andnoteventhen，unlessitdoessoinagreaterratiothanthatoftheriseofprice:forthough，athigherwages，heemploys，withagivencapital，fewerworkpeople，andobtainslessofthecommodity，yetifhecansellthewholeofthisdiminishedquantityatthehigherprice，hisprofitsareasgreatasbefore。
Thispartialriseofwages，ifnotgainedattheexpenseoftheremainderoftheworkingclass，oughtnottoberegardedasanevil。Theconsumer，indeed，mustpayforit;butcheapnessofgoodsisdesirableonlywhenthecauseofitisthattheirproductioncostslittlelabour，andnotwhenoccasionedbythatlabour’sbeingillremunerated。Itmayappear，indeed，atfirstsight，thatthehighwagesofthetype。founders（forexample）areobtainedatthegeneralcostofthelabouringclass。Thishighremunerationeithercausesfewerpersonstofindemploymentinthetrade，orifnot，mustleadtotheinvestmentofmorecapitalinit，attheexpenseofothertrades:inthefirstcase，itthrowsanadditionalnumberoflabourersonthegeneralmarket;
inthesecond，itwithdrawsfromthatmarketaportionofthedemand:effects，bothofwhichareinjurioustotheworkingclasses。Such，indeed，wouldreallybetheresultofasuccessfulcombinationinaparticulartradeortrades，forsometimeafteritsformation;butwhenitisapermanentthing，theprinciplessoofteninsisteduponinthistreatise，showthatitcanhavenosucheffect。Thehabitualearningsoftheworkingclassesatlargecanbeaffectedbynothingbutthehabitualrequirementsofthelabouringpeople:theseindeedmaybealtered，butwhiletheyremainthesame，wagesneverfallpermanentlybelowthestandardoftheserequirements，anddonotlongremainabovethatstandard。Iftherehadbeennocombinationsinparticulartrades，andthewagesofthosetradeshadneverbeenkeptabovethecommonlevel，thereisnoreasontosupposethatthecommonlevelwouldhavebeenatallhigherthanitnowis。Therewouldmerelyhavebeenagreaternumberofpeoplealtogether，andasmallernumberofexceptionstotheordinarylowrateofwages。
If，therefore，noimprovementweretobehopedforinthegeneralcircumstancesoftheworkingclasses，thesuccessofaportionofthem，howeversmall，inkeepingtheirwagesbycombinationabovethemarketrate，wouldbewhollyamatterofsatisfaction。Butwhentheelevationofthecharacterandconditionoftheentirebodyhasatlastbecomeathingnotbeyondthereachofrationaleffort，itistimethatthebetterpaidclassesofskilledartisansshouldseektheirownadvantageincommonwith，andnotbytheexclusionof，theirfellow—labourers。Whiletheycontinuetofixtheirhopesonhedgingthemselvesinagainstcompetition，andprotectingtheirownwagesbyshuttingoutothersfromaccesstotheiremployment，nothingbettercanbeexpectedfromthemthanthattotalabsenceofanylargeandgenerousaims，thatalmostopendisregardofallotherobjectsthanhighwagesandlittleworkfortheirownsmallbody，whichweresodeplorablyevidentintheproceedingsandmanifestoesoftheAmalgamatedSocietyofEngineersduringtheirquarrelwiththeiremployers。Success，evenifattainable，inraisingupaprotectedclassofworkingpeople，wouldnowbeahindrance，insteadofahelp，totheemancipationoftheworkingclassesatlarge。
Butthoughcombinationstokeepupwagesareseldomeffectual，andwheneffectual，are，forthereasonswhichIhaveassigned，seldomdesirable，therightofmakingtheattemptisonewhichcannotberefusedtoanyportionoftheworkingpopulationwithoutgreatinjustice，orwithouttheprobabilityoffatallymisleadingthemrespectingthecircumstanceswhichdeterminetheircondition。Solongascombinationstoraisewageswereprohibitedbylaw，thelawappearedtotheoperativestobetherealcauseofthelowwageswhichtherewasnodenyingthatithaddoneitsbesttoproduce。Experienceofstrikeshasbeenthebestteacherofthelabouringclassesonthesubjectoftherelationbetweenwagesandthedemandandsupplyoflabour:anditismostimportantthatthiscourseofinstructionshouldnotbedisturbed。