2 THE NATIONAL IDEAL 



very careful reform of the tariff will probably be 

 required in due course. For the clearer under- 

 standing of this proposition, certain preliminaries 

 are necessary. 



Proposition A. — The productive national capital 

 is the total national capacity to increase values, 

 and thus produce all articles necessary to the 

 nation. The productive capital of a member of 

 the nation may be his total capacity to increase 

 values, and thus produce some article or articles, 

 or parts of them ; or it may be the total value of 

 his investments ; or it may partake of both kinds. 



Proposition B. — Capital of higher value is 

 created by the destruction of capital of lower 

 value : this is the true employment of capital. 

 Capital is also in certain ways sent abroad. It 

 is also misemployed. 



Fourth proposition. — The conditions under which 

 the foreign trade of Great Britain is now con- 

 ducted are absolutely different from the conditions 

 under which that trade was conducted sixty to 

 a hundred years ago. 



Fifth proposition. — If trade were everywhere 

 free, the foreign trade of Great Britain, under 

 modern conditions, would in some cases give 

 more employment than an equal home trade, and 

 in other cases it would give less employment. 



Sixth proposition. — In face of high foreign tariffs. 

 Great Britain's home trade gives more employ- 

 ment than an equal foreign trade. Therefore 

 Great Britain needs tariff reform. This cannot 

 be arranged until complete statistics of the home 

 trade have been collected and published. 



