投资 · 西方古典
托马斯·马尔萨斯：人口论·摘录 168
托马斯·马尔萨斯《人口论》· An Essay on the Principle of Population · 投资
A capital employed upon land may be unproductive to the individual that employs it and yet be highly productive to the society. A capital employed in trade, on the contrary, may be highly productive to the individual, and yet be almost totally unproductive to the society: and this is the reason why I should call manufacturing labour unproductive, in comparison of that which is employed in agriculture, and not for the reason given by the French economists. It is, indeed, almost impossible to see the great fortunes that are made in trade, and the liberality with which so many merchants live, and yet agree in the statement of the economists, that manufacturers can only grow rich by depriving themselves of the funds destined for their support. In many branches of trade the profits are so great as would allow of a clear rent to a third person; but as there is no third person in the case, and as all the profits centre in the master manufacturer, or merchant, he seems to have a fair chance of growing rich, without much privation; and we consequently see large fortunes acquired in trade by persons who have not been remarked for their parsimony.
出处：
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/4239
定位：Excerpt 168 · 核对日期：2026-10-19 · 核验：短摘录
白话
马尔萨斯认为，判断一种资本是否“生产性”，不能只看它让个人赚不赚钱，而要看它对整个社会有没有贡献。投在土地上的资本，可能让地主本人亏本，却能养活更多人、增加国家粮食，所以对社会是生产性的；投在贸易和制造业上的资本，可能让商人赚大钱，但对社会整体几乎没贡献，因为财富只是从一个人手里转到另一个人手里，没有增加国家总产出。他不同意法国重农学派的说法，即制造业者必须省吃俭用才能致富；他看到很多商人生活阔绰照样发大财，因为贸易利润太高，足以支付一切还有剩余。所以他把制造业劳动称为“非生产性”，是相对于农业劳动而言，不是说道德上没用。
上下文
马尔萨斯《人口论》第二版（1803）讨论资本用途，回应法国重农学派和亚当·斯密关于生产性劳动的观点。
今日一问
你判断一份工作或投资有没有价值时，先看个人收益，还是先看它对社会的净贡献？
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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