Page:The Scientific Monthly vol. 3.djvu/367

 OUR NATIONAL PROSPERITY 361

��OTJR NATIONAL PEOSPEEITY DISTBIBUTION OP PEOPEETY AND INCOME

By CHAS. a. GILCHRIST

BBBKBLBT, CAIi.

IT win be generally conceded that in the economics of an individual, his material prosperity is in direct proportion to his material wealth. This cleariy reflects the ordinary meaning of the word pros- peiiiy. In the case of a nation, our first thought would be that the average or per capita wealth would f airiy represent the national pros- perity, but a little reflection will show that this is not the case. We can conceive of a nation in which the entire population save one were the abject slaves of that one, producing wealth of an absurdly luxarious sort for his use and consumption, and retaining for themselves the barest pittances. Here the per capita wealth might be very high, although practically the whole of the population would be on the verge of starva- tion. Egypt, at the time her ancient kings were building their great monuments, gives us a picture of a nation that approached such a condition. Where such inequality in distribution exists, the average wealth is no indication of the prosperity of a people, which may be esti- mated only by an examination into the extent of the inequality in dis- tribution. The prosperity of any given people can not be measured by its wealth, but rather by that prosperity among its individuals that pre- dominates. We can not think that the excessive wealth of some in any way averages up or compensates for the poverty of the masses.

There are two aspects of wealth — the property aspect and the in- come aspect. In speaking of property we refer to the stock of wealth, whereas income is the rate at which wealth is being acquired, as so much per day or per year. The national wealth is the sum of the wealths of all individuals and the national income is the sum of aU individual incomes.^

Income may be divided into two parts, one which is consumed and one which is saved. If the rate of consumption be subtracted from income, the diflference is the rate of saving.

All income is acquired by individuals through two clearly defined and undisputed sources. These are the income from labor or services rendered; and the income from property owned. But while income is thus acquired, it is produced solely by the labor element, notwithstand-

1 Property and income nominally held to the account of corporate bodies or governments must here be considered as distributed among such individualB as are the real owners.

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