of the rate, and a sparing
distribution of relief, when the whole saving will be for its own
benefit, than if hundreds of other parishes were to partake of it.
It is to this cause, that we must ascribe the fact of the poor laws not
having yet absorbed all the net revenue of the country; it is to the
rigour with which they are applied, that we are indebted for their not
having become overwhelmingly oppressive. If by law every human being
wanting support could be sure to obtain it, and obtain it in such a
degree as to make life tolerably comfortable, theory would lead us to
expect that all other taxes together would be light compared with the
single one of poor rates. The principle of gravitation is not more
certain than the tendency of such laws to change wealth and power into
misery and weakness; to call away the exertions of labour from every
object, except that of providing mere subsistence; to confound all
intellectual distinction; to busy the mind continually in supplying the
body's wants; until at last all classes should be infected with the
plague of universal poverty. Happily these laws have been in operation
during a period of progressive prosperity, when the funds for the
maintenance of labour have regularly increased, and when an increase of
population would be naturally called for. But if our progress should
become more slow; if we should attain the stationary state, from which I
trust we are yet far distant, then will the pernicious nature of these
laws become more manifest and alarming; and then too will their removal
be obstructed by many additional difficulties.
CHAPTER V*.
ON PROFITS.
The profits of stock in different employments, having been shewn to bear
a proportion to each other, and to have a tendency to vary all in the
same degree and in the same direction, it remains for us to consider
what is the cause of the permanent variations in the rate of profit, and
the consequent permanent alterations in the rate of interest.
We have seen that the price[10] of corn is regulated by the quantity of
labour necessary to produce it, with that portion of capital which pays
no rent. We have seen too that all manufactured commodities rise and
fall in price, in proportion as more or less labour becomes necessary
to their production. Neither the farmer who cultivates that quality of
land, which regulates price, nor the manufacturer, who manufactures
goods, sacrifice any portion of the produce for rent. The whole value of
their commodities is divided into two portions only: one constitutes the
profits of stock, the other the wages of labour.
Supposing corn and manufactured goods always to sell at the same price,
profits would be high or low in proportion as wages were low or high.
But suppose corn to rise in price because more labour is necessary to
produce it; that cause will not raise the price of manufactured goods in
the production of which no additional quantity of labour is required. If
then wages continued the same, profits would remain the same; but if, as
is absolutely certain, wages should rise with the rise of corn, then
profits would necessarily fall.
If a manufacturer always sold his goods for the same money, for 1000_l. _
for example, his profits would depend on the price of the labour
necessary to manufacture those goods. His profits would be less when
wages amounted to 800_l. _ than when he paid only 600_l. _ In proportion
then as wages rose, would profits fall. But if the price of raw produce
would increase, it may be asked, whether the farmer at least would not
have the same rate of profits, although he should pay an additional
price for wages? Certainly not: for he will not only have to pay, in
common with the manufacturer, an increase of wages to each labourer he
employs, but he will be obliged either to pay rent, or to employ an
additional number of labourers to obtain the same produce; and the rise
in the price of raw produce will be proportioned only to that rent, or
that additional number, and will not compensate him for the rise of
wages.
If both the manufacturer and farmer employed ten men, on wages rising
from 24_l. _ to 25_l. _ per annum. per man, the whole sum paid by each
would be 250_l. _ instead of 240_l. _ This is, however, the whole addition
that would be paid by the manufacturer to obtain the same quantity of
commodities; but the farmer on new land would probably be obliged to
employ an additional man, and therefore to pay an additional sum of
25_l. _ for wages; and the farmer on the old land would be obliged to pay
precisely the same additional sum of 25_l. _ for rent; without which
additional labour, corn would not have risen. One will therefore have to
pay 275_l. _ for wages alone, the other, for wages and rent together;
each 25_l. _ more than the manufacturer: for this latter 25_l. _ they are
compensated by the addition to the price of raw produce, and therefore
their profits still conform to the profits of the manufacturer. As this
proposition is important, I will endeavour still further to elucidate
it.
