CHAPTER XLVIII

ECONOMICS AND SOCIAL SCIENCE Many topics in the field of economics and social science are treated with some detail in other parts of this Guide. For public finance, for instance, see the chapter _For Bankers and Financiers_. Tariffs, trusts, labour questions and the problems of population (such as immigration, eugenics, aliens and race-conflict, the liquor traffic, penal and charitable institutions) are among the topics presented in the course on _Questions of the Day_. In this chapter is a brief outline of the entire subject, including these special topics. The key article, equivalent to 35 pages in this Guide, is ECONOMICS, (Vol. 8, p. 899), by W. A. S. Hewins, formerly director of the London School of Economics, secretary of the tariff commission. [Sidenote: Great Economists] For the history of economic theory in biographies of great economists, see JEAN BODIN; THOMAS MUN; HOBBES; SIR WILLIAM PETTY; SIR WILLIAM TEMPLE; SIR JOSIAH CHILD; VAUBAN; SIR DUDLEY NORTH; FÉNELON; CHARLES DAVENANT; PIERRE BOISGUILBERT; MONTESQUIEU; FRANÇOIS QUESNAY; BENJAMIN FRANKLIN; ANTONIO GENOVESI; SIR JAMES STEUART; JOSIAH TUCKER; VICTOR MIRABEAU; COUNT OF CARLI-RUBBI; JUSTUS MÖSER; PEDRO RODRIGUEZ; ADAM SMITH; ANNE ROBERT JACQUES TURGOT; FERDINANDO GALIANI; BECCARIA-BONESANA; DU PONT DE NEMOURS; GASPAR MELCHOR DE JOVELLANOS; GAETANO FILANGIERI; ALEXANDER HAMILTON; HENRY THORNTON; THOMAS ROBERT MALTHUS; MELCHIORRE GIOJA; JEAN BAPTISTE SAY; DAVID RICARDO; JEAN C. L. DE SISMONDI; JAMES MILL; THOMAS TOOKE; RICHARD JONES; ROBERT TORRENS; FRIEDRICH LIST; J. R. M’CULLOCH; NASSAU W. SENIOR; KARL HEINRICH RAU; HENRY CHARLES CAREY; AUGUSTE COMTE; FREDERIC BASTIAT; HARRIET MARTINEAU; JOHN STUART MILL; BONAMY PRICE; W. T. THORNTON; EMILE DE LAVELEYE; J. E. CAIRNES; J. E. THOROLD ROGERS; J. K. INGRAM; WALTER BAGEHOT; T. E. CLIFFE LESLIE; DAVID AMES WELLS; W. STANLEY JEVONS; HENRY GEORGE; FRANCIS AMASA WALKER; W. G. SUMNER; L. J. BRENTANO; WILLIAM CUNNINGHAM; EUGEN BOEHM VON BAWERK; ARNOLD TOYNBEE; R. T. ELY; A. T. HADLEY; D. R. DEWEY; F. W. TAUSSIG; W. J. ASHLEY; E. W. BEMIS; and E. R. A. SELIGMAN. For the chief branches of economic theory read: [Sidenote: Economic Theory] VALUE (Vol. 27, p. 867) by Dr. J. S. Nicholson, professor of political economy, Edinburgh University, author of _Principles of Political Economy_, etc. This article, equivalent to 25 pages of this Guide, distinguishes between utility and value—to be valuable a “thing must have some utility; and there must be some difficulty in its attainment.” There are three laws of value—supply and demand, in the discussion of which monopoly-values and competition-values are considered; that of cost of production, in which cost of raw material and wages are obvious factors; and that of increasing cost with increased quantity of production,—upon which depends the theory of rent. WEALTH (Vol. 28, p. 437) is by the same author, who adopts the definition of wealth connected with the name of Adolf von Held, based on a study of _consumption_, _production_ and _distribution_ of wealth,—“consumable utilities which require labour for their production and can be appropriated and exchanged.” CONSUMPTION (Vol. 7, p. 23) is the “destruction of utilities.” PRODUCTION (Vol. 22, p. 423) is the creation of utilities. CAPITAL (Vol. 5, p. 278) is accumulated wealth available for earning interest and producing fresh wealth. “It is not antithetical to labour, but ... the accumulated savings of labour and of the profits accruing from the savings of labour.” The “importance of ability or brain-work, as against much of modern theorizing against capitalism,” must not be overlooked. WAGES (Vol. 28, p. 229), also by Dr. Nicholson, is equivalent to 17 pages in this Guide. It