28 lines
1.1 KiB
Markdown
28 lines
1.1 KiB
Markdown
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---
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id: book-4-introduction
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title: "Book 4 Introduction"
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book: "4"
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chapter: 0
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artifact_type: content
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---
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BOOK IV.
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OF SYSTEMS OF POLITICAL ECONOMY.
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Political economy, considered as a branch of the science of a statesman or
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legislator, proposes two distinct objects; first, to provide a plentiful
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revenue or subsistence for the people, or, more properly, to enable them
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to provide such a revenue or subsistence for themselves; and, secondly, to
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supply the state or commonwealth with a revenue sufficient for the public
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services. It proposes to enrich both the people and the sovereign.
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The different progress of opulence in different ages and nations, has
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given occasion to two different systems of political economy, with regard
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to enriching the people. The one may be called the system of commerce, the
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other that of agriculture. I shall endeavour to explain both as fully and
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distinctly as I can, and shall begin with the system of commerce. It is
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the modern system, and is best understood in our own country and in our
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own times.
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