Chapter 11 Profit varies with the use of labor and capital

The advantages and disadvantages of the different employments of labor and stock must, on the whole, be perfectly equal, or constantly tending to be equal, within the same neighbourhood.If, in the same place, one use is manifestly more favorable or less favorable than another, many will leave the less favorable and crowd into the more favorable.The advantage of this use, then, soon becomes equal again to that of every other.At least, this is the case in a society where everything is left to its natural course, that is, where everything is left to its own freedom, and each individual is free to choose what occupation he thinks fit, and to change it at any time.Each man's interest necessarily prompts him to seek favorable uses and to shun unfavorable ones.

It is true that money-wages and money-profits vary widely in all parts of Europe according to the employments of labor and stock; Some occupations were compensated for by small monetary gains, and others were offset by high monetary gains; partly because the policy of various European countries did not allow things to develop quite freely. In order to treat those situations and that policy separately, I have divided this chapter into two sections. Section 1: Inequalities arising from the nature of the occupations themselves So far as I can observe, there are five principal cases which, on the one hand, compensate for the meager pecuniary rewards of some occupations and, on the other, offset the high pecuniary rewards of others: First, the occupation itself There are some pleasant ones and some unpleasant ones; second, vocational learning can be difficult or easy, and tuition fees can be high or low; third, jobs can be stable or not; fourth, the responsibilities of a job can be heavy or light; fifth, , the probability of success varies.

First, the wages of labor vary according to the difficulty, dirtiness, and inferiority of the business.In most places, for example, the seamstress earns less for the whole year than the weaver, because the work of the seamstress is easier.The weaver earns less than the blacksmith, because the weaver's work is much cleaner.Although a blacksmith is a kind of artisan, his income from working twelve hours is often less than that of an ordinary coal miner who works eight hours.As with all honorable occupations, honor may be said to be the greater part of the remuneration.As will be discussed later in this section, in terms of pecuniary gain, remuneration in such occupations is generally limited, all things considered.on the contrary.In menial occupations the opposite is true.The butcher's profession is crude and obnoxious, but in many places they are more profitable than most other common professions.The executioner's profession is a most detestable profession, but, in proportion to its workload, he pays more than any ordinary profession.

Fishing and hunting, which savage societies regard as the most important, become the most enjoyable entertainments in advanced societies.Fishing and hunting were done for necessity in ancient times, but today they are fished and hunted for recreation.Therefore, in a progressive society, those who take other people's pastimes as their occupations are extremely poor.Since the time of Theocritas, fishermen have been extremely poor.Privateers are very poor people all over England.In countries where poaching is strictly prohibited, licensed hunters are not much better off.Many employ them from their natural interest in them, rather than from the ease with which they afford them; and the produce of their labor always sells too cheaply in relation to the quantity of their labour, People who engage in this kind of occupation can't really earn more than a little living expenses.

Displeasure and disrepute have the same effect on the profits of stock as they have on the wages of labour.The proprietor of an inn or tavern is by no means the master of his own shop, and the insolence of drunkards is something they have to endure, and their profession is dishonorable and unpleasant.But in ordinary business, it is rare to see such a business with a small capital gaining a large profit. Second, labor wages vary according to the difficulty of business learning and the amount of tuition fees. In setting up expensive machines, it is necessary to expect that the capital invested will be recovered and at least an ordinary profit will be made by the special work performed by the machine before it wears out.A profession requiring special skill and proficiency, learned at the expense of much labor and time, amounts to nothing more than a costly machine.Those who have learned this trade must expect, when they are employed, to recoup all their tuition fees, and at least ordinary profits, in addition to the ordinary wages of labour.And this must be done within a reasonable period in view of the very uncertain life of man, just as the cost and profit must be recovered within a reasonable period of time in view of the more definite life of machinery.On this principle rests the difference between the wages of skilled and common labour.

The policy of every country in Europe regards the labor of mechanics, artificers, and manufacturers as skilled labour, and that of all rural laborers as common labour.This policy seems to assume that the labor of the former is of a more subtle and ingenious nature than the labor of the latter.This may be true on some occasions, but not on most, as I shall illustrate below.The legal customs of all the countries of Europe, therefore, require a man to be an apprentice first, in order to qualify him for the former kind of labor, but the degree of strictness varies from place to place.As for the latter kind of labor, everyone is free to do so without restriction.During the apprenticeship, all the labor of the apprentice belongs to the master.The living expenses of apprentices are still paid to parents or relatives in many cases. As for clothes, they are almost always provided by parents or relatives.According to common custom, the apprentice is also obliged to pay the master some tuition fees.Apprentices who cannot pay money must pay time, in other words, be apprentices with a longer than usual period of time.However, this is not necessarily to the advantage of the master, because the apprentice is often accustomed to laziness, which is always to the disadvantage of the apprentice.On the other hand, in the case of country labour, the labourer, while employed at easy jobs, often learns the more difficult ones.During the period of employment, at any stage, he can maintain himself by his own labor.The wages of mechanics, artificers, and manufacturers, therefore, in all countries of Europe, are theoretically, and actually are, somewhat higher than those of common labourers.This situation makes them superior to others.But, generally speaking, their degree of this superiority is very limited.The workman, who makes common manufactures, such as linen and cloth of a single color, earns, on the average, but a little more in a day or a week than the wages of an ordinary labourer.Since their jobs are more often uniform, their total income throughout the year may be higher.But, apparently, this is no more than enough to compensate them for the additional cost of their education.

Fine arts and freelance studies take longer and cost more.So, of course, the money rewards of painters and sculptors, of lawyers and doctors, are much greater, and indeed they are. But the profits of stock are not much affected by the ease of learning in the trade in which it is employed.The methods of investing which are commonly practiced in large cities seem to be all equal in degree of difficulty of learning.One branch of domestic or foreign trade is not, in general, much more difficult than the other. Thirdly, The wages of labor vary in different occupations, according to the security and instability of the business.

Some occupations are much more secure than others.Most artisans in manufactures, if they can work, are employed nearly every day of the year.Conversely, a plasterer or a bricklayer has no work at all during severe cold or inclement weather.And, even when the weather is good, their availability still depends on the impromptu demands of customers.As a result, they may often be unemployed.What they receive when they are employed must not only be sufficient to maintain them during periods of inactivity, but must also make some compensation for the anguish and distress of depression which they now and then threaten in precarious circumstances.Therefore, the income of most manufacturing workers is calculated to be almost equal to the daily wages of ordinary laborers, but the income of plasterers and bricklayers is roughly one and a half times or even twice the wages of ordinary laborers.If the common laborer gets four or five shillings a week, the mason and bricklayer often get seven or eight.If the former is six shillings, the latter is usually nine or ten shillings.The former is nine or ten shillings, as in London, and the latter is often fifteen to eighteen shillings.But of all skilled labors, that of the mason and bricklayer seems the easiest to learn.It is said that London bearers were sometimes employed as bricklayers in the summer.The high wages of such labourers, therefore, are not so much the wages of skill as the wages of insecurity.

