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The Value of Material Things 1-169
DIVISION A—WANTS AND PRESENT GOODS
CHAPTER
1 The Nature and Purpose of Political Economy: Name and Definition; Place of Economics Among the
Social Sciences; The Relation of Economics to Practical Affairs 3
2 Economic Motives: Material Wants, The Primary Economic Motives; Desires for Non-material Ends,
as Secondary Economic Motives 9
3 Wealth and Welfare: The Relation of Men and Material Things to Economic Welfare; Some Important
Economic Concepts Connected with Wealth and Welfare 15
4 The Nature of Demand: The Comparison of Goods in Man's Thought; Demand for Goods Grows Out
of Subjective Comparisons 21
5 Exchange in a Market: Exchange of Goods Resulting from Demand; Barter Under Simple Conditions;
Price in a Market 30
6 Psychic Income: Income as a Flow of Goods; Income as a Series of Gratifications 39
DIVISION B—WEALTH AND RENT
7 Wealth and Its Direct Uses: The Grades of Relation of Indirect Goods to Gratification; Conditions of
Economic Wealth 46
8 The Renting Contract: Nature and Definition of Rent; The History of Contract Rent and Changes
in It 53
9 The Law of Diminishing Returns: Definition of the Concept of (Economic) Diminishing Returns; Other
Meanings of the Phrase "Diminishing Returns"; Development of the Concept of Diminishing Returns 61
10 The Theory of Rent: The Market Value of the Usufruct: Differential Advantages in Consumption
Goods; Differential Advantages in Indirect Goods 73
11 Repair, Depreciation, and Destruction of Wealth: Relation to its Sale and Rent: Repair of Rent-bearing
Agents; Depreciation in Rent-earning Power of Agents Kept in Repair; Destruction of
Natural Stores of Material 81
12 Increase of Rent-bearers and of Rents: Efforts of Men to Increase Products and Rent-bearers;
Effects of Social Changes in Raising the Rents of Indirect Agents 90
DIVISION C—CAPITALIZATION AND TIME-VALUE
13 Money as a Tool in Exchange: Origin of the Use of Money; Nature of the Use of Money; The Value of
Typical Money 98
14 The Money Economy and the Concept of Capital: The Barter Economy and its Decline; The Concept of
Capital in Modern Business 108
15 The Capitalization of All Forms of Rent: The Purchase of Rent-charges as an Example of Capitalization;
Capitalization Involved in the Evaluating of Indirect Agents; The Increasing Role of Capitalization
in Modern Industry 118
16 Interest on Money Loans: Various Forms of Contract Interest; The Motive for Paying Interest 131
17 The Theory of Time-value: Definition and Scope of Time-value; The Adjustment of the Rate of Time-discount 141
18 Relatively Fixed and Relatively Increasable Forms of Capital: How Various Forms of Capital May
Be Increased; Social Significance of These Differences 152
19 Saving and Production as Affected by the Rate of Interest: Saving as Affected by the Interest Rate;
Conditions Favorable to Saving; Influence of the Interest Rate on Methods of Production 159
PART II
The Value of Human Services 171-355
DIVISION A—LABOR AND WAGES
20 Labor and Classes of Laborers: Relation of Labor to Wealth; Varieties of Talents and of Abilities
in Men 173
21 The Supply of Labor: What Is a Doctrine of Population? Population in Human Society; Current Aspect
of the Population Problem 184
22 Conditions for Efficient Labor: Objective Physical Conditions; Social Conditions Favoring Efficiency;
Division of Labor 195
23 The Law of Wages: Nature of Wages and the Wages Problem; The Different Modes of Earning Wages;
Wages as Exemplifying the General Law of Value 205
24 The Relation of Labor to Value: Relation of Rent to Wages, Relation of Time-value to Wages; The
Relation of Labor to Value 215
25 The Wage System and its Results: Systems of Labor; The Wage System as it Is; Progress of the Masses
Under the Wage System 226
26 Machinery and Labor: Extent of the Use of Machinery; Effect of Machinery on the Welfare and Wages
of the Masses 236
27 Trade-unions: The Objects of Trade-unions; The Methods of Trade-unions; Combination and Wages 245
