Note 122 — Chapter VII · THE EMPIRICAL THEORY AS DEVELOPED BY MALTHUS.

As Malthus said in another place, “The effects of slow or quick returns, and of the different proportions of fixed and circulating capitals, are distinctly allowed by Mr. Ricardo, but in his last edition he has much underrated their amount. They are both theoretically and practically so considerable as entirely to destroy the position that commodities exchange with each other according to the quantity of labour which has been employed upon them, but no one that I am aware of has ever stated that the different quantity of labour employed on commodities is not a much more powerful source of difference of value.” Measure of Value Stated and Illustrated, pp. 12-13.