The history of Political Economy must, of course, be distinguished from the economic history of mankind, or of any separate portion of our race. The study of the succession of economic facts themselves is one thing; the study of the succession of theoretic ideas concerning the facts is another. And it is with the latter alone that we are here directly concerned. But these two branches of research, though distinct, yet stand in the closest relation to each other. The rise and the form of economic doctrines have been largely conditioned by the practical situation, needs, and tendencies of the corresponding epochs. With each important social change, new economic questions have presented themselves, and the theories prevailing in each period have owed much of their influence to the fact that they seemed to offer solutions of the urgent problems of the age.
Keyword : Dogmatic, Treatises, Opportune, Retrospection, Theoretic, Habitual, Sentiment, Doctrine, Homogeneity, Mediaeval
John Kells Ingram