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opportunities for making use of them scarcely occurred. Much the same may be said of M. Block's Progrès de la Science Économique and some other histories. Of more service was the First Part of Dr. Eugen von Böhm-Bawerk's Kapital und Kapitalzins, perhaps the most brilliant work extant on the history of any part of economic theory. To the valuable fragment which Adolf Held left behind him, when, by the fatality which hung over the economists of the last generation, he was cut off in his prime, Zwei Bücher zur socialen Geschichte Englands, I am indebted for first making me aware of that close connexion between the economics and the politics of the Ricardian period which provides the key to many riddles.

In the ordinary critical and constructive books on political economy there are frequent statements respecting the history of economic doctrines. But these statements are seldom of much value to the historian. They are often based on inaccurate quotations from memory, and the reader is scarcely ever given the references which would enable him to check them. So far as they relate to the early nineteenth century period they are especially unsatisfactory and untrustworthy. It has been constantly supposed that 'abstract theory' must be defended at almost any cost against the attacks of the 'historical school,' and the result has been the creation of a mythical Ricardo and Malthus, who never wrote anything which cannot be limited and explained' till it ceases to be in conflict either with recognised fact or accepted modern opinion. With such idealisation I have no sympathy, and I fear I shall disappoint any one who expects me to hold up a few chosen economists as exempt from human error, and to exhibit all their opponents as persons of feeble intellect, who entirely failed to understand them. It is no part of my

plan to recommend any particular method of economic inquiry, or to praise or decry any particular authors. My object is simply to show what the various theories concerning production and distribution were, and to explain how and why they grew up, and then either flourished or decayed.

To all my quotations I have given exact references. The pages of the Wealth of Nations referred to are those of M'Culloch's edition in one volume, which has been very frequently reprinted with the same paging. As there is no even tolerably good edition, I have thought it best to refer to that of which most copies are in existence. In a couple of cases where I have detected small inaccuracies in the text I have restored the true reading. Where any doubt arises as to the name or date of any other book referred to, it will be resolved by looking out the author's name in the index. In quotations I have often taken the liberty of omitting a word such as 'then' or 'therefore,' when it occurs near the beginning, and merely connects the proposition with unquoted matter which precedes it. With this exception they will always, I hope, be found to be identical with the original.

OXFORD, April 1893.

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