We have shewn that in early stages of society, both the landlord's and
the labourer's share of the _value_ of the produce of the earth, would
be but small; and that it would increase in proportion to the progress
of wealth, and the difficulty of procuring food. We have shewn too, that
although the value of the labourer's portion will be increased by the
high value of food, his real share will be diminished; whilst that of
the landlord will not only be raised in value, but will also be
increased in quantity.
The remaining quantity of the produce of the land, after the landlord
and labourer are paid, necessarily belongs to the farmer, and
constitutes the profits of his stock. But it may be alleged, that though
as society advances, his proportion of the whole produce will be
diminished, yet as it will rise in value, he, as well as the landlord
and labourer, may, notwithstanding, receive a greater value.
It may be said for example, that when corn rose from 4_l. _ to 10_l. _,
the 180 quarters obtained from the best land would sell for 1800_l. _
instead of 720_l. _; and therefore, though the landlord and labourer be
proved to have a greater value for rent and wages, still the value of
the farmer's profit might also be augmented. This however is impossible,
as I shall now endeavour to shew.
In the first place, the price of corn would rise only in proportion to
the increased difficulty of growing it on land of a worse quality.
It has been already remarked, that if the labour of ten men will, on
land of a certain quality, obtain 180 quarters of wheat, and its value
be 4_l. _ per quarter, or 720_l. _; and if the labour of ten additional
men, will on the same or any other land, produce only 170 quarters in
addition, wheat would rise from 4_l. _ to 4_l. _ 4_s. _ 8_d. _; for 170:
180:: 4_l. _: 4_l. _ 4_s. _ 8_d. _ In other words, as for the production of
170 quarters, the labour of ten men is necessary, in the one case, and
only that of 9. 44 in the other, the rise would be as 9. 44 to 10, or as
4_l. _ to 4_l. _ 4_s. _ 8_d. _ In the same manner it might be shewn, that if
the labour of ten additional men would only produce 160 quarters, the
price would further rise to 4_l. _ 10_s. _; if 150, to 4_l. _ 16_s. _, &c.
&c.
But when 180 quarters were produced
on the land paying no rent, and its
price was 4_l. _ per quarter, it sold for £720
And when 170 quarters were produced
on the land paying no rent, and the
price rose to 4_l. _ 4_s. _ 8_d. _ it still sold for 720
So, 160 quarters at 4_l. _ 10_s. _ produce 720
And 150 quarters at 4_l. _ 16_s. _ produce the
same sum of 720
Now it is evident, that if out of these equal values, the farmer is at
one time obliged to pay wages regulated by the price of wheat at 4_l. _,
and at other times at higher prices, the rate of his profits will
diminish in proportion to the rise in the price of corn.
In this case, therefore, I think it is clearly demonstrated that a rise
in the price of corn, which increases the money wages of the labourer,
diminishes the money value of the farmer's profits.
But the case of the farmer of the old and better land will be in no way
different; he also will have increased wages to pay, and will never
retain more of the value of the produce, however high may be its price,
than 720_l. _ to be divided between himself and his always equal number
of labourers; in proportion therefore as they get more, he must retain
less.
When the price of corn was at 4_l. _, the whole 180 quarters belonged to
the cultivator, and he sold it for 720_l. _ When corn rose to 4_l. _ 4_s. _
8_d. _ he was obliged to pay the value of ten quarters out of his 180 for
rent, consequently the remaining 170 yielded him no more than 720_l. _:
when it rose further to 4_l. _ 10_s. _ he paid twenty quarters, or their
value, for rent, and consequently only retained 160 quarters, which
yielded the same sum of 720_l. _
It will be seen then, that whatever rise may take place in the price of
corn, in consequence of the necessity of employing more labour and
capital to obtain a given additional quantity of produce, such rise will
always be equalled in value by the additional rent, or additional labour
employed; so that whether corn sells for 4_l. _, 4_l. _ 10_s. _, or 5_l. _
2_s. _ 10_d. _, the farmer will obtain for that which remains to him,
after paying rent, the same real value. Thus we see, that whether the
produce belonging to the farmer be 180, 170, 160, or 150 quarters, he
always obtains the same sum of 720_l. _ for it; the price increasing in
an inverse proportion to the quantity.
