On the Method of Specific Experience in Political Economy.

This chapter shows that the method of specific experience cannot by itself afford a sure and adequate foundation for the attainment of economic truth, and that political economy is accordingly not to be considered a purely empirical or inductive science. In all economic investigations, however, it is also requisite that there should be some preliminary observation of the complex phenomena themselves, with a view to their description and provisional classification. Within the province of what may be called descriptive and classificatory economics, there is unlimited scope for valuable economic work. In a broad sense, descriptive economics includes the whole of economic history and economic statistics. In the endeavour to employ the above methods, the special sources from which material may be gathered are the history of the past and the systematic observation of the present. It should be added that, taking empirical generalizations at their best, great caution is necessary in extending them beyond the limits of actual experience.