of the teacher indirectly produces these utilities, and his labour must consequently be classified as productive. The definition, moreover, obviates the necessity of running counter to popular language, for this is undoubtedly done if we denominate as wealth such an immaterial object as the skill of a mechanic.
Productive and unproductive consumption.For the purposes of political economy, there is another distinction, as important as that between productive and unproductive labour. Much of that which is produced is destined to be wasted, or to be consumed unproductively. The wants of those who never contribute, either directly or indirectly, to the wealth of the nation must be supplied by the results of productive labour; and hence a portion only of the results of productive labour assists in the formation of new wealth. Consumption, therefore, as well as labour, may be either productive or unproductive.
Although the entire consumption of unproductive labourers must be unproductive, yet it does not follow that commodities are always consumed productively by productive labourers. For instance, even the poorest labourers in this country purchase some luxuries which they could abstain from, without in the slightest degree diminishing the efficiency of their labour. All such purchases, therefore, even if made by the most productive labourers, denote unproductive consumption.
The distinction between productive and unproductive consumption will assume considerable importance in the remarks we are about to make upon capital.
