投资 · 西方古典
大卫·李嘉图：政治经济学及赋税原理·摘录 97
大卫·李嘉图《政治经济学及赋税原理》· On the Principles of Political Economy and Taxation · 投资
It is not to be understood that the natural price of wages, estimated even in food and necessaries, is absolutely fixed and constant. It varies at different times in the same country, and very materially differs in different countries. It essentially depends on the habits and customs of the people. An English labourer would consider his wages under their natural rate, and too scanty to support a family, if they enabled him to purchase no other food than potatoes, and to live in no better habitation than a mud cabin; yet these moderate demands of nature are often deemed sufficient in countries where "man's life is cheap," and his wants easily satisfied. Many of the conveniences now enjoyed in an English cottage, would have been thought luxuries at an early period of our history.
出处：
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/33310
定位：Excerpt 97 · 核对日期：2026-10-19 · 核验：短摘录
白话
工资的“自然价格”并非固定不变，即使以食物和必需品来衡量也是如此。它因时因地而异，根本上取决于一个民族的习惯和风俗。比如英国工人若只能买土豆充饥、住泥棚，他会觉得工资低于自然率、养不起家；但在“人命贱”、需求易满足的国家，这点微薄要求常被认为足够。今天英国农舍里的许多便利，在历史早期会被视为奢侈品。所以，判断工资高低不能只看绝对物质，而要结合当地社会公认的生活标准。
上下文
李嘉图《政治经济学及赋税原理》讨论工资自然价格，强调其受社会习俗影响而非仅由生理需要决定。
今日一问
你所在的社会，哪些“必需品”其实只是习俗使然？
公版作品；原文逐字取自 Project Gutenberg，仅摘录段落并附全书链接。
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