The distribution of wealth . ilised lands has the quantity of prod-uct per capita of those engaged in agriculture dimin-ished, but has steadily increased. This is due to thefact that invention, enterprise, and accumulation ofcapital have proceeded faster than population; andthat, though the margin of cultivation may be lowerto-day than in ages past, yet the control of manover nature has more than compensated for the dimin-ished natural resources. One industry helps has progress in facilities for transporta-tion increased the productivity and economy of all 122 THE DISTRIBUTI
The distribution of wealth . ilised lands has the quantity of prod-uct per capita of those engaged in agriculture dimin-ished, but has steadily increased. This is due to thefact that invention, enterprise, and accumulation ofcapital have proceeded faster than population; andthat, though the margin of cultivation may be lowerto-day than in ages past, yet the control of manover nature has more than compensated for the dimin-ished natural resources. One industry helps has progress in facilities for transporta-tion increased the productivity and economy of all 122 THE DISTRIBUTION OF WEALTH CHAP. industries. One industry is not to be looked uponas isolated. In this way, taking all industries as awhole, there have been increasing returns throughoutthem all. This point may be illustrated by Diagram AB be the quantity of capital and labourwhich can be profitably invested in the entireindustry of agriculture at a given stage of agri-cultural and social efficiency of production. The Diagram G K last increment invested will yield a return BC, andthe entire investment yields ABCD. If productionwere to increase without any accompanying increasein efficiency, diminishing returns would proceed inthe direction C:r, and the returns to the entire in-vestment would be proportionately less than whenproduction ceased at AB. But suppose thei^e intervenes a growth in knowl-edge and skill, and a series of inventions in agricul-tural machinery and in transportation dose of capital and labour now invested inagriculture yields a greater return than before, and* Ill DIMINISHING RETURNS AND RENT 123 production may be carried to the point AG where themarginal return is as great as it had been at these inventions the return would have beenonly Qix^ and marginal labour and capital could nothave subsisted on that return. Taking now the entire investments of labour andcapital in each period, and comparing them withtheir corresponding yields
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, bookiddistrib, booksubjectwealth
