So we may sum up and say that the theory of universal Free Trade being of benefit to the world as a whole is perfectly true. If we are only considering the world, and do not mind what happens to some particular area of the world, then the case for Free Trade is absolute. But if we mind a hurt being done to some particular area, such as our own country, more than we mind the hurt done to the world as a whole, then we should look at our particular conditions and see whether our country may not be one of those parts which will be drained of wealth by Free Trade and will be benefited by artificially fostering internal exchanges. In the second part of this book I will go into this again, and show how the discussion arose in England and what the arguments are for and against Universal Free Trade, and how true it is that a sound economic argument for Protection exists. VII MONEY When people begin exchanging by bartering goods one against another they at once find that there is an awkward obstruction to this kind of commerce; at least, they find it the moment there are more than two of them. It is this: That the person they are nearest to for the striking of a bargain may not want, at the moment, the particular thing they have to offer, but something else which a third party has who is _not_ present. For instance: John is a hunter who has a surplus of skins to offer. He can get skins easier than other people. William, farming good soil, has surplus wheat to offer, and Robert, living near a wood and skilled as a woodman, has extra wood to offer. John wants wood. He takes one of his furs to Robert and says: “I will give you this fur for a cartload of wood.” But Robert may answer, “I don’t happen to want a fur just now. What I do want is a sack of wheat.” Either no transaction will take place on account of this hitch, or one of these two things will happen: Robert will take the fur from John and give him his cartload of wood, and will then take the fur over to William, and see whether William wants a fur in exchange for some wheat. Or John, very much wanting the wood, will go to William, and if William wants a fur, will exchange it for wheat; then John will take the wheat back to Robert, and exchange it for the wood that he wants. That is the sort of complicated and clumsy come-and-go that will be continually happening even with quite a few exchangers, and with quite a small number of articles. When it came to a great number of exchangers and a great number of articles the trouble would grow impossible and exchange would break down.