﻿Caeruthers. 
  — 
  0)1 
  some 
  of 
  the 
  Terms 
  used 
  in 
  Political 
  Economy. 
  9 
  

  

  Productive 
  Labour 
  and 
  Capital. 
  

  

  The 
  words 
  x^i'oductive 
  and 
  unproductive 
  iDlay 
  a 
  great 
  role 
  in 
  the 
  works 
  

   of 
  ]Dohtical 
  economists. 
  Nominally, 
  they 
  mean 
  productive 
  or 
  unproductive 
  

   of 
  wealth 
  — 
  that 
  is, 
  of 
  things 
  useful 
  or 
  agreeable 
  which 
  possess 
  exchangeable 
  

   value 
  — 
  but 
  when 
  closely 
  examined 
  they 
  will 
  often 
  be 
  found 
  to 
  refer, 
  not 
  to 
  

   wealth, 
  but 
  to 
  a 
  right 
  to 
  a 
  share 
  of 
  the 
  wealth 
  j)roduced 
  by 
  others 
  ; 
  or, 
  in 
  

   other 
  words, 
  labour 
  is 
  sometimes 
  said 
  to 
  be 
  productively 
  employed 
  when 
  it 
  

   produces 
  wealth, 
  and 
  sometimes 
  when 
  it 
  only 
  produces 
  profits 
  to 
  the 
  

   employer 
  of 
  labour. 
  To 
  distinguish 
  between 
  these 
  two 
  meanings 
  I 
  propose 
  

   to 
  use 
  the 
  words 
  "productive" 
  and 
  "profitable," 
  to 
  mark 
  the 
  production 
  of 
  

   wealth 
  and 
  of 
  x^rofits 
  respectively 
  ; 
  and, 
  unless 
  otherwise 
  stated, 
  I 
  shall 
  use 
  

   " 
  capital 
  " 
  to 
  denote, 
  not 
  wealth 
  itself, 
  but 
  a 
  right 
  to 
  a 
  certain 
  share 
  of 
  

   the 
  wealth 
  of 
  the 
  community. 
  

  

  A 
  productive 
  labourer 
  is 
  said 
  (Book 
  I., 
  chap, 
  iii., 
  sec. 
  4) 
  to 
  be 
  one 
  "who 
  

   produces 
  more 
  than 
  he 
  consumes." 
  Let 
  us 
  take 
  for 
  example 
  a 
  navvy, 
  who 
  

   excavates 
  ten 
  cubic 
  yards 
  of 
  earth 
  and 
  consumes 
  in 
  the 
  same 
  time 
  a 
  certain 
  

   quantity 
  of 
  beef 
  and 
  beer. 
  Has 
  he 
  produced 
  more 
  or 
  less 
  than 
  he 
  has 
  con- 
  

   sumed 
  ? 
  Is 
  he 
  to 
  be 
  classed 
  as 
  a 
  productive 
  or 
  an 
  unproductive 
  labourer 
  ? 
  

   and 
  if, 
  instead 
  of 
  ten 
  yards, 
  he 
  had 
  only 
  excavated 
  one 
  yard, 
  would 
  it 
  have 
  

   any 
  influence 
  on 
  the 
  classification 
  ? 
  A 
  shoemaker, 
  again, 
  makes 
  a 
  dozen 
  

   pairs 
  of 
  shoes, 
  and, 
  while 
  doing 
  so, 
  consumes 
  a 
  certain 
  quantity 
  of 
  food 
  and 
  

   other 
  things. 
  He 
  has 
  produced 
  the 
  shoes, 
  and 
  must, 
  therefore, 
  be 
  a 
  pro- 
  

   ductive 
  labourer 
  ; 
  but 
  it 
  is 
  impossible 
  to 
  compare 
  them 
  with 
  the 
  things 
  he 
  

   has 
  consumed, 
  so 
  as 
  to 
  say 
  that 
  his 
  consumption 
  has 
  been 
  greater 
  or 
  less 
  

   than 
  his 
  production. 
  There 
  is 
  no 
  difficulty 
  in 
  finding 
  out 
  whether 
  he 
  is 
  a 
  

   "profitable" 
  labourer 
  or 
  not. 
  If 
  he 
  consumes 
  less 
  commodities 
  than 
  his 
  

   employer 
  can 
  get 
  in 
  exchange 
  for 
  the 
  shoes 
  he 
  makes, 
  he 
  is 
  profitably, 
  and, 
  

   if 
  more, 
  then 
  he 
  is 
  unprofitably 
  employed. 
  

  

  Mill's 
  illustration 
  (Book 
  I., 
  chap, 
  iii., 
  sec. 
  4) 
  of 
  the 
  results 
  -of 
  productive 
  

   and 
  unproductive 
  labour 
  shows 
  clearly 
  that 
  he 
  reaUy 
  means 
  profitable 
  and 
  

   unprofitable. 
  He 
  says 
  : 
  — 
  " 
  When 
  a 
  tailor 
  makes 
  a 
  coat 
  and 
  sells 
  it, 
  there 
  

   is 
  a 
  transfer 
  of 
  the 
  price 
  from 
  the 
  customer 
  to 
  the 
  tailor, 
  and 
  a 
  coat 
  besides 
  

   which 
  did 
  not 
  previously 
  exist 
  ; 
  but 
  what 
  is 
  gained 
  by 
  an 
  actor 
  is 
  a 
  mere 
  

   transfer 
  from 
  the 
  spectator's 
  funds 
  to 
  his, 
  leaving 
  no 
  article 
  of 
  wealth 
  for 
  

   the 
  spectator's 
  indemnification. 
  Thus 
  the 
  community 
  collectively 
  gains 
  

   nothing 
  by 
  the 
  actor's 
  labour." 
  

  

  Here 
  the 
  price 
  of 
  the 
  coat 
  is 
  not 
  wealth, 
  nor 
  anything 
  which 
  benefits 
  the 
  

   community 
  or 
  any 
  member 
  of 
  it. 
  The 
  customer 
  acquires 
  the 
  coat, 
  giving 
  

   to 
  the 
  tailor 
  a'piece 
  of 
  metal, 
  useless 
  of 
  itself, 
  but 
  which 
  gives 
  him 
  a 
  right 
  

   to 
  a 
  certain 
  share 
  of 
  other 
  people's 
  wealth. 
  This 
  right 
  he 
  exercises, 
  

  

  