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6 NATURE OF CAPITAL AND INCOME [Crar. I 
us to separate into arbitrary classes those persons who are 
intermediate between freemen and slaves, such as vassals, 
indentured servants, long-time apprentices, and negroes held 
in peonage. A man bound out to service for thirty years 
is almost indistinguishable from a slave, and if the term of 
service be long enough and the control absolute enough, 
the distinction becomes a distinction without a difference. 
On the other hand, the shorter the term of service, the 
nearer does his condition approach freedom. As a matter 
of fact, most workers in modern society are “hired,” 1.e. 
bound by contract to some extent and for some period of 
time, even though it be for no more than an hour, and to 
that extent are not free. In short, there are many degrees 
of freedom and many degrees of slavery, with no fixed 
line of demarcation. 
Two concepts have been defined which may be des- 
ignated as “wealth in its more general sense’” and “wealth 
in its more restricted sense.” There need be no confusion 
between them. Ordinarily, when the simple term “ wealth’ 
is used, the former concept will be understood, and any 
propositions which hold true of this broader concept will 
necessarily apply also to the narrower one. If we have oc- 
casion at any time to refer to the latter exclusively, we may 
always make use of the full phrase, “wealth in its more 
restricted sense.” 
There are many admissible ways of classifying wealth, 
one being more or less desirable than another ac- 
cording to the purpose for which it is intended. The 
scheme on page 7 is not based on any one logical ecri- 
terion, but is intended merely to give the principal groups 
into which wealth, as it actually exists, naturally falls. 
It scarcely needs to be stated that the various classes are 
not always absolutely distinct. Like all classes of concrete 
things, they merge imperceptibly from one into another. 
For this reason the classification is of little importance 
  
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