DIVISION B—ENTERPRISE AND PROFITS
28 Production and the Combination of the Factors: The Nature of Production; Combination of the Factors 257
29 Business Organization and the Enterpriser's Function: The Direction of Industry; Qualities of a Business
Organizer; The Selection of Ability 265
30 Cost of Production: Cost of Production from the Enterpriser's Point of View; Cost of Production from
the Economist's Standpoint 273
31 The Law of Profits: Meaning of Terms; The Typical Enterpriser's Services Reviewed; Statement of the
Law of Profits 282
32 Profit-sharing, Producers' and Consumers' CoÖperation: Profit-sharing; Producers' CoÖperation; Consumers'
CoÖperation 292
33 Monopoly Profits: Nature of Monopoly; Kinds of Monopoly; The Fixing of a Monopoly Price 302
34 Growth of Trusts and Combinations in the United States: Growth of Large Industry in the United
States; Advantages of Large Production; Causes of Industrial Combinations 312
35 Effect of Trusts on Prices: How Trusts Might Affect Prices; How Trusts Have Affected Prices 323
36 Gambling, Speculation, and Promoters' Profits: Gambling vs. Insurance; The Speculator as a Risk taker;
Promoter's and Trustee's Profits 333
37 Crises and Industrial Depressions: Definition and Description of Crises; Crises in the Nineteenth
Century; Various Explanations of Crises 345
PART III
The Social Aspects of Value 357-563
DIVISION A—RELATION OF PRIVATE INCOME TO SOCIAL WELFARE
38 Private Property and Inheritance: Impersonal and Personal Shares of Income; The Origin of Private
Property; Limitations of the Right of Private Property 359
39 Income and Social Service: Income from Property; Income from Personal Services 370
40 Waste and Luxury: Waste of Wealth; Luxury 381
41 Reaction of Consumption on Production: Reaction upon Material Productive Agents; Reaction upon
the Efficiency of the Workers; Effects on the Abiding Welfare of the Consumer 392
42 Distribution of the Social Income: The Nature of Personal Distribution; Methods of Personal Distribution 402
43 Survey of the Theory of Value: Review of the Plan Followed; Relation of Value Theories to Social
Reforms; Interrelation of Economic Agents 412
DIVISION B—RELATION OF THE STATE TO INDUSTRY
44 Free Competition and State Action: Competition and Custom; Economic Harmony through Competition;
Social Limiting of Competition 422
45 Use, Coinage, and Value of Money: The Precious Metals as Money; The Quantity Theory of Money 431
46 Token Coinage and Government Paper Money: Light-Weight Coins; Paper Money Experiments; Theories
of Political Money 443
47 The Standard of Deferred Payments: Function of the Standard; International Bimetallism; The Free-silver
Movement in America 453
48 Banking and Credit: Functions of a Bank; Typical Bank Money; Banks of the United States To-day 462
49 Taxation in its Relation to Value: Purposes of Taxation; Forms of Taxation; Principles and Practice 471
50 The General Theory of International Trade: International Trade as a Case of Exchange; Theory of
Foreign Exchanges of Money; Real Benefits of Foreign Trade 480
51 The Protective Tariff: The Nature and Claims of Protection; The Reasonable Measure of Justification
of Protection; Values as Affected by Protection 491
52 Other Protective Social and Labor Legislation: Social Legislation; Labor Legislation 504
53 Public Ownership of Industry: Examples of Public Ownership; Economic Aspects of Public Ownership 514
54 Railroads and Industry: Transportation as a Form of Production; The Railroad as a Carrier; Discrimination
in Rates on Railroads 525
55 The Public Nature of Railroads: Public Privileges of Railroad Corporations; Political and Economic
Power of Railroad Managers; Commissions to Control Railroads 534
56 Public Policy as to Control of Industry: State Regulation of Corporate Industry; Difficulties of
Public Control of Industry; Trend of Policy as to Public Industrial Activity 544
57 Future Trend of Values: Past and Present of Economic Society; The Economic Future of Society 555
Questions and Critical Notes 565
Index 595