Rent then, it appears, always falls on the consumer, and never on the
farmer; for if the produce of his farm should uniformly be 180
quarters, with the rise of price, he would retain the value of a less
quantity for himself, and give the value of a larger quantity to his
landlord; but the deduction would be such as to leave him always the
same sum of 720_l. _
It will be seen too that, in all cases, the same sum of 720_l. _ must be
divided between wages and profits. If the value of the raw produce from
the land exceed this value, it belongs to rent, whatever may be its
amount. If there be no excess, there will be no rent. Whether wages or
profits rise or fall, it is this sum of 720_l. _ from which they must
both be provided. On the one hand, profits can never rise so high as to
absorb so much of this 720_l. _, that enough will not be left to furnish
the labourers with absolute necessaries; on the other hand, wages can
never rise so high as to leave no portion of this sum for profits.
Thus in every case, agricultural, as well as manufacturing profits are
lowered by a rise in the price of raw produce, if it be accompanied by
a rise of wages. [11] If the farmer gets no additional value for the corn
which remains to him after paying rent, if the manufacturer gets no
additional value for the goods which he manufactures, and if both are
obliged to pay a greater value in wages, can any point be more clearly
established than that profits must fall, with a rise of wages?
The farmer then, although he pays no part of his landlord's rent, that
being always regulated by the price of produce, and invariably falling
on the consumers, has however a very decided interest in keeping rent
low, or rather in keeping the natural price of produce low. As a
consumer of raw produce, and of those things into which raw produce
enters as a component part, he will in common with all other consumers,
be interested in keeping the price low. But he is most materially
concerned with the high price of corn as it affects wages. With every
rise in the price of corn, he will have to pay out of an equal and
unvarying sum of 720_l. _, an additional sum for wages to the ten men whom
he is supposed constantly to employ. We have seen in treating on wages,
that they invariably rise with the rise in the price of raw produce. On
a basis assumed for the purpose of calculation, page 106, it will be
seen that if when wheat is at 4_l. _ per quarter, wages should be 24_l. _
per annum.
£ _s. _ _d. _ £ _s. _ _d. _
{ 4 4 8 } { 24 14 0
When Wheat { 4 10 0 } wages would be { 25 10 0
is at { 4 16 0 } { 26 8 0
{ 5 2 10 } { 27 8 6
Now, of the unvarying fund of 720_l. _ to be distributed between
labourers and farmers,
£ _s. _ _d. _ _s. _ _d. _ £ _s. _ _d. _
When the { 4 0 0 } the { 240 0 } the { 480 0 0
price of { 4 4 8 } labourer { 247 0 } farmer { 473 0 0
Wheat is { 4 10 0 } will { 255 0 } will { 465 0 0
at { 4 16 0 } receive { 264 0 } receive { 456 0 0
{ 5 2 10 } { 274 5 } { 445 15 [12]
And supposing that the original capital of the farmer was 3000_l. _, the
profits of his stock being in the first instance 480_l. _, would be at
the rate of 16 per cent. When his profits fell to 473_l. _, they would be
at the rate of 15. 7 per cent.
465_l. _ 15. 5
456_l. _ 15. 2
445_l. _ 14. 8
But the _rate_ of profits will fall still more, because the capital of
the farmer, it must be recollected, consists in a great measure of raw
produce, such as his corn and hay-ricks, his unthreshed wheat and
barley, his horses and cows, which would all rise in price in
consequence of the rise of produce. His absolute profits would fall from
480_l. _ to 445_l. _ 15_s. _; but if from the cause which I have just
stated, his capital should rise from 3000_l. _ to 3200_l. _ the rate of
his profits would, when corn was at 5_l. _ 2_s. _ 10_d. _, be under 14 per
cent.
If a manufacturer had also employed 3000_l. _ in his business, he would
be obliged in consequence of the rise of wages, to increase his capital,
in order to be enabled to carry on the same business. If his commodities
sold before for 720_l. _, they would continue to sell at the same price;
but the wages of labour, which were before 240_l. _, would rise when corn
was at 5_l. _ 2_s. _ 10_d. _ to 274_l. _ 5_s. _ In the first case he would
have a balance of 480_l. _ as profit on 3000_l. _, in the second he would
have a profit only of 445_l. _ 15_s. _, on an increased capital, and
therefore his profits would conform to the altered rate of those of the
farmer.
