Political Economy for the People

THESE causes are principally four -- industry, skill, frugality, and good government; which we will briefly notice.

I. Industry. -- Whatever may be the bounty of Nature, her gifts must be improved by man's own efforts, to make that bounty available; and where they are earnest and well directed, he is amply compensated for his toil. It is by means of his industry that he obtains food, clothes, houses, furniture, and utensils in countless number, to aid him in his operations on matter.

His industry is principally employed, first, in producing such raw materials as can be rendered conducive to his comfort or gratification; next, in changing the forms of those raw materials so as to make them subservient to his various purposes; and lastly, in transferring either the raw materials or the fabrics made of them from one place, where they are- comparatively abundant and cheap, to another, where they are more scarce and dear. The first species of industry is chiefly agricultural, but is also, in part, that of mining and of fishing. The second is manufacturing, and the third is commercial industry.

These different species of labor are the main constituents of the material wealth of communities.

II. Skill or knowledge. -- The exercise of man’s intellectual faculties is obviously indispensable to the success of all his bodily exertions; but we mean to speak here of those powers of invention and reasoning which are above those possessed by the generality of mankind. By means of such mental superiority, man has made himself acquainted with the properties and laws of matter, and has thus rendered it subservient to his wants and purposes. In this way he has been able to find the materials of clothing at once soft, light, and warm, from the wool or hair of animals, from the fibers of certain plants, and even from the tiny web of the worm; to all of which he has imparted the most brilliant and lasting tints.

From the earth he has extracted ores, which, by a long course of patient ingenuity, he has converted into metals to assist him in his labors, and to add to the comforts and embellishments of life. From the same source, and by similar means, he has obtained glass and porcelain, stone, brick, and marble, which he has converted into houses for his comfort, churches for the worship of his Maker and Preserver, and theatres for his amusement. By his science and art, he has been enabled to traverse the boisterous and pathless ocean, and to visit the most distant regions of the globe; but more than all, he has devised a system of visible signs for the sounds of his voice, by which he can make an enduring record of his thoughts and feelings, and thus transmit to all regions, and to future generations, the useful discoveries which genius or fortunate accident may have brought to light. But the achievements of his mental powers may be best seen by looking at such results as a book, a steamship, a telescope, a microscope, a railway, a gun, or a telegraph.