A Synopsis of the First Three Books of John Stuart Mill's Principles of Political Economy

by John Stuart Mill

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1888 edition. ... 2. In the sense of cost of production. The country gets the same quantity of the imported article with a less expenditure of labor and capital. This dependson 2 above. In case3, p. 56, England gets her corn cheaper by 74 days' labor through trade. CHAPTER XV. OF MONEY, CONSIDERED AS AN IMPORTED COMMODITY. Money is usually an imported article, and is consequently governed by the law of international values. p. 404. Money enters a country in two ways. 1. It is imported as bullion like other merchandise. 2. It is imported as a medium of exchange to pay debts due the country. This last is peculiar to money and renders special exposition necessary. When the precious metals are imported as articles of commerce, they conform to the same laws as other foreign products, and are usually a regular article of export from the mining countries. The quantity of produce which a country, as England, will give for a certain quantity of bullion depends on the intensity of her demand for bullion compared with the strength of the demand of the mining country for England's products. The total of England's imports, including bullion, must just balance her exports. The demand for money increases with the cheapness in a regular way. p. 406. The cost of bullion depends,-- 1. On the quantity of goods given in exchange. 2. The expense of transporting the goods over and the bullion back. Both these depend on the distance from the mines, and the former is much influenced by the bulkiness of the goods. Both countries bear a part of the cost of carriage, the exact amount being determined by the adjustment of international values. Prices are highest, i. e. bullion is cheapest, in countries whose exportable products (1) Most in demand abroad. (2) Which contain the...

30 pages, Paperback

First published September 12, 2013

About the author

John Stuart Mill, English philosopher, political economist, civil servant and Member of Parliament, was an influential liberal thinker of the 19th century. He was an exponent of utilitarianism, an ethical theory developed by Jeremy Bentham, although his conception of it was very different from Bentham's.