216 ON THE CAUSES

whatever in the fixed capital or the quantity
of labour, there should happen to be a rise in
the value of labour; according to Mr. Ricardos
own showing, a and B would be instantly altered
 in their relation to each other; that is,
they would become unequal in value. At the
former period being equal in value, they must,
according to the doctrine under consideration,
have been the products directly or indirectly of
equal quantities of labour; but if at the latter
period their values were taken as representative
 of the relative quantity of labour expended
 on each, the result obtained would be,
that they were the products of unequal quantities
of labour. The doctrine, therefore, that the
values of commodities are representative of the
respective quantities of labour required for
their production, which is a direct corollary
from the proposition that commodities are to
each other in value as is their producing labour
in quantity, cannot possibly be true.
This again, it may be said, is allowed by
Mr. Ricardo and his followers: but if they