Principles of Political Economy: Abridged with Critical, Bibliographical, and Explanatory Notes, and a Sketch of the History of Political Economy
John Stuart Mill · en
The difficulty of attainment which determines value is not always the same
kind of difficulty: (1.) It sometimes consists in an absolute limitation
of the supply. There are things of which it is physically impossible to
increase the quantity beyond certain narrow limits. Such are those wines
which can be grown only in peculiar circumstances of soil, climate, and
exposure. Such also are ancient sculptures; pictures by the old masters;
rare books or coins, or other articles of antiquarian curiosity. Among
such may also be reckoned houses and building-ground, in a town of
definite extent.
De Quincey(206) has presented some ingenious diagrams to represent
the operations of the two constituents of value in each of the
three following cases: U represents the power of the article to
satisfy some desire, and D difficulty of attainment. In the first
case, exchange value is not hindered by D from going up to any
height, and so it rises and falls entirely according to the force
of U. D being practically infinite, the horizontal line, exchange
value, is not kept down by D, but it rises just as far as U, the
desires of purchasers, may carry it.
[Illustration: Vertical line D, paralleled by shorter vertical line U, D
and U connected at top of U by horizontal line.]
(2.) But there is another category (embracing the majority of all things
that are bought and sold), in which the obstacle to attainment consists
only in the labor and expense requisite to produce the commodity. Without
a certain labor and expense it can not be had; but, when any one is
willing to incur these, there needs be no limit to the multiplication of
the product. If there were laborers enough and machinery enough, cottons,
woolens, or linens might be produced by thousands of yards for every
single yard now manufactured.
In case (2) the horizontal line, representing exchange value,
follows the force of D entirely. The utility of the article is
very great, but the value is only limited by the difficulty of
obtaining it. So far as U is concerned, exchange value can go up a
great distance, but will go no higher than the point where the
article can be obtained. The dotted lines underneath the
horizontal line indicate that the exchange value of articles in
this class tend to fall in value.
[Illustration: Parallel vertical lines U and D, U being longer, joined by
several horizontal lines of Exchange Value.]