Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 2.djvu/904

 888 THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY

per day and who did not avail themselves of the insurance afforded by organizations and associations must become insured. The dues varied according to the wages received. Under the law, 4220 men had insured, most of them being the less skilled workmen. The compulsory feature of the law was distasteful to many. But the real trouble was that very few except of the lowest class of laborers were ever out of work, and so the lower classes were insured largely at the expense of the higher. To this, very naturally, the latter objected. THEODOR CURTI, Regierungsrat in St. Gallen, in Archiv fur Soziale Gesetzgebung und Statistik, December 1897. M.

The Old Generation of Economists and the New. Thirty years ago eco- nomic science in England was more confident than it is today. Few of its general propositions flourished in France, and almost none in America. It is now patent that no practical problems can be settled offhand by an appeal to general doctrines. Nature's facts are more diverse than used to be thought. We cannot predict results from a mere knowledge of fundamental forces, without making a full investigation of the particular circumstances under which they act. A small change in those circum- stances may alter the action of the fundamental forces beyond recognition. The pur- suit of particulars has become more eager, but there is little tendency to dissociate it from the study of general principles. t A further advance is the recognition that in economics we deal with the whole of man's nature. Social science, or the reasoned history of man, is working its way towards a fundamental unity, which is to be found in the forces of human character. Our first duty as economists is to make a reasoned catalogue of the world as it is, and never to allow our estimates as to what forces will prove the strongest in any social contingency to be biased by our opinion as to what forms ought to prove the strongest. Economists must admit instances of social discord. They are the result of natural laws which it is their business to help to counteract. They must dare to oppose the multitude for the good of the multitude, taking an atti- tude of reserve towards movements that are already popular. The coming economists will have no more urgent task than to inquire how far social approbation andj sym- pathy may take the place of the cruder force of the pursuit of private material gain, which is being weakened by the growth of large businesses, and especially those under public control. ALFRED MARSHALL, Quarterly Journal of Economics, Jan- uary 1897. F.

Economic Morality. The great question which divides thinkers is the possi- bility of an economic science independent of the general study of social facts.

The Manchester school believes that it is possible to found practical conclusions upon an analysis of economic phenomena. The sociological school declares that no solid edifice can be constructed on such a narrow basis. Wuarin says social problems do not arise from political economy, but from a more general science.

Gide, who is an economic specialist, also contends for the possibility of an inde- pendent economic science. Again, Pareto holds that it is a natural science, as psy- chology, or physiology. He claims the independence of political economy as a pure science, and denies it the office of giving practical precepts, this being reserved to the social sciences.

The question then seems to be, Is economics a moral science ? To this I say No. Economics is the science of the laws of development and decay. As all sciences of laws, economics has two usages. The first is to serve as an explanation of passing events, e. g., Spain is today poorer than many other European nations.

Sciences of laws are composed of abstract formulas. These ought to receive the uniform name of theorems. Economics would be an example of these theorems ; e. g., Gresham's law. This law has assuredly no moral tone. Good and bad money are here used with a purely economic consideration. If one argues that the depreciation is due to acts which are blameworthy, that is a very important question, but has no concern for the economist.

The second usage of the science of laws is to furnish a solid basis in a theory of means for future activity. Every practical programme ought to be moral. But to apply morality successfully one has to know the natural laws. In other words, eco-