But this is This, however, is but one half of the case;
frombein/ and, taken by itself, it may seeiti to have no
lesso^ ° t connection with the problem which forms the
indeed'thl main subject of this volume, namely, the
chief parti social hopgajtiid interests, not of Ability, but
[jq£ Labour, For, taken by itself, the con-
clusion which has just been stated may strike
the reader at first sight as amounting merely
to this : that the sum total of the national
income will be largest when the most numer-
ous minority of able men produce the largest
possible incomes, — incomes which they them-
selves consume; and that, unless they are
allowed to consume them, they will soon
cease to produce them. From the labourer's
point of view, such a conclusion would indeed
be a barren one. It might show him that
he could not better himself by attacking the
fortunes of the minority; but it would, on
the other hand, fail to show him that he
was much interested in their maintenance,
since, if Ability consumes the whole of the
annual wealth which it adds to the wealth
annually produced by Labour, the total might



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FROM THE LABOURER'S POINT OF VIEW 241

be diminished by the whole of the added ^okiv.
