PREFACE

 

viii

been shown have at first dissented strongly from the conclusions
 of Chapter VII, but have invariably withdrawn
their objections after finishing Chapter XIV.
The nature of income is a subject which has not hitherto
received, in economic literature, the attention it deserves.
Income plays an important role in all economic problems;
it is income for which capital exists ; it is income for which
labor is exerted ; and it is the distribution of income which
constitutes the disparity between rich and poor.
Nor is the subject of interest solely to theoretical economists.
 It appeals to practical men of affairs and to those
who are interested in problems of social reform, as well as
to the special classes of accountants, actuaries, and mathematicians.
 The book is so arranged that the general
reader may, if he so desires, omit the technical portions,
 such as the appendices and possibly Chapter X VII.
It is suggested that all readers should give special attention
 to Chapters VI, VII, IX, and XIV.
The problem of nomenclature has proved not a little
puzzling. In general, each term has been employed in
one, and only one, sense; but to follow this plan exclusively
 has not been found practicable. Several words are
sometimes used for the same concept,— for instance, “resources”
 and “assets,” or “utility” and “desirability”; and
sometimes the same word has been used in more than one
sense, as in the case of “ capital,” which may mean capitalgoods
 or capital-value. But special pains have been taken
to avoid any confusion or uncertainty of meaning. The
definitions have been carefully framed, and will be found
collected in a glossary at the end.
A few fragments of the book have appeared in a somewhat
 different form in economic periodicals, and the
whole book may be said to be only the elaboration of the
ideas outlined some years ago in the Economic Journal.
I would express my thanks to the publishers of the
Economic Journal for permission to use unaltered some