of the material substances of which it consists. This shows clearly that while the value of a thing does not depend on its natural qualities or the uses to which it may be put, so that exchange-value is entirely independent of use-value, there is a certain well-defined relation existing in their production, at least. What is that relation?
While this question of our wealth-production is merely mysterious, the questions of its distribution are puzzling and perplexing in the extreme. A cursory survey of our social system will show that there are very many persons in our society who evidently do not produce any wealth and yet have it in abundance. In fact, most of our wealth is found in the possession of persons who have not produced it. Where did they get it? The answer which suggests itself to this query is, that they got it from the persons who did produce it. But then the question arises: How did they get it? They did not take it by force, nor was it given to them for love. How did they get it?
Ever since man has kept written records of his doings there have been social classes composed of people who have neither toiled nor labored and still managed to live on the fat of the land. But the actions of these people have always been plain and above board. Everybody could see just how they managed it. There was never any mystery as to where their fat came from, nor how they got hold of it. The division of the wealth between those who produced it and those who didn't was done in the light of day and by a very simple process, so that each article produced could be traced into the hands of its ultimate possessor and each article possessed could be traced back to its original source. A child could tell the sources of wealth of an ancient slave-holder or medieval feudal baron. Not so with our non-producing classes. The sources of the wealth of our merchant-princes are shrouded in mystery. An honest merchant is supposed to, and usually does, pay for his wares what they are worth and sells them again for what they are worth. Wherefrom, then, does he get his profit? Two
