376 THE GENERAL THEORY OF EMPLOYMENT bk. vi

it would mean the euthanasia of the rentier, and, con-sequently, the euthanasia of the cumulative oppressivepower of the capitalist to exploit the scarcity-value ofcapital. Interest to-day rewards no genuine sacrifice,any more than does the rent of land. The owner ofcapital can obtain interest because capital is scarce,just as the owner of land can obtain rent because landis scarce. But whilst there may be intrinsic reasonsfor the scarcity of land, there are no intrinsic reasonsfor the scarcity of capital. An intrinsic reason for suchscarcity, in the sense of a genuine sacrifice which couldonly be called forth by the offer of a reward in theshape of interest, would not exist, in the long run,except in the event of the individual propensity toconsume proving to be of such a character that netsaving in conditions of full employment comes to anend before capital has become sufficiently abundant.But even so, it will still be possible for communalsaving through the agency of the State to be main-tained at a level which will allow the growth of capitalup to the point where it ceases to be scarce.

I see, therefore, the rentier aspect of capitalism as atransitional phase which will disappear when it has doneits work. And with the disappearance of its rentieraspect much else in it besides will suffer a sea-change.It will be, moreover, a great advantage of the order ofevents which I am advocating, that the euthanasia ofthe rentier, of the functionless investor, will be nothingsudden, merely a gradual but prolonged continuanceof what we have seen recently in Great Britain , and willneed no revolution.

Thus we might aim in practice (there being nothing inthis which is unattainable) at an increase in the volumeof capital until it ceases to be scarce, so that the function-less investor will no longer receive a bonus; and at ascheme of direct taxation which allows the intelligenceand determination and executive skill of the financier,the entrepreneur et hoc genus omne (who are certainly so