Ineednotenlarge，however，uponatopicwhichhasbeensooftenexpounded。Ithinkthatatpresentthetendencyisrathertodoinjusticetothecommon-senseembodiedinthissystem，tothesoundnessofitsaims，andtoitsvalueinmanypracticalandimmediatequestions，thantooverestimateitsclaimtoscientificaccuracy。
Thatclaimmaybesaidtohavebecomeobsolete。
Onepoint，however，remains。
Theholdersofsuchadoctrinemust，itissaid，havebeenwithoutthebowelsofcompassion。Ricardo，ascriticsobservewithundeniabletruth，wasaJewandamemberofthestock-exchange。NowJews，inspiteofShylock’sassertions，andcertainlyJewishstockbrokers，arenaturallywithouthumanfeeling。Ifyouprickthem，theyonlybleedbanknotes。Theyarefittedtobecapitalists，whothinkofwagesasaniteminanaccount，andofthelaboureraspartofthetoolsusedinbusiness。Ricardo，however，wasnotameremoney-dealer，norevenawalkingtreatise。Hewasakindly，liberalman，desiroustobe，ashenodoubtbelievedhimselftobe，insympathywiththeleadersofpoliticalandscientificthought，andfullysharingtheiraspirations，Nodoubthe，likehisfriends，wasmoreconspicuousforcoolnessofheadthanforimpulsivephilanthropy。Likethem，hewasonhisguardagainst’sentimentalism’and’vaguegeneralities，’andthoughtthatahastybenevolencewasapttoaggravatetheevilswhichitattacked。
TheUtilitariansnaturallytranslatedallaspirationsintologicaldogmas；
butsomepeoplewhodespisedthemashard-heartedreallytookmuchlesspainstogiveeffecttotheirownbenevolentimpulses。NowRicardo，inthismatter，wasatonewithJamesMillandBentham，andespeciallyMalthus。49TheessentialdoctrineofMalthuswasthatthepoorcouldbemadelesspoorbyanimprovedstandardofprudence。InwritingtoMalthus，Ricardoincidentallyremarksuponthepossibilityofraisingtheconditionofthepoorby’goodeducation’andtheinculcationofforesightinthegreatmatterofmarriage。50IncidentalreferencesinthePrinciplesareinthesamestrain。HeacceptsMalthus’sviewofthepoor-laws，andhopesthat，byencouragingforesight，wemaybydegreesapproach’asounderandmorehealthfulstate。’51HerepudiatesemphaticallyasuggestionofSaythatoneofhisargumentsimplies’indifferencetothehappiness’
ofthemasses，52andholdsthat’thefriendsofhumanity’shouldencouragethepoortoraisetheirstandardofcomfortandenjoyment。Thelabourers，asheelsewhereincidentallyobserves，are’byfarthemostimportantclassinsociety。’53Howshouldtheynotbeifthegreatesthappinessofthegreatestnumberbethelegitimateaimofalllegislation?
ItistruethatinhisargumentRicardoconstantlyassumesthathis’naturalprice’willalsobetherealpriceoflabour，theassumptionthatthelabourers’wagestendtoaminimumisabaseforhisgeneralarguments，theinconsistency，iftherebeone，iseasilyintelligible，RicardoagreedwithMalthusthat，thoughthestandardmightberaised，andthougharisewastheonlywaytoimprovement，thechancesofsucharisewerenotencouraging，improvedwages，ashesays，54mightenablethelabourertolivemorecomfortablyifonlyhewouldnotmultiply。But’sogreatarethedelightsofdomesticsociety，thatinpracticeitisinvariablyfoundthatanincreaseofpopulationfollowsanamendedconditionofthelabourer，’andthustheadvantageislostassoonasgained。
Ihavetriedtoshowwhatwasthelogicalconvenienceoftheassumption。Ricardo，whohasalwaystostateanargumentatthecostofanintellectualcontortion，iscontenttolaydownarulewithoutintroducingtroublesomequalificationsandreserves。
Yetheprobablyheldthathispostulatewasacloseapproximationtothefacts。Lookingattheactualstateofthingsattheworsttimeofthepoor-law，andseeinghowsmallweretheprospectsofstirringthelanguidmindofthepaupertogreaterforethought，hethoughtthathemightassumetheconstancyofanelementwhichvariedsoslowly。TheindifferenceoftheRicardoschoolgenerallytohistoricalinquiryhadledthemnodoubttoassumesuchconstancytooeasily。Malthus，whohadmoreleaningtohistory，hadhimselfcalledattentiontomanycasesinwhichthe’prudentialcheck’
