: Essays on Political Economy by Bastiat Fr D Ric - Economics

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Capital and Interest. Introduction 1 Capital and Interest 5 The Sack of Corn 19 The House 22 The Plane 24

That Which Is Seen, and That Which Is Not Seen. Introduction 49 The Broken Window 50 The Disbanding of Troops 54 Taxes 58 Theatres, Fine Arts 63 Public Works 71 The Intermediates 74 Restrictions 83 Machinery 90 Credit 97 Algeria 102 Frugality and Luxury 107 Work and Profit 116

Government 119

What Is Money? 136

The Law 173

Capital and Interest.

My object in this treatise is to examine into the real nature of the Interest of Capital, for the purpose of proving that it is lawful, and explaining why it should be perpetual. This may appear singular, and yet, I confess, I am more afraid of being too plain than too obscure. I am afraid I may weary the reader by a series of mere truisms. But it is no easy matter to avoid this danger, when the facts with which we have to deal are known to every one by personal, familiar, and daily experience.

But, then, you will say, "What is the use of this treatise? Why explain what everybody knows?"

But, although this problem appears at first sight so very simple, there is more in it than you might suppose. I shall endeavour to prove this by an example. Mondor lends an instrument of labour to-day, which will be entirely destroyed in a week, yet the capital will not produce the less interest to Mondor or his heirs, through all eternity. Reader, can you honestly say that you understand the reason of this?

It would be a waste of time to seek any satisfactory explanation from the writings of economists. They have not thrown much light upon the reasons of the existence of interest. For this they are not to be blamed; for at the time they wrote, its lawfulness was not called in question. Now, however, times are altered; the case is different. Men, who consider themselves to be in advance of their age, have organised an active crusade against capital and interest; it is the productiveness of capital which they are attacking; not certain abuses in the administration of it, but the principle itself.

It is thus that the democratic Socialist, Thor? expresses himself:--

"At the end of a year, will you find an additional crown in a bag of one hundred shillings? At the end of fourteen years, will your shillings have doubled in your bag?

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