These are truly the raw
materials which are _untouched by human labor_; therefore, they are of
no _value_, and I do not think of protecting them. But a first labor
converts these substances into hay, straw, etc., a second into wool, a
third into thread, a fourth into cloth, a fifth into clothing--who
will dare to say that every step in this work is not _labor_, from the
first stroke of the plough, which begins, to the last stroke of the
needle, which terminates it? And because, in order to secure more
celerity and perfection in the accomplishment of a definite work, such
as a garment, the labors are divided among several classes of
industry, you wish, by an arbitrary distinction, that the order of
succession of these labors should be the only reason for their
importance; so much so that the first shall not deserve even the name
of labor, and that the last work pre-eminently, shall alone be worthy
of the favors of protection!"
The RAW-MATERIALIST: "Yes, we begin to see that wheat no more
than wool is entirely devoid of human labor; but, at least, the
agriculturist has not, like the manufacturer, done all by himself and
his workmen; Nature aids him, and if there is labor, it is not all
labor in the wheat.
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