MOTIVE  OF  PRODUCTION

73

it  is  evident  that  some  one  possesses  the  power  to  consume
whatever  can  be  produced.  It  may  also  be  asserted  that,
since  the  desires  of  man  are  unlimited,  and  many  keenly
felt  wants  remain  unsatisfied,  there  exists  a  desire  to  consume ­
  whatever  can  be  produced.  But  in  order  to  an
“  effective  demand  ”  the  power  to  consume  and  the  desire
to  consume  must  be  vested  in  the  same  persons.  The
denial  by  economists  of  the  possibility  of  general  excess
of  producing-power  involves  the  assumption  of  this  coincidence. ­
  This  assumption  is,  however,  false.  Those  who
draw  profit,  interest,  and  rents  from  modem  manufactures
are  thereby  vested  with  the  power  to  consume  huge  quantities ­
  of  cotton  and  other  textile  wares,  of  coals,  hardware,
pottery,  etc.,  but  they  have  the  desire  to  consume  a  comparatively ­
  small  quantity  of  these  commodities.  “But,”
it  may  be  urged,  “  they  will  have  the  desire  to  consume
other  commodities,  and  in  order  to  obtain  these  they  will
exchange  their  superfluous  cotton  and  iron  goods  with
others  who  want  to  consume  these  articles.”  This,  however,
is  not  the  case.  After  a  certain  tolerably  high  accustomed
standard  of  consumption  has  been  attained  in  cotton  and
iron  wares,  and  in  other  articles  for  which  these  are
exchanged,  there  still  remains  a  large  surplus  power  to
consume  which  has  no  desire  behind  it  to  convert  it  into
effectual  demand.
§  14.  Is  Desire  to  Consume  the  only  Motive
to  Production  ?
It  has  generally  seemed  to  economists  of  the  last  two
generations  a  sufficient  refutation  of  the  theory  of  overproduction ­
  to  assert  that  it  is  impossible,  and  to  assume
that  this  impossibility  is  proved  by  asking  what  motive