Overview

This book forms one of the earliest issued of a new series intended for University Extension Students; and it has been appropriately entrusted to Dr. Cunningham, who, as he states in the preface, was one of the pioneers of the University Extension movement in 1874. His experience as an extension Lecturer has led him to prefix a full and useful syllabus, or analysis of contents, in which he divides his subject into three heads, one dealing with social problems, the second with practical questions, and the third and last with personal responsibility. He remarks in the preface that the subject discussed is Capital in its Relation to Social Progress; and accordingly he examines the nature and work of capital, mainly on traditional lines, so far as the account of its growth, and of the place filled by it in the economic constitution of society, is concerned. In the present day, he observes, when capital dominates in so many directions, it is not uninteresting to select this particular factor (for review) and consider the part which Capital has played, and its bearing on the material progress of the race. But the title actually given to the book calls attention to the special point of view, which Dr. Cunningham has adopted in his treatment of what is after all a somewhat hackneyed topic in economic manuals; and it is this which gives novelty and interest to his book. He wishes to lay stress on the element of personal responsibility. Much has been written about the duties of landowners, and it seems worthwhile to say a little about the responsibilities of moneyed men (or the manner in which they employ their capital and spend their income). And so, while sketching the position of industry without capital, and tracing the rise and development of the capitalist era, and discussing the formation, investment, replacement, and direction of capital, he also considers the relations of material progress to moral advance, examines the personal responsibility involved in the acquisition and administration, of economic influence, and investigates the nature of the duty attaching to the employment of capital, to the return obtained from its use or investment, and, generally, to the enjoyment of wealth. Some of the questions, which he thus raises, are of a nice and difficult character; but they are, without exception, of profound interest, and in no part of the discussion will the student fail to derive stimulus and instruction from Dr. Cunningham's judicious handling. - Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, Volume 55 [1892]

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