A Very Political Economy

Download or read book National System of Political Economy written by Friedrich List and published by Theclassics.Us. This book was released on 2013-09 with total page 194 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1856 edition. Excerpt: ... PEELIMINAET ESSAY. (BY THE AMERICAN EDITOR.) It is known to those conversant with the literature of Political Economy, that very great differences of opinion have existed not only in reference to the definitions, but to the terminology of this science. Its masters have not been in harmony as to the ground covered, nor as to the special terms in which its truths or laws were to be expressed. Certain Authors have attained higher repute than others, and the science has been taught, so far as it has been made a subject of special instruction, chiefly from them, or abridgments of them. In the United States it has been tanght either directly from Smith's Wealth of Nations or Say's Political Economy, or from books deriving their doctrines mainly from these two writers. The works now extant expressly devoted to this subject are counted by hundreds, and the Authors are not only many of them of equal ability to the two named, but in not a few instances they are men of larger capacity, better preparation, and superior advantages. Some of them are of high authority, and so regarded by the special disciples of that School of Political Economy, of which Adam Smith is the acknowledged head, and Say an authoritative exponent. A very little attention to the current of these writings will satisfy ' any intelligent and candid inquirer that it is necessary to go far beyond the works of Smith and Say to ascertain what are at present the prevailing opinions of professed political economists; and a pretty extensive survey will be necessary to show what is the present condition of the science. The discordant views of writers, and the want of agreement in the use of terms, early attracted the attention of the leading writers, and scarcely a volume or a tract...