The business of a building carpenter seems to be more delicate and skillful than that of a plasterer.But in many places, if not everywhere, the daily wages of a builder's carpenter are somewhat lower than that of a mason's.This is because the availability of his work depends to a large extent on the temporary requirements of customers, but it is not completely dependent on the temporary requirements of customers like a plasterer, and he is not as easily affected by the weather as a plasterer. If the employments which provide regular employment generally do not provide regular employment in any one place, the wages of the workers in these occupations will always rise to a great extent in excess of the usual proportion between the wages of the workers in these occupations and the wages of common labour.All the lower ranks of artisans in London, like day laborers everywhere else, are liable to be hired or dismissed by their employers every day of the week and every week.The lowest rank of artisan in London, the tailor, therefore, receives half a crown a day, though eighteenpence may be said to be the daily wage of common labour.In small towns and country places, the wages of tailors are often equal to those of ordinary laborers, but in London, tailors are often idle for weeks, especially in summer.

If hard work, unpleasantness, and uncleanness are added to the infrequent work, those circumstances, even if it be the most common labour, sometimes raise their wages above that of the most skilled workman.A coal miner by the piece, in Newcastle, generally receives about twice the wages of common labour.In many parts of Scotland, about three times the wages of common labour.They get high wages all because of the hard, unpleasant, and unclean work they do.Mostly they can work as long as they want.As hard, unclean, and unpleasant, the occupation of a London collier is nearly the same as that of a coal miner; but, as the charcoal-ships inevitably arrive at irregular intervals, the employment of the greater part must be very irregular.On this account, if the coal miners generally receive double and triple the wages of common labour, it should not seem unreasonable that the coal-carriers sometimes receive four and five times the wages of common labour.According to a survey a few years ago, the coal workers received six to ten shillings a day according to the wage rate at that time.At six shillings, it is about four times the wages of common labor in London.The lowest ordinary remuneration, whatever the occupation, is often reckoned with by the great majority of those who practice it.If their earnings, however high they appear, have a surplus to compensate for all discomforts in the occupation, in an occupation free from monopoly privileges there will soon be numerous competitors who will soon reduce their wages. rate dropped.

As regards the ordinary profits of a stock in any trade, it is impossible to be affected by the fixed or unfixed employment of the stock.Whether capital is employed in a fixed manner depends not on the trade, but on the man who runs it. Fourthly, the wages of labor vary according to the degree of responsibility which the laborer has to bear. The wages of goldsmiths and jewelers in every country are higher than those of many other laborers, not only requiring the same skill, but that requiring greater skill.This is because valuable materials were entrusted to them. We entrust our health to the physician; our property, and sometimes even our life and reputation, to the lawyer or advocate.A trust so momentous as this can never be safely entrusted to men of low worth.All they receive must be paid to enable them to maintain the social status required for this great commission.The social position which they must maintain, and the long education and enormous expense which they must pay, must still increase the price of their labour. If a man runs a business with only his own capital, he has no commission.Whether he can obtain credit from others depends not on the nature of the trade he carries on, but on what other people think of his property, integrity, and prudence.The different rates of profit in different trades, therefore, cannot possibly arise from the different degrees of trust received by those who carry on them. Fifthly, The wages of labor vary in every employment, according to the probability of qualification. The probability that each person who studies a profession can be competent for the profession he has learned varies greatly from one profession to another.As far as most mechanical professions are concerned, success is almost guaranteed, but as far as freelance work is concerned, it is very uncertain.For example, if Song Zi learns to be a shoemaker, there is no doubt that he can learn shoe-making techniques; but if Song Zi studies law, the probability of being proficient in law and being able to make a living from law is at least twenty to one.In a perfectly fair lottery, the winner deserves all that the loser loses.As far as the occupation of one successful person but not twenty successful people is concerned, the successful one person should enjoy all that