SUPPLY AND DEMAND

By Hubert D. Henderson M.A.

With an Introduction by J.M. Keynes M.A., C.B.

1922.





INTRODUCTION

The Theory of Economics does not furnish a body of settled conclusions
immediately applicable to policy. It is a method rather than a
doctrine, an apparatus of the mind, a technique of thinking, which
helps its possessor to draw correct conclusions. It is not difficult
in the sense in which mathematical and scientific techniques are
difficult; but the fact that its modes of expression are much less
precise than these, renders decidedly difficult the task of conveying
it correctly to the minds of learners.

Before Adam Smith this apparatus of thought scarcely existed. Between
his time and this it has been steadily enlarged and improved. Nor is
there any branch of knowledge in the formation of which Englishmen can
claim a more predominant part. It is not complete yet, but important
improvements in its elements are becoming rare. The main task of the
professional economist now consists, either in obtaining a wide
knowledge of _relevant_ facts and exercising skill in the application