POLITICAL ECONOMY. 123 



wealth, is meant the whole wealth of a nation, whether in the hands 

 of individuals or of the government ; and hence a general increase 

 of private wealth is an increase of national. 



The objects, or purposes, of labor, are either agricultural* to 

 obtain the raw materials or produce ; or manufacturing, to prepare 

 these materials for use ; or commercial, to transport them to the 

 places where they are wanted. Thus, the farmer, miner and fisher- 

 man ; the manufacturer and mechanic ; and the merchant and navi- 

 gator reciprocally aid each other. Capital, is wealth saved, and 

 applied to produce more wealth, hence said to be reproductive. 

 Fixed capital, is that which is comparatively durable ; as houses, 

 mills and the like ; while circulating capital, is relatively transient 

 or perishable, as wages, provisions, and materials. Writers have 

 seen fit to distinguish between capital, which is the produce of labor, 

 and what may be termed rental, which is the produce of nature, 

 simply appropriated by individuals ; as land or mill seats. Thus 

 labor produces wages; capital produces interest; and rental pro- 

 duces true rent, meaning that which is received for the use of land, 

 independently of its improvements. The excess of produce over 

 the wages, interest, and true rent, is the reward of the skill, which 

 is intellectual capital, and of the mental labor of the producer. 



The production of wealth is generally increased by the subdivision 

 of labor ; assigning to each individual that work which from skill or 

 habit he can best perform, and to each region or country its most avail- 

 able produce. The amount of production is also increased by means 

 of inventions and improvements in the arts ; which the subdivision 

 of labor tends greatly to multiply. Monopolies or exclusive privi- 

 leges, should be granted only as a reward for such improvements ; 

 as in the case of patents, and copyrights, which serve as stimulants 

 to mental labor and ingenuity. Regulating and prohibitory duties, 

 or Tariffs, tend to restrain commercial enterprise, and to elevate the 

 prices of the protected articles. Hence they are justifiable only on a 

 limited scale, and for some great national object. In general, the 

 production of wealth will be the greatest, where each person is left 

 free to choose any lawful pursuit ; and permitted to enjoy the full 

 fruit of his labors. 



2. The Distribution of Wealth, is necessarily regulated by the 

 relations of the demand and supply of commodities ; which are always 

 tending to a standard or medium, for each article and place. This 

 principle alone decides how much the rentalist, who rented the land, 

 the capitalist, who loaned the requisite money, and the laborer, who 

 aided in their application, shall respectively receive from the pro- 

 ducer. Capital and rental, being absolutely necessary, for many 

 productions, in order to render labor available, become marketable 

 objects, which are to be returned good, and with a price paid for their 

 use. And as the relative quantities of labor, capital, and rental, in 

 any country, or in the world, can vary but slowly, their real value is 

 comparatively constant; though their nominal value fluctuates with 

 that of money. Rent is said to have no influence upon the price of 

 commodities ; it being the effect of a rise of prices, but not the cause. 

 The natural price of raw produce, is the cost of its production from 



