Price, the measure of value in terms of money, will be determined,
under conditions of free competition, by the interaction of utility
and scarcity. Diamonds are high in price because they satisfy intense
desires and are scarce; bread is cheap because while possessing great
utility, it is relatively abundant. Skilled labor receives high wages
because in addition to its utility it is relatively scarce; unskilled
labor often receives low wages because while possessing utility it is
relatively abundant. This principle is of the very greatest
consequence, and in considering the programs of industrial reform we
shall come back to it again.

98. FREEDOM.--A large measure of personal liberty is a characteristic
of the capitalistic system, To an increasing extent, government is
restricting economic activity to productive channels, but with this
qualification, the individual is comparatively free to do as he likes.
The laborer is free to move about in search of work, free to seek a
better job, free to accept or to reject work offered him. He may
abandon his job when he chooses, and remain idle as long as he
chooses, or is able. He is repressed by no paternalistic government,
embarrassed by no feudal system. He is part and parcel of the
competitive system, guiding his own actions and accepting
responsibility for them. To a large extent, the employer is similarly
free to hire or discharge men as he sees fit, to initiate a new
business, or to withdraw from business altogether. In every case the
individual is free, so far as legal restrictions are concerned, to use
his money as he chooses. Whether it is hoarded, invested, or wasted is
largely a matter for him to determine.

99. BENEFITS OF THE CAPITALISTIC SYSTEM.--The material prosperity of