IV CAPITAL THE MOTHER OF LABOUR 165 



does not alter the fact that the only " production " 

 which is essential to the existence of the popula- 

 tion of Teneriffe and Gran Canaria is that effected 

 by the green plants in both islands ; and that all 

 the labour spent upon the raw produce useful in 

 manufacture, directly or indirectly yielded by 

 them by the inhabitants of these islands and 

 by those of Lanzerote into the bargain will not 

 provide one solitary Lanzerotian with a dinner, 

 unless the Teneriffians and Canariotes happen to 

 want his goods and to be willing to give some of 

 their vital capital in exchange for them. 



Under the circumstances .defined, if Teneriffe 

 and Gran Canaria disappeared, or if their inhabit- 

 ants ceased to care for carpentry, clothing, or 

 shoes, the people of Lanzerote must starve. But 

 if they wish to buy, then the Lanzerotians, by 

 " cultivating " the buyers, indirectly favour the 

 cultivation of the produce of those buyers. 



Thus, if the question is asked whether the 

 labour employed in manufacture in Lanzerote is 

 " productive " or " unproductive " there can be only 

 one reply. If anybody will exchange vital capital, 

 or that which can be exchanged for vital capital, 

 for Lanzerote goods, it is productive ; if not, it is 

 unproductive. 



In the case of the manufacturer, the dependence 

 of labour upon capital is still more intimate than 

 in that of the herdsman or agriculturist. When 

 the latter are once started they can go on, without 



