however,isnotlessdecided;andleadshimtospeakasthoughtheelasticityofpopulationwerenotmerelyanessentialfactorinthesocialproblem,butthesoleprinciplefromwhichallsolutionsmustbededuced。Heisthusled,asIhavetriedtoshow,toanarrowinterpretationofhis’moralcheck。’Heisapttotake’vice’simplyasaproductofexcessivepressure,and,inhisgeneralphrasesatleast,tooverlookitsreciprocaltendencytocausepressure。The’moralcheck’isonlypreventiveornegative,notapositivecauseofsuperiorvigour。Asimilardefectappearsinhistheoryofthevismedicatrix。Hewas,Ihold,perfectlyrightinemphasisingtheimportanceofindividualresponsibility。Noreformcanbepermanentwhichdoesnotraisethemoralityoftheindividual。Hisinsistenceuponthistruthwasofthehighestimportance,anditistobewishedthatitsimportancemightbemorefullyrecognisedto-day。Theone-sidednessappearsinhisproposaltoabolishthepoor-lawsimply。Thatbecamethemostconspicuousandwidelyaccepteddoctrine。Allmenof’sense,’saidSydneySmith——
certainlyaqualifiedrepresentativeoftheclass——in1820,agree,first,thatthepoor-lawmustbeabolished;andsecondly,thatitmustbeabolishedverygradually。78Thatisreallytoassumethatbyrefusingtohelppeopleatall,youwillforcethemtohelpthemselves。Thereisanotheralternative,namely,thattheymay,asMalthushimselfoftenrecognises,becomedemoralisedbyexcessivepoverty。Todosimplynothingmayleadtodegenerationinsteadofincreasedenergy。Thepossibilityofanimprovedlaw,whichmightactasamoraldisciplineinsteadofasimplycorruptingagency,issimplyleftoutofaccount;andthetendencytostimulaterecklesspopulationisregardednotonlyasoneprobableconsequence,butastheveryessenceofallpoor-laws。UponMalthus’sassumptions,thestatementthatsoundpoliticalandsocialtheoriesmustbebaseduponsystematicinquiryintofacts,meantthattheindividualwastheultimateunalterableunit,whoseinterestinhisownwelfaregavetheonefulcrumforallpossiblechanges。Theideal’stateofnature’wasafiction。Thetruebasisofourinquiriesistheactualmanknowntousbyobservation。Themainfaultofthisbeingwastheexcessoftheinstinctofmultiplication,andthewaytoimprovehimwastoshowhowitmightconflictwiththeinstinctofself-preservation。InthisshapethedoctrineexpressedthemostcharacteristictendencyoftheUtilitarians,anddividedthemfromtheSocialistsorbelieversinabstractrightsofman。
VI。RENT
Here,then,weareatacentralpointoftheUtilitariancreed。Theexpansiveforceofpopulationis,inasense,thegreatmotivepowerwhichmouldsthewholesocialstructure;
or,rather,itforcestogethertheindependentunits,andweldsthemintoanaggregate。Theinfluenceofthisdoctrineuponothereconomicalspeculationsisofthehighestimportance。Onecriticalstageintheprocessismarkedbytheenunciationofthetheoryofrent,whichwastobecomeanotheressentialarticleofthetruefaith。Theintroductionofthisdoctrineischaracteristic,andmarksthepointatwhichRicardosupersededMalthusaschiefexpositorofthedoctrine。
