| OCR Text |
Show 488' ON THE l.lHl\IEDI ATE CA US:ES ( CH. VII. upon profits; and I feel very little doubt that, in · five y,ears fron1 the date of such an event, not only woty'd the exchangeable value of the whole product\ estimated in domestic and foreign labour, be decidedly di1ninished, but a smaller absolute quantity of corn \Vould be grown, and fe\ver nlanufactured and foreign commodities \Vould be brought to n1arket than before. It is not of course meant to be said that a country with a large quantity of land, labour, and capital, has not the means of gradually recovering itself fron1 any shock, ho\vever great, which it may experience; and after such an event, it might certainly place itself in a situation in which its property \Vould be more secure than \Vith a large national debt. All that I mean to say is, that it would pass through a period, probably of considerable duration, in which the diminution of effective denland fro1n an unfavourable distribution of the produce \Vould more than counterbalance the increased po\ver of production occasioned by the relief from taxation; and it may fairly be doubted 'vhether finally it would attain a great degree of wealth, or call forth, as it ought, a great degree of skill itt-agriculture, manufactures, and commerce, without possessing, in some way or other, a large body of unproductive consumers, or supplying this deficiency by a n1uch greater tendency to consume the results of productive labour than is generally observed to prevail in society. It has been repeatedly conceded, that the pro- SEC. IX.] OF THE PROGRESS OF WEALTH. 489 ductive classes have the power of consuming all that they produce; and, if this po,ver were adequately exercised, there might be no occasion, with a view to wealth, for unproductive consumers. But it is found by experience that, though there may be the po,ver, there ~s not the will;. and it is to supply this will that a body of unproductiye con- . sutners is necessary. Their specific use in encouraging wealth is, to maintain such a balance be- . tween produce and consumption as to give the greatest exchangeable value to the results of the national industry. If unproductive labour \\rere to predon1inate,. the comparatively sn1all quantity of material products brought to n1arket would keep down the valu,e of the whole produce, from the deficiency of quantity. If the productive classes were in excess, the value of the_ whole produce would fall from excess of supply. It is obviously a certain proportion between the two \Vhich \Vill yield the greatest value, and command the greatest quantity of domestic' and foreign labour ; and we may safely conclude that, among the causes necessary to that distribution, which will keep up and increase the exchangeable value of the whole produce, vve tnust place the' maintenance of a certain body of unprocl uctive consumers~ This body, to Inake it effectual as a stimulus to wealth, and to prevent it from being prejudicial, as a clog to it, should vary in differen-t countries, and at different times, according to the powers of production; and the most favourable result evidently depends upon |
