----------------- HES POSTING ----------------- Steve, Nope. Wrong quote. Made me go to the library and dig up the Sixth American Edition, translated by C.R. Prinsep from the Fourth French Edition, published in 1849 by Grigg, Elliott & Co., Philadelphia, best I can do. On pp. 118-119 I find Chapter XII, "Of Unproductive Capital" I quote from the beginning. "We have seen above that values once produced may be devoted either to the satisfaction of wants of those who have acquired them, or to a further act of production. They may also be withdrawn both from unproductive consumption and from reproductive employment, and remain buried or concealed. "The owner of values, in so disposing of them, not only deprives himself of the self-gratification he might have derived from their consumption, but also of the advantage he might draw from the productive agency of the value hoarded. He furthermore withholds from industry the profits it might make by the employment of that value." In the next very long paragraph he discusses examples of this including "the countries subjected to the Ottoman dominion" where "the vast quantity of capital remaining in a state of inactivity." He identifies the arbitrary power of the government as the source of the fear of "people of every rank from the peasant to the pacha, to withdraw a part of their property from the greedy eyes of power: and value can never be invisible, without being inactive." He further discusses "during the violence of political convulsions, there is always a sensible contraction of capital, a stagnation of industry, a disappearance of profit, and a general depression while the alarm continues..." He then talks about "The saints and madonnas of superstitious nations, the splendid pageantry and richly decorated idols of Asiatic worship, gave life to no agricultural or manufacturing enterprise." more and more and "There is a great deal of inert capital in countries, where the national habits lead to the extended use of the precious metals in furniture, clothes, and decorations." etc. etc. Obviously there are several arguments here, including the one about temporary uncertainties that you mentioned. Also, the focus on the hoarding of precious metals recalls Keynes' arguments regarding India and its "liquidity preference" which he argued took such a form. But the Ottoman example is no temporary uncertainty and clearly can last a long time in Say's view. This is no mere temporary deviation from "Say's Law." I rest my case. Barkley Rosser James Madison University ------------ FOOTER TO HES POSTING ------------ For information, send the message "info HES" to [log in to unmask]