96

Capitel  IV.

Auf  diese  Weise  erklärt  es  sich  ja  auch,  warum
der  Zitisfuss  oder  Diskonto,  im  Gegensatz  zum  Börsenzinsfuss,
  so  bedeutende  Schwankungen  aufweist  denn

sfreithar,  und  dennoch  koprtziren  sich  gewisse  vo/lswirthschaffliehe
Sehriffste/ler  darauf,  sie  in  Jbrede  zu  stellen.“
Laveleye  begeht  nur  den  Fehler,  nicht  zwischen  Baukzinsfuss
  (Disconto)  und  Börsenzinsfuss  zu  unterscheiden  und  daher
zu  übersehen,  dass  ein  Ueberfluss  oder  Mangel  an  Geld,  wenigstens ­
  zunächst  oder  unmittelbar,  nur  auf  den  Bankzinsfuss,  nicht
aber  auch  auf  den  Börsenzinsfuss  einwirken  kann.
50)  So  bemerkt  auch  J.  M,  Mill,  —  im  Widersprucli  mit
der  von  ihm^  anfänglich  aufgestellten  allgemeinen  Theorie  über  Kapital, ­
  Kredit  und  Zinsfuss  —,  Principles  etc.  B.  III  Ch.  XXIII:
,,There  is,  however,  -a  frequent  ease,  in  which  the  purpose
of  the  borrowèr  is  different  from  what  I  have  here  supposed.  He
may  borrow  money,  neither  to  employ  it  as  capital  nor  to  spend
it  unproductively,  but  to  pay  a  previous  debt.  In  this  case,
what  he  wants  is  not  pure  hasing  power,  but  legal  tender,
or  something  which  a  creditor  will  accept  as  equivalent  to  it.  U  is
need  is  specific  ally  for  money,  not  for  commodities  or
capital.  It  is  the  demand  arising  from  this  cause,
which  produces  almost  all  the  great  and  sudden  variations ­
  oj  the  rate  of  interest.  Such  a  demand  forms  one
of  the  earliest  features  of  a  commercial  crisis,  .,4t  such  a
period,  many  persons  in  business  who  have  contracted  engagements,
have  been  prevented  by  a  change  of  circumstances  from  obtaining
in  time  the  means  on  which  they  calculated  for  fulfilling  them.
These  means  they  must  obtain  at  any  sacrifice,  or  submit  to  bankruptcy ­
  ;  and  what  they  must  have  is  money.  Other  capital,  however
much  of  it  they  may  possess,  cannot  answer  the  purpose  unless  money ­
  cun  first  be  obtained  for  it  ;  while,  on  the  contrary,  without