Note 342 — Chapter III · : THE PESSIMISTS

“Rent does not and cannot enter in the least degree as a component part of its price.” (Ibid., p. 55.) And he adds: “The clearly understanding of this principle is, I am persuaded, of the utmost importance to the science of political economy.” It is true that Smith, writing long before this time, had declared that the “high rate of rent is the effect of price,” but he does not seem to have attached any great importance to the remark.