POLITICAL 



Political ing them by li^lt borrowed from its a ithor. Never 

 Economy. ( }j ( | philosopher effect a more complete revolution in 

 " ~v " any science ; for tho-r even who dissent from hi doc- 

 trine acknowledge his authority ; sometimes they at- 

 tack, solely became they do not understand him ; most 

 commonly, they flatter themselves with the belief of 

 still following, even v hile they contradict him. We 

 shall devote the rest of this Article to explain the science 

 which he taught us ; though in an order different from 

 his. We shall arrange it under the six following 

 heads : Formation and Progress of Wealth ; Territori- 

 al Wealth ; Commercial Wealth ; Money ; Taxes ; and 

 Population. 



CHAP. II. 



FORMATION AND PROGRESS OF WEALTH. 



Man brings into the world with him certain wants, 

 which he must satisfy in order to live ; certain desires 

 which lead him to expect happiness from particular 

 enjoyments ; and a certain industry or aptitude for la- 

 bour, which enables him to satisfy the requisitions of 

 both. His wealth originates in this industry; his 

 wants and desires are its employments. All that man 

 values is created by his industry ; all that he creates is 

 destined to be consumed in satisfying his wants and 

 desires. But, between the moment of its production 

 by labour, and its consumption by enjoyment, the thing 

 destined for man's use may have an existence more or 

 less durable. It is this thing, this accumulated and 

 still unconsumed fruit of labour, which is called 

 wealth. 



Wealth may exist not only without any sign of ex- 

 change, or without money, but even without any pos- 

 sibility of exchange, or without trade. Suppose a man 

 to be left on a desert island : the undisputed properly 

 of this whole island is not wealth, whatever be the na- 

 tural fertility of its soil, the abundance of the game 

 straying in its forests, of the fish sporting on its shores, 

 or the mines concealed in its bosom. On the contrary, 

 amid all these benefits presented him by nature, the 

 man may sink to the lowest degree of penury, and die 

 perhaps of hunger. But, if his industry enables him 

 to catch some of the animals that wander in his woods ; 

 and if, instead of consuming them immediately, he re- 

 serves them for his future wants : if, in this interval, 

 he gets them tamed and multiplied, so that he can live 

 on their milk, or associate them to his labour, he is 

 then beginning to acquire wealth, because labour has 

 gained him the possession of those animals, and a fresh 

 labour has rendered them domestic. The measure of 

 his wealth will not be the price, which he might obtain 

 for his property in exchange ; because he is debarred 

 from all exchange ; but the length of time during 

 which no farther labour will be requisite to satisfy his 

 wants, compared with the extent of those wants. 



By subduing those animals, the man has made them 

 his property and wealth ; by subduing the ground, he 

 will, in like manner, convert it into property and 

 wealth. His island is destitute of value so long as no 

 labour has been bestowed on it ; but if, instead of con- 

 suming its fruits the moment they come to his hand, 

 he reserves them for future want; if he commits them 

 again to the earth, again to be multiplied ; if he tills 

 his fields to augment their productive power, or de- 

 fends them by inclosures from wild beasts ; if he plants 

 them with trees, the fruit of which he does not look for 



VOL. XVII. PART I. 



ECONOMY. 41 



till many years have elapsed ; he is then creating the P<Jie>ri 

 value, not only of annual produce raised by his labour Konijr. 

 from the ground, but also of the ground itself, wh.ch *"" ""<'"""' 

 Jie had tamed, as lie tamed the wild beatti, and render- 

 ed fit to second his exertions. In that case he is rich, 

 and the more so the longer he can suspend bis labours 

 without Buffering new wants. 



Our Solitary, being now liberated from the mott 

 pressing of all demands, that of hunger, may devote 

 his exertions to provide lodging ar\d clothes, or to im- 

 prove those already provided. He will build himself 

 a hut, and fit it out with such furniture as his unaided 

 labour may suffice to construct ; he will change the 

 skin and fleeces of his sheep into shoes or coats ; and 

 the- more convenient his dwelling shall be rendered, 

 the better his storehouse shall be filled with provision 

 for his future food and clothing, the more rich may he 

 call himself. 



The history of this man is the history of the human 

 race: labour alone has created all kinds of wealth. 

 However great the beneficence of nature, she gives 

 nothing gratuitously to man ; though, when addressed 

 by him, she is ready to lend her assistance in multiply, 

 ing his powers to an indefinite extent The history of 

 wealth is, in all cases, comprised within the limits now 

 specified the labour which creates, the economy which 

 accumulates, the consumption which destroys. An 

 article which has not been wrought, or has not mediate, 

 ly or immediately received its value from labour, is not 

 wealth, however useful, however necessary, it may be 

 for life. An article, which is not useful to man, which 

 does not satisfy any of his desires, and cannot mediate, 

 ly or immediately be employed in his service, is not 

 more entitled to the name of wealth, whatever labour 

 may have been bestowed on producing it And finally, 

 an article which cannot be accumulated or kept for fu- 

 ture consumption is not wealth, though created by la- 

 bour and consumed by enjoyment 



Before possessing any medium of exchange, before 

 discovering the precious metals which render it so easy 

 to us, our Solitary would ere long learn to distinguish 

 the different kinds of labour in their relation to wealth. 

 Labour producing no enjoyment is useless ; labour, 

 whose fruits are naturally incapable of being stored up 

 for future consumption, is unproductive ; whilst the 

 only productive kinds of labour the only kinds pro- 

 ducing wealth are such as leave behind them, in the 

 estimation even of our Solitary, a pledge equal in value 

 to the trouble they have cost. Thus the man, misled 

 by analogy, may have imagined that he could multiply 

 his olive-trees by planting the olives ; he may not have 

 known but that the stones would germinate as in other 

 such vegetables ; till, after preparing the ground by a 

 complete and fatiguing tillage, experience would teach 

 him that his toil had been useless, for no olive-tree waa 

 produced by it. On the other hand, he may have se- 

 cured his dwelling from wolves and bears ; and the 

 labour would be useful but unproductive ; for its fruits 

 cannot accumulate. If previously accustomed to civi- 

 lized life, he may have passed many hours in playing 

 on a flute, saved, we shall suppose, at his shipwreck ; 

 the labour would still be useful, and probably re- 

 garded as his own pleasure ; but it would be as unpro- 

 ductive, and for a like reason, as before. He may have 

 bestowed on the care of his person and health much 

 time, very usefully employed ; this will also be quite un- 

 productive of wealth. The Solitary will clearly perceive 

 what difference there is between productive labour and 

 the labour of hours in which he amasses nothing for 



