Essays on political economy : being a sequel to papers which appeared in the 'Cornhill Magazine' / by John Ruskin.
- John Ruskin
- Date:
- 1862[-1863]
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: Essays on political economy : being a sequel to papers which appeared in the 'Cornhill Magazine' / by John Ruskin. Source: Wellcome Collection.
Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.
19/70
![1862.] there is a consistent hill in the worth of the currency, or rise in the price of the things represented by it. Now, if for this conception of a central Government, we substitute that of another body of persons occupied in industrial pursuits, of whom each adds in his private capacity to the common store: so that the store itself, instead of remaining a public property of ascertainable quantity, for the guardianship of which a body of public men are responsible, be- comes disseminated private pro- perty, each man giving in exchange for any article received from another, a general order for its equivalent in whatever other arti- cle the claimant may desire (such general order being payable by any member of the society in whose possession the demanded article may be found), we at once obtain an approximation to the actual condition of a civilized mercantile community, from which approxi- mation we might easily proceed into still completer analysis. I purpose, however, to arrive at every result by the gradual ex- pansion of the simpler conception ; but I wish the reader to observe, in the meantime, that both the social conditions thus supposed (and I will by anticipation say also, all possible social conditions,) agree in two great points; namely, in the primal importance of the supposed national store or stock, and in its * destructibilityor improveability by the holders of it. I. Observe that in both condi- tions, that of central Government- holding, and diffused private-hold- ing, the quantity of stock is of the same national moment. In the one case, indeed, its amount may be known by examination of the persons to whom it is con- fided ; in the other it cannot be known but by exposing the private affairs of every individual. But, known or unknown, its significance is the same under each condition. The riches of the nation consist in the abundance, and their wealth depends on the nature of this store. II. In the second place, both con- ditions (and all other possible ones) agree in the destructibility or im- proveability of the store by its holders. Whether in private hands, or under Government charge, the national store may be daily con- sumed, or daily enlarged, by its possessors; and while the currency remains apparently unaltered, the property it represents may diminish or increase. The first question, then, which we have to put under our simple conception of central Government, namely, ‘ What store has it ?’ is one of equal importance, whatever may be the constitution of the State; while the second question—namely, ‘ Who are the holders of the store?’ involves the discussion of the con- stitution of the State itself. The first inquiry resolves itself into three heads: 1. What is the nature of the store ? 2. What is its quantity in re- lation to the population ? 3. What is its quantity in re- lation to the currency ? The second inquiry, into two:— 1. Who are the Holders of the store, and in what proportions ? 2. Who are the Claimants of the store, (that is to say the holders of the currency,) and in what propor- tions ? We will examine the range of the first three questions in the pre- sent paper; of the two following, in the sequel. 1. Question First. What is the nature of the store ? Has the nation hitherto worked for and gathered the right thing or the wrong ? On that issue rest the possibilities of its life. For example, let us imagine a society, of no great extent, occupied in procuring ancl laying up store of corn, wine, wool, silk, and other such preserveable materials of food and clothing; and that it has a currency representing them. Imagine far- ther, that on days of festivity, the society discovering itself to derive satisfaction from pyrotechnics, gra- dually turns its attention more and more to the manufacture of gun- powder ; so that an increasing num- ber of labourers, giving what time](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b22395878_0019.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
