If any one will, in a similar manner, consider any of the other articles which help to make up the national capital, I think he will have difficulty in assigning a sufficient reason, from any of the views presented in the Wealth of Nations, for its increase, unless he connect this increase, somehow or another, with some improvement in the particular department of industry of which its production makes a part, or in some other department dependent on it.He will perceive, that, though there is no difficulty in conceiving that an individual may accumulate a very large capital in the form of any of those articles or commodities, the total of which make up the national capital; with the exception, perhaps, of money itself, there is difficulty in discovering a reason for the accumulation of any of them, throughout the whole community, so as to form any sensible addition to the national capital.
It may perhaps appear, that, in whatever shape the individual members of the community may accumulate capital, yet, that the efforts of the greater number being thus directed, they might accumulate it under some shape or another.We are not, however, it will be recollected, here discussing a possibility, but a self-evident principle; not what might be, but what must be.Now, there is no necessity for imagining that this must be the case, for, without entering at all into the minutiae of the subject, it is not difficult to perceive that the action of the principle which prompts to save, itself brings about a state of things, which diminishes the desire to save.A person must be most desirous of getting money when he perceives, that by the acquisition of it, he could make a great deal out of it; when.
It is manifest to him, that, if he had a sufficient capital, he could enter on some branch of business that would be very profitable.When an opening of this sort presents itself to a prudent and enterprising, though poor man, the exertions he makes to gather together a small sum are sometimes almost incredible.But, if the principle were to prevail so generally as to fill up every branch of business within the society, the desire to acquire capital so as to enter on some of the particular businesses carried on in the society would naturally be diminished throughout the whole country and this general diminution of the motives to accumulate, might be sufficient to preserve the national capital within the bounds it had acquired, and prevent it, for a time, from gaining farther increase.
Nor is there any thing in the appearance of human affairs, which should induce us to conclude, that the increase of national capital ever does, in fact, proceed, unless in conjunction with some successful effort of the inventive faculty, some improvement of some of the employments formerly practised in the community, or some discovery of new arts.If we cast our eyes over the results, which either reading or observation presents to us, concerning the condition of different nations, we gather from our review, that many of them, in regard to the acquisition of wealth, have apparently remained stationary for ages, although undisturbed by external violence, and unmolested by internal tumults.During all the time, however, the process of individual accumulation was going on; men were continually rising from poverty to affluence, founding families, and leaving wealth to their descendants;but this wealth passed away from them; what the father gathered was not able to maintain his race, and they gradually sank to the rank from which he had emerged.The proportion, meantime, between rich and poor, and the total wealth of the community, remained but little changed.
At length, in some quarter or another, an improvement began to be perceived.
What do we find to have been the most prominent accompaniment of this change?
Is it a diminished expenditure -- an increased parsimony -- a frugality before unknown? I believe not.Any great diminution of the expenditure of a whole community, it will be found difficult to trace, but we shall always discover that invention has somehow or another been busy, either in improving agriculture and the other old arts, or in discovering new ones.
It is only when some great and striking improvement issues from the exertions of the inventive power, that we in general, attend to its effects.
Every one readily grants, that, but for the invention of the steam engine, the capital of Great Britain would want much of its present vast amount.
We perceive not so readily the numerous small improvements, which have been gradually, from year to year, spreading themselves through every department of the national industry.But, though not so palpably forced on our observation, we pass them by, they nevertheless exist, and sufficiently account for the manner in which the national capital has been augmenting, by being gradually accumulating in them, without the necessity of supposing that it ever has augmented precisely as that of individuals generally does, hy a simple multiplication, under the same form, of any or all the items, of which its amount was before made up.
