ABSTRACT
The general theory of equilibrium in a stationary economy of competitive free enterprise, formulated on the basis of a few simple and generally accepted assumptions, may be summed up in a few simple statements. The discussion of cost must relate to an economic society in a form in which cost has a determinate quantitative meaning. Cost may be measured in physical units of resource time, but the "real" cost of any product consists in or means the value of alternative products. The subject of discussion in economic theory involves two main sets of elements. The first is "economic behavior" on the part of individuals, the second the organization of individuals behaving economically, through the social mechanism known as free enterprise. In the money expenditure stage or phase of economic life, the economic principle of rational apportionment takes the form of the doctrine that in a perfect market at equilibrium, incremental utility measures or corresponds to price.