Malthus’sviewswerefirstfullygiveninhisInquiryintoRent,thesecondofthreepamphletswhichhepublishedduringthecorn-lawcontroversyof1814-15。79Theopinionsnowstatedhad,hesays,beenformedinthecourseofhislecturingatHaileybury;andhemadethempubliconaccountoftheirbearinguponthemostabsorbingquestionsofthetime。TheconnectionofthetheorywithMalthus’sspeculationsandwiththecontemporarydifficultiesisindeedobvious。Thelandlordhadclearlyoneofthereservedseatsatthebanquetofnature。Hewasthemostobviousembodimentof’security’asopposedtoequality。Malthus,again,hadbeeninfluencedbytheFrencheconomistsandtheirtheoryofthe’surplusfund,’providedbyagriculture。Accordingtothem,ashesays,80thisfundorrentconstitutesthewholenationalwealth。InhisfirsteditionhehaddefendedtheeconomistsagainstsomeofAdamSmith’scriticisms;andthoughhealteredhisviewsandthoughtthattheyhadbeenledintopreposterouserrors,heretainedacertainsympathyforthem。Agriculturehasstillacertain’pre-eminence。’Godhasbestoweduponthesoilthe’inestimablequalityofbeingabletomaintainmorepersonsthanarenecessarytoworkit。’81Ithasthespecialvirtuethatthesupplyofnecessariesgeneratesthedemand。Makemoreluxuriesandthepricemayfall;butgrowmorefoodandtherewillbemorepeopletoeatit。This,however,seemstobeonlyanotherwayofstatinganunpleasantfact。Theblessingof’fertility’counteractsitself。Ashearguesintheessay,82anequaldivisionoflandmightproducesuchanincreaseofpopulationaswouldexhaustanyconceivableincreaseoffood。Theseviews——not,Ithink,veryclearorconsistentlyworkedout——leadapparentlytotheconclusionthatthefertilityisindeedablessing,butonconditionofbeingconfinedtoafew。Theresult,inanycase,istheorthodoxtheoryofrent。Thelabourergetslessthanhewouldiftheproductsofthesoilwereequallydistributed。Bothwagesandprofitsmustfallasmoreislefttorent,andthatthisactuallyhappens,hesays,withunusualpositiveness,isan’incontrovertibletruth’83thefallenablesthelessfertilelandtobecultivated,andgivesanexcessofproduceonthemorefertile。
’Thisexcessisrent。’84Heproceedstoexpoundhisdoctrinebycomparinglandtoasetofmachinesformakingcorn。85If,inmanufacture,anewmachineisintroducedeveryoneadoptsit。Inagriculturetheworstmachineshavestilltobeused;andthosewhohavethebestandsellatthesameprice,canappropriatethesurplusadvantage。This,hedeclares,isalaw’asinvariableastheactionoftheprincipleofgravity。’86YetSmithandothershaveoverlookeda’principleofthehighestimportance’87andhavefailedtoseethatthepriceofcorn,asofotherthings,mustconformtothecostofproduction。ThesamedoctrinewasexpoundedinthesameyearbySirEdwardWest;88and,asitseemstome,moreclearlyandsimply。West,likeMalthus,saysthathehastoannounceaprincipleoverlookedbyAdamSmith。Thisisbrieflythat’eachequaladditionalquantityofworkbestowedonagricultureyieldsanactuallydiminishedreturn。’Heholdsthatprofitsfallaswealthincreases,buthedeniesAdamSmith’sviewthatthisisasimpleresultofincreasedcompetition。89Competitionwouldequalise,butwouldnotlowerprofits,for’theproductivepowersofmanufacturesareconstantlyincreasing。’Inagriculturethelawistheoppositeoneofdiminishingreturns。Hencetheadmittedfallofprofitsshowsthatthenecessityoftakinginferiorsoilsintocultivationisthetruecauseofthefall。
