Quote of the Day: On not molesting capital

 

"“The quantity of employment in the country must depend, not only on the quantity of capital, but upon its advantageous distribution [among alternative productive uses], and above all, on the conviction of each capitalist that he will be allowed to enjoy unmolested the fruits of his capital, his skill, and his enterprise. 

“To take away from him this conviction is at once to annihilate half the productive industry of the country, and would be more fatal to the poor labourer than to the rich capitalist himself. This is so self-evident, that men very little advanced beyond the lowest stations in the country cannot be ignorant of it, and it may be doubted whether any large number even of the lowest would, if they could, promote a division of property."

~ David Ricardo