2i2 THE GENERAL THEORY OF EMPLOYMENT bk. iv

It is of this fallacy that it is most difficult to disabusemen’s minds. It comes from believing that the ownerof wealth desires a capital-asset as such , whereas whathe really desires is its prospective yield. Now, pro-spective yield wholly depends on the expectation offuture effective demand in relation to future conditionsof supply. If, therefore, an act of saving does nothingto improve prospective yield, it does nothing tostimulate investment. Moreover, in order than anindividual saver may attain his desired goal of theownership of wealth, it is not necessary that a newcapital-asset should be produced wherewith to satisfybim. The mere act of saving by one individual,heing two-sided as we have shown above, forces someother individual to transfer to him some article ofwealth old or new. Every act of saving involves a“forced” inevitable transfer of wealth to him who saves,though he in his turn may suffer from the saving ofothers. These transfers of wealth do not require thecreation of new wealth—indeed, as we have seen, theymay be actively inimical to it. The creation of newwealth wholly depends on the prospective yield of thenew wealth reaching the standard set by the currentrate of interest. The prospective yield of the marginalnew investment is not increased by the fact that some-one wishes to increase his wealth, since the prospectiveyield of the marginal new investment depends on theexpectation of a demand for a specific article at aspecific date.

Nor do we avoid this conclusion by arguing thatwhat the owner of wealth desires is not a given pro-spective yield but the best available prospective yield,so that an increased desire to own wealth reduces theprospective yield with which the producers of newinvestment have to be content. For this overlooks thefact that there is always an alternative to the ownershipof real capital-assets, namely the ownership of moneyand debts; so that the prospective yield with which