The protection, security, and defence of the commonwealth, the effect of their labour this year, will not purchase itsprotection, security, and defence for the year to come.In the same class must be ranked, some both of the gravest and mostimportant, and some of the most frivolous professions; churchmen, lawyers, physicians, men of letters of all kinds; players,buffoons, musicians, opera-singers, opera-dancers, &c.The labour of the meanest of these has a certain value, regulated bythe very same principles which regulate that of every other sort of labour; and that of the noblest and most useful producesnothing which could afterwards purchase or procure an equal quantity of labour.Like the declamation of the actor, theharangue of the orator, or the tune of the musician, the work of all of them perishes in the very instant of its production."Hence the indignation with which Dr Chalmers rejects this term is really uncalled for.In his Political Economy, his chapterxi.is " On the distinction made by Economists between Productive and Unproductive Labour." He there speaks of thedisparagement thus laid on ecclesiastics and many other orders of men whose services are indispensable: but there is reallyno disparagement intended.He says that it has been recommended as the best policy of a government to abridge andeconomize to the uttermost in the maintenance of unproductive labourers.But this has not been recommended by any wisepolitical economists.
Mr Malthus, as I have said, proposes to use the term personal services instead of unproductive labour.But there is nooccasion for such a change, and it would not be convenient.
Mr J.S.Mill has an Essay on the terms productive and unproductive labour which is judicious.He says:
"The end to which all labour and all expenditure are directed, is two fold.Sometimes it is enjoyment immediately; thefulfilment of those desires, the gratification of which is wished for on its own account.Whenever labour or expense is notincurred immediately for the sake of enjoyment, and is yet not absolutely wasted, it must be incurred for the purpose ofenjoyment indirectly or mediately; by either repairing and perpetuating, or adding to the permanent sources of enjoyment.
"Sources of enjoyment may be accumulated and stored up; enjoyment itself cannot.The wealth of a country consists of thesum total of the permanent sources of enjoyment, whether material or immaterial, contained in it: and labour or expenditurewhich tends to augment or to keep up these permanent sources, should, we conceive, be termed productive.
"Labour which is employed for the purpose of directly affording enjoyment, such as the labour of a performer on a musicalinstrument, we term unproductive labour.Whatever is consumed by such a performer, we consider as unproductivelyconsumed: the accumulated total of the sources of enjoyment which the nation possesses, is diminished by the amount ofwhat he has consumed; whereas, if it had been given to him in exchange for his services in producing food or clothing, thetotal of the permanent sources of enjoyment in the country might have been not diminished, but increased.
"The performer on a musical instrument then is, so far as respects that act, not a productive, but an unproductive labourer.
But what shall we say of the workman who made the musical instrument? He, most persons would say, is a productivelabourer; and with reason; because the musical instrument is a permanent source of enjoyment, which does not begin andend with the enjoying, and therefore admits of being acccumulated.
