158 CAPITAL— THE MOTHER OF LABOUR, iv 



truth the statement that the essential factors in 

 economic production are land, capital and labour 

 — when this is offered as an axiom whence all 

 sorts of other important truths may be deduced — 

 it is needful to remember that the assertion is 

 true only with a qualification. Undoubtedly " vi- 

 tal capital " is essential; for, as we have seen, no 

 human work can be done unless it exists, not even 

 that internal work of the body which is necessary 

 to passive life. But, with respect to labour (that 

 is, human labour) I hope to have left no doubt on 

 the reader's mind that, in regard to production, 

 the importance of human labour may be so small 

 as to be almost a vanishing quantity. Moreover, 

 it is certain that there is no approximation to a 

 fixed ratio between the expenditure of labour and 

 the productiofl of that vital capital which is the 

 foundation of all wealth. For, suppose that we 

 introduce into our suppositious pastoral paradise 

 beasts of prey and rival shepherds, the amount of 

 labour thrown upon the sheep-owner may increase 

 almost indefinitely, and its importance as a condi- 

 tion of production may be enormously augmented, 

 while the quantity of produce remains stationary. 

 Compare for a moment the unimportance of the 

 shepherd's labour, under the circumstances first de- 

 fined, with its indispensability in countries in which 

 the water for the sheep has to be drawn from deep 



oleracea, without passing beyond the limits of fair sci- 

 entific speculation. 



