2.6 Variation in Recompense to Productive Agency

The profits of productive industry are not of equal amount in all its applications, but vary according to the individual (some being more productive than others) and the good produced (some being valued for consumption more than others). As such, some productive acts yield a very scanty revenue while others provide an exorbitant return.

While the amount of effort to produce a thing contributes to its value to the seller in considering the price at which he will part with it, the majority of value is by the appraisal of the buyer: he prefers to consume one thing instead of another. Competition, supply and demand, and the like, also come into play, but to a lesser degree.

A general principle is that those who choose to produce are inclined, but not guaranteed, to direct their effort to the endeavor which yields the greatest profit. This is offset by competition: the more of a thing that is produced, the more opportunities buyers have to obtain it, and the less they must give in exchange of items that are more scarce.

The capacity to produce is affected not only by the will to produce, but to the ability. A man who does not know how to produce something, or is not adept at it, cannot produce it no matter how much he desires it. Just as barren land, regardless of the labor applied to it, will fail to produce a crop.

In choosing to produce a thing, man assesses whether it is worth the effort. In bargaining to obtain a thing produced by someone else, man assesses whether it is worth the price (which reflects his own effort in producing other things he must give in trade).

As such, there is no method of determining the absolute value of any given thing. There are many causes and much variation to each cause that determines the degree of difficulty in its creation, and the very concept of value is entirely subjective.

In general, it generally holds true that the commodities that yield the greatest profit are the most unusual, and not the most practical. It is with some irony that one may observe the items most necessary to the sustenance of life (food) are often plentiful and cheap while those that are most inconsequential (jewelry) are often rare and expensive. It is not uncommon for the most fashionable individuals to bankrupt themselves in the pursuit of the most absurd dictates of fashion.

Say also touches on the notion of volume. There is more profit to be made on the sale of a chandelier than on that of a candlestick - but given that the chandelier is in demand only in the mansions of the rich, whereas the poorest cottage is lit by a candle, the candlestick-maker may find himself more wealthy than the producer of chandeliers, and his revenue is more regular and dependable in its volume.

Say draws an example of the trade of English earthenware for French porcelain. This appealed to the French, who saw themselves getting the better end of the deal, until it became obvious that many French households employed common English and the English demanded of Sevres china was "a trifle in comparison." Ultimately, it is a bad speculation to aim for the export of objects of luxury and the import of objects of general utility.

It is because of the desire for regular and dependable income that many apply themselves in the production of "current articles," and happily do a brisk trade in articles of low unit-value.