There are few commodities which are not more or less affected in their
price by the rise of raw produce, because some raw material from the
land enters into the composition of most commodities. Cotton goods,
linen, and cloth, will all rise in price with the rise of wheat; but
they rise on account of the greater quantity of labour expended on the
raw material from which they are made, and not because more was paid by
the manufacturer to the labourers whom he employed on those commodities.
In all cases, commodities rise because more labour is expended on them,
and not because the labour which is expended on them is at a higher
value. Articles of jewellery, of iron, of plate, and of copper, would
not rise, because none of the raw produce from the surface of the earth
enters into their composition.
It may be said that I have taken it for granted, that money wages would
rise with a rise in the price of raw produce, but that this is by no
means a necessary consequence, as the labourer may be contented with
fewer enjoyments. It is true that the wages of labour may previously
have been at a high level, and that they may bear some reduction. If
so, the fall of profits will be checked; but it is impossible to
conceive that the money price of wages should fall, or remain stationary
with a gradually increasing price of necessaries; and therefore it may
be taken for granted that, under ordinary circumstances, no permanent
rise takes place in the price of necessaries, without occasioning, or
having been preceded by a rise in wages.
The effects produced on profits, would have been the same, or nearly the
same, if there had been any rise in the price of those other
necessaries, besides food, on which the wages of labour are expended.
The necessity which the labourer would be under of paying an increased
price for such necessaries, would oblige him to demand more wages; and
whatever increases wages, necessarily reduces profits. But suppose the
price of silks, velvets, furniture, and any other commodities, not
required by the labourer, to rise in consequence of more labour being
expended on them, would not that affect profits? certainly not: for
nothing can affect profits but a rise in wages; silks and velvets are
not consumed by the labourer, and therefore cannot raise wages.
It is to be understood that I am speaking of profits generally. I have
already remarked that the market price of a commodity may exceed its
natural or necessary price, as it may be produced in less abundance than
the new demand for it requires. This however is but a temporary effect.
The high profits on capital employed in producing that commodity will
naturally attract capital to that trade; and as soon as the requisite
funds are supplied, and the quantity of the commodity is duly increased,
its price will fall, and the profits of the trade will conform to the
general level. A fall in the general rate of profits is by no means
incompatible with a partial rise of profits in particular employments.
It is through the inequality of profits, that capital is moved from one
employment to another. Whilst then general profits are falling, and
gradually settling at a lower level in consequence of the rise of wages,
and the increasing difficulty of supplying the increasing population
with necessaries, the profits of the farmer, may, for an interval of
some little duration, be above the former level. An extraordinary
stimulus may be also given for a certain time, to a particular branch of
foreign and colonial trade; but the admission of this fact by no means
invalidates the theory, that profits depend on high or low wages, wages
on the price of necessaries, and the price of necessaries chiefly on the
price of food, because all other requisites may be increased almost
without limit.
It should be recollected that prices always vary in the market, and in
the first instance, through the comparative state of demand and supply.
Although cloth could be furnished at 40_s. _ per yard, and give the usual
profits of stock, it may rise to 60 or 80_s. _ from a general change of
fashion, or from any other cause which should suddenly and unexpectedly
increase the demand, or diminish the supply of it. The makers of cloth
will for a time have unusual profits, but capital will naturally flow to
that manufacture, till the supply and demand are again at their fair
level, when the price of cloth will again sink to 40_s. _, its natural or
necessary price. In the same manner, with every increased demand for
corn, it may rise so high as to afford more than the general profits to
the farmer. If there be plenty of fertile land, the price of corn will
again fall to its former standard, after the requisite quantity of
capital has been employed in producing it, and profits will be as
before; but if there be not plenty of fertile land, if, to produce this
additional quantity, more than the usual quantity of capital and labour
be required, corn will not fall to its former level. Its natural price
will be raised, and the farmer, instead of obtaining permanently larger
profits, will find himself obliged to be satisfied with the diminished
rate which is the inevitable consequence of the rise of wages, produced
by the rise of necessaries.
