ABSTRACT
Wages represent the immediate labor by which it has been produced. Merchants who are rarely able to distinguish whether they gain by the loss of others, or by the common advancement of wealth, by setting their profits in opposition to the interests of the capitalists, have regarded commerce as much more favorable to the state when the interest rate was lower. But it is obvious that the advantage of one class is gained at the expense of the other, and that the national income is in no way increased. If the decrease is the result of abundant capital, the total income of society is increased; a greater capital produces a greater income to the capitalists, even though the interest rate may be low. On their part, the merchants profit doubly, both on the larger amounts and the lower rate of interest.
