James Mill

第35章

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第35章

James Mill Leslie Stephen

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James Mill
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  SpencedriftedtoLondon,pickedupaprecariousliving,partlybysellingbooksofarevolutionarykind,anddiedin1815,leaving,itseems,afewproselytes。AwriterofhigherliterarycapacitywasCharlesHall,aphysicianatTavistock,whoin1805publishedabookonTheEffectsofCivilisation。61Theeffectsofcivilisation,heholds,aresimplypernicious。Landedpropertyoriginatedinviolence,andhascausedallsocialevils。Agreatlandlordconsumesunproductivelyasmuchaswouldkeepeightthousandpeople。62Hegetseverythingfromthelabourofthepoor;whiletheyareforcedtostarvationwagesbytheraisingofrents。Tradeandmanufacturesareequallymischievous。IndiagetsnothingbutjewelleryfromEurope,andEuropenothingbutmuslinfromIndia,whilesomuchlessfoodisproducedineithercountry。63Manufacturesgenerallyareacauseandsignofthepovertyofnations。64

  Suchsporadicprotestsagainsttheinequalitiesofwealthmaybetakenaspartsofthat’ancienttaleofwrong’whichhasinallagesbeensteamingupfromthesufferingworld,andprovokingasmilefromepicureandeities。AsOwenismadvanced,theargumenttookamoredistinctform。Mill65mentionsWilliamThompsonofCorkasa’veryestimableman,’whowasthe’principalchampion’

  oftheOwenitesintheirdebateswiththeBenthamites。Hepublishedin1824abookuponthedistributionofwealth,66Itiswordy,andisapttoremainintheregionof’vaguegeneralities’justatthepointswherespecificstatementswouldbewelcome。Butbesidesthemeritofobvioussincerityandgoodfeeling,ithastheinterestofshowingveryclearlytherelationbetweentheopposingschools。ThompsonhadacommongroundwiththeUtilitarians,thoughtheyundoubtedlywouldconsiderhislogictobelooseandoverriddenbysentimentalism。Inthefirstplace,heheartilyadmiredBentham:’themostprofoundandcelebratedwriteronlegislationinthisoranyothercountry。’67Heacceptsthe’greatesthappinessprinciple’asapplicabletothesocialproblem。HearguesforequalityuponBentham’sground。Takeapennyfromapoormantogiveittotherichman,andthepoormanclearlylosesfarmorehappinessthantherichmangains。WithBentham,too,headmitstheimportanceof’security,’andagreesthatitisnotalwayscompatiblewithequality。

  Amanshouldhavethefruitsofhislabour;andthereforethemanwholaboursmostshouldhavemost。But,unlikeBentham,heregardsequalityasmoreimportantthansecurity。Tohimthemainconsiderationisthemonstrousmassofevilresultingfromvastaccumulationsofwealthinafewhands。

  Inthenextplace,headaptstohisownpurposetheRicardiantheoryofvalue。Allvaluewhatever,heargues,iscreatedbylabour。Thelabourer,heinfers,shouldhavethevaluewhichhecreates。Asthingsare,thelabourerpartswithmostofittothecapitalistortheownerofrents。Thecapitalistclaimsarighttothewholeadditionalproductionduetotheemploymentofcapital。Thelabourer,ontheotherhand,mayclaimarighttothewholeadditionalproduction,afterreplacingthewearandtearandallowingtothecapitalistenoughtosupporthiminequalcomfortwiththeproductivelabourers,68Thompsonholdsthatwhileeithersystemwouldbecompatiblewith’security,’thelabourer’sdemandissanctionedby’equality。’

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