ommodities in general, than there are
consumers for. But there may be, and always are, abundance of persons
who have the inclination to become consumers of some commodity, but are
unable to satisfy their wish, because they have not the means of
producing either that, or anything to give in exchange for it. The
legislator, therefore, needs not give himself any concern about
consumption. There will always be consumption for everything which can
be produced, until the wants of all who possess the means of producing
are completely satisfied, and then production will not increase any
farther. The legislator has to look solely to two points: that no
obstacle shall exist to prevent those who have the means of producing,
from employing those means as they find most for their interest; and
that those who have not at present the means of producing, to the extent
of their desire to consume, shall have every facility afforded to their
acquiring the means, that, becoming producers, they may be enabled to
consume.

These general principles are now well understood by almost all who
profess to have studied the subject, and are disputed by few except
those who ostentatiously proclaim their contempt for such studies. We
touch upon the question, not in the hope of rendering these fundamental
truths clearer than they already are, but to perform a task, so useful
and needful, that it is to be wished it were oftener deemed part of the
business of those who direct their assaults against ancient prejudices,
--that of seeing that no scattered particles of important truth are
buried and lost in the ruins of exploded error. Every prejudice, which
has long and extensively prevailed among the educated and intelligent,
must certainly be borne out by some strong appearance of evidence; and
when it is found that the evidence does not prove the received
conclusion, it is of the highest importance to see what it does prove.
If this be thought not worth inquiring into, an error conformable to
appearances is often merely exchanged for an error contrary to
appearances; while, even if the result be truth, it is paradoxical
truth, and will have difficulty in obtaining credence while the false
appearances remain.

Let us therefore inquire into the nature of the appearances, which gave
rise to the belief that a great demand, a brisk circulation, a rapid
consumption (three equivalent expressions), are a cause of national
prosperity.

If every man produced f