The farmer and manufacturer can no more live without profit than the labourer without wages.

Like all other contracts, wages should be left to the fair and free competition of themarket, and should never be controlled by the interference of the legislature.

Utility then is not the measure of exchangeable value, although it is absolutely essential to it.

But a rise in the wages of labour would not equally affect commodities produced with machinery quickly consumed, and commodities produced with machinery slowly consumed.

The last point for consideration is the supposed disposition of the people to interfere with the rights of property. So essential does it appear to me, to the cause of good government, that the rights of property should be held sacred, that I would agree to deprive those of the elective franchise against whom it could justly be alleged that they considered it their interest to invade them.

Profits are not made by differential cleverness, but by differential stupidity.

There can be no greater error then in supposing that capital is increased by non-consumption.