﻿Carbuthers. 
  — 
  On 
  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 
  weU-beiug 
  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 
  

   m 
  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 
  

  

  