CannurTHERS.—Ó some of the Terms used in Political Economy. 13 
From the language generally used by writers, it would almost appear 
as if they thought the usefulness of the “accumulated stock of the 
product of former labour” depended on the labour which was spent in 
producing it, and not on the facility it gives for producing future wealth, 
and hence too much importance is generally given to the durability of 
implements. If, in a community, a given number of machines is required 
to carry on its manufactures, say ten, each of which requires a year’s 
labour of a hundred men to produce, and will just last ten years: at the 
end of every year one machine will be thrown aside as used up, and a new 
one brought into use ; there will always be ten in use, each representing the 
labour of 100 men, so that the stored-up wealth of the community will be 
represented by the labour of 1,000 men for one year, and there will always 
be 100 men employed in making new machines. If, now, a new kind of 
machine be used, which is equally efficient, but will last only one year, and 
- requires only ten men to construct: At the end of every year the whole ten 
machines are thrown aside and ten new ones put in their place. The total 
number of men employed in machine-making is, as before, a hundred. The 
community is no better off than before, and no worse off; the same number 
of its members are removed from the business of producing direct wealth. 
The amount of labour stored up is, however, represented by one year's 
labour of a hundred men instead of, as before, of a thousand. The 
* accumulated stock of the produce of former labour” has been reduced 
to one-tenth of its former amount without lessening the well-being of the 
community. 
There are hundreds of steam-engines now being thrown aside which 
would last for twenty or thirty years longer, but it is better to make new 
ones of better design. The old engines cost as much labour to produce 
as the new ones, so that if the wealth of a community is to be measured 
by the amount of stored-up labour it possesses, there is no advantage 
in replacing old-fashioned machinery by new. 
The exaggerated importance generally given to saving and accumulation 
in common estimation, and even by political economists, is due to the use of. 
the word capital in a sense not covered by its definition. A capitalist is one 
who, without labouring himself, has a right to a share of the wealth pro- 
duced by others. If he exercises his right in acquiring costly food and 
clothing for himself, and coarser food and clothing to give to servants to 
induce them to wait on him, his right is satisfied and thereafter ceases. He 
is said to have lived on his capital. If, instead of doing so, he uses only a 
part himself and gives the rest to labourers to induce them to work, some 
to produce articles which he himself will consume, and the rest to produce 