distinguishes between nominal and real wages, describes the economic wages fund theory, and deals with such topics as state regulation of wages, factory legislation, trades unions and wages, effects of machinery on wages. Further information, more particularly in the field of finance, will be found in: BANKS AND BANKING (Vol. 3, p. 334), with a special treatment of American banking by Charles A. Conant, formerly treasurer of the Morton Trust Co., New York City, and author of _History of Modern Banks of Issue_, and with the general description by Sir Robert Palgrave, director of Barclay & Co., Ltd., and editor of the _Dictionary of Political Economy_. TRUST COMPANY (Vol. 27, p. 329) is by C. A. Conant, late treasurer of the Morton Trust Co., New York. MONEY (Vol. 18, p. 694) and FINANCE (Vol. 10, p. 347) are by Prof. Charles Francis Bastable, University of Dublin, author of _Public Finance_, etc. See also the articles on GOLD, SILVER, BIMETALLISM, and MONETARY CONFERENCES. On “Ideal” social systems, see these four groups of articles: [Sidenote: Anarchism, Socialism, etc.] ANARCHISM (Vol. 1, p. 914), by Prince Kropotkin, author of _Modern Science and Anarchism_, and a contributor to the Britannica on Russian geography; and NIHILISM (Vol. 19, p. 686), by Sir Donald Mackenzie Wallace, author of _Russia_, and _The Web of Empire_; and biographies of WILLIAM GODWIN, PROUDHON, BAKUNIN, CLÉMENCE LOUISE MICHEL, KROPOTKIN, MOST, RECLUS (like Kropotkin, well known as a geographer), TOLSTOY, and on “anarchist” outrages see CHICAGO (Vol. 6, p. 125), MCKINLEY, ALEXANDER II of Russia, M. F. S. CARNOT, ELIZABETH of Austria (Vol. 9, p. 285), and HUMBERT. COMMUNISM (Vol. 6, p. 791), and see also ROBERT OWEN, NEW HARMONY, AMANA, SHAKERS, FOURIER, BROOK FARM, CONSIDERANT, CABET, SAINT-SIMON and ONEIDA COMMUNITY; and on Plato’s “Republic,” PLATO (especially pp. 818–819, Vol. 21); on More’s “Utopia,” the article SIR THOMAS MORE (especially p. 825, Vol. 18); on Bacon’s “New Atlantis,” the article FRANCIS BACON (especially p. 144, Vol. 3); on Hobbe’s “Leviathan,” the article HOBBES (especially p. 547, Vol. 13); on Campanella’s “Civitas Solis” or “City of the Sun,” the article CAMPANELLA (Vol. 5, p. 121); SAMUEL BUTLER (Vol. 4, p. 887) for “Erewhon” and “Erewhon Revisited”; and EDWARD BELLAMY (Vol. 3, p. 694) for “Looking Backward,” the latest of the well-known literary pictures of an ideal commonwealth. CO-OPERATION (Vol. 7, p. 82), by Aneurin Williams, chairman of executive, International Co-Operative Alliance, and author of _Twenty-eight Years of Co-operation at Guise_; and BUILDING SOCIETIES (Vol. 4, p. 766) and FRIENDLY SOCIETIES (Vol. 11, p. 217), both collaborative articles by Sir Edward William Brabrook, late chief registrar of friendly societies, and Dr. Carroll D. Wright, late United States Commissioner of Labor; and for the different co-operative experiments, see, in addition to the articles mentioned under Communism above: ROCHDALE, GUISE, JEAN BAPTISTE, ANDRÉ GODIN, E. V. NEALE, RAIFFEISEN and SCHULZE-DELITZSCH for German co-operative banks and rural credit, IRELAND (especially p. 749, Vol. 14), FRANCE (especially p. 782, Vol. 10), ITALY (especially p. 14, Vol. 15), RUSSIA (especially p. 887, Vol. 23, on the _Artel_); and for American approaches to co-operation the articles HOPEDALE, PULLMAN and MORMONS (especially p. 846, Vol. 18). SOCIALISM (Vol. 25, p. 301), by James Bonar, author of _Philosophy and Political Economy_; and supplement this by the articles ROBERT OWEN; KARL MARX, by Edward Bernstein, author of _Theorie and Geschichte des Socialismus_ and formerly a Socialist member of the Reichstag and a leader of the German Socialist movement away from