The natural tendency of profits then is to fall; for, in the progress of
society and wealth, the additional quantity of food required is obtained
by the sacrifice of more and more labour. This tendency, this
gravitation as it were of profits, is happily checked at repeated
intervals by the improvements in machinery, connected with the
production of necessaries, as well as by discoveries in the science of
agriculture which enable us to relinquish a portion of labour before
required, and therefore to lower the price of the prime necessary of the
labourer. The rise in the price of necessaries and in the wages of
labour is however limited; for as soon as wages should be equal (as in
the case formerly stated) to 720_l. _, the whole receipts of the farmer,
there must be an end of accumulation; for no capital can then yield any
profit whatever, and no additional labour can be demanded, and
consequently population will have reached its highest point. Long indeed
before this period, the very low rate of profits will have arrested all
accumulation, and almost the whole produce of the country, after paying
the labourers, will be the property of the owners of land and the
receivers of tithes and taxes.
Thus, taking the former very imperfect basis as the grounds of my
calculation, it would appear that when corn was at 20_l. _ per quarter,
the whole net income of the country would belong to the landlords, for
then the same quantity of labour that was originally necessary to
produce 180 quarters, would be necessary to produce 36; since 20_l. _ :
4_l. _ :: 180 : 36. The farmer then, who originally produced 180
quarters, (if any such there were, for the old and new capital employed
on the land would be so blended, that it could in no way be
distinguished,) would sell the
180 qrs. at 20_l. _ per qr. or £3600
the value of 144 qrs. {to landlord for rent, being the }
--- {difference between 36 and 180 qrs. } 2880
36 qrs. 720
the value of 36 qrs. to labourers ten in number 720
---
leaving nothing whatever for profit.
At this price of 20_l. _ the labourers would continue to consume
three quarters each per annum or £60
And on other commodities they would expend 12
--
72 for each labourer.
--
And therefore ten labourers would cost 720_l. _ per annum.
In all these calculations I have been desirous only to elucidate the
principle, and it is scarcely necessary to observe, that my whole basis
is assumed at random, and merely for the purpose of exemplification. The
results though different in degree, would have been the same in
principle, however accurately I might have set out in stating the
difference in the number of labourers necessary to obtain the successive
quantities of corn required by an increasing population, the quantity
consumed by the labourer's family, &c. &c. My object has been to
simplify the subject, and I have therefore made no allowance for the
increasing price of the other necessaries, besides food, of the
labourer; an increase which would be the consequence of the increased
value of the raw material from which they are made, and which would of
course further increase wages, and lower profits.
I have already said, that long before this state of prices was become
permanent, there would be no motive for accumulation; for no one
accumulates but with a view to make his accumulation productive, and it
is only when so employed that it operates on profits. Without a motive
there could be no accumulation, and consequently such a state of prices
never could take place. The farmer and manufacturer can no more live
without profit, than the labourer without wages. Their motive for
accumulation will diminish with every diminution of profit, and will
cease altogether when their profits are so low as not to afford them an
adequate compensation for their trouble, and the risk which they must
necessarily encounter in employing their capital productively.
I must again observe, that the rate of profits would fall much more
rapidly than I have estimated in my calculation: for the value of the
produce being what I have stated it under the circumstances supposed,
the value of the farmer's stock would be greatly increased from its
necessarily consisting of many of the commodities which had risen in
value. Before corn could rise from 4_l. _ to 12_l. _ his capital would
probably be doubled in exchangeable value, and be worth 6000_l. _ instead
of 3000_l. _ If then his profit were 180_l. _, or 6 per cent. on his
original capital, profits would not at that time be really at a higher
_rate_ than 3 per cent. ; for 6000_l. _ at 3 per cent. gives 180_l. _; and
on those terms only could a new farmer with 6000_l. _ money in his pocket
enter into the farming business.
