Page:Malthus 1823 The Measure of Value.djvu/53

 upon the quantity of labour employed upon them.

And given the quantity of labour, employed on them, and the rate and quantity of profits, the natural prices of commodities will depend, upon the value of money.

But in reality none of the ingredients of natural or money price are given, excepting the natural value of labour, and consequently the money prices of commodities which regulate the ordinary rate at which different countries exchange their commodities with each other, will be determined partly by the quantity of labour employed upon them, partly by the ordinary rate of profits, and partly by the value of money.

The value of metallic money, it has before been stated, while it continues, to. be obtained by the same quantity of labour and capital, must always, fall with the fall of profits, and will consequently have a strong tendency to fall with the progress, of cultivation and improvement; but as few nations comparatively have mines of their own, the supplies which they obtain of the precious metals must be purchased by their exportable commodities; and these are produced and exported under such a variety of circumstances, in respect to cost, and the value of the same