stated and often repeated, that, in the reaction from the past, when the rights of property and capital have been undoubtedly too carefully guarded and held in too high an estimate, it is scarcely possible that the people of our country will not go to the opposite extreme-claiming too much for mere labor, and not sufficiently regarding the rights of capital and the sacredness of the laws by which it is protected.

CHAPTER II.

OF THINGS IN RELATION TO WEALTH.

Of things in relation to wealth-The cost of a commodity-Utility or intrinsic value-Intrinsic value for different purposes-Intrinsic value for different persons-Intrinsic value for different uses Measure of intrinsic value-Exchangeable value—The product of labor-The average cost of reproduction-Labor increases intrinsic value-The kinds of human wants-Price, distinguished from value-Price determined by value-Supply and demand, as affecting price-Three modifications-Illustration.

In speaking of the things which we daily use and which are necessary to our happiness and well-being, such words as "utility," "value," "price," "cost," etc., constantly appear. And of these terms, cost is the most frequently used.

13. The cost of a commodity.

But the word is somewhat vague.

We speak of

a thing as having cost so many dollars, or so much money; of its having cost so much labor or pains;

so much time or privation, etc.

Hence it is mani

fest that the word cost is not used to denote the equivalent of an object in any one thing or commodity, that may be given in exchange for it.

It must be manifest however that there will be great differences in the laws relating to these different means, as money, time, labor, privation, etc.; any one of which may be given in exchange for an article we may want, and yet be considered as what it costs. We shall do well therefore to leave the word cost to this general use, denoting by it any thing, indifferently, that may be done, or given, or endured for the sake of obtaining a means of satisfying our wants.

But for a more correct and scientific investigation of the laws of wealth, and well-being, it will be necessary to find more specific and precise terms for many or all the elements into which cost, utility, value, etc., may be resolved.

For this purpose we shall find three terms in constant use, and of the greatest usefulness, namelyutility or intrinsic value, exchangeable or commercial value, and price.

14. Utility or intrinsic value.

Utility, or intrinsic value, is the capacity to satisfy human wants, and may be an intrinsic value for

either (1) immediate consumption, or (2) for manu

facture.

Every object in Nature is considered as having an intrinsic value for something, or as capable of being so used as to minister in some way to man's wants. And if there are exceptions to this rule they are of no importance to our present purpose.

Most objects have intrinsic value for more than one purpose. Wheat, besides being used as food for man, can be used to feed animals, and it has been in some cases used as fuel. It would also serve as ballast to a ship, and as a weight to hold down a trap door, etc., etc. So gold and silver, besides being useful for coin, are used for various purposes of ornament, as well as for utensils in the arts. And were not their intrinsic value too great for other purposes, they would be freely used for many of the more common purposes, for which baser metals are now employed.

15. Intrinsic value for different purposes.

As an example of different prices of an article, arising from different kinds of intrinsic value, that is from being estimated by an intrinsic value for different uses, we have a good illustration in the case of land. At a distance of some hundreds of miles from a village or city, it is chiefly useful for hunting

grounds and for lumbering; at a less distance it is used for ordinary farming, and bears a price accordingly. Within a short distance from such a business place, it may be wanted for garden purposes, and the raising of such vegetables as cannot well be brought in from a distance, and for this reason (among others) it commands a much higher price than the land that, though equally good, intrinsically, is situated at a greater distance. Or if the land be in the centre of a town, it will be needed for building lots, and a few feet will command a higher price than as many acres would sell for, back in the country.

In speaking of the intrinsic value of an article, therefore, we usually speak of it with reference to its value or use for that purpose for which it is chiefly in demand; and that will always be, of course, the utility that gives it its highest value, or that by which it satisfies the most intense want that it is ordinarily used to satisfy.

16. Intrinsic value for different persons.

But the intrinsic value of any article besides being different for different uses, may also be different for different persons, under different circumstances.. Food has more intrinsic value to a hungry man in the state of health, than for a sick man who cannot