C46

THE NATURE AND CAUSES OF

given quantity of rude produce, or, what comes to the samething, which the price of any given quantity of rude produceis capable of purchasing, the smaller the exchangeable valueof that given quantity of rude produce; the smaller the en-couragement which either the landlord has to increase itsquantity by improving, or the farmer by cultivating the land.Whatever, besides, tends to diminish in any country thenumber of artificers and manufacturers, tends to diminish thehome market, the most important of all markets for the rudeproduce of the land, and thereby still further to discourageagriculture.

Those systems, therefore, which preferring agriculture toall other employments, in order to promote it, impose restraintsupon manufactures and foreign trade, act contrary to the veryend which they propose, and indirectly discourage that veryspecies of industry which they mean to promote. They areso far, perhaps, more inconsistent than even the mercantilesystem. That system, by encouraging manufactures and fo-reign trade more than agriculture, turns a certain portion ofthe capital of the society from supporting a more advan-tageous, to support a less advantageous species of industry.But still it really and in the end encourages that species ofindustry which it means to promote. Those agriculturalsystems, on the contrary, really and in the end discouragetheir own favourite species of industry.

It is thus that every system which endeavours, either byextraordinary encouragements, to draw towards a particularspecies of industry a greater share of the capital of the societythan what would naturally go to it; or by extraordinary re-straints, to force from a particular species of industry someshare of the capital which would otherwise be employed init; is in reality subversive of the great purpose which it meansto promote. It retards, instead of accelerating, the progressof the society towards real wealth and greatness; and dimi-nishes, instead of increasing, the real value of the annualproduce of its land and labour.

All systems either of preference or of restraint, therefore,being thus completely taken away, the obvious and simplesystem of natural liberty establishes itselt of its own accord.Every man, as long as he does not violate the laws of justice,is left perfectly free to pursue his own interest his own way,and to bring both his industry and capital into competitionwith those of any other man, or order of men. The sovc-