Let us now consider the opposite side of this argument.Anation which possesses merely agriculture, and merely the mostindispensable industries, is in want of the first and mostnecessary division of commercial operations among its inhabitants,and of the most important half of its productive powers, indeed itis in want of a useful division of commercial operations even inthe separate branches of agriculture itself.A nation thusimperfect will not only be merely half as productive as a perfectnation, but with an equal or even with a much larger territory,with an equal or a much larger population, it will perhaps scarcelyobtain a fifth, probably scarcely a tenth, part of that materialwealth which a perfect nation is able to procure; and this for thesame reason owing to which in a very complicated manufactory tenpersons produce not merely ten times more, but perhaps thirty timesmore, than one person, or a man with one arm cannot merely workhalf as little, but infinitely less, than a man with two arms.Thisloss in productive power will be so much greater, the more that themanufacturing operations can be furthered by machinery, and theless that machinery can be applied in agriculture.A part of theproductive power which the agricultural nation thus loses, willfall to the lot of that nation which exchanges its manufacturedgoods for agricultural products.This will, however, be a positiveloss only in case the agricultural nation has already reached thatstage of civilisation and political development which is necessaryfor the establishment of a manufacturing power.If it has not yetattained that stage, and still remains in a barbarous orhalf-civilised state, if its agricultural power of production hasnot yet developed itself even from the most primitive condition, ifby the importation of foreign fabrics and the exportation of rawproducts its prosperity nevertheless increases considerably fromyear to year, and its mental and social powers continue to beawakened and increased, if such commerce as it can thus carry on isnot interrupted by foreign prohibition of importation of rawproducts, or by wars, or if the territory of the agriculturalnation is situated in a tropical climate, the gain on both sideswill then be equal and in conformity with the laws of nature,because under the influence of such an exchange of the nativeproducts for foreign fabrics, a nation so situated will attain tocivilisation and development of its productive powers more quicklyand safely than when it has to develop them entirely out of itsresources.If, however, the agricultural nation has already reachedthe culminating point of its agricultural development, as far asthat can be attained by the influence of foreign commerce, or ifthe manufacturing nation refuses to take the products of theagricultural nation in exchange for its manufactured goods, and ifnevertheless, owing to the successful competition of themanufacturing nation in the markets of the agricultural nation, nomanufactures can spring up in the latter, in such a case theagricultural productive power of the agricultural nation is exposedto the danger of being crippled.
By a crippled state of agriculture we mean that state of thingsin which, from want of a powerful and steadily developingmanufacturing industry, the entire increase of population tends tothrow itself on agriculture for employment, consumes all thesurplus agricultural production of the country, and as soon as ithas considerably increased either has to emigrate or share with theagriculturists already in existence the land immediately at hand,till the landed property of every family has become so small thatit produces only the most elementary and necessary portion of thatfamily's requirements of food and raw materials, but noconsiderable surplus which it might exchange with the manufacturersfor the manufactured products which it requires.Under a normaldevelopment of the productive powers of the State, the greater partof the increase of population of an agricultural nation (as soon asit has attained a certain degree of culture) should transfer itselfto manufacturing industry, and the excess of the agriculturalproducts should partly serve for supplying the manufacturingpopulation with provisions and raw materials, and partly forprocuring for the agriculturists the manufactured goods, machines,and utensils which they require for their consumption, and for theincrease of their own production.
