Political Economy, for Plain People (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated.1873 Excerpt: ... CHAPTER IX. Value. Value necessarily relative--No real Value--General Value--Means " Purchasing Power"--Elements of Value--Monopoly--Costs of Production. Rent, the result of Monopoly--Docs not enter into Price--Distinction between good and bod Monopolies--Demand and Supply--Their variations and reciprocal action--Cost of Production--Consists in Labour, Capital, Time. Mc iopoly, and Taxation.--Competition of Producers, by which Supply and Demand are kept nearly Level--Different Investments of Capital and Labour--Partial Glut--General Glut impossible, except through a Scarcity of Money. Much confusion has attended the use of this word in political economy, which a simple analysis of its meaning might have obviated. In common language everything which is desirable, as health, wit, beauty, goodness, is said to have value. But political economy meddles only with things which are the subject of exchanges; and in the discussions of the science, value, therefore, must mean always commercial value, or value in exchange. In this sense, in order to have value, it is not enough that an object be desirable. Many things are highly desirable for their useful or agreeable qualities (as air, light, and water, for example), but yet under ordinary circumstances have no value--because their supply being unlimited and no trouble required from anyone to obtain as much of them as he can want, no one will give anything in exchange for them. The moment their supply falls short of the quantity required, --in other words, of the demand, --or that it becomes necessary to take some trouble to obtain the quantity required, they acquire an exchangeable value. On board ship--in the deserts of Africa--and in other places where the stock of water falls short of the K quantity required, it obt...