ll a cab. To point out the method, and to admit
that it is not laborious, is not to discourage aspiration, but to look
facts in the face: not to preach abandonment of enthusiasm, but to urge
that enthusiasm should be systematic, should lead men to study the
conditions of success, and to make a bridge before they leap the gulf.

THE SPHERE OF POLITICAL ECONOMY.

There seem to be at present many conflicting views as to the nature of
Political Economy. There is a popular impression that Political
Economy, or, at any rate, the so-called "classical" doctrine, the
doctrine which was made most definite by Ricardo, and accepted with
modifications by J. S. Mill, is altogether exploded. Their main
doctrines, it is suggested, were little better than mares' nests, and
we may set aside their pretensions to have founded an exact science.
What, then, is to come in its place? Are we simply to admit that there
is no certainty about economical problems, and to fall back upon mere
empiricism? Everything,--shall we say?--is to be regarded as an open
question. That is, perhaps, a common impression in the popular mind.
Yet, on the other hand, we may find some very able thinkers applying
mathematical formulae to economics; and that seems to suppose, that
within a certain region they obtain results comparable in precision and
accuracy to those of the great physical sciences. The topic is a very
wide one; and it would be presumptuous in me to speak dogmatically. I
wish, however, to suggest certain considerations which may, perhaps, be
worth taking into account; and, as I must speak briefly, I must not
attempt to supply all the necessary qualifications. I can only attempt
to indicate what seems to me to be the correct point of view, and
apologise if I appear to speak too dogmatically, simply because I
cannot waste time by expressions of diffidence, by reference to
probable criticisms, or even by a full statement of my own reasons.

A full exposition would have to define the sphere of Political Economy
by describing its data and its methods. What do we assume, and how do
we reason? A complete answer to these questions would indicate the
limits within which we can hope for valid conclusions. I will first
refer, briefly, to a common statement of one theory advocated by the
old-fashioned or classical school. Economic doctrine, they have said,
supposes a certain process of abstraction. We have to do with what has
been called the "economic m