The sun., 1893-05-07


Q never touched the bottom. He felt CONSTANT
. as IL down below the short limit OF their lin'
D there we're deep currents running OF whic
4 they took no note whatever "Wo start. 70
: soul is wanting there" was line OF Byro
. which kept constantly repeating itself In nj
ear Many superficial facts. indeed. wer
/ admirably observed. and tremendou
superstructure was often built upon them
Far more fundame entail facts. strictly rel
evaht and cocnate. were left. because
loss gross and palpable. In obscurity ant
neglect. Ideas were evolved or assumed
without being ever defined or even con
sciously expressed. Continually. the whole
region OF human nature and OF the human
will was lett out OF the account or, Il
h taken Anto account. the shalloweat motivef
were selected and the most permanent and
potent were forgotten. Conclusions were
reached which contradIcted gnriuCy tho act
ual experience OF life. because they were
founded on abstract conceptions and proposi-
tions which We're badly Rbstractsd and largely
composed OF hollow phrases or ambiguous
words. The whole system OF the school of
Mill and Ricardo seemed An artificial world.
having only few points Of contact with the
world OF nature and Of life.
For q long time our author was repelled by
the labor OF analysis on subject SO vast ana
difficult: and It Is only recently that tho dis-
| credit cast upon science ON which much
depends and in which large progress had been
really made. has induced him to Join tho
younger writer's. who have revoited against an
authority which had been too long and too un-
| critically admitted. 1t Is high time. in the
Dukes opinion. that economic science should
be reconstructed. with view OF saving what
Is sound in it and rescuing its uselul
| clements from indscriminate contempt.
So utterly has tho teaching OF political
| economy broken down as controlling or
even as a guiding power In legislation. that
| its very rudiments and not few OF Its most
certain truths seem to have lost their hold.
There arc numbers OF educated men who are
| now more than half prepared to 60 back to the
| economic delusions OF the dark ages Various
| causes have no doubt contributed to this re-
suit. but the Duke feels sure that one great
cause has hcen the bad teaching OF economic
| science. Much OF that teaching has brought
| upon the science natural II not q Just oppro-
brium. Tho very name Of political economy
has become in many minds q byword and 8
reproach. Believing that the reaction hos
becn excessive and irrational. the Duke. as
we have said. has attempted to aid the many
writer's who are endenvoring to rebuild
structure which has keen sorely shattered.
This book has both O critical and con-
structive purpose. From the critical point OF
view the author examines Mcarcos theory OF
rent and the general theory OF value which
has been evolved from II. tho wages fund'
theory. the doctrine OF unearned increment"
md tho theory Of Nautilus with regard to
population. Where can.e Is shown for dis
cardin3 theories which were at ono time In
possession OF tho field. the Duke undertakes
to substitute theories OF his own. which. while
recognizing the ethical element in society.
overlooked by the orthodox economists. shall
stop short Of socialism. For destructive ppr-
poses he avails himself OF the ammunition
furnished by the Professor Socialists OF Ger
many. but no is unwilling to follow them in
conceding to the State large role OF parental
supervision and interference. Aside from his
suggested definitions Of such terms as wealth.
labor. rent. and wages. tho creator part OF the
space at the Dukes disposal is devoted to an
argument on behalf OF individualism. the pur-
pose being to demonstrate that. as a matter |
OF historical fact. the evolution OF civilization
has depended on the reduction OF real and |
personal property to individual possession.
Without attempting to follow tho main cur.
rent Of tho authors reasoning We can exem-
plify the readable quality OF tho hook By
excerpts from somo chapters which deal with
certain economic fallacies." 1t is only indeed
in qualified sense that the doctrine OF Nal
thus on population Is termed fallncy It
may be we'll to recall tho words in which his
theory was propounded. Nautilus held that
tho breeding power OF the human race is SO
enormous that 1t always tends to the multi
plication OF numbers in proportion to the
means Of living. and that under certain condi-
tions 1t does SO to such degree as to press
worry severely on the limits Of subsistence.
Thus simply stated and strictly limited to the
conception OF what in physics is called "po-
tential energy" our author regards the doc
trine OF Malthus as no theory at ALL but as an
indispdtable fact. The power OF multiplied
tion OF the human species exists as q pure
matter Of fact, but the extent to which
1t can actually work depends on purely
hypothetical conditions. The Malthusian
law has been attacked with a vehe-
mence which can only be accounted for
on the ground that it has been looked
ut ms II 1t stood alone. and as II the alleged
could ever exercise q supreme and
undivided power. Malthus himsoli saw and
specified certain Limitations which he called
- checks" and these form an essential part Of
his thsory taken as Q whole. He saw some Of
tho habits and practices which in various
regions have actually had q powerful tendency
10 keep down the rate OF breeding. such as tho
savage custom OF ofinfanticide. and the eauslly
savage usages Of marriage which have exten-
'ively prevailed. He saw too. how the Same
effect might be attained by the Substitution OF
deliberate motives Of higher kind. But his
specified checks have oeen as obnoxious to
many minds as the power ofiucrease. which was
ais Fundamental proposition. Moreover. he fell ,
nto the error OF imagining that ha could
'ount and exhaust the checks" on the un-
limited potentialities Of Increase. and could
therefore, establish some measurable numsr- 1
cal ratio between self multiplication and food
production.
The Duke OF Argyll finds notable example
u the operation Of tho Ma!thusian law where
checks" are inadequate. In the case OF Ire
and during the hundred years preceding the
'otato famine OF 1S47. In the middle OF the t
ast century the population Of Ireland was ]
omputed ut about two millions; lust before &
he famine OF lS47 1t had risen to s.42O.O00
That Is to say. 1t hnd multiplied itself by four
urinG little moro then the extreme limit OF a
ingls human life. During this period somo @
Cheeks" moreover. on the breeding power !