6. The wages of the workman is limited by the competition
among those who work for a subsistence. He only gains a
livelihood.
The mere workman, who depends only on his Lands and his
industry, has nothing but such part of his labour as he is able
to dispose of to others. He sells it at a cheaper or a dearer
price; but this high or low price does not depend on himself
alone; it results from the agreement he has made with the person
who employs him. The latter pays him as little as he can help,
and as he has the choice from among a great number of workmen, he
prefers the person who works cheapest. The workmen are therefore
obliged to lower their price in opposition to each other. In
every species of labour it must, and, in effect, it does happen,
that the wages of the workman is confined merely to what is
necessary to procure him a subsistence.