the twenty unsuccessful people deserve but cannot have.The lawyer, therefore, who does not make any profit from the profession until about forty years old, should be paid enough not only to compensate himself for the time and expense of his education, but also for those who earn nothing at all. The education time and expenses of more than 20 people.Although the lawyer's fees may sometimes seem exorbitant, his real compensation must be more than that.Calculate the total amount which the common workman, such as a shoemaker or weaver, in a given country may earn in a year, and what he may spend in a year, and you will see that they generally earn more than they spend.If you add up, in the same way, the expenditures and incomes of the various lawyers and trainees of the various legal societies, you will see that, even if you try to increase the estimate of their annual income as much as possible, and minimize the estimate of their annual expenditure, their annual income, Equals only a tiny fraction of annual expenditure.Therefore, the lottery of the legal industry is by no means a completely fair lottery.In the legal profession, as in many other free and honorary professions, pecuniary remuneration is clearly very inadequate. But these careers can stand shoulder to shoulder with other careers.Although the way out is short-lived, all open-minded people are scrambling to squeeze in this direction.This is due to two reasons that inspire them: first, the reputation of wanting to be the number one in these industries; second, all people have more or less natural self-confidence in their own talents and even luck. It is the clearest indication of what is called genius or eminent ability that a man has distinguished himself in a profession in which it is not easy to be mediocre.The admiration of the people for this excellence is often part of his remuneration.Whether this part of the reward is large or small depends on whether the degree of appreciation is large or small.To a physician it constitutes a great part of the total remuneration; to a lawyer a still greater part; to a poet or philosopher almost the whole. There are several very agreeable and graceful talents in the world which, if acquired, would command a certain admiration, but which, if exploited for profit, are considered by the world, according to opinion or prejudice, to be an open sale of the soul.Therefore, the money earned by a person who uses this talent for profit must not only compensate him for the time, effort, and expense it took him to learn this skill, but also for the loss of reputation he has incurred in earning a living by it.The very large rewards of comedians, opera singers, opera dancers, etc., arise from these two principles: first, the talent is rare and beautiful;It seems at first sight irrational that we should despise his personality on the one hand, and yet reward his talents very generously on the other.In fact, it is precisely because we despise their personalities that we reward them generously for their talents.Had the opinion or prejudice of the world been changed concerning these occupations, their pecuniary rewards would soon have diminished.For more men will be employed in these trades, and competition will soon lower the price of their labour.Although this kind of talent is not common, it is by no means so rare as the world imagines.There are not a few people who are fully endowed with this talent and do not bother to make a living out of it.Many more can acquire this talent, if it does not injure one's reputation by employing it for a living. Most people are always too vain about their talents.This is what philosophers and moralists of all ages have said is an ancient human disease.But people in the world don't pay much attention to their unreasonable guesses about their own luck.If it can be said that, it is probably more common to speculate about one's own luck than to be overly conceited about one's own talents.People who are physically and mentally strong can't help but have some confidence in their own luck.Every one more or less overestimates the chances of gain, and most underestimates the chances of loss.Men of considerable physical and mental strength seldom overestimate lost opportunities. The fact that those of us who buy lottery tickets think we can win the lottery shows that people naturally overestimate their chances of winning.There never has been a perfectly fair lottery, that is to say, a lottery in which all the gains cover all the losses, and there never will be, because otherwise the operators would gain nothing.In the case of state lotteries, the lottery tickets do not actually have a value equal to the price paid by the purchaser, but the market usually sells them for twenty, thirty, or even forty percent above their real value.The only reason for the demand for lottery tickets is that everyone wants to win the big lottery.A very stable person, although he knows that the actual value of the small amount of money used to buy lottery tickets may be 20 or 30% higher than the actual value of the chance of winning the lottery, but he does not think that it is easy to catch 10,000 