Let us look at him in the second character, and the conclusion will be different.

We may say: The consumer is rich in proportion as he _buys_ at a low price.

He buys at a low price in proportion to the abundance of the articles in demand; _abundance_, then, enriches him.

This reasoning, extended to all consumers, must lead to the _theory of abundance_.
Which theory is right?
Can we hesitate to say?
Suppose that by following out the _scarcity theory_, suppose that through prohibitions and restrictions we were compelled not only to make our own iron, but to grow our own coffee; in short, to obtain everything with difficulty and great outlay of labor.

We then take an account of stock and see what our savings are.
Afterward, to test the other theory, suppose we remove the duties on iron, the duties on coffee, and the duties on everything else, so that we shall obtain everything with as little difficulty and outlay of labor as possible.