Page:Malthus 1823 The Measure of Value.djvu/25

 absolute and natural value. Cloth, cotton, iron, and similar commodities, are subject to vary most essentially in a single year, or even month, so that the manufacturer who could obtain for his goods the same quantity of cloth as he could the year before, would be very little likely to obtain the same quantity of other articles. But even supposing that these articles and the product of the capitalist were to continue of the same relative value to each other, he might still be quite unable to carry on his business. The conditions of the supply of commodities do not require that they should retain always the same relative values, but that each should retain its proper natural value, or the means of obtaining those objects which will continue to the producer the same power of production and accumulation. If the advances of capitalists consisted specifically in cloth, then these advances would always have the effect required in production; and as profits are calcu lated upon the advances necessary to production, whatever they may be, the quantity of cloth advanced, with the addition of the ordinary profits estimated also in quantity of cloth, would represent both the natural and relative value of the commodity. But the specific advances of capitalists do not consist of cloth, but of labour;