WAGES, PROFITS AND INTEREST 187 
If the price of the output is £12 5s. Od. 
a ton the employer will aim at an output 
of 1,004 tons, and his remuneration will be 
1,004 times £12 5s. Od. (which amounts to 
£12,299) less £11,508 9s. 0d., that is exactly 
£760 11s. Such close accuracy of balance is, 
of course, impossible, but the example serves 
to illustrate the principle which is roughly 
borne out in practice. We are overlooking 
the ups and downs of trade, which make 
employers’ earnings fluctuate enormously, 
and considering merely what happens on an 
average. 
We may now return to the main thread 
of our argument. Suppose there are 100 
employers in the industry which is the sole 
industry in the country, and that the surplus 
left over for each employer is £1000 a year. 
Now, when the number of employers is not 
fixed, as it is not in reality, it may be that 
£1000 a year is too much or too little to cause 
100 suitable people to devote themselves to the 
task of undertaking businesses in that industry. 
Suppose, first, that it is too much. If it is 
too much other people will be induced to 
enter the industry and compete for labour 
and capital. Consequently, in the very long 
run, the magnitude of the typical business 
will contract, though at the same time the