Excerpt from Economics an Introduction for the General Reader AN apology is needed for adding another to the large num ber of books that attempt to' deal with the whole subject matter of Economics in a single volume. I offer two pleas in extenuation. The first is that nearly all existing introduc tions to the subject are intended primarily for the University student. The pious wish is generally expressed that they may be of use also to the general reader; but the general reader's special needs and opportunities are seldom borne in mind. His needs are different, inasmuch as he has not the guidance of a teacher and the leisure of the student; on the other hand, his opportunities are some compensation for these disadvan tages, since he has usually a practical interest in the economic system and an experience of its working, which the academic student lacks. It seemed, therefore, worth while to try to do for the economic organization as a whole what Bagehot and Mr. Hartley Withers have done for a part of it, the credit system to explain the principles of its construction and working in the language of ordinary life, and with reference to the experience and interests of the ordinary man. While it would need a Bagehot to succeed, I hope that the mere attempt will have done something to make it easier for the general reader to perceive the bearing of economic studies on the political and social problems in which he is interested. 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.