operatedmorestronglythanitdidamong，theEnglishpoor。ProbablyRicardowasinthis，asinothercases，toohastyinassumingfactsconvenientforhisargument，thepoorman’scharactercan，itisclear，beonlyknownempirically；and，infact，Ricardosimplyappealstoexperience。Hethinksthat，asafact，menalwaysdomultiplyinexcess，Buthedoesnotdenythatbettereducationmightchangetheircharacterinthisrespect，indeed，asIhavesaid，anevenexcessivefaithinthepossiblemodificationofcharacterbyeducationwasoneoftheUtilitariantenets。IfRicardohadsaidbroadlythatanecessaryconditionoftheimprovementofthepoorwasachangeoftheaveragecharacter，Ithinkthathewouldhavebeensayingwhatwasperfectlytrueandverymuchtothepurposeboththenandnow。Theobjectiontohisversionofamostsalutarydoctrineisthatitisstatedintoonarrowterms。Theultimateunit，thehumanbeing，isindeedsupposedtobecapableofgreatmodification，butitissolelythroughincreasinghisforesightastotheeffectsofmultiplicationthatthechangeissupposedtobeattainable。Themoralthusdrawnimpliedaverylimitedviewofthetruenatureandinfluenceofgreatsocialprocesses，andinpracticecametoooftentolimitingpossibleimprovementtotheoneconditionoflettingthingsalone。Letamanstarveifhewillnotwork，andhewillwork。That，asasoleremedy，maybeinsufficient；though，eveninthatshape，itisadoctrinemorelikelytobeoverlookedthanovervalued。Andmeanwhiletheacquiescenceinthepainfuldoctrinethat，asamatteroffact，labourerswouldalwaysmultiplytostarvationpoint，wascalculatedtoproducerevoltagainstthewholesystem。Macaulay’sdoctrinethattheUtilitarianshadmadepoliticaleconomyunpopularwassofartruethattheaveragepersonresentedtheunpleasantdoctrinesthusobtrudeduponhimintheirmostunpleasantshape；and，ifhewastoldthattheywereembodiedlogic，revoltedagainstlogicitself。
V。THERICARDIANS
Itwillbequitesufficienttospeakbrieflyoftheminorprophetswhoexpoundedtheclassicaldoctrine；
sometimesfallingintofallacies，againstwhichRicardo’slogicalinstincthadwarnedhim；andsometimesperhapsunconsciouslyrevealingerrorswhichreallylurkedinhispremises。WhenRicardodied，JamesMilltoldM’Cullochthattheywere’thetwoandonlygenuinedisciples’oftheircommonfriend。55MillwrotewhatheintendedforaSchoolbookofPoliticalEconomy。56Brief，pithy，andvigorous，itpurportstogivetheessentialprinciplesintheirlogicalorder；but，ashissonremarks，57hadonlyapassingimportance。M’CullochtookamoreimportantplacebyhiswritingsintheEdinburghReviewandelsewhere，andbyhislecturesatEdinburghandatLondon。Hewasoneofthefirstprofessorsofthenewuniversity。
HisPrinciplesofPoliticalEconomy58becameatext-book，tobefinallysupersededbyJohnStuartMill。Otherworksstatisticalandbibliographicalshowedgreatindustry，andhavestilltheirvalue。HewassomuchthetypicaleconomistofthedaythathehasbeenidentifiedwithCarlyle’sM’Crowdy，theapostleofthedismalscience。59Hewrites，however，withenoughvivacityandfervourofbeliefinhiscreedtoredeemhimfromthechargeofabsolutedulness。AnablerthinkerwasColonelRobertTorrens1780-1864。60Hehadservedwithdistinctioninthewar；butretiredonhalf-pay，andwasdrawnbysomenaturalidiosyncrasyintothedrypathsofeconomicdiscussion。HewasalreadyconfutingtheFrencheconomistsin1808；andwaswritingupontheBank-charterActandtheTenHours’Billin1844。Torrensheldhimself，apparentlywithjustice，toberatheranindependentallythanadiscipleofRicardo，Hischiefworkswereanessayuponthe’ExternalCorn-trade’181561andan’EssayontheProductionofWealth’1821。