Excerpt from First Steps of Political Economy
The desire of possession is one of our earliest desires. The child desires to have something for its own. This desire becomes in man the desire of property - of wealth.
Items of wealth. - The items of wealth are very numerous. Land, houses, furniture, clothing, carriages, watches, money, fruit, cattle - these and a great many other things constitute the wealth or riches of a country.
Two things common. - Two things are common to all these articles: 1. They are adapted to gratify some desire; 2. They can be appropriated - that is, can be owned by some person or persons. All articles adapted to gratify desire and capable of appropriation come under the head of wealth.
Air and sunlight. - Some objects of desire do not come under the head of wealth. Air is very desirable. All want it, and cannot live without it; but it is not an item of wealth. It cannot be appropriated - cannot become private property. This is owing to its abundance.
Water. - The remarks which apply to air and sunlight apply, for the most part, to water.
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