第28章

Butfortheartisanwhoisaminutepartofavastorganisation，whosewagescomeoutofanindefinite，unexploredreservoirwhichmaybeaffectedbychangesincommerceoftheoriginandexactnatureofwhichheiscompletelyignorant，thereisnosuchpalpablelimit。Thespringsfromwhichhissubsistenceflowsmay，foranythinghesees，beinexhaustible。Heisaunitinalargemultitude，which，takenasawhole，mustundoubtedlybesomehowdependentuponthegeneralresourcesofthenation。Buthowtoexplaintheintricaterelationsofthedifferentclassesisaproblempuzzlingtothebesteconomists，andcapableofallmanneroffallacioussolutions。Asanindividual，theartisanmightlearnlikeotherpeopletobeprudent；buttoknowwhatisprudenthemustunderstandhisposition。Canthelabourerrightfullydemandorreasonablyexpecttogetalargershareofthewealthwhichheproduces，ormustheconfinehimselftolimitinghisnumbers，andtrustingtosupplyanddemandtobringhisrightshare？Heretheworkmanwasmisledbyallmanneroffalselights；anditbecameincumbentuponMilltoexplaintheposition。

Apopulationentirelydependentonwagesnever，saysMill，(74*)refrainsfromover-populationunlessfrom’actuallegalrestraint，’orsome’custom’which’insensiblymouldstheirconduct。’TheEnglishagriculturallabourerseemstomultiplyjustasfarashecan。(75*)All’checks’havegoneoraregoing。

Iftheartisanisbetteroff，itisduetotherapidexpansionofourtrade。Shouldthemarketforourmanufactures——notactuallyfalloffbutceasetoexpandasrapidlyasithasdoneforfiftyyears，wemayfallintothestateofIrelandbefore1846。Hehopes，indeed，thatthefactorypopulationmaybeintelligentenoughtoadaptitselftocircumstances。Thefactthatsolargeapartofourpopulationiscomposedofmiddleclassesorskilledartisansistheonlysecurityforsomerestraint。YetMill’sopinionevenoftheartisanwaslow。EnglishexperienceconfirmstheevidenceofEscherofZ黵ich。(76*)TheheadoftheEnglishartisanisturnedbytheideaofequality。’Whenheceasestobeservile，hebecomesinsolent。’(77*)Thereisnowhere，hesayselsewhere，(78*)anyfriendlysentimentbetweenlabourersandemployers。Theartisan，swampedbythegrowingmultiplicationofunskilledlabour，willtooprobably，wemayinfer，takeafalseviewofthesituation，andascribehispovertynottohisownneglectofMalthus，buttothegreedandhard-heartednessofthecapitalist。Suchananticipationwaslikelyenoughtoberealised。

Thisleadstothegreatproblemofthetruerelationbetweencapitalandlabour。ThedistinctivepeculiarityofEnglandwasthedependenceofthemassesuponwages。How，asMillhasasked，isthisstateofthingsreconcilablewithimprovement？Hewillassume，ashispredecessorshadsubstantiallydone，thatthecapitalistandlabourersareseparateclasses，andthatthelabourerderiveshiswholesupportfromthecapitalist。Thoughthisisnoteverywheretrue，itisforhimthereallyimportantcase。Moreover，heseemstothinkthattherulederivedfromconsideringtheclassesseparatelywillnotbealteredwhenthetwocharactersareunitedinindividuals。Thelabourer，sofarashehas’fundsinhand，’isalsoacapitalist；andthatpartofhisincomeisstilldecidedbythegenerallawofprofits。(79*)

Theassumptionofacompleteseparation，madeforconvenienceofargument，mightnodoubtbeconfoundedwithastatementoffact。

Atanyrate，itismerelyanexplicitavowalofthetacitassumptionoftheorthodoxeconomists。

Here，then，wepassfromMalthustoRicardo。MilladoptstheRicardianscheme，thoughtryingtomakeitmoreelastic。

Ricardo’sdoctrineofa’minimum’rateofwagestowhichthe’generalrate’constantlyapproximateshasenoughtruthforthe’purposesofabstractscience。’(80*)Therateindeedvarieswiththestandardofliving，andthat，aswehaveseen，isacriticalpoint。Yetthemainoutlinesofthetheoryremain。Aspopulationpressesupontheland，thelandlordgetsthebenefitof