A Treatise on Political Economy - The Production, Distribution, and Consumption of Wealth

...degree of gradation, from the crowded level of average means original: "populous level of mediocrity" to the isolated height of extreme wealth original: "solitary pinnacle of extreme affluence". Accordingly, the products most generally desired are actually demanded by only a limited number of people, because they alone have the means original: "wherewithal" to obtain them; and even their ability to pay may vary according to circumstances.

From this, it can be further concluded that a product may be in greater demand at a lower price point—and when it is obtainable with less productive effort The labor or resources required to create a good.—even if its usefulness original: "utility" has not increased at all. This happens simply because it becomes accessible to a greater number of consumers. Conversely, there is less demand at a higher price because it is accessible to a smaller number of people.

Suppose that, during a severe winter, a method is discovered for manufacturing knitted wool waistcoats at 6 francs original: "6 fr."; the franc was the standard unit of French currency. each. Probably everyone who has 6 francs left over after satisfying more urgent needs would buy one of these waistcoats. But those who have only 5 francs left must still go without. If the same article could be produced for 5 francs, these latter individuals might also be supplied and become consumers. Consumption would be extended even further if they could be produced for only 4 francs. In this way, products formerly within reach of only the rich have been made accessible to almost every class of society, as is the case with stockings.

When the price of a product is raised, whether by taxation or by any other means, the opposite effect occurs; the number of its consumers...