2nd. Benevolent objects.--The 10,000 francs devoted to this purpose
benefit trade in an equal degree; they reach the butcher, the baker, the
tailor, and the carpenter. The only thing is, that the bread, the meat,
and the clothing are not used by Aristus, but by those whom he has made
his substitutes. Now, this simple substitution of one consumer for
another in no way affects trade in general. It is all one, whether
Aristus spends a crown or desires some unfortunate person to spend it
instead.
3rd. Offices of friendship.--The friend to whom Aristus lends or gives
10,000 francs does not receive them to bury them; that would be against
the hypothesis. He uses them to pay for goods, or to discharge debts. In
the first case, trade is encouraged. Will any one pretend to say that it
gains more by Mondor's purchase of a thoroughbred horse for 10,000
francs than by the purchase of 10,000 francs' worth of stuffs by Aristus
or his friend? For if this sum serves to pay a debt, a third person
appears, viz., the creditor, who will certainly employ them upon
something in his trade, his household, or his farm. He forms another
medium between Aristus and the workmen. The names only are changed, the
expense remains, and also the encouragement to trade.
4th. Saving.--There remains now the 10,000 francs saved; and it is here,
as regards the encouragement to the arts, to trade, labour, and the
workmen, that Mondor appears far superior to Aristus, although, in a
moral point of view, Aristus shows himself, in some degree, superior to
Mondor.
I can never look at these apparent contradictions between the great laws
of nature without a feeling of physical uneasiness which amounts to
suffering. Were mankind reduced to the necessity of choosing between two
parties, one of whom injures his interest, and the other his conscience,
we should have nothing to hope from the future. Happily, this is not the
case; and to see Aristus regain his economical superiority, as well as
his moral superiority, it is sufficient to understand this consoling
maxim, which is no less true from having a paradoxical appearance, "To
save is to spend."
What is Aristus's object in saving 10,000 francs? Is it to bury them in
his garden? No, certainly; he intends to increase his capital and his
income; consequently, this money, instead of being employed upon his
own personal gratification, is used for buying land, a house, &c., or it
is placed in the hands of a merchant or a banker. Follow the progress of
this money in any one of these cases, and you will be convinced, that
through the medium of vendors or lenders, it is encouraging labour quite
as certainly as if Aristus, following the example of his brother, had
exchanged it for furniture, jewels, and horses.
For when Aristus buys lands or rents for 10,000 francs, he is determined
by the consideration that he does not want to spend this money. This is
why you complain of him.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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