Page:The wealth of nations, volume 3.djvu/378

 been in the country two capitals, two portions of the annual produce, instead of one, employed in maintaining productive labor.

When for defraying the expense of government a revenue is raised within the year from the produce of free or unmortgaged taxes, a certain portion of the revenue of private people is only turned away from maintaining one species of unproductive labor, toward maintaining another. Some part of what they pay in those taxes might no doubt have been accumulated into capital, and consequently ememployedemployed [sic] in maintaining productive labor; but the greater part would probably have been spent, and consequently employed in maintaining unproductive labor. The public expense, however, when defrayed in this manner, no doubt hinders more or less the further accumulation of new capital; but it does not necessarily occasion the destruction of any actually existing capital.

When the public expense is defrayed by funding, it is defrayed by the annual destruction of some capital which had before existed in the country; by the perversion of some portion of the annual produce which had before been destined for the maintenance of productive labor, toward that of unproductive labor. As in this case, however, the taxes are lighter than they would have been, had a revenue sufficient for defraying the same expense been raised within the year; the private revenue of individuals is necessarily less burdened, and consequently their ability to save and accumulate some part of that revenue into capital is a good deal less impaired. If the method of funding destroy more old capital, it at the same time hinders less the accumulation or acquisition of new capital, than that of defraying the public expense by a revenue raised within the year. Under