Marx; RODBERTUS; LASSALLE; KETTLER; BEBEL; LIEBKNECHT; SCHMOLLER; JAURES; MILLERAND; HENRY GEORGE; WILLIAM MORRIS; H. G. WELLS; BERNARD SHAW; JOHN BURNS; and local articles, especially NEW ZEALAND and FINLAND. [Sidenote: Tariffs, Trusts, etc.] Among the more interesting general economic topics are tariffs and trusts, matters of constant and great importance both in politics and business. See the articles: TARIFF (Vol. 26, p. 422), by Dr. F. W. Taussig, professor at Harvard, and author of _The Tariff History of the United States_; FREE TRADE (Vol. 11, p. 88), by Dr. William Cunningham, archdeacon of Ely, author of _Growth of English Industry and Commerce_. PROTECTION (Vol. 22, p. 464), by E. J. James, president of the University of Illinois, author of _History of American Tariff Legislation_, etc. For the history of tariff legislation in the United States, the articles ALEXANDER HAMILTON, HENRY CLAY, FEDERALIST PARTY, ANTI-FEDERALIST PARTY, DEMOCRATIC PARTY, WHIG PARTY, REPUBLICAN PARTY, J. S. MORRILL, MCKINLEY, etc., and UNITED STATES HISTORY (Vol. 27) especially § 113 (p. 689), § 151 (p. 694), § 195 (p. 701), § 241 (p. 708), § 297 (p. 716), § 314 (p. 718), § 354 (p. 728), § 370 (p. 728), § 373 (p. 729), etc. And for the English tariff legislation in the last hundred years, the articles CORN LAWS, JOHN BRIGHT, COBDEN, JOSEPH CHAMBERLAIN, etc. The article TRUSTS (Vol. 27, p. 334), by Prof. J. W. Jenks of New York University should be supplemented by the article GILDS (Vol. 12, p. 14), contributed by the late Professor Charles Gross of Harvard University, and for American Trust Legislation, by the articles INTERSTATE COMMERCE (Vol. 14, p. 711) and UNITED STATES, _History_ (Vol. 27), especially pages 725–726, 729, 734. See also under separate state headings. [Sidenote: Labour and Wages] The article on Gilds just referred to will serve as an introduction to the subject of labour and labour organizations. The most important articles on modern conditions are TRADE UNIONS (Vol. 27, p. 140); STRIKES AND LOCKOUTS (Vol. 25, p. 1024); and LABOUR LEGISLATION (Vol. 16, p. 7), all with American sections by Carroll D. Wright, late U. S. Commissioner of Labor. On labour legislation see the special article EMPLOYERS’ LIABILITY (Vol. 9, p. 356) and the sections on legislation and miscellaneous laws in separate state articles. [Sidenote: Statistics, Population, etc.] One of the great branches of economics is the study of statistics. Advisedly we say “_study_ of statistics” and in the Britannica the student will find comparatively few statistical tables, but much analysis both of statistics and of their meaning. For statistics of population see, for instance, the section on population in the article UNITED STATES or in any one of the state or city articles. Under _Population and Social Conditions_ in the article UNITED STATES (Vol. 27, pp. 634–638) are treated: growth of the nation geographically and in population, with special consideration of immigration; changes in localities; urban and rural population; interstate migration; sexes; vital statistics—death rate, marriage, families, birth-rate, illiteracy; religious statistics; occupations; national wealth. And the state articles give: total population at each census; foreign-born and of foreign parentage,—often with analysis and historical outlines of immigration and its variation and character and amount; religious statistics; negroes and whites, Indians, Asiatics, etc.; urban population, with list of larger cities and population of each. In articles on American cities and towns population figures are given from the last census; comparisons are made between native and foreign-born and the foreign-born are classified, and, where there is a predominant element, like the Germans in Cincinnati and