It is not necessary to discuss here the question as to whether Professor Clark means that his theory should be so interpreted.[219] What I wish to insist upon is that no implication, either optimistic or pessimistic, as to the existing social order, can be drawn from the theory defended in this book. Whether or not economic values in particular cases correspond with ethical values, whether or not goods are ranked on the basis of their import for the ultimate welfare of society, and the extent to which this is the case, will depend on the extent to which the ethical forces in society prevail over the anti-ethical forces. The theory as such is neutral. Assume our existing society, modified in the one particular that competition shall henceforth be perfectly free, and still the conclusion does not follow. Idle sons of our multimillionaires may inherit ill-gotten wealth, may invest it and draw an endless income from it. With this income to back their desires, they may make the services of panders worth more than the services of statesmen and inventors. The values of goods depend on the more fundamental values of men, even though the values of men, under abstract economic laws, depend upon the value productivity of their labor or their possessions. The theory is a theory of economic value, even though the tremendous influence of ethical and other values be recognized as entering into economic values. They may be overpowered by opposing forces. The theory is a general theory, and holds for a decadent as well as for an improving society; for a society where justice reigns, if such a society there be, and for a society where corruption is rampant, and wolves prey. The justification of the existing social order is to be sought elsewhere--the theory of economic value, as such, does not contain it. * * * * *