EconlibThe LibraryOther Sites |
Front Page Titles (by Subject) Appendix C - The Collected Works of John Stuart Mill, Volume III - Principles of Political Economy Part II
Return to Title Page for The Collected Works of John Stuart Mill, Volume III - Principles of Political Economy Part IIThe Online Library of LibertyA project of Liberty Fund, Inc.Search this Title:Also in the Library:
Appendix C - John Stuart Mill, The Collected Works of John Stuart Mill, Volume III - Principles of Political Economy Part II [1848]Edition used:The Collected Works of John Stuart Mill, Volume III - The Principles of Political Economy with Some of Their Applications to Social Philosophy (Books III-V and Appendices), ed. John M. Robson, Introduction by V.W. Bladen (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1965).
Part of: Collected Works of John Stuart Mill, in 33 vols.About Liberty Fund:Liberty Fund, Inc. is a private, educational foundation established to encourage the study of the ideal of a society of free and responsible individuals. Copyright information:The online edition of the Collected Works is published under licence from the copyright holder, The University of Toronto Press. ©2006 The University of Toronto Press. All rights reserved. No part of this material may be reproduced in any form or medium without the permission of The University of Toronto Press. Fair use statement:This material is put online to further the educational goals of Liberty Fund, Inc. Unless otherwise stated in the Copyright Information section above, this material may be used freely for educational and academic purposes. It may not be used in any way for profit.
Appendix CBook II, Chapter x (“Means of Abolishing Cottier Tenancy”), § 3, 4th edition (1857), collated with the earlier editions and the MS1 a§ 3.a [Probable consequences of the measures recommended] When the bdifficulties of governing a country whose social system requires not ordinary amendment but radical change,b shall be met instead of cbeingc evaded, by men capable of rising superior both to their own indolence and prejudices and to those of others; we may hope to see, from the present lazy, apathetic, reckless, improvident and lawless Ireland, a new Ireland arise, consisting of peasant proprietors with something to lose, and of hired labourers with something to gain; the former dpeaceful and industriousd through the possession of property, the latter through the hope of it; while the agriculture of e Ireland would be fpartlyf conducted on the best system of small cultivation, gand partlyg on the best principles of large farming and combination of labour. hNor wouldh it be too much to hope, that when the number of hired labourers was duly proportioned to the soil on which they were employed, and a peaceful “clearing” had made the country safe for English capital to dwell in, the rate of wages would be sufficient to establish a tolerably high standard of living; and ithati the spirit of saving, fostered by the desire of acquiring land, jmightj prevent that standard from being again depressed through an imprudent increase of kpopulation.k In the complication of human affairs, the actual effects of causes, whether salutary or injurious, remain always far short of their tendencies. But history is not without examples of changes, similar in kind to that which I have been sketching, and the results of them are not uninstructive. [lThree times during the course of] French history, [the peasantry have been purchasers of land; and these times immediately preceded the three principal eras of French agricultural prosperity. “Aux temps les plus mauvais,” says the historian Michelet,* “aux moments de pauvreté universelle, où le riche même est pauvre et vend par force, alors le pauvre se trouve en état d’acheter; nul acquéreur ne se présentant, le paysan en guenilles arrive avec sa pièce d’or, et il acquiert un bout de terre. Ces moments de désastre où le paysan a pu acquérir la terre à bon marché, ont toujours été suivis d’un élan subit de fécondité qu’on ne s’expliquait pas. Vers 1500, par exemple, quand la France épuisée par Louis XI. semble achever sa ruine en Italie, la noblesse qui part est obligée de vendre; la terre, passant à de nouvelles mains, refleurit tout-à-coup; on travaille, on bâtit. Ce beau moment (dans le style de l’histoire monarchique) s’est appelé le bon Louis XII. “Il dure peu, malheureusement. La terre est à peine remise en bon état, le fisc fond dessus; les guerres de religion arrivent, qui semblent raser tout jusqu’au sol, misères horribles, famines atroces où les mères mangeaient leurs enfants. Qui croirait que le pays se relève de là? Eh bien, la guerre finit à peine, de ce champ ravagé, de cette chaumière encore noire et brulée, sort l’épargne du paysan. Il achète; en dix ans, la France a changé de face; en vingt ou trente, tous les biens ont doublé, triplé de valeur. Ce moment encore baptisé d’un nom royal, s’appelle le bon Henri IV. et le grand Richelieu.” Of the third era it is needless magainm to speak: it was that of the Revolution. Whoever would study the reverse of the picture, may compare these historic periods, characterized by the dismemberment of large and the construction of small properties, with the wide-spread national suffering which accompanied, and the permanent deterioration of the condition of the labouring classes which followed, the “clearing” away of small yeomen to make room for large grazing farms, which was the grand economical event of English history during the sixteenth century.l]2 [I have concluded a discussion, which has] already [occupied a space almost disproportioned to the dimensions of this work; and I here close the examination of those simpler forms of social economy in which the produce of the land either belongs undividedly to one class, or is shared only between two classes. We now proceed to the hypothesis of a threefold division of the produce, among labourers, landlords, and capitalists: and in order to connect the coming discussions as closely as possible with those which have now for some time occupied us, I shall commence with the subject of Wages.]3 [1 ]The method of footnoting is the same as that used in the text proper: i.e., the MS, 48, 49, and 52 variants are indicated by superscript letters and given in footnotes. The places where the 57 text agrees with the 71 text are surrounded by square brackets to simplify comparison; references to the 71 text are given in numbered footnotes to the end of bracketed passages. [a-a]MS, 48, 49 §8. [b-b]MS, 48, 49 formidable difficulties in which the government of this country is becoming more and more deeply involved by the condition of Ireland, [c-c]+49, 52, 57 [d-d]MS, 48, 49 attached to peace and law [e]MS, 48, 49 one-half of [f-f]+52, 57 [g-g]MS that of the other half] 48, 49 and that . . . as MS [h-h]MS, 48, 49 Would [i-i]+52, 57 [j-j]MS, 48, 49 would [k-k]MS, 48, 49 population? [l-l][In II, vii, § 5; see I.296n above] [* ]Le Peuple, 1re partie, ch. 1. [m-m]+52, 57 [2 ][See I.296.n2-31 above.] [3 ][See I.336.27-36 above.] |

Titles (by Subject)