yuan with a small amount of money. A lottery chance of £1,000 or even £20,000 is stupid.A lottery with a prize of not more than twenty pounds, though in other respects nearer to perfect fairness than the common state lottery, would be much less likely to buy it.In order to increase the chance of winning the lottery, some people buy several lottery tickets at the same time, and some people buy more lottery tickets.However, the more lottery tickets you risk buying, the more likely you will be a loser. This is a mathematically certain rule.If you risk buying the entire lottery ticket, you will definitely lose money.The more tickets you buy, the closer your loss will be to the above-mentioned sure loss. We see from the small profits of the underwriters that the chance of loss is often underestimated, and seldom overestimated above its value.In carrying on fire or marine insurance as a business, the ordinary premiums must be sufficient to cover ordinary losses, to cover the expenses of the operation, and to furnish the profits which the capital would have made had it been employed in the ordinary operation.The insured who pays only so much is obviously only paying the true value of the danger, that is to say, the lowest price of insurance on which he has good reason to count.While many people make a small profit from running an insurance business, few make a fortune from it.It follows, therefore, that the general result of gain against loss is not so favorable to the insurance business as to other trades which make many people rich.However, although insurance premiums are generally low, many people are too disdained to pay for the dangers.Nineteen out of twenty, or even ninety-nine out of a hundred, do not have fire insurance.The perils of the sea, in the opinion of many, are more dreadful than fire, and so the ratio of insured ships to uninsured ships is much greater than that of insured houses to uninsured houses.But no matter what season, even in times of war, there are many uninsured ships sailing to and fro.Such unsafe voyages are sometimes not suddenly judged to be careless.If a large company or even a large businessman has 20 or 30 ships sailing the sea at the same time, they can be said to be mutually insured, and the insurance premiums thus saved may be more than enough to compensate for the losses that may be suffered under normal circumstances. .In most cases, however, ships are not insured against water, and houses are not insured against fire, are the result of the absence of such careful calculation, and are the result of a rash and reckless contempt of danger. The psychology of contempt for danger and extravagant hope for success is most active in youth who choose only occupations in their lives.In this period, the fear of misfortune is not worth the hope of fortune.This is more evident from the joyful application of ordinary youths to enlist in the army or sailing at sea, than from the enthusiasm of upper-class youths to engage in so-called free professions. The losses suffered by ordinary soldiers are obvious.However, young volunteers, regardless of the danger, recruited especially enthusiastically at the beginning of the new war.Although there are few opportunities for promotion, they imagine in their youthful fantasies many opportunities for honor and great merit that they can obtain but cannot actually obtain.These empty hopes became the whole price of their bloodshed.Their remuneration is lower than that of ordinary laborers, and in actual work, their toil is much greater than that of ordinary laborers. Generally speaking, the lottery of sailing is not as unfavorable as the lottery of the army.The son of a reputable craftsman could often get his father's permission to sail.However, if he enlisted as a soldier in the army, it was always hidden from his father.As far as the former profession is concerned, others also see some chance of success, while as far as the latter profession is concerned, no one except himself will think that there is a chance of success.Great admirals do not command so much popular admiration as great admirals.The greatest successes in service at sea are not to be expected to be so grand in fame and fortune as to the same successes on land.Officers below admiral in the navy and army all have such differences.According to the regulations of the rank, the captain of the navy belongs to the same rank as the colonel of the army.But in general evaluation, do not treat the two as the same.Since there are fewer big prizes in the lottery, there are more small prizes.The common sailor, therefore, more often than the common soldier in the army, attains a certain degree of fame and fortune.And the hope of winning the small and medium lottery is the main reason why most people are willing to act as sailors.The dexterity and dexterity of the common sailor, though far greater than that of almost all craftsmen, and who have struggled throughout their lives with difficulties and dangers, yet, while they continue to be common sailors, in spite of their Great proficiency, and so great difficulty and danger, that they receive little other reward than a little