itical recommendation. When on the one side there is a strong
man, poor, and a victim of robbery--on the other, a weak man, but rich,
and a robber--it is singular enough, that we should say to the former,
with a hope of persuading him, "Wait till your oppressor voluntarily
renounces oppression, or till it shall cease of itself." This cannot be;
and those who tell us that capital is, by nature, unproductive, ought to
know that they are provoking a terrible and immediate struggle.

If, on the contrary, the interest of capital is natural, lawful,
consistent with the general good, as favorable to the borrower as to
the lender, the economists who deny it, the tribunes who traffic in this
pretended social wound, are leading the workmen into a senseless and
unjust struggle, which can have no other issue than the misfortune of
all. In fact, they are arming labor against capital. So much the better,
if these two powers are really antagonistic; and may the struggle soon
be ended! But if they are in harmony, the struggle is the greatest evil
which can be inflicted on society. You see, then, workmen, that there is
not a more important question than this: "Is the interest of capital
lawful or not?" In the former case, you must immediately renounce the
struggle to which you are being urged; in the second, you must carry it
on bravely, and to the end.

Productiveness of capital--perpetuity of interest. These are difficult
questions. I must endeavor to make myself clear. And for that purpose I
shall have recourse to example rather than to demonstration; or rather,
I shall place the demonstration in the example. I begin by
acknowledging, that, at first sight, it may appear strange that capital
should pretend to a remuneration; and, above all, to a perpetual
remuneration. You will say, "Here are two men. One of them works from
morning till night, from one year's end to another; and if he consumes
all which he has gained, even by superior energy, he remains poor. When
Christmas comes, he is no forwarder than he was at the beginning of the
year, and has no other prospect but to begin again. The other man does
nothing, either with his hands or his head; or, at least, if he makes
use of them at all, it is only for his own pleasure; it is allowable for
him to do nothing, for he has an income. He does not work, yet he lives
well; he has everything in abundance, delicate dishes, sumptuous
furniture, elegant equipages; nay, he even consumes, dai