70 



W. G. Langzi'orthy Taylor 



Trade 

 depression, of 

 the typical 

 sort, stimulates 

 the supply of 

 gold, but not 

 in time to pre- 

 vent debtor's 

 loss. If the 

 depression con- 

 tinues the 

 stimulus will 

 not last. 



to the case of the " economic man." All persons in the society 

 must be supposed of similar tastes and similarly affected by more 

 abundant production, in order that an increase in the amount of 

 money should affect all equally, and thus justly prevent creditors 

 from sequestrating the whole advantage accruing to society from 

 overflowing income. The reasoning can only be typical in so 

 far as its object is professedly to discuss the propriety of general 

 enactments which shall work uniformly. The analysis is dis- 

 couraging to attempts of this nature, since it discloses only too 

 plainly that all men are not equal and that legislative and admin- 

 istrative measures cannot bring justice to each individual. 



§ 7. In passing, it is worth while to advert to the question, 

 whether there does not exist in the economic organism an auto- 

 matic provision whereby " money " will be so increased as to 

 attain to the contemplated object of raising prices sufficiently to 

 dispense a share of the benefit of increased production of goods 

 to the typical debtor. In the previous discussion of the standard 

 of value, it has appeared that a fall in prices stimulates the pro- 

 duction of gold and tends therefore to increase the amount of 

 money and hence ultimately to raise prices again. Here is found, 

 perhaps, the germ of an organic system which may ultimately be- 

 come completely satisfactory, but at present the stimulation to the 

 production of gold from low prices does not work rapidly enough 

 to remedy the supposed evil. The slowness may conceal social 

 benefits in other directions from that which comports with the 

 question of the standard. Aberration of the argument on this 

 account will be perceived to share the fallibility of all human 

 analysis. The stimulation, be it noted, comes from the effect of 

 the low prices. There could be none unless there were antecedent 

 low prices. They must previously have existed long enough to 

 have caused the supposed injury to the debtor before they can 

 yield profit to the gold industry, and through it ultimately benefit 

 the debtor again. Moreover, fluctuation in prices is primarily 

 due to the state of credit, which is more or less independent of 

 the supplies of gold ; in other words, prices may conceivably be 

 reduced sufficiently to injure the debtor, on a rising supply of 

 gold, as happened subsequently to 1885. Nevertheless, in the 



184 



