第33章

theory，thoughChalmersisratherunwillingtoadmithisaffinitytoadiscreditedschool。12Hehasreachedsomeoftheirconclusions，headmits，butbyadifferentpath。13Hecoincides，inthisrespect，withMalthus，whowasequallyimpressedbytheimportanceof’subsistence，’

orofthefood-supplyofthelabourer。Thegreatbulkofthefoodrequiredmustberaisedwithinourownborders。AsChalmerssays，in1832，thetotalimportationofcorn，eveninthetwofamineyears，1800and1801，takentogether，hadonlyprovidedfoodforfiveweeks，14andcouldnormallyrepresentamerefringeorsuperfluousadditiontoourresources。

Hismainargumentissimple。Theeconomistshavefallenintoafatalerror。

Amanufacturer，heobserves，onlymakeshisownarticle。15Theeconomistssomehowimaginethathealsosupportshimself。Youseeaprosperous’shawl-makingvillage。’Youinferthatitsruinwouldcausethedestitutionofsomanyfamilies。Itwouldonlymeanthelossofsomanyshawls。Thefoodwhichsupportstheshawl-makerswouldstillbeproduced，andwouldbeonlydivertedtosupportmakersofsomeotherluxury。16Therewouldbeatemporaryinjurytoindividuals，butnopermanentweakeningofnationalresources。Hencewehavehisdivisionofthepopulation。Theagriculturists，andthosewhomakethe’secondnecessaries’(thecottages，ploughs，andsoforth，requiredbytheagriculturist)，createthegreatwealthofthecountry。Besidesthesewehavethe’disposable’population，whichisemployedinmakingluxuriesforthelandowners，and，finally，the’redundant’orwhathecallsinhislaterbookthe’excrescent’or’superinduced’population，17whichisreallysupportedbyforeigntrade。Commerce，then，ismerely’theefflorescenceofouragriculture。’18Wereitannihilatedthisinstant，weshouldstillretainourwholedisposablepopulation。Theeffectofwarissimplytofindadifferentemploymentforthispartofthenation。Napoleon，hesays，is’emptyingourshopsandfillingourbattalions。’19Allthe’redundant’populationmightbesupportedbysimplydiminishingthenumberofourcart-horses。20Similarly，thedestructionofthecommerceofFrance’createdherarmies。’

Itonlytransferredmenfromtradetowar，and’millionsofartisans’were’transformedintosoldiers。’21Pittwasreallystrengtheningwhenhesupposedhimselftoberuininghisenemy。’Excrescence’and’efflorescence’

areChalmers’sequivalentforthe’sterility’oftheFrencheconomists。

Thebackboneofallindustryisagriculture，andthemanufacturerssimplyemployedbythelandownerforsuchpurposesashepleases。Whetherheusesthemtomakehisluxuriesortofighthisbattles，therealresourcesofthenationremainuntouched，theRicardiansinsistuponthevitalimportanceof’capital。’Theoneeconomicendofthestatesmen，asthecapitalistclassnaturallythinks，shouldbetogiveeveryfacilityforitsaccumulation，andconsequentlyforallowingittodistributeitselfinthemostefficientway。Chalmers，onthecontrary，arguesthatwemayeasilyhavetoomuchcapital。Hewasafirmbelieveringluts。Headmitsthattheextensionofcommercewasofgreatgoodattheendofthefeudalperiod，butnotasthe’efficientcause’ofwealth，onlyas’unlockingthecapabilitiesofthesoil。’22Thischangeproducedtheillusionthatcommercehasa’creativevirtue，’whereasitsabsolutedependenceuponagricultureisatruthofcapitalimportanceinpoliticaleconomy。MoreMalthusianthanMalthus，Chalmersarguesthattheofcapitalisstrictlyparalleltothecaseofpopulation。23Theymayberedundantasmuchasmen，andtherealcausesofeveryeconomiccalamityarethe’over-speculationofcapitalists，’andthe’over-populationofthecommunityatlarge。’24Inthisquestion，however，Chalmersgetsintodifficulties，whichshowsohopelessaconfusionbetween’capital，’income，andmoney，butIneednotattempttounravelhismeaning。25Anyhow，heisledtoapprovetheFrenchdoctrineofthesingletax。Ultimately，hethinks，alltaxesfalluponrent。26Agriculturefillsthegreatreservoirfromwhichallthesubsidiarychannelsarefiled。Whetherthestreambetappedatthes