SuchcoincidencesasthatbetweenMalthusandWestarecommonenough,forveryobviousreasons。Inthiscase;Ithink,thereislessroomforsurprisethanusual。ThewritergenerallycreditedwiththediscoveryoftherentdoctrineisJamesAnderson,whohadstateditasearlyas1777。90Thestatement,however,didnotattractattentionuntilatthetimeofWestandMalthusitwasforceduponobserversbythemostconspicuousfactsoftheday。AdamSmithandothereconomistshad,asMalthusnotices,observedwhatisobviousenough,thatrentinsomewayrepresenteda’netproduce’——asomethingwhichremainedafterpayingthecostsofproduction。Somuchwasobvioustoanycommon-senseobserver。InacuriouspaperofDecember1804,91Cobbettpointsoutthatthelandlordswillalwayskeeptheprofitsoffarmersdowntotheaveragerateofequallyagreeablebusinesses。Thisgranted,itisashortthoughimportantsteptothetheoryofrent。TheEnglishsystemhad,infact,spontaneouslyanalysedtheproblem。Thelandlord,farmer,andlabourerrepresentedthethreeinterestswhichmightelsewherebecombined。Pricesraisedbywarandfaminehadledtotheenclosureofwastesandthebreakingupofpastures。The’marginofcultivation’wasthusillustratedbyfacts。Farmerswerecomplainingthattheycouldnotmakeaprofitifpriceswerelowered。Thelandedclasseswereprofitingbyariseofpriceraised,accordingtoafamiliarlaw,ingreaterproportionthanthedeficiencyoftheharvest。Factsofthiskindwere,onemustsuppose,familiartoeveryland-agent;andtodiscoverthelawofrent,itwasonlynecessaryforMalthusandWesttoputthemintheirnaturalorder。Theegghadonlytobeputonitsend,thoughthat,asweknow,isoftenadifficulttask。WhenthefeatwasaccomplishedconsequencesfollowedwhichwerefullydevelopedbyRicardo。
NOTES:
1。MrJamesBonar’sMalthusandhisWork1885givesanadmirableaccountofMalthus。ThechieforiginalauthoritiesarealifebyBishopOtter,prefixedtoasecondeditionofthePoliticalEconomy1831,andanarticlebyEmpson,Malthus’scolleague,intheEdinburghReviewforJanuary1837。
2。PoliticalJustice3rdedition,1798,ii,bkviii,chap。ix,p。514。
3。WallacewroteinanswertoHume,ADissertationontheNumbersofMankindinAncientandModernTimes1753,andVariousProspectsofMankind,andNatureandProvidence1761。Godwinreferstothelast。
4。PoliticalJustice,ii,520。
5。Ibid。,ii,528。
6。Firstpublishedin1795,afterthefirstedition,asGodwinremarks,ofthePoliticalJustice。
7。Amideshommesreprintof1883,p。15。
8。Amideshommes,p。26。
9。SeethecuriousdebateinParl。Hist。xiv,1318-1365。
10。TheseventheditionofPrice’sObservationsonReversionaryPayments,etc。,1812,containsacorrespondencewithPitti,216,etc。Theeditor,W。Morgan,accusesPittofadoptingPrice’splanswithoutdueacknowledgmentandafterwardsspoilingthem。
11。EssayonPopulation,p。18。InObservations,ii,141,heestimatesthediminutionatamillionandahalf。OtherbooksreferringtothesamecontroversyareHowlett’sExaminationofDr。Price’sEssay1781;LettertoLordCarlisle,byWilliamEden1744-1814,firstLordAuckland;WilliamWale’sEnquiryintoPresentStateofPopulation,etc。1781;andGeo。Chalmer’sEstimateoftheComparativeStrengthofGreatBritain1782andseverallatereditions。
12。Essayfirstedition
p。339。
13。Memoirs,etc。,1819,ii,10。
14。SoSirJamesStewart,whoselightwasextinguishedbyAdamSmithbeginshisEnquiryintothePrinciplesofPoliticalEconomy1767bydiscussingthequestionofpopulation,andcomparesthe’generativefaculty’toaspringloadedwithaweight,andexertingitselfinproportiontothediminutionofresistenceWorks,1805,i,22。Hecomparespopulationto’rabbitsinawarren。’
JosephTownsend,inhisJourneyThroughSpain1791,towhomMalthusrefers,haddiscussedthesupposeddecayoftheSpanishpopulation,andillustrateshisprinciplesbyageometricprogression;seeii,213-56,386-91。Eden,inhisbookonthepoori,214,quotesatractattributedtoSirMatthewHaleforthestatementthatthepoorincreaseon’geometricalprogression。’
15。MalthusandhisWork,p。85。