Economic Interpretation of History (Classic Reprint)

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Excerpt from Economic Interpretation of History Two things have discredited political economy-the one is its traditional disregard for facts the other, its strangling itself with definitions. The economist has borrowed his terms from common life. New, unless the words one uses are strictly limited in mean ing, as those are which express geometrical forms or chemical compounds, no word, and for the matter of that no definition of the word, ordinarily covers what the man who uses the word intends by it. He gives, may be, a definition of the thing or thought, and succeeding writers who inherit his word begin to expand or vary it, not taking counsel with the facts, but only with their own experiences or impressions. New word-splitting and definition-extending is a most agreeable occupation. It does not require knowledge. It is sufiicient to be acute. Persons can spin out their definitions from their inner consciousness by the dozen, aye, and catch the unwary in the web. But, above all things, the economist claims to be practical. He is engaged, as he tells you, in the analysis of social man, from a particular point of view. This view is especially the function of government and the state. If his conclusions are taken rightly, they are, or should be, the basis of Parliamentary and Administrative action. But it is appalling to think of what the consequences would have been, if some so-called economical verities had been translated into law. It is grievous enough to note what the consequences have been, when some of these rash inferences have been accepted as guides in statesmanship. I have attempted to illustrate what I mean in these lectures. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully, any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.