Note 255 — SUBJECT-INDEX.
Reading edition
“The earth, as we have already seen, is not the only agent of nature, which has a productive power; but it is the only one, or nearly so, that one set of men take to themselves, to the exclusion of others; and of which, consequently, they can appropriate the benefits. The waters of rivers, and of the sea, by the power which they have of giving movement to our machines, carrying our boats, nourishing our fish, have also a productive power; the wind which turns our mills, and even the heat of the sun, work for us; but happily no one has yet been able to say, the wind and the sun are mine, and the service which they render must be paid for.” J. B. Say, Économie Politique, as quoted by Ricardo, p. 35. ↑