ABSTRACT
Some people regard exercises in semantics as a waste of time. T. R. Malthus published in 1827 a volume on Definitions in Political Economy.1 In his preface he stated that “one of the principle causes” of the notorious differences of opinion among political economists “may be traced to the different meanings in which the same terms have been used by different writers.” Changes of terms or definitions should be made only when necessary and useful. “A change which is always itself an evil, can alone be warranted by superior utility taken in the most enlarged sense.” In one chapter Malthus undertook to present definitions for 60 economic terms, beginning with “Wealth” and ending with “Un-productive Consumption.” One of the pioneers of quantitative economics in the modern sense, Henry Moore, who was convinced of the “imperative necessity” of better “statistical knowledge” of economic conditions, was no less concerned about the need of greater care in the use of terms.
