This “Standard of Subsistence,” which is to be found in its various shapes in every civilisation, may be called “_The Worth While of Labour_.” Human energy would not be forthcoming, the work would not get done, unless at the very least the person doing the work got this Standard of Subsistence. In England to-day it is =set= for a man and his family at something like 35s. to 40s. a week. One way and another, counting for allowance in rent and overtime and so on, even the poorest labourer gets that, and if he did not get it labour would stop. Our civilisation would run to famine and plague rather than go below this minimum. Another way of putting it is this: Under the standard of subsistence in our civilisation in England a man must, on the average, produce something like £2 worth of economic values a week, otherwise it is not worth while living, not worth while going on. I say “on the average.” A great many people, of course, produce nothing. But there must be an average production of that amount to keep society going at all, merely in labour, that is, in human energy and brains. As a fact, of course, the average production is much higher. But it could not fall to _less_ than this without the production of wealth gradually coming to an end. It is very important to recognise this principle in Economics, for it is nearly always misunderstood, and it makes a great difference in our judgment of social problems. You often hear people speaking as though the subsistence of their fellows might fall to any level so long as they had so much weight of food and amount of warmth as would keep them alive. But it is not so. Every society has its own standard, and will rather have men emigrate or die than fall below it: and that standard is the basis of all production. _It must be satisfied or production ceases._ 2. INTEREST. Now, if this “Worth While of Labour” was all that had to be considered, things would be a great deal simpler than they are. Unfortunately, there is another “worth while” from which one cannot get away, and which makes the second division in the produce of wealth. This is the “Worth While of Capital”: called “Profit” or “Interest.” We must be careful not to mix up “Interest on Money,” that is, the word “interest” in its ordinary conversational use, with true economic interest. Interest on money does not really exist. It is either interest on _Real Capital_ (machines, stores, etc.) for which the money is only a symbol, or else it is usury, that is, the claiming of a profit which is not really there; and what usury is exactly we shall see later on. The thing to remember here is that there is no such thing in Economic Science as Interest on Money. We have seen that Capital cannot come into existence unless somebody saves. We have also seen that since it is always being consumed and must be replaced, the saving has got to go on all the time, if the production of wealth (to which capital is necessary) is to continue.