pleasure in exercising proficiency and skill and overcoming them.Their wages are not greater than those of the common laborers in the port at which the rate of wages of seamen is determined.The monthly wages of the sailors who sail from the ports of Great Britain tend more to be the same, as they are constantly going to and from the ports, than that of any other laborer in each port.Moreover, since seafarers come and go most frequently in the Port of London, the wage rate of seafarers in London determines the wage rates of seafarers in other ports.The wages of most workers of all ranks in London are about double those of their counterparts in Edinburgh.But sailors sailing from London seldom earn three or four shillings a month more than sailors sailing from Leith, and such a difference is not common.The price of this labor in London, both in peacetime and in merchant shipping, is from twenty-one shillings to about twenty-seven shillings a month.But the common labourer, at nine or ten shillings a week, gets forty or even forty-five shillings a month.It is true that the sailors were provided with food as well as wages.But its value may not exceed the difference between his wages and the wages of ordinary laborers.Even if this difference is sometimes exceeded, this excess cannot be counted as the sailor's net profit, because the sailor cannot share this food with his family, but must support his wife with his wages. The dangers and near-deaths of a life of adventure do not dampen the courage of youth, and sometimes seem to encourage them to choose such occupations.Among the lower classes, loving mothers are often reluctant to send their sons to the schools of the port towns, lest they see ships at sea, and be lured by the talk and adventures of sailors into the life of the sea.The dangers which may arise in the distant future, which do not awe us, since we hope to escape them by our own valor and cunning, do not raise the wages of labor in such occupations.The situation is different with regard to occupations in which courage and tact are of no use.And the wages of labor in very unsanitary occupations have always been exceptionally high.Unsanitaryness is a kind of unpleasure, and its effect on the wages of labour, belongs to the general head of unpleasure. The ordinary rate of profit in every employment of capital varies more or less according to the certainty or uncertainty of the return.The returns of domestic commerce are generally less uncertain than those of foreign commerce, and some branches of foreign commerce are less uncertain than others.The gains from trade with North America, for example, are less uncertain than those with Jamaica.The ordinary rate of profit rises somewhat, though not in proportion to the degree of danger, with the degree of danger.In other words, increased profits may not fully offset the risks.Bankruptcies are most common in the most dangerous occupations.The most dangerous business is secret importation.Where the venture succeeds, the profits are substantial, but such ventures inevitably lead to bankruptcy.The luxuries of success acted in this case, as in others, to induce so many adventurers to engage in such perilous trades, that their competition reduced the profits to a degree which did not compensate the risks.To fully compensate the risk, its ordinary return, besides the ordinary profit of capital, not only compensates for all occasional losses, but furnishes to the adventurer a profit of the same nature as that of the insurer.But if the ordinary returns were sufficient to furnish this, the danger of bankruptcy would be no more common in these than in others. Of the five circumstances which make the wages of labour, therefore, differ, only two affect the profit of stock, namely whether the work is pleasant or unpleasant, safe or dangerous.While most of the different employments of stock, as to pleasure or displeasure, differ little, or not at all, there are great differences in the various employments of labour.Moreover, though the ordinary profits of stock, though they increase with the degree of danger, do not always rise in proportion to the degree of danger.It follows, therefore, that the average or common rate of profit for every employment of stock, in the same society or in its neighbourhood, is much nearer to the same level than the money-wages of every kind of labour.In fact, it is so.The difference between the income of the common labourer, and that of a lawyer and physician of good trade, is evidently greater than the difference in the ordinary profits of any two trades.Moreover, the superficial differences in the profits of various trades are often unreliable, because we do not necessarily all distinguish between what should be counted as wages and what should be counted as profits. The phrase pharmacist's profit has become synonymous with very exorbitant profit.But this apparently great profit is often only the reasonable wages of labour.As far as skill is concerned, the apothecary is far more delicate than all other craftsmen.The responsibilities entrusted to him are also much heavier.He is the physician of the poor, and, where the