It is daring to praise a man who was supreme in a field so wide as to reach the horizon of universality: he was a master in legal science and legal statesmanship, yet his conception of law was so broad and articulated as to be a philosophy of law and a philosophy of life.
As for the rest of the world, virtually every step in commercial policy has been in the direction of more exaggerated restrictions upon trade. Autarchy, or complete national self-sufficiency, has become a part of the creed of present day nationalism.
We shall discuss in this article the various methods of raising the necessary funds for unemployment compensation. This also involves a discussion of the relative advantages and disadvantages of the contributory, reserve and taxation systems. This, in turn, makes it necessary to touch upon the fundamental alternative of insurance or relief benefits, which is more a political and social problem than a fiscal one. We shall not, however, deal with this aspect of the problem in more detail than is necessary as a basis for understanding the financial problems to which this paper is devoted.
For decades the British dole system has been a target of criticism in this country. The American philosophy of individualism and self-help, constitutional difficulties, national optimism and the consciousness of the vast resources of the country, have resulted in the conviction that the unemployed person should look after himself. Now, the Security Bill marks a revolution in American philosophy and politics in its recognition that the risk of unemployment is too great for the individual to bear alone and that the government must step in to ensure him some income for the time during which he cannot get employment.
Three elements derived from three different sources are combined in any contemporary attempt at economic planning: a dynamic, an equilibrial, and a sociopolitical element. The modes and relative weights of the elements in the combination constitute the different type of plans. It need not be stressed that this typology is tentative and will require a fuller elaboration against the background of varying actual situations which it seeks to comprehend.
Further analysis of the function of political parties including: the three stages in which political parties and groups are organized and shaped, essential conditions to the successful working of the party system, and conditions that threaten to destroy democratic institutions.
Examines the boundaries of ethical theory in relation to doctrine of the "Vienna School", in particular, work by Karl Menger.
Review of book by Edward Chamberlain. One of the most important contributions to the problem of imperfect competition, which has recently come into the focus of theoretical interest, is Chamberlain's book, The Theory of Monopolistic Competition. This work is a frontal attack upon the usual price theory and its implications, unchallenged in economic theory since Adam Smith.
The following review article does not purport to include all the important books on money, credit and banking published in the United States and England during the last two years. Its aim is rather to present a picture of the problems of today and the lines of thought pursued for the solution, as revealed in most recent literature on the subject.
Review of book by Alexander von Schelting. Tubingen: J.C.B. Mohr (Siebeck). 1934. 420 pp.
Umschichtungen in den herrschenden Klassen nach dem Krieg. Robert Michaels. Stuttgart-Berlin: Kohlhammer. 1934. 133 pp.
American Business Leaders: A Study in Social Origins and Social Stratification. F.W. Taussig and C.S. Joslyn. New York: Macmillan. 1932. 319 pp.
Das Problem des Aufstiege. Imre Vida. Munich-Berlin: Oldenbourg. 1933. 159 pp.
Review of a book by Koppel S. Pinson. Columbia University Studies in History, Economics and Public Law, no 398. New York: Columbia University Press. 1934. 277 pp.
Review of book by Erich Voegelin. J.C.B. Mohr (Siebeck). 1933. 227 pp.
Review of book by Herbert Beckerath. An Economic Interpretation. New York: McGraw-Hill. 1934. 385 pp.
Review of book by Hans Sveistrup and Agnes von Zahn-Harnack. Sachlich geordnete und erlauterte Quellenkunde. Burg b.M.: August Hopfer. 1934. 800 pp.
Review of book by Oscar B. Jesness and Austin A. Dowell. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. 1934. 269 pp.
Review of paper by M. J. Elsas. Probleme der Konjunkturforschung, ed. By Eugen Altschul, no. 1] Leipzig: Hans Buske. 1934. 90 pp.
Review of study by International Labour Office. Studies and Reports, Series A (Industrial Relations) no. 34. Geneva. Boston: World Peace Foundation. 1933. 688 pp.
Review of survey by International Labour Office. Geneva. Boston: World Peace Foundation. 1934. 387 pp.
Review of book by Edwin R. Embree, Margaret Sargent Simon, and W. Bryant Mumford. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. 1934. 120 pp.
Review of book by James Brown Scott. Publication of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. London: Oxford University Press. 1934. 228 pp.