'58

ON METHODS OF

niences, and amusements, in one state of society,
 that they could produce in another, but
they will not on that account add any thing to
value; for every thing rises or falls in value in
proportion to the facility or difficulty of producing
 it, or, in other words, in proportion to
the quantity of labour employed on its production*.”

All this may be safely pronounced unmeaning
and nugatoryt. It conveys no information, nor
can we judge of its correctness or inaccuracy,
till we know what is the commodity, in relation
to which it is meant to assert, that the product
of the labour of this million of men will always
prove of the same value, or in other words,
until we are told what is the commodity employed
 as a medium of estimation. If these
men produce treble the quantity of all articles
of exchange whatever, then the aggregate value
of the product of their labour will be treble,

* Principles of Pol. Econ., p. 320, 34d edit.
I See Note H.