pain or danger is minor, of the rich.Therefore, his remuneration should be commensurate with his skills and his entrustment, and it is generally included in the price of selling medicines.But the most prosperous apothecary in a great commercial city may cost him no more than thirty or forty pounds a year for all the medicines he sells.Therefore, although the price he sells is three or four hundred pounds, in other words, although he sells it at a profit of ten times, this profit, generally speaking, may only be his reasonable wages; , there is almost no second way to get it.The greater part of his apparent profit is real wages clothed in profit. In the small town of Haikou, a small grocery merchant with a capital of 100 pounds can get a 40% or 50% profit, while a large wholesaler with a capital of 10,000 pounds in the same place can rarely earn 8% or 100%. Ten percent of the profit.The grocer he carries on may be necessary to the convenience of the inhabitants of the country, and the narrowness of the market will not permit greater capital to be invested in it.The little grocer, however, has to live by it, and a life commensurate with the qualifications necessary to carry on the business.In addition to having a small amount of capital, he must not only be able to read, write, and count, but also must be able to judge the price and quality of fifty or sixty kinds of commodities quite accurately, and be able to buy the market for these commodities at the cheapest price.In short, such a merchant must possess all the knowledge required of a great merchant.The reason why he cannot become a big businessman is because he does not have sufficient capital.Thirty or forty pounds a year for the labor of a man of such ability must not be considered excessive.From the profits of his capital, which seem to be very large, remove the above-mentioned remuneration, and there will probably be no more than ordinary profits left.The greater part of the apparent profit, therefore, is in this case no more than real wages. The difference between the apparent profit of the retailer and that of the wholesaler is much smaller in the town than in the small town or country.Where £10,000 can be invested in the grocer, the wages of the grocer's labor are but a very small addition to the real profit of such a large capital.In that place, therefore, the apparent profits of the wealthy retailers tend to be more uniform than those of the wholesalers.It is for this reason that retail prices in cities are generally as low, and often much lower, than in small towns and country villages.Groceries, for example, are generally much cheaper; bread and butcher's meat are often as cheap.It costs no more to bring groceries to cities than to small towns or country villages, but much more to bring corn and livestock, for the greater part comes from much farther away.The original price of groceries is the same in the city as in the country, and therefore the cheapest where the least profit is added to the price of the goods.The original price of bread and butcher's meat is higher in a large city than in a large city, so that, though the profits in a large city are lower, these articles are often equally cheap, though not necessarily lower.In the case of such commodities as bread and livestock, the decrease in apparent profit is the cause of the increase in their original price.The enlargement of the market, on the one hand, reduces its apparent profit, owing to the greater capital employed, and, on the other hand, increases its original price, owing to the necessity of supplying it far away.This diminution of apparent profit, and increase of prime price, seem, in many cases, almost to cancel each other out.This, perhaps, is the reason why, though the price of corn and cattle varies greatly in all parts of the kingdom, the price of bread and butcher's meat is, generally speaking, almost the same in the greater part of the kingdom. Although the capital profits of retailers and wholesalers are generally smaller in cities than in small towns and country villages, those who start out with a small capital and make a fortune are often seen in the cities, but almost in the small towns and country villages. no one.In small towns and villages, because the market is narrow, the business does not necessarily expand with the increase of capital. Therefore, although the rate of profit of individual merchants in these places is high, the total profit is not very large, and their annual savings The amount is also limited.Conversely, the business of a great city increases with the increase of capital, and the credit of an industrious merchant increases much faster than his capital.Thus his business expands as both his credit and his capital increase; the sum of his profits increases as his business expands;But great fortunes, even in large cities, are seldom made from a normal, established, and well-known trade, and are chiefly due to long periods of industry, economy, and careful management.It is true that in large cities there are often people who become rich suddenly by engaging in so-called speculative business, but speculators are not running