Essentials of Economic Theory: As Applied to Modern Problems of Industry and Public PolicyClark, John Bates
General
Essentials of Economic Theory: As Applied to Modern Problems of Industry and Public Policy
Clark, John Bates
Economics
_The Importance of the Need of Enlarging a Business._--There is a
special reason why legitimate business profits are morally certain to
be to a large extent laid aside for investment. The man would say that
he "needs them in his business." They come at a time when there is an
inducement to enlarge the scale of his profitable operations. The man
who is getting a dividend of fifty per cent per annum must make hay
while the sun shines, and he can do it by doubling the capacity of his
mill. What he makes and what he can borrow he uses for an increase of
his output, which it is important to secure during the profitable
time. All this means a quick increase of the total capital in
existence.
The profits of a monopoly are not transient, but are likely to be both
long-continued and large, and it might seem that they would constitute
a larger source of addition to capital than those profits which come
from technical improvement. There are several reasons why this is not
the fact. In the first place, what we are discussing is the addition
that profits make to the total capital of society, rather than to the
capital of any one person or corporation. The monopoly makes its gains
by taking something from the pockets of the general public, and in so
far it reduces the power of the general public to save.
It might be alleged, however, that since a monopoly reduces wages and
interest, adds to profits, and creates enormous incomes for a few
persons, it really diverts income from a myriad of persons who would
save very little of it, and puts it into the pockets of a few persons
who are likely to save a great deal of it. This might conceivably add
to the capital of society were it not for the fact that the more
secure and regular gains of monopolies are made the basis of large
capitalization. A company that earns twenty-five per cent of its real
capital per annum may have its stock diluted with four parts of water
and pay only five per cent in dividends on its capitalization. This
looks like interest and is apt to be treated as such by those who
receive it. It is, therefore, not a more favorable income from which
to make accumulations of capital than is the interest on real
capital. The sudden gains which promoters and manipulators of
consolidated companies make are, indeed, transient gains and may be
largely added to capital. The introduction of a regime of monopoly may
insure a period of much saving by the class that profits by it; but
the later career of the monopoly is unfavorable to the growth of
capital.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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