Many trades would derive some advantage, more or less, from the same
source. The brewer, the distiller, the clothier, the linen manufacturer,
would be partly compensated for the diminution of their profits, by the
rise in the value of their stock of raw and finished materials; but a
manufacturer of hardware, of jewellery, and of many other commodities,
as well as those whose capitals uniformly consisted of money, would be
subject to the whole fall in the rate of profits, without any
compensation whatever.
We should also expect that, however the rate of the profits of stock
might diminish in consequence of the accumulation of capital on the
land, and the rise of wages, yet the aggregate amount of profits would
increase. Thus supposing that, with repeated accumulations of
100,000_l. _, the rate of profit should fall from 20 to 19, to 18, to 17
per cent. , a constantly diminishing rate, we should expect that the
whole amount of profits received by those successive owners of capital
would be always progressive; that it would be greater when the capital
was 200,000_l. _, than when 100,000_l. _; still greater when 300,000_l. _;
and so on, increasing, though at a diminishing rate, with every increase
of capital. This progression however is only true for a certain time:
thus 19 per cent. on 200,000_l. _ is more than 20 on 100,000_l. _; again
18 per cent. on 300,000_l. _ is more than 19 per cent. on 200,000_l. _;
but after capital has accumulated to a large amount, and profits have
fallen, the further accumulation diminishes the aggregate of profits.
Thus suppose the accumulation should be 1,000,000_l. _, and the profits 7
per cent. the whole amount of profits will be 70,000_l. _; now if an
addition of 100,000_l. _ capital be made to the million, and profits
should fall to 6 per cent. , 66,000_l. _ or a diminution of 4000_l. _ will
be received by the owners of stock, although the whole amount of stock
will be increased from 1,000,000_l. _ to 1,100,000_l. _
There can, however, be no accumulation of capital, so long as stock
yields any profit at all, without its yielding not only an increase of
produce, but an increase of value. By employing 100,000_l. _ additional
capital, no part of the former capital will be rendered less productive.
The produce of the land and labour of the country must increase, and its
value will be raised, not only by the value of the addition which is
made to the former quantity of productions, but by the new value which
is given to the whole produce of the land, by the increased difficulty
of producing the last portion of it, which new value always goes to
rent. When the accumulation of capital, however, becomes very great,
notwithstanding this increased value, it will be so distributed that a
less value than before will be appropriated to profits, while that which
is devoted to rent and wages will be increased. Thus with successive
additions of 100,000_l. _ to capital, with a fall in the rate of profits,
from 20 to 19, to 18, to 17 per cent. &c. the productions annually
obtained will increase in quantity, and be of more than the whole
additional value, which the additional capital is calculated to produce.
From 20,000_l. _ it will rise to more than 39,000_l. _ and then to more
than 57,000_l. _, and when the capital employed is a million, as we
before supposed, if 100,000_l. _ more be added to it, and the aggregate
of profits is actually lower than before, more than 6000_l. _ will
nevertheless be added to the revenue of the country, but it will be to
the revenue of the landlords; they will obtain more than the additional
produce, and will from their situation be enabled to encroach even on
the former gains of the capitalist. Thus, suppose the price of corn to
be 4_l. _ per quarter, and that therefore, as we before calculated, of
every 720_l. _ remaining to the farmer after payment of his rent, 480_l. _
were retained by him, and 240_l. _ were paid to his labourers; when the
price rose to 6_l. _ per quarter, he would be obliged to pay his
labourers 300_l. _ and retain only 420_l. _ for profits. Now if the
capital employed were so large as to yield a hundred thousand times
720_l. _ or 72,000,000_l. _ the aggregate of profits would be
48,000,000_l. _ when wheat was at 4_l. _ per quarter; and if by employing
a larger capital, 105,000 times 720_l. _ were obtained when wheat was at
6_l. _, or 75,600,000_l. _, profits would actually fall from
48,000,000_l. _ to 44,100,000_l. _ or 105,000 times 420_l. _, and wages
would rise from 24,000,000_l. _ to 31,500,000_l. _ Wages would rise
because more labourers would be employed, in proportion to capital; and
each labourer would receive more money wages; but the condition of the
labourer, as we have already shewn, would be worse, inasmuch as he would
be able to command a less quantity of the produce of the country. The
only real gainers would be the landlords; they would receive higher
rents, first, because produce would be of a higher value, and secondly,
because they would have a greatly increased proportion.
