Page:David Atkins - The Economics of Freedom (1924).pdf/15

 this light some annoyance is caused by breaking rank, it will be forgiven. No one seeks such a prize for himself.

In case any reader is sufficiently concerned to be critical, it should be stated that the following contribution to economic theory was commenced in 1916 and completed in 1923, so that it has had to reckon with periods of boom, depression and partial recovery. As a consequence, while the initial conviction is unaltered, namely, that the problem of economics is the measurement of the freedom, or value, which arises from effective human effort, nevertheless, the contemporary data has, unquestionably, been colored by the acuteness of the recent economic changes.

Owing to the pressure of other work, there have been fairly long intervals in the argument, and these, as far as the writer is concerned, have necessitated frequent returns to the starting-point. While this results in a certain amount of repetition, it may not be entirely disadvantageous, since the average reader of economics usually finds it even more difficult to give his sustained attention to the sequence of the logic than did the author.

In addition to these flaws, the writing itself has been accomplished under some difficulties: on river-boats in China; on inter-island steamers in the Philippines; under badly patched mosquito nets in equatorial islands; on the decks of sailing vessels in the Sulu and Celebes Seas, with sharp interruptions when it was necessary to go about; on government-operated railroads in Australia (which stimulate thinking much more than writing); and in the smoking-rooms of many ocean liners, which, after all, are excellent laboratories, and may be earnestly recommended to any political-economist who is in danger of losing touch with actualities, since there is an opportunity of contact with exceedingly competent economic observers—diplomats, bankers, planters, merchants and engineers—who, day after day, on the long Pacific run, put forward most significant economic testimony, even while they protest that they know nothing of economics.

Just as the intervals in time have provided some highly contrasting data to test the theory, so also have the long