Industrial Britain 1870-1914: A Study of the Great Depression and Industrial Deceleration

Abstract

Preceding any reading of economic history, one must ask the unavoidable question, "Does the past possess useful economics?" This question, however, is only a modern phenomena. Adam Smith, Karl Marx, and John Maynard Keynes would find the question absurd" at best. They would gaze down in disbelief at their heirs studying economics with history left out. Moreover, historians who ignore the economics of the past forgo a real and full understanding of history. Economic activity always has been, and always will be, one of man's most consuming exercises. Economists and historians can both find value in the economics of the past. Economists can discover additional information for hypotheses, plus a clearer perspective on today's economy. Historians can piece together a clearer picture of the past by knowing how individuals and nations procured a living. So, yes, the past does possess useful economics.