Although a greater value is produced, a greater proportion of what
remains of that value, after paying rent, is consumed by the producers,
and it is this, and this alone, which regulates profits. Whilst the land
yields abundantly, wages may temporarily rise, and the producers may
consume more than their accustomed proportion; but the stimulus which
will thus be given to population, will speedily reduce the labourers to
their usual consumption. But when poor lands are taken into cultivation,
or when more capital and labour are expended on the old land, with a
less return of produce, the effect must be permanent. A greater
proportion of that part of the produce which remains to be divided,
after paying rent, between the owners of stock and the labourers, will
be apportioned to the latter. Each man may, and probably will, have a
less absolute quantity; but as more labourers are employed in proportion
to the whole produce retained by the farmer, the value of a greater
proportion of the whole produce will be absorbed by wages, and
consequently the value of a smaller proportion will be devoted to
profits. This will necessarily be rendered permanent by the laws of
nature, which have limited the productive powers of the land.
Thus we again arrive at the same conclusion which we have before
attempted to establish:--that in all countries, and at all times,
profits depend on the quantity of labour requisite to provide
necessaries for the labourers, on that land or with that capital which
yields no rent. The effects then of accumulation will be different in
different countries, and will depend chiefly on the fertility of the
land. However extensive a country may be where the land is of a poor
quality, and where the importation of food is prohibited, the most
moderate accumulations of capital will be attended with great reductions
in the rate of profit, and a rapid rise in rent; and on the contrary a
small but fertile country, particularly if it freely permits the
importation of food, may accumulate a large stock of capital without any
great diminution in the rate of profits, or any great increase in the
rent of land. In the Chapter on Wages, we have endeavoured to shew that
the money price of commodities would not be raised by a rise of wages,
either on the supposition that gold, the standard of money, was the
produce of this country, or that it was imported from abroad. But if it
were otherwise, if the prices of commodities were permanently raised by
high wages, the proposition would not be less true, which asserts that
high wages invariably affect the employers of labour, by depriving them
of a portion of their real profits. Supposing the hatter, the hosier,
and the shoemaker, each paid 10_l. _ more wages in the manufacture of a
particular quantity of their commodities, and that the price of hats,
stockings, and shoes, rose by a sum sufficient to repay the manufacturer
the 10_l. _; their situation would be no better than if no such rise took
place. If the hosier sold his stockings for 110_l. _ instead of 100_l. _,
his profits would be precisely the same money amount as before; but as
he would obtain in exchange for this equal sum, one tenth less of hats,
shoes, and every other commodity, and as he could with his former amount
of savings employ fewer labourers at the increased wages, and purchase
fewer raw materials at the increased prices, he would be in no better
situation than if his money profits had been really diminished in
amount, and every thing had remained at its former price. Thus then I
have endeavoured to shew, first, that a rise of wages would not raise
the price of commodities, but would invariably lower profits; and
secondly, that if the prices of commodities could be raised, still the
effect on profits would be the same; and that in fact the value of the
medium only in which prices and profits are estimated would be lowered.
CHAPTER VI.
ON FOREIGN TRADE.
No extension of foreign trade will immediately increase the amount of
value in a country, although it will very powerfully contribute to
increase the mass of commodities, and therefore the sum of enjoyments.
As the value of all foreign goods is measured by the quantity of the
produce of our land and labour, which is given in exchange for them, we
should have no greater value, if by the discovery of new markets, we
obtained double the quantity of foreign goods in exchange for a given
quantity of ours. If by the purchase of English goods to the amount of
1000_l. _ a merchant can obtain a quantity of foreign goods, which he can
sell in the English market for 1,200_l. _, he will obtain 20 per cent.
profit by such an employment of his capital; but neither his gains, nor
the value of the commodities imported, will be increased or diminished
by the greater or smaller quantity of foreign goods obtained. Whether,
for example, he imports twenty-five or fifty pipes of wine, his interest
can be no way affected, if at one time the twenty-five pipes, and at
another the fifty pipes, equally sell for 1,200_l. _ In either case his
profit will be limited to 200_l. _, or 20 per cent. on his capital; and
in either case the same value will be imported into England. If the
fifty pipes sold for more than 1,200_l. _, the profits of this individual
merchant would exceed the general rate of profits, and capital would
naturally flow into this advantageous trade, till the fall of the price
of wine had brought every thing to the former level.
