The subject of political economy is becoming so general a portion of
education, that it will doubtless soon be introduced at the infant schools
among the other eccentric evolutions or playful whirls of _Mr.
Wilder-spin_. At it is the fashion to comprehend nothing, but to have a
smattering of everything, we beg leave to smatter our readers with a very
thin layer of political economy. In the first place, "political" means
"political," and "economy" signifies "economy," at least when taken
separately; but put them together, and they express all kinds of
extravagance. Political economy contemplates the possibility of labouring
without work, eating without food, and living without the means of
subsistence. Social, or individual economy, teaches to live _within_ our
means; political economy calls upon us to live _without_ them. In the
debates, when more than usual time has been wasted in talking the most
_extravagant_ stuff, ten to one that there has been a good deal of
_political economy_. If you bother a poor devil who is dying of want, and
speak to him about _consumption_, it is probably "political economy" that
you will have addressed to him. If you talk to a man sinking with hunger
about _floating_ capital, you will no doubt have given him the benefit of
a few hints in "political economy:" while, if to a wretch in tattered rags
you broach the theory of _rent_, he must be an ungrateful beast indeed if
he does not appreciate the blessings of "political economy." That "labour
is wealth" forms one of the most refreshing axioms of this delicious
science; and if brought to the notice of a man breaking stones on the
road, he would perhaps wonder where his wealth might be while thinking of
his labour, but he could not question your proficiency in "political
economy." In fact, it is the most political and most economical science in
the world, if it can only be made to achieve its object, which is to
persuade the hard-working classes that they are the richest people in the
universe, for their labour gives value, and value gives wealth; but who
gets the value and the wealth is a consideration that does not fall within
the province of "political economy."
There is another branch of the subject at which we shall merely glance;
but one hint will open up a wide field of observation to the student. The
branch to which we allude is the tremendous extent to which political
economy is carried by those who interfere so much in politics with so very
little political knowledge, and who consequently display a most surprising
share of "political economy,"
As a very little goes a great way, and particularly as the most diminutive
portion of knowledge communicated by ourselves is, like the "one small
pill constituting a dose," much more efficacious than the 40 Number Ones
and 50 Number Twos of the mere quacks, we close for the present our
observations on _Political Economy_.
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