normal, definite, and well-known businesses.He is a corn merchant one year, a wine merchant next, and a sugar, tobacco, or tea merchant the year after.No matter what kind of trade, as long as he sees in advance that there is hope of exceeding ordinary profits in this trade, he immediately enters it, and as soon as he foresees that the profit of that trade will fall to be equal to that of other trades, he immediately leaves.His profits and losses, therefore, cannot be compared with those of any other normal, definite, and known trade.A bold adventurer may sometimes gain a lot of money by two or three successful speculations, and sometimes lose a lot of money by two or three failures.This kind of business cannot be done anywhere except in the big cities.For the intelligence necessary to run such a business is found only in the places where the commerce is most prosperous and the transactions are most frequent. The above five cases, though they make the wages of labor and the profits of stock very unequal, do not unequal all the real and imagined advantages and disadvantages of the different employments of labor or stock.這些情況的性質，使得一些用途上小的金錢得利得到補償，並使另一些用途上大的金錢得利有所抵消。 但是，要使不同用途所有利害能有這樣的均等，那末即在最自由的地方，亦須具備三個條件：第一，那些用途，必須在那地方及其附近，為人所周知，而且確立很久。第二，那些用途必須處在普通狀態，即所謂自然狀態。第三，那些用途，必須是使用者唯一用途或主要用途。 第一，只有那些用途，在那地方及其附近，為人所周知而且確立很久，才會有這樣的均等。 在其他情況都相同的地方，新行業的工資大都高於舊行業。當計劃者擬設立一新製造業時，他最初必須以高於其他行業的工資或高於本行業應有的工資，從其他行業招誘工人過來，而他要經過很長時間才敢把工資降到一般水平。有些製造品，其需要完全由於時尚和一時愛好而產生，這些製造品總會不斷變動，很少能持久，因而不能看做老製品。反之，另一些製造品，其需要主要由於效用與必需而產生，這些製造品，不像上述製造品那麼容易變動，同一的形式和構造，可經歷數世紀，還為人所需要。所以，前一類製造業，與後一類製造業比較，工資可能較高。伯明翰的製造品多半屬於前一類；設菲爾德的製造品多半屬於後一類。據說，這兩個不同地方的勞動工資，很適合它們這樣不同性質的製造品。 新的製造業、商業或農業經營，總是一種投機，而計劃者期望由此獲得非常的利潤。這種利潤，有時是很大的，但有時，也許是很小的；但一般說來，這種新行業的利潤，和當地及附近其他舊行業的利潤，卻不保有正常的比例。如果計劃成功了，利潤在最初通常是很高的。但當這行業或營業一經確立而為人所周知的時候，競爭就使其利潤降到和其他行業相同的水平。 第二，只在勞動和資本的不同用途處在普通狀態，即所謂自然狀態下時，這些用途的所有利害才會有這樣的均等。 對幾乎各種勞動的需求，有時較平常為大，有時卻較平常為小。勞動這用途的收益，在前一場合，增高到普通水平以上，在後一場合，減低到普通水平以下。對農村勞動的需求，在鋤草期和收穫期比一年中大部分時期都大，其工資也隨著需求的增加而增高；在戰爭中，四五萬原為商船服務的海員，被迫而為國王服務，這樣，對商船海員的需求，必然由於員額短少而增加，而這時海員的工資，常由每月二十一先令至二十七先令上升到四十先令至六十先令。然而在日趨凋落的製造業，情形卻正相反，許多勞動者，不願捨去原有職業，所得工資雖低於按照他們工作性質所應得的工資，也只好認為滿足。 資本的利潤，隨使用資本所生產的商品的價格而變動。當任何一個商品的價格上升到普通或平均價格之上的時候，為要出售這商品而使用的資本，至少有一部分，其利潤上升到原有水平之上；當價格下降時，利潤也降到原有水平之下。一切商品的價格，或多或少地都會變動，但一些商品的價格，變動得比其他商品大得多。就人類勞動所生產的貨物說，每年所用的勞動量，必是這樣受每年需求的支配，以致每年平均產量，都盡可能接近於每年平均消費量。前面說過，有些用途，以同量勞動，總會生產同量或幾乎同量商品。例如在麻布或呢絨製造業，同一數量的勞動者，年年幾乎製造同一數量的麻布或呢絨。所以，像這類商品的市場價格變動，只能起因於需求上的偶然變動。國喪使黑布的價格增高，但是，對素麻布及呢絨的需求幾乎沒有變動，所以，其價格也幾乎沒有變動。但有些用途，使用同量勞動，未必都生產同量商品。例如，就穀物、葡萄酒、忽布花、砂糖、煙草等說，由同量勞動在各年生產的數量，很不相同。所以，此類商品的價格，不僅隨需求的變動而變動，而且隨數量方面更大和更頻繁的變動而變動，因而這類商品價格的變動是非常大的。但是，經營此類商品的一些商人的利潤，必然隨此類商品價格的變動而變動。一般投機商人的活動，大都在此類商品上進行。他們看到此種商品將要上升，立即買入；看到此種商品將要下落，立即賣出。 第三，勞動和資本的不同用途的所有利害，只有在這些用途成為使用者的唯一用途或主要用途的場合，才會有這樣的均等。 當某一個人依某一種職業謀生，而那職業並不佔有他的大部分時間時，他往往就願意在間暇期間從事另一種職業，而他由此所得的工資，雖低於按照那工作性質所應當有的工資，他也願意接受。 在蘇格蘭許多地方，迄今還有稱為農場雇工的那一種人存在。不過，這種人現在比數年前減少了。他們是地主和農場主的外傭工。他們由僱主方面通常取得的報酬是一間住宅，一塊種蔬菜的小園，一塊夠飼養一頭母牛的草場，再加上一兩畝不好的耕地。當僱主需要他們的勞動時，他也許還每星期給他們兩配克燕麥片，約值十五便士。在一年中大部分時間，僱主或是只需要他們的少許勞動或是全不需要，而他們自己小耕地的耕種，也不會佔去能由他自己隨意處理的全部時間。所以，當這些雇工比現今多的肘候，據說，他們都願意在閒暇時間，以極小的報酬為任何人工作，都願意以低於其他勞動者的工資勞作。在古代，這種雇工遍佈於歐洲各地。在土地種得很壞而人口稀少的國家，大部分地主和農場主，要不是使用這辦法，那末在需要特別多勞動者的季節，就不能屆到。此等勞動者偶然得到的日報酬或星期報酬，顯然不是他們勞動的全部價格。他們的小租用地，在他們勞動的全部價格中佔一個很可觀的部分。可是，那些收集往昔勞動及食品價格並喜歡把這兩者的價格說得非常低賤的許許多多作家，似乎把這種勞動者偶然得到的日報酬或星期報酬，看做那種勞動的全部價格。 像這類勞動的生產物，往往以低於應有的價格，在市場出售。蘇格蘭許多地方編織的襪子的價格，比任何地方用織機織成的襪子的價格低廉得多。那就是因為編織此等襪的勞動者都是從其他職業獲得了他們的主要生活資料。每年設得蘭都有一千雙以上襪子輸入利斯，其價格每雙由五便士至七便士。我聽說，設得蘭群島的小首都勒韋克，普通勞動的普通價格，每日為十便士。但是，即在設得蘭群島，他們所組成的絨線株，一雙卻值一幾尼以上。 在蘇格蘭，亞麻線的紡織，像襪子的編織一樣，也是由主要做其他工作的雇工來搞的。這些人企圖從紡麻或織襪取得他們的全部生活費用，但只得到極微薄的生活費。在蘇格蘭，一星期能賺得二十使土的女紡工，就算是很有本事的紡工。 在富裕國家，市場一般都是那麼廣闊，以致任何一個行業，都夠容納這行業的全部勞動和資本。以一種職業謀生，同時又以另一種職業獲得若干小利益的情況，多半在貧國才有。然而，和上面有點相像的下述情況，卻也出現於一個很富裕國家的首都。房租較倫敦為高的都市，我相信，全歐洲沒有一個。但是，余屋附有傢具，而租金卻又低廉的都市，也要首推倫敦。在倫敦租賃余屋，不但比巴黎低廉得多，而且就同樣好質量的房屋說，也比愛丁堡低廉得多。使人也許覺得驚奇的是，全房租的高昂，竟成為余屋租金低廉的原因。一切大都市房租的高昂，基於數種原因：勞動價格昂貴，一般必須由遠地供給的一切建築材料昂貴；地皮地租昂貴，佔有壟斷者地位的各個地主，對於不良街市地皮一畝，往往要求比最優良農田百畝的地租更高的地租。倫敦房租高昂的原因，除上述外，還有一個，那就是倫敦人民所特有的風俗和習慣，使各家主都得租賃全屋。住宅一語，在法蘭西和蘇格蘭以及歐洲其他地方，常常只意味著建築物的一層，而在英格蘭，卻意味著同一屋頂下的全部房屋。倫敦商人必須在他的顧客所在的城市的那一部分租一整座房屋。他把最下一層作為自己的店舖，頂樓作為他自己及其家屬的寢所。他把中間兩層，分租他人，藉以收回一部分房租。他期望靠營業來維持其家庭的生活，並不希望以分租的租金來養活家庭。而巴黎和愛丁堡的分租部分房屋的人，往往專靠分租房間來謀生，因此，分租的租金，不但須足夠支付房屋的全部租金，並須足夠維持他家庭生活的全部費用。 第二節起因於歐洲政策的不均等 由此可見，即在有完全自由的地方，由於缺少上述三條件的任何一個，勞動和資本不同用途所有利害就必然有以上所說的那些不均等。但是，因為歐洲政策不讓事物有完全自由的發展，所只由此便產生了比上游重要得多的其他不均等。 歐洲政策主要是依以下三種方式促成這樣的不均等的：第一，限制某些職業中的競爭人數，使共少於原來願意加入這些職業的人數；第二，增加另一些職業上的競爭，使超越自然的限度；第三，不讓勞動和資本自由活動，使它們不能由一職業轉移到其他職業，不能由一地方轉移到其他地方。 第一，歐洲的政策，由於限制一些職業上的競爭人數，使願加入者不能加入，所以使勞動和資本用途所有利害有了非常大的不均等。 同業組合的排外特權，是歐洲政策限制職業競爭人數的主要手段。 有組合的行業的排外特權，勢必在特權設立的城市中，只許那些有經營此業自由的人相互競爭。得到這種自由的必要條件，通常是在當地有適當資格的師傅門下做學徒。組合的規則，有時限定各師傅所得容納的學徒人數，通常規定學徒的年限。這兩種規則的目的，在於限制各該行業上的競爭人數，使願加入者不能加入。學徒人數的規定，是直接限制競爭，而長的學徒年限的規定，由於增加學習費用，間接限制競爭，但同樣有效果。 設菲爾德的刀匠師傅，依組合規則，同時不得有徒弟一人以上。諾福克及諾韋傑的織匠師傅，同時不得有徒弟二人以上，違者每月科罰金五鎊，向國王繳納。英格蘭內地及英領各殖民地的帽匠師傅，亦不許同時有徒弟二人以上，違者月科罰金五鎊，半歸國王，半歸向記錄法庭控告的人。這兩項規定，雖曾由王國公法確認，顯然是按照設菲爾德制定規則的這種組合精神制定的。倫敦絲織業，組合不到一年，就制定各師傅不得同時有徒弟二人以上。後來，通過議會的法令，才把這規則廢止了。 往昔，全歐洲大部分有組合的行業，似乎都把學徒期限定為七年。所有這樣的組合，往昔都稱為university，這確是任何組合的拉丁文原名。鐵匠university，縫工university等等，在古時都市的特許狀中，常可看見。今日特稱為大學（university）的這個特殊團體，設立之初，獲得文藝碩士學位所必需的學習年限的規定，明顯地是以往昔有組合行業的學徒年限的規定為範本的。