The Kinetic Theory of Economic Crises 49 



chase and capitalization from the magnified split between them 

 that the static economy of Mill attempted to draw. Here the 

 difference is an incident ; there it was essential. The conclusion 

 is that here a wider generalization is permitted. Thus the pro- 

 ducers use money to stimulate each other socio-industrially, and 

 it is not true that the community is to be divided solely into 

 money-controllers and workers in industry. 



In the third place, there is truth in the division of the indus- 

 trial world into one cjass, whose chief occupation is with money, 

 and into- another not so occupied. But is the former class an 

 eminently and exclusively purchasing class, or is it rather a class 

 deserving of psychic contrast with the industrial classes, whose 

 activities are more materialistic? We have seen that among 

 themselves the materio-productive classes buy and sell each indi- 

 vidual or economic unit alternately, and that consequently none 

 of their members can be stigmatized as exclusively buyers. Now 

 the existence of a moneyed or financial class is most strongly to 

 be insisted upon. So far the popular theory is right. But it is 

 not especially a buying class. That it exerts a dominant influence 

 in industry is also true, — not by virtue of a practice and power 

 of buying the material products of industry, but by virtue of 

 standing at the top of the materio-psychic ladder. Financiers con- 

 trol industry, not because of the mystery of money, but because 

 of the mastery of brains. They certainly buy more luxuries per 

 capita than others, but the item is not very important in the aggre- 

 gate, and insignificant if put against the aggregate of luxuries 

 consumed by the lowest industrial classes. Their purchases of 

 other material products, except they become directly investors, 

 are small. And yet they are great purchasers — of promises ! A 

 parallel mutual relation exists between the members of this class 

 to that between the members of the materio-industrial class. 

 These also buy and sell some promises, but their chief business is 

 production. By selling promises financiers and manufacturers 

 obtain the "money" with which to buy new promises or wares. 

 Thus the great set-off system is effected by which debt and credit 

 become so generalized and homogeneous that within certain kinds 

 of transactions any individual debt will offset any other indi- 



i . 49 



