Philip H. Wicksteed
Published: 2015-09-27
Total Pages: 184
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Excerpt from The Alphabet of Economic Science: Part I, Elements of the Theory of Value or Worth Be it known, then, that there are certain things, in no degree subject to our power, which we can make the objects of speculation, but not of action. Such are mathematics, physics and theology. But there are some which are subject to our power, and to which we can direct not only our speculations but our actions. And in the case of these, action does not exist for the sake of speculation, but we speculate with a view to action; for in such matters action is the goal. Since the material of the present treatise, then, is political, nay, is the very fount and starting-point of right polities, and since all that is political is subject to our power, it is obvious that this treatise ultimately concerns conduct rather than speculation. Again, since in all things that can be done the final goal is the general determining principle and cause (for this it is that first stimulates the agent), it follows that the whole rationale of the actions directed to the goal depends upon that goal itself. For the method of cutting wood to build a house is one, to build a ship another. Therefore that thing (and surely there is such a tiling) which is the final goal of human society will be the principle by reference to which all that shall be set forth below must be made clear. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.