210 



GENERAL INCREASE OF WAGES, ETC. 



concerned in supplying the raw material of wealth from the 

 land, every enforced rise of wages will be clear gain to the 

 labourer, because the loss will fall upon the landlord, and stay 

 there." 



It is remarkable that Mr. Ogilvy's usual penetration 

 should in these two propositions have so far failed him that 

 he did not perceive that their support wholly rests upon old 

 economic fallacies long since exploded, and discountenanced 

 by the best, if not nearly all, modern economists. Even Mr. 

 Henry George does not support these old economic fallacies,, 

 associated with "The Theory of Eent " and "The Wages 

 Fund;" and yet, notwithstanding this, Mr. Ogilvy's con- 

 clusions regarding rent and wages depend wholly for 

 support upon the resusicitation of those old fallacies which 

 so long darkened men's minds regarding the true theory of 

 rent, and the true relations between rent, profit, wages, 

 production, and prices. 



Theory of Eent. 



" Bicardo's Law of Eent," now almost universally 

 accepted by economists, is so well established by reason and 

 experience that even Mr. Henry George is forced to admit 

 that " its mere statement has all the force of a self-evident 

 proposition." It is thus set forth, according to Eicardo : — 



" The rent of land is determined by the excess of its produce 

 over that which the same application can secure from the least 

 productive land in use." 



Or, as stated more specifically by Mr. E. A. Walker : — 



'' The rent of any piece of land is determined by the difference 

 "between its annual yield and that of the least productive land 

 actually cultivated for the supply of the same market, under 

 equal application of labour and capital." (P. 197, "Political 

 Economy," London, 1887.) 



If this be granted, we have the following distinguishing 

 elements : — 



Let E = Excess of Produce over that of the least Pro- 

 ductive land actually cultivated for the supply 

 of the same market under equal applications 

 of Labour and Capital = Eent. 



N = Produce of the least productive land actually 

 cultivated under similar conditions to E. 



C = Profit of Parmer and Capitalist. 



W=Nominal Wages of Labourer. 



P = Produce of Land, Labour, and Capital. 



D = Demand of Consumers. 



D m = Maximum Purchasing Power of Consumer. 



D" = Minimum Purchasing Power of Consumer. 



