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moral or psychological, even if it be granted that they rest ultimately
upon a psychological basis.
Moreover, as will be strewn in the following chapter, notwithstand-
ing the importance of psychological premisses in certain departments of
economic enquiry, the phenomena of the industrial world cannot be ex-
plained in their entirety simply by deductive reasoning from a few el-
ementary laws of human nature. To what purpose, and subject to what
conditions, political economy uses its psychological data will be consid-
ered later on; it need only be said at this point that reasoning from such
data requires to be supplemented in various ways by direct observation
of the complex social facts which constitute economic life.47
§3. Political economy a social as distinguished from a political
science. From whatever point of view we look at it, political economy
is best described as a social science; and if a distinction is drawn be-
tween social and political sciences, it must, notwithstanding its name,
be regarded as belonging to the former, and not to the latter, category.48
For while the science has sometimes to take account of political and
legal conditions, it is essentially concerned with man in his social as
distinguished from his political relations. It is, in other words, only in
certain departments of political economy that we are concerned with
48/John Neville Keynes
men in their special character as members of a State. As remarked by
Knies, a large preliminary division of political economy has to investi-
gate only the social economic life of man independently of all political
influences. 49 The laws of distribution and exchange under conditions
of free contract may be taken as an example. These laws do not exhaust
political economy, but at any rate they fill a large and fundamentally
important place in the science. Again, whilst economic doctrines may
be in some cases relative to particular political conditions, they are more
frequently relative to particular stages of industrial organization that
are to a considerable extent, if not altogether, independent of political
influences.
The above remarks relate primarily to the positive science of eco-
nomics. Regarding political economy in its practical aspect, the connexion
with politics is more intimate. Applied economics may indeed be said to
be mainly concerned with the economic activities of the State in its cor-
porate capacity, or of individuals as controlled by the State. Still, as we
have already had occasion to shew, economic maxims having for their
object the interests of society as a whole may also be formulated for
the guidance of individuals acting independently of external constraint.
§ 4. Definitions of Wealth and Economic Activity. The point has
now been reached at which it seems desirable to give a formal definition
of political economy, regarded as a positive science; but before doing
this, it is necessary briefly to discuss the meaning of certain terms of
which we have already had occasion frequently to make use, namely,
the terms wealth and economic activity. Wealth is one of those words
that may without disadvantage be defined somewhat differently from
different points of view; and it must be borne in mind that our present
object is merely to give a definition that shall suffice broadly to distin-
guish economic enquiries from those relating to other human interests.
No attempt need, therefore, be made to deal with the difficulties that
arise in connexion with the measurement of wealth.
Utility may be defined as the power of satisfying, directly or indi-
rectly, human needs and desires; and the possession of utility is the one
characteristic that all writers are agreed in ascribing to wealth. It seems
clear, however, that we cannot from our present standpoint identify wealth
with all sources of utility whatsoever, since there are many means of
satisfying human needs, such as family affection, the esteem of acquain-
tances, a good conscience, a cultured taste, which have never been in-
cluded within the scope of political economy, and the laws of whose
The Scope and Method of Political Economy/49
production and distribution have hardly anything in common with the
laws that are as a matter of fact discussed by economists. Some charac-
teristic besides the possession of utility must therefore be added, whereby
such sources of utility as consist in a man s own nature, or in the subjec-
tive attitude of others towards him, may be excluded from the wealth
category. This further characteristic may be found in the quality of be-
ing potentially exchangeable. It is not meant that nothing is wealth un-
less it is actually bought and sold. For a thing may be potentially ex-
changeable without being actually made the subject of exchange. Even
in a communistic society the criterion would be applicable. It is true that
with special reference to such a society, it might more naturally be ex-
pressed in another form, the essential characteristic of wealth being de-
scribed as {he capability of being distributed by fiat of government. The
sources of utility capable of being thus distributed would, however, be
identical with those that could in a state of economic freedom be ac-
quired by purchase. In either case personal qualities, and such objects
of desire as affection and esteem, would be excluded.
Wealth may then be defined as consisting of all potentially exchange-
able means of satisfying human needs.50
This definition brings within the category of wealth, in the first place,
desirable material commodities that are capable of appropriation, such
as food, books, buildings, machines; in the second place, rights and
opportunities to use or receive or in any way benefit from material com-
modities, such as mortgages and other debts, shares in public and pri-
vate companies, patents and copyrights, access to libraries and picture
galleries, and the like; in the third place, personal services not resulting
in any material product, as, for example, those rendered by actors, sol-
diers, domestic servants, lawyers, physicians; and, lastly, the right to
command or control the services of any person over a given period.
In regard to services it is to be observed that although the benefits
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