The Nature and Necessity of Interest (Classic Reprint) - Tapa blanda

Excerpt from The Nature and Necessity of Interest

Cause with the abolition of interest and the whole modern discussion of the Social Question has, mainly in consequence of this error, become so interwoven with allusions to the effects of interest and the right or wrong of it, that we cannot, at the present moment, enter on any investigation of the wages question without stumbling at almost every step on the problem of interest. This shows, per haps better than anything else, the eminently practical value of a right theory of interest.

To write such a theory has seemed to me of such paramount importance that I have felt justified in devoting to the task the greater part of the last six years. The final issue of these efforts is given in the present volume. Some preliminary results have been published already; and for the more intricate questions of the theory, the reader is referred to these publications. The work that has to be gone through, in order to get to the bottom of the interest question, is not always of the very lightest kind; but I have endeavoured to make the present exposition of the matter as simple as possible, and I have not included in the text anything that might prove an obstacle to the ordinary reader.

I have devoted the first chapter to a survey of the historical development of the theory of interest. In this I have not tried to give anything like a complete history of the problem, my main purpose being to state the results hitherto obtained, and in this way to make the present investigation profit by the efforts of three centuries.

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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.

Excerpt from The Nature and Necessity of Interest

There are some scientific problems such, e.g., as the "Squaring of the Circle" in mathematics, which seem to have engaged the attention of humanity since the very earliest stages of civilisation, but of which the definite solution has been reserved for the efforts of the present age.

The problem of Interest belongs to this class. Indeed we find it dealt with as early as modern historical research is able to go back; and it reflects at every step of its development the attainments and the aims of contemporary life. Economic investigations of the last two or three centuries have thrown light upon almost every side of the problem; and, to construct a theory, there hardly remains more than to present, as a consistent and systematic whole, what is already known as a multitude of scattered observations. It is incumbent upon the present generation to bring about this final solution of a problem which has claimed so large a part of the efforts of previous ages.

We devote considerable energy to the discovery of the North Pole or to the exploration of the deserts of Asia.

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.