CHAPTER IIL

ON THE VALUE OF LABOUR.

UnLEss we change the meaning of value in
the case of labour from that which it bears
when applied to any thing else, the value of la-
bour must signify the power of commanding
other things in exchange. The term in refer-
ence to labour, as in all other cases, denotes a
relation, and the relation, in this instance, must
be between labour and commodities. Labour,
therefore, is high in value when it commands a
large, and low when it commands a small quan-
tity of commodities; and when labour is said
to rise or fall in value, the expression implies,
that a definite portion of it, a day’s labonr for
example, exchanges for a larger or a smaller
quantity of commodities than before. This is