The Sun.
London, England, 1821-12-26 00:00:00

rOll, filit SUN.

.~_.

MODEIIN POLITICAL ECONOMY—METTER 1.)
MR. EDITOR—The Morning Chronicle lately
congratulated us in its columns, that a Mr.
IVI'Cur.LocK of Edinburgh is going to open
a school of Political-Economy (for grown gen-
tlemen, I suppose) which may be, compared
to another edition -of the Crazy-tales, as- he
informs us that the said Mr. M'CuLr.ocK is the
writer (from RICARDO'S school) of the admirable
articles on this subject in the Edinburgh'Review :
let me mention before I forget it, that there was
an admirable article, on the same subject in the
last Quarterly Review, and the writers of this
(and the others) envious of Mr. Itic.tunO's pro-
found abilities, have plunged still deeper into the
occult qualities of the subject.—l am not going to
deny but that some passages, in all 'these, are
highly ingenious and acute, and a few of the in-
ferences are just and satisfactory ; but the writers
unfortunately pursue pure- speculations, without
considering the real state and practicable opera-
tion of things and circumstances. ,
The Morning Chronicle has been long a pro-
fessed admirer of these pure specuiations.; but
ii I should venture to tell you the reason-i-it is
because they lead to Ministerial embarrassment,
and national difficulties. IdO not quite accuse
him of designedly pursuing the course which
\leads to National Bankruptcy ; because, like his
tutors, he may not know the tendency .ofhis doe-
trines. But be this as it may, he very wisely and
cautiously throws in a sweetener to the Fund-
holders every now and then, and purports to de-
fend their rights and property to the utmost—But
this by the bye.
The Chronicle tells us that this school will
contribute to the prevalence of sound opinions
and to shew how desirable anti necessary this iS,
I beg leave to give you a sketch of them and
their operations. For the date and origin of the
new light, which is now spreading 'abroad, •we
must look into Mr. RICARDO'S book on Political
Economy.
Beginning at the first page.-.--The world did
not know before, that human labour gave value
to all articles of exchange, and therefore Mr.
ItscAano (following about 41 predecessors) lays
this down as a safe rule. But not contented
with what other people had said -on the subject,
he is pleased to add some very sagacious conjec-
tures, which help to Make a plain case very ob-
jectionable. That labour is the price •of every
thing, may be:very well admitted ; 'butjWinake
it of real use, as a principle, every thing should
be valuable in proportion to the time and labour
employed upon it, which is notoriously not the
case : one man may get a fortune, with ease, by
making trinkets; while another with a life of hard
labour can by no means provide more than a
comfortable subsistence by making horse-shoes.
But suppose the.profession be the same ; one man
paints a picture as large as the side of a room, and
labours at it a twelvemonth, without being able to
sell it for 20 guineas ; another strikes out a car-
toon in five minutes, which is worth 100. But'
this is not the worst ; because labour in one
branch may be so overdone, that its followers
cannot get necessaries; or in any branch, its
products may be so accumulated as to find no
adequate market ; then what becomes of the in-
ference of the political economists ? Hear their
'own exemplification :—" If among a • nation of
hunters, it usually cost twice the labour to kill a
beaver which it does to kill a deer, one beaver
would naturally exchange for two deer." But,
f a nation of hunters had no commerce with civi-
lized people, they would scarcely hunt heavers
at all, or at most, only to make bedS, of their
skins ; and V an Indian hunter's family were in
want of food, they would give 20 beaver skins
for a fresh killed deer. On the other ham', if
the hunters had learned the use of spirituous
liquors, with the advantages of rifles and_ powder
and ball, they would give two or three deer
(now more easily shot) for a beaver skin,
wherewith to buy spirits and ammunition. It
makes the foregoing beautiful sentence no bet-
ter that it is quoted by itsc„sitou from ADAM
; CaAw.sotto has ten birds and one hare,
which is a worse case than the other ; for
an Indian hunter would scarcely ever shoot
ten partridges with bow and arrow,
.bOt hares
he might take by snaring. But what becomes
of this sound principle if the etonparison be
between partridges and wild turkies ?—I dare
say that Indian hunters (if they- barter any thing
in a state of nature) are not such fools as to give
a turkey for a partridge, although the latte'r
Might take much more time and trouble in the
Catching. Yet RICA RDO says" this is really the
foundation of the exchangeable value of all things
excepting what cannot be increased by human
industry (I suppose he means antique curiosities),
and it is a doctrine of the utmost consequence in
political economy." So it may—but such poli-
tical economy is of no consequence to the wel-
fsre of states ; nor will it govern the concerns
,r. 4
private life. He goes on :—" If the quantity
of labour, realized in commodities, regulate their
exchangeable value (then) every increase of la,
boar (and so on)." . Here is another if; -but
how, if it does not 2—lf there be other cir-
cumstances, when men have laboured hard and
long, to produce commodities (as corn for in-
stance) which prevent them from procuring by
the sale of it a competent proportion of other
necessaries—how will these sound principles of
political economy afford us relief ?
It is high time, Mr. Editor, that these notions
should be fully exposed and refuted ; I consi-
dered them only as the pretty toys of literary
minds, which are well acquainted with almost
every thing but what concerns the real affairs of
mankind ; but they arc unfortunately getting
into newspapers, and may be thus transfused into
the shallow pates of all this reading generation,
and so be looked upon as more certain than di-
vine truths ; for which reason I shall trouble
you with another letter or two of this kind.
I am lour's, &c.
APERTUS.

London, 1821.