We should also expect that, however the rate of the profits of stock might diminish in consequence of the accumulation of capital on the land, and the rise of wages, yet the aggregate amount of profits would increase. Thus supposing that, with repeated accumulations of 100,000l., the rate of profit should fall from 20 to 19, to 18, to 17 per cent., a constantly diminishing rate, we should expect that the whole amount of profits received by those successive owners of capital would be always progressive; that it would be greater when the capital was 200,000l., than when 100,000l.; still greater when 300,000l.; and so on, increasing, though at a diminishing rate, with every increase of capital. This progression however is only true for a certain time: thus 19 per cent. on 200,000l. is more than 20 on 100,000l.; again 18 per cent. on 300,000l. is more than 19 per cent. on 200,000l.; but after capital has accumulated to a large amount, and profits have fallen, the further accumulation diminishes the aggregate of profits. Thus suppose the accumulation should be 1,000,000l., and the profits 7 per cent. the whole amount of profits will be 70,000l.; now if an addition of 100,000l. capital be made to the million, and profits should fall to 6 per cent., 66,000l. or a diminution of 4000l. will be received by the owners of stock, although the whole amount of stock will be increased from 1,000,000l. to 1,100,000l.
There can, however, be no accumulation of capital, so long as stock yields any profit at all, without its yielding not only an increase of produce, but an increase of value. By employing 100,000 l. additional capital, no part of the former capital will be rendered less productive. The produce of the land and labour of the country must increase, and its value will be raised, not only by the value of the addition which is made to the former quantity of productions, but by the new value which is given to the whole produce of the land, by the increased difficulty of