一個人，想在普通行業上，獲得稱師受徒的資格，就得在具有適當資格的師傅門下做學徒七年。同樣，一個人想在文藝上成為碩士、教師或學者（此三者在往昔是同義語），取得收受學生或學徒（此兩者原來亦是同義語）的資格，也得在具有適當資格的碩士門下學習七年。 伊麗莎白五年所頒布的通常稱為學徒年限法令規定，此後無論何人，至少須做七年學徒，否則不許從事當時英格蘭所有的一切手藝、工藝或技藝。於是以前英格蘭各地許多特殊組合的規則，都成了市鎮一切行業的公法。該法令所用的詞語，極為籠統，似包括王國全部，但在解釋上，其適用範圍，只限於各市鎮。按照解釋，一個農村勞動者，可搞幾種不同的工藝，儘管他對於每一種技藝都未曾從師學習七年。為便利農村居民，一個人兼搞幾種工藝，是必要的，而且要把一定人數分給每一種工藝，農村人口往往是不夠的。 此外，按照這法令用語嚴格的解釋，則其適用範圍，又只限於伊麗莎白五年以前在英格蘭境內建立的行業，而沒有擴到以後新建立的行業。這種限制，引起了幾個區別，作為政策的規定，這些區別是再愚蠢不過的。例如，按照裁定，馬車製造人，不得自行製造車輪，亦不得自行僱人製造，他必須向車輪匠購買。因為車輪製造業是伊麗莎白五年以前英格蘭已有的行業。但車輪匠，即使沒有在馬車製造匠門下做過學徒，卻不妨製造馬車，或僱人製造。因為馬車製造業是學徒法令頒布以後英格蘭才有的行業，所以不受該法令的限制。在曼徹斯特、伯明翰和沃弗漢普頓等地，有許多製造業，就根據這種理由，不受學徒法令的拘束，因為它們是伊麗莎白五年以後在英格蘭建立的。 就法蘭西說，學徒年限，各市不同，各業也不同。在巴黎，雖大多數行業以五年為期，但一個人想取得某種行業上的師傅資格，他至少還須再作五年幫工。在以後這五年間，他被稱為師傅的夥伴，而這五年期間，稱為夥伴期間。 就蘇格蘭說，關於學徒年限，沒有普遍規定的法律。在不同的同業組合，年限不相同。在年限定得長的組合，一般可通過給付少額款項來縮短期限。此外，在大多數城市中，只要給付極少額款項，便可買得任何同業組合的會員資格。蘇格蘭的主要製造者，如亞麻布和大麻布的織工，以及附屬於這類製造者的其他各種技工，如車輪製造者、紡車製造者等，不給付款項，可在自治城市操業。在自治城市，一切市民，在一星期內的法定日，都可自由販賣家畜肉。在蘇格蘭，學徒年限普通為三年，即在一些需要非常精巧的技藝，也是如此。據我所知，一般說來，歐洲各國的同業組合法律，都不像蘇格蘭那麼寬大。 勞動所有權是一切共他所有權的主要基礎，所以，這種所有權是最神聖不可侵犯的。一個窮人所有的世襲財產，就是他的體力與技巧。不讓他以他認為正當的方式，在不侵害他鄰人的條件下，使用他們的體力與技巧，那明顯地是侵犯這最神聖的財產。顯然，那不但侵害這勞動者的正當自由，而且還侵害勞動僱用者的正當自由。妨害一個人，使不能在自己認為適當的用途上勞動，也就妨害另一個人，使不能僱用自己認為適當的人。一個人適合不適合僱用，無疑地可交由有那麼大利害關係的僱主自行裁奪。立法當局假惺惺地擔憂著僱主屋用不適當的勞動者，因而出於干涉，那明顯地不只是壓制，而且是僭越。 長期學徒制，並不能保證市場上不常出現不良作品。要是市場上常有不良作品，那一般地說不是無能的結果，而是欺詐的結果。最長的學徒年限，也不能保證沒有欺詐。所以，為防止此種弊害，需要有一種完全不相同的法規。金屬器皿上刻有純度記號，麻布和呢絨上印有檢記，對購買者所給與的保證，比學徒法令所給與的保證大得多。購買者判別貨物，一般只看記號或檢印，絕不會認為，製造貨物的工人曾否做過七年學徒，是值得查問的。 長期學徒制，並不傾向於養成少年人的勤勞習慣。按件計資的勞動者，由於所作愈多所得愈厚，自會趨於勤勉。至於學徒，由於利不干己，很可能流於怠惰，實際上亦常如此。就下級職業說，勞動樂趣，完全在於勞動報酬。誰能最早享到勞動的樂趣，誰就最早對勞動有興趣，也就最早獲得勤勉習慣。一個少年人，在長時間內，不能由勞動享受絲毫利益，當然就對勞動有惡感。由公共慈善團體送去做學徒的兒童，其年限一般比普通的年限長，結果多半成為非常怠惰而無用的人。 古代沒有學徒制度存在。在一切近代法典中，師傅和學徒間的各種相互義務。都成為重要的一條，但羅馬法關於此等義務，卻隻字不提。我們現在歸諸學徒一詞的概念，即在一定行業中，僕人在主子將授予這一行業的技藝的條件下，必須在一定年限內，為主子的利益而工作，我不能由希臘或拉丁語中，找出一個相當字眼來表達這個概念（我想，我敢斷定這兩國文字中沒有這種字眼）。 長的學徒年限，是全然不必要的。比一般手藝高得多的技藝，如掛鐘手錶的製造，並不含有需要長期教授的神秘技術。誠然，這些美妙機器的最初發明，甚至用以製造這些機器的一些器具的最初發明，無疑是經過長久時間和深湛思索之後才作出的作品，並且可公公正正說是人類發明才能的最可喜成果之一。但是，當這些機器和器具，一經發明好了，一經理解好了，那末，要詳詳細細地，給少年人講解，怎樣使用器具，和怎樣做機器，大概不需要幾星期以上的講授時間，也許只需要數天的講授時間。就一般機械工藝說，數天講授時間，一定就夠了。誠然，就普通手藝說，要學得手的靈巧，非有大量實踐和體驗不可。但一個少年人，如果最初即以幫工的資格勞動，並依他工作量的多少給與工資，而他要賠償由於粗劣的技藝和無經驗而損壞的材料，那他在業務的實習上，必然勤勉得多，注意得多。其教育，一般地說，更必有效，而且總可少花些時間，少花些費用。誠然，師傅將是一個損失者。現在師傅無須出的學徒在七年學習期內的工資，到那時，他就要掏腰包。而且，最終，學徒本身也不免成為損失者。在一個那麼容易學得成功的職業上，他將遇到更多的競爭者，於是，當他成為一個完全勞動者時，他的工資將比現今少得多。競爭這樣的增大，不僅會減低工人的工資，也會減低師傅的利潤。而從事手藝、工藝和技藝的，都將成為損失者，但社會卻將成為得利者，各種技工的製造品，將以比現在低廉得多的價格，在市場出售。 同業組合以及大部分組合規則的設立，在於通過限制自由競事，以阻止價格這樣的下降，從而，阻止工資及利潤的下降自由競爭勢必引起價格這樣的下降。往時，歐洲多數地方，設立組合，只須取得組合所在地的自治城市的許可。在英格蘭，還須取得國王的特許狀。不過，國王這種特權，似乎不是為了防止這些壟斷事業侵犯一般自由，而是為了要向臣民搾取貨幣。一般地說，只要向國王繳納若干款項，似乎都很容易取得特許狀。假若某一種類技工或商人，認為不經國王特許而設立組合是合適的，這些當時所謂不正當的同業組合，未必因此會受到取締，但須每年向國王繳納若干罰金，取得允許，來行使被剝奪的權利。一切組合以及組合認為應制定來管理自己的規則，都歸組合所在地的自治城市直接監督。所以對組合有什麼管制，通常不是來自國王，而是來自那更大的團體，對於更大的團體，那些附屬團體只是構成部分。 自治城市的統治權，當時完全掌握在商人和技工手中。對他們中各個階級來說，防止他們常說的各自產品在市場上存貨過多，實際上就是使他們各自產品在市場上經常保持存貨不足狀態，這樣做分明都是符合於他們各自利益的。各階級都急於制定，為達到此目的的適當規則，而且在自己被允許制定的條件下，也同意其他一切階級都制定規則。結果，各階級所需要的貨物，都得以比此等規則制定以前略高的價格，向市上其他階級購買。而他們自己的貨物，也能以相當高的價格出賣。賣買相衡，正如他們所說半斤八兩。同一市內任何階級都不會因此等規則而蒙受損失。但在他們與農村交易時，他們卻受到很大的利益。維持各都市並使各都市富裕的，正是這種交易。 一切都市的生活資料與工業原料，全都仰給於農村。都市對這些資料與原料給付代價的主要方法有二：第一，把那些原料中一部分加過工製成成品送還農村，這樣，那些物品的價格，就因勞動工資及老闆或直接僱主的利潤而增大了。第二，把由外國輸入或由國內遙遠地方輸入都市的粗製品或精製品一部分，送往農村；這樣，那些物品的原價，就因水陸運輸的勞動者工資及僱用這些勞動者的商人的利潤而增大了。都市由它的製造品取得的利益，乃是它的第一種商業的得利；它由對內及對外貿易獲得的利益，乃是它的第二種商業的得利。勞動者的工資及各種僱主的利潤，構成了這兩種商業得利的全部。所以，不論何種規則，只要會使那些工資和利潤比此等規則制定以前有所增加的，就會使都市能以較少的都市勞動量購買較多的農村勞動量。此等規則，使都市商人和技工享有比農村的地主、農場主及農業勞動者更大的利益，因而破壞了都市與農村商業上應有的自然均等。社會勞動的全部年產品，每年都是在都市和農村人民中間分配的。由於有了此等規則，都市住民，就享有此等規則未制定前所不會有的較大分額，而農村住民，卻享有較少的分額。 都市對每年由農村輸入的食品和原料，實際上所給付的代價，乃是它每年輸往農村的製造品及其他物品的數量。輸出品的賣價愈高，輸入品的買價便愈低。都市產業就更為有利，而農村產業就更為不利。 我們只須通過一次非常簡單而又明顯的觀察，無須作精密計算，就可弄明白，歐洲各地都市產業都比農村產業更為有利。在歐洲各國，我們可只看到，從小資本開始經營原來屬於都市的產業，即商業和製造業，而後來發大財的，至少有一百個人，而以小資本開始經營原來屬於農村的產業，即改良和耕種土地以出產天然產物，而後來發大財的，只有一個人。所以，都市產業的報酬，必然比農村產業優異。都市的勞動工資和資本利潤，也明顯地化農村大。但是，資本與勞動，自然要尋找最有利的用途。它們自然要盡量彙集於都市而離開農村。 都市住民群集一地，能夠容易地結合在一起。結果，都市中最不足道的工藝，在某些地方，也有組合。即在完全未有組合的地方，他們一般都有組合的精神，換言之，他們嫉妒外鄉人，不願意收學徒，不願意把工藝上的秘密傳授別人。這種組合精神，往往教導他們通過自願結合或協約，來阻止不能靠規則來禁止的自由競爭。所居勞動者人數有限的行業，最容易形成這類結合。比如，使一千紡工和織工繼續操作所需要的梳毛工，也許不過六人。這些梳毛工人，通過結合，不收學徒，不僅能夠壟斷這種工藝，使整個羊毛製造業成為他們的奴隸，而且使他們勞動的價格，大大超過按照這作業性質所應有的工資。 農村的住房，散居相距很遠的地方，不能容易地結合起來。他們不但從來沒有組合，並且一向就缺乏組合的精神。他們並不認為，必須經過當學徒，才有資格從事農村的主要職業，即農業。然而，事實上除了所謂美術及自由職業，恐怕沒有一種職業象農業那樣需要種種複雜的知識和經驗的。用各國文字寫成的關於農業的不可勝數的書籍可以證明，連最有智慧、最有學識的國民，也不認為農業是最容易理解的。而且，如果我們想從那些書籍，獲得一般農民通常都掌握的關於各種複雜操作的知識，也是辦不到的，儘管一些無聊作家，在說到一般農民時，有時愛用輕蔑的話。反之，就普通機械工藝說，所有操作都可在薄薄數頁的小冊子裡附加插圖，作詳盡明瞭的說明。現在法國科學院所刊行的工藝史，對於某些工藝，實際上就是用這個方法說明的。此外，必須隨天氣的變更以及許多意外事故而變更的操作方法，所需要的判斷與熟慮，比永遠相同或幾乎完全相同的操作方法所需要的多得多。 不僅一般農民的技術或農業的一般操作方法，而且農村中許多低級勞動所需要的經驗與熟練，比大部分機械工藝所需要的多得多。對銅鐵加工的人，使用完全同性質或幾乎同性質的工具與材料工作。但用一隊牛馬耕鋤土地的人，卻使用健康狀態、體力和性情在各個時間各不相同的工具工作。而他所加工的材料和所用器具的狀況都是容易變的，都需要他運用很大的判斷力和思辨力來處理。普通莊稼漢，雖被看做愚蠢無智的典型，卻幾乎都有此種判斷力與思辨力。誠然，他不像都市機械工人那麼慣於社會交際，而他的聲調和言語，也不免使那些沒有聽慣的人覺得粗野而且不容易瞭解。但他慣於考慮各種各樣事物的理解力，一般比終日通常只搞一二種極簡單操作的人強得多。只要你因營業關係，或為好奇心所驅使，曾和農村下級人民與都市下級人民多接觸，你就知道，前者實比後者優秀。據說，中國和印度農村勞動者的地位與工資，都比大多數技工和製造工人高。假若沒有同業組合法規及組合精神從中作梗，各地方也許都和中國、印度一樣。 不過，歐洲各地都市產業所以比農村產業優越，並不完全由於同業組合及組合法規的存在。其他許許多多規定，也助長了這種優勢。對外國製造品，和對外國商人輸入的一切貨物，課以高的關稅，都傾向於助長這種優勢。同業組合法規，使都市居民能夠抬高他們製品價格，不必憂慮由於同國人的自由競爭而降低價格。而高關稅的規定，使都市居民不怕外人的競爭。由這兩種法規而產生的增高價格，不論何處，都由