St. Louis, an estimate of the influence of this element. One of the problems of population peculiar to the United States, particularly the Southern states, is the negro. See the article NEGRO (Vol. 19, p. 344), especially the part dealing with the United States, which is by Walter F. Willcox, professor of social science and statistics in Cornell University and chief statistician of the U. S. Census Bureau. This article and that on DIVORCE (Vol. 8, p. 334)—another urgent American problem—are remarkable examples of the treatment of a social question from the point of view of a statistician in a most interesting and illuminating manner, although based on dry statistics, and in a manner all the more satisfying and accurate because it has carefully analyzed figures at the back of it. The status of the negro in different states is described in the separate state articles, and there, too, the reader will find a summary of local divorce laws. Other articles coming under the head of population are INFANTICIDE, ILLEGITIMACY, LEGITIMACY and LEGITIMATION. [Sidenote: Social Legislation] In the chapter in this Guide on _Questions of the Day_ attention is called to the increasing tendency of the state to control and regulate matters which a generation or so ago were considered outside the sphere of government. Two particular economic questions—“social evils” we sometimes call them—are foremost in this category and on these the student of economics should read in the Britannica: The article PROSTITUTION (Vol. 22, p. 457), by Dr. Arthur Shadwell, member of the Council of the Epidemiological Society and author of _Industrial Efficiency and Drink_, _Temperance and Legislation_, and the articles LIQUOR LAWS (Vol. 16, p. 759) and TEMPERANCE (Vol. 26, p. 578), also by Dr. Shadwell. These should be supplemented by accounts of local legislation against liquor, as for example in the articles MAINE, KANSAS, SOUTH CAROLINA, etc. On the Gothenburg system of Sweden and Norway see Vol. 16, pp. 769 and 780, and Vol. 26, p. 587, where, we learn that the essence of this method of conducting the retail traffic is that the element of private gain is eliminated. See besides biographies of temperance reformers—e.g., THEOBALD MATHEW, NEAL DOW, JOHN B. GOUGH, etc. Another great problem which the state and the municipality are attempting to solve, or to help solve, by means of legislation is that of housing. See the article HOUSING (Vol. 13, p. 814), which comprises not only the topic of city housing and its faults due to overcrowding, excessive value of land in great cities, etc., but the subject of rural housing, and the experiments in garden cities, model towns, etc. See also the article OCTAVIA HILL (Vol. 13, p. 465), and for American model towns, HOPEDALE, PULLMAN, etc. [Sidenote: Social Welfare] Many movements for social welfare are of a very different character and are based on an entirely different principle from that of repressive or controlling legislation. Charities, education, care of insane, training of defectives, prison reform—such are a few of these topics, and the student will quickly learn that these burdens have been borne quite as much by the individual as by the State, and that in many instances individual initiative has by long and laborious effort succeeded in reforming in this field abuses which had flourished under government care. [Sidenote: Charity] Of prime importance to the student is the elaborate article on CHARITY AND CHARITIES (Vol. 5, p. 860), by Dr. Charles Stewart Loch, secretary to the council of the London Charity Organization Society and author of _Charity Organization_, _Methods of Social Advance_, etc. This article, equivalent in contents to 100 pages of this Guide, is made up of an