RicardopronouncedhisargumentsupontheCorn-tradetobe’unansweredandunanswerable，’62andhehimselfclaimedtobeanindependentdiscovererofthetruetheoryofrent。63Hewascertainlyamanofconsiderableacutenessandoriginality。Inthesewritingswefindthemostsanguineexpressionsofthebeliefthatpoliticaleconomywasnotonlyapotential，butonthevergeofbecominganactual，science。Torrensobservesthatallscienceshavetopassthroughaperiodofcontroversy；butthinksthateconomistsareemergingfromthisstage，andrapidlyapproachingunanimity。Intwentyyears，saysthishopefulprophet，therewillscarcelyexista’doubtofits’PoliticalEconomy’s’fundamentalprinciples。’64TorrensthinksthatRicardohasgeneralisedtoomuch，andMalthustoolittle；butproposes，withproperprofessionsofmodesty，totakethetrueviamedia，andweldthesoundprinciplesintoaharmoniouswholebyaduecombinationofobservationandtheory。Thescience，hethinks，is’analogoustothemixedmathematics。’65Asfromthelawsofmotionwecandeducethetheoryofdynamics，sofromcertainsimpleaxiomsabouthumannaturewecandeducethescienceofPoliticalEconomy。M’Culloch，atstarting，insistsinedifyingtermsuponthenecessityofacarefulandcomprehensiveinduction，andofthestudyofindustrialphenomenaindifferenttimesandplaces，andundervaryinginstitutions。66This，however，doesnotpreventhimfromadoptingthesamemethodsofreasoning，’induction’
soondoesitsoffice，andsuppliesafewsimpleprinciples。fromwhichwemaymakealeaptoourconclusionsbyarapid，deductiveprocess。
Theproblemsappeartobetoosimpletorequirelongpreliminaryinvestigationsoffact。Torrensspeaksofprovingby’strictlydemonstrativeevidence’orof’proceedingtodemonstrate’bystrictanalysis。67ThisisgenerallytheprefacetooneofthosecharacteristicarithmeticalillustrationstowhichRicardo’spracticegaveasanction。Wearealwaysstartinganimaginarycapitalistwithsomanyquartersofcornandsuitsofclothes，whichhecantransmuteintoanykindofproduct，andtakingforgrantedthatherepresentsatypicalcase。Thisgivesacertainmathematicalairtothereasoning，andtoooftenhidesfromthereasonerthathemaybebeggingthequestioninmorewaysthanonebythearrangementofhisimaginarycase。OneoftheoffendersinthiskindwasNassauSenior1790-1864，amanofremarkablegoodsense，andfullyawareofthenecessityofcautioninapplyinghistheoriestofacts。HewasthefirstprofessorofPoliticalEconomyatOxford1825-1830，andhistreatise68laysdownthegeneralassumptionofhisorthodoxcontemporariesclearlyandbriefly。
Thescience，hetellsus，isdeduciblefromfourelementarypropositions；
thefirstofwhichassertsthatevery’mandesirestoobtainadditionalwealthwithaslittlesacrificeaspossible；whiletheothersstatethefirstprinciplesembodiedinMalthus’stheoryofpopulation，andinthelawscorrespondingtotheincreasingfacilityofmanufacturingandthedecreasingfacilityofagriculturalindustry。69Asthesepropositionsincludenoreferencetotheparticularinstitutionsorhistoricaldevelopmentofthesocialstructure，theyvirtuallyimplythatasciencemightbeconstructedequallyapplicableinalltimesandplaces；andthat，havingobtainedthem。
Weneednottroubleourselvesanyfurtherwithinductions。Henceitfollowsthatwecanatoncegetfromtheabstract’man’totheindustrialorder。
Wemay，itwouldseem，abstractfromhistoryingeneral。ThiscorrespondstothepostdateexplicitlystatedbyM’Culloch。’Astate，’hetellsus，’isnothingmorethananaggregateofindividuals’：men，thatis，who’inhabitacertaintractofcountry。’70Heinfersthat’whateverismostadvantageoustothem’theindividuals’ismostadvantageoustothestate。’
Self-interest，therefore，theindividual’sdesireofaddingtohis’fortune，’