Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 2.djvu/905

 NOTES AND ABSTRACTS 889

nomics ought to furnish the answer to such questions as this : Given such a situa- tion, such a combination of circumstances, such psychical habits of the agent, what will be the economic results of such an enterprise ?

Unless all such questions as these are discussed, such a science is impossible. For pure economics, the terms moral and immoral have no more meaning than the term beauty to mathematics. It is a psychological science, and not a moral one. Moral sciences can give categorical precepts. Morality, however, is not the science of conduct, or of the rules of conduct. A good practical programme cannot be established on a double basis the one a good theory of the value of ends, the other an exact knowledge of the means. The general knowledge of means is furnished by the sciences of the natural laws ; morality does not deal directly with the ends, but with the hierarchy of their values. A. NAVILLE, "Economique et Morale," Revue Pkilo- sophique, January 1897. F.

The Restoration of Economics to Ethics. At one time economics was recognized as a part of moral philosophy. There is now a movement, as seen in Marshall, Hadley, Smart, and the Austrian economists, back toward this old view, and regardless of the fact that many economists assert that there is a system of " pos- itive economics " independent of any system of ethics, the close relation of ethics to economics is being more and more recognized.

Moral philosophy, or ethics, may be divided into "general ethics," " unfolding the general theory of moral action, the notions and principles of the entire moral order,'* and "particular ethics," "applying the general theory to the concrete relations of men, and from the general notions and principles drawing conclusions for the actions of men in the various conditions of life." ** Particular ethics " may be divided into "natural theology" and "the social and political sciences," the latter including "eco- nomics" and "politics." Is this not the true place of economics? An examination will show that it is.

It is asserted that economics in the "stricter sense" "does not seek to determine ideals, but is a positive science, concerned exclusively with the investigation of uni- formities ; being, like all such sciences, a body of systematized knowledge concerning what is." It is asserted " that it is possible and desirable to discuss economic uniformities independently of economic ideals, and without formulating economic precepts." This is true of statistics and the "prolegomena" of economics, but it is not true of economics as a science. The truth of this statement is attested by the fact that those who believe in the " positive science " cannot write without using ethical terms, implying " duty," " responsibility," " ideals." In these unsuccessful attempts to avoid ethical terms and ethical ideals, economists set up an " imaginary man " in an " imaginary world " " and reason about what is not " and this may be good exercise, but it is not fact, it is not science. CHARLES S. DEVAS, Royal University of Ireland, in the International Jour- nal of Ethics, January 1 897. M

Representative Institutions in British Trade-Unionism. Representative institutions are most highly developed in the associations of coal miners and cotton operatives, who now comprise one-quarter of the total trade-union membership and have developed the best expert civil service. In the Amalgamated Association of Operative Cotton Spinners the legislative power is vested in a meeting representatives from the various provinces and districts included in the asociation. This body is elected annually in strict proportion to membership, and consists of about 100 representatives. The actual government is conducted by an executivr fourteen, of whom seven at least must be working spinners. The actual ex- work is performed by the general secretary, who is elected by the representatives. There is no provision for the referendum or initiative, and rotation in office is dis- nanced. The delegate idea is completely abandoned. The Miners' Federation of Great Britain, established in 1887, adopted from the outset a completely represen- tative constitution. The supreme authority is vested in a conference, summon often as necessary, which consists of representatives elected by each country or association. This conference appoints the executive officers. Rotation in office is