The _usefulness_, then, of the
saw, is for me a gratuitous gift of nature, or rather, is a portion of
the inheritance which, _in common_ with my brother men, I have
received from the genius of my ancestors. I have two workmen in my
field; the one directs the handle of a plough, the other that of a
spade. The result of their day's labor is very different, but the
price is the same, because the remuneration is proportioned, not to
the usefulness of the result, but to the effort, the [time, and] labor
given to attain it.
I invoke the patience of the reader, and beg him to believe, that I
have not lost sight of free trade: I entreat him only to remember the
conclusion at which I have arrived: _Remuneration is not proportioned
to the usefulness of the articles brought by the producer into the
market, but to the [time and] labor required for their production._[B]
[Footnote B: It is true that [time and] labor do not receive a uniform
remuneration; because labor is more or less intense, dangerous,
skilful, &c., [and time more or less valuable.] Competition
establishes for each category a price current: and it is of this
variable price that I speak.
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