It has indeed been contended, that the great profits which are sometimes
made by particular merchants in foreign trade, will elevate the general
rate of profits in the country, and that the abstraction of capital from
other employments, to partake of the new and beneficial foreign
commerce, will raise prices generally, and thereby increase profits. It
has been said, by high authority, that less capital being necessarily
devoted to the growth of corn, to the manufacture of cloth, hats, shoes,
&c. while the demand continues the same, the price of these commodities
will be so increased, that the farmer, hatter, clothier, and shoemaker,
will have an increase of profits, as well as the foreign merchant. [13]
They who hold this argument agree with me, that the profits of different
employments have a tendency to conform to one another; to advance and
recede together. Our variance consists in this: They contend, that the
equality of profits will be brought about by the general rise of
profits; and I am of opinion, that the profits of the favoured trade
will speedily subside to the general level.
For, first, I deny that less capital will necessarily be devoted to the
growth of corn, to the manufacture of cloth, hats, shoes, &c. , unless
the demand for these commodities be diminished; and if so, their price
will not rise. In the purchase of foreign commodities, either the same,
a larger, or a less portion of the produce of the land and labour of
England will be employed. If the same portion be so employed, then will
the same demand exist for cloth, shoes, corn, and hats, as before, and
the same portion of capital will be devoted to their production. If, in
consequence of the price of foreign commodities being cheaper, a less
portion of the annual produce of the land and labour of England is
employed in the purchase of foreign commodities, more will remain for
the purchase of other things. If there be a greater demand for hats,
shoes, corn, &c. than before, which there may be, the consumers of
foreign commodities having an additional portion of their revenue
disposable, the capital is also disposable with which the greater value
of foreign commodities was before purchased; so that with the increased
demand for corn, shoes, &c. there exists also the means of procuring an
increased supply, and therefore neither prices nor profits can
permanently rise. If more of the produce of the land and labour of
England be employed in the purchase of foreign commodities, less can be
employed in the purchase of other things, and therefore fewer hats,
shoes, &c. will be required. At the same time that capital is liberated
from the production of shoes, hats, &c. more must be employed in
manufacturing those commodities with which foreign commodities are
purchased; and consequently in all cases the demand for foreign and home
commodities together, as far as regards value, is limited by the revenue
and capital of the country. If one increases, the other must diminish.
If the importation of wine, given in exchange for the same quantity of
English commodities be doubled, the people of England can either consume
double the quantity of wine that they did before, or the same quantity
of wine and a greater quantity of English commodities. If my revenue had
been 1000_l. _, with which I purchased annually one pipe of wine for
100_l. _ and a certain quantity of English commodities for 900_l. _; when
wine fell to 50_l. _ per pipe, I might lay out the 50_l. _ saved, either
in the purchase of an additional pipe of wine, or in the purchase of
more English commodities. If I bought more wine, and every wine-drinker
did the same, the foreign trade would not be in the least disturbed;
the same quantity of English commodities would be exported in exchange
for wine, and we should receive double the quantity, though not double
the value of wine. But if I, and others contented ourselves with the
same quantity of wine as before, fewer English commodities would be
exported, and the wine-drinkers might either consume the commodities
which were before exported, or any others for which they had an
inclination. The capital required for their production would be supplied
by the capital liberated from the foreign trade.
There are two ways in which capital may be accumulated: it may be saved
either in consequence of increased revenue, or of diminished
consumption. If my profits are raised from 1000_l. _ to 1200_l. _ while my
expenditure continues the same, I accumulate annually 200_l. _ more than
I did before. If I save 200_l. _ out of my expenditure while my profits
continue the same, the same effect will be produced; 200_l. _ per annum
will be added to my capital.
