If, on the other hand, the
invention turns out to be a failure, the wage-capital is wasted, and, so
far as the general welfare is concerned, the state might just as well
have thrown the whole of it into the sea. Since, then, the opportunities
which the state would have at its disposal, would consist at any moment
of a given amount of capital, and since any portion of this which was
used unsuccessfully would be lost, the number of opportunities which the
state could allocate to individuals would be limited, and each
opportunity which was wasted by one man would diminish the number that
could be placed at the disposal of others.
Now, any one who knows anything of human nature and actual life knows
this--that the number of men who firmly and passionately believe in the
value of their own inventions, or other industrial projects, is far in
excess of those whose ideas and projects have actually any value
whatsoever. When the _Great Eastern_, the largest ship of its time, had
been built on the Thames by the celebrated engineer Brunel, its
launching was attended with unforeseen and what seemed to be insuperable
difficulties.
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