Page:The Economic Journal Volume 1.djvu/164

144 which it will involve is known, and it is a totally new and distinct factor introduced into the situation. If, then, the proportion of the cost to be borne by the bettered property is duly limited, and the area of the property selected is adequately extended, the theoretical case seems to be very strong. The nicety of the distinction between what is earned and what is unearned is here a less troublesome factor; and it is the nice refinements of Ricardo's theory which render its application to practical affairs so full of difficulty and so open to abuse.