ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of the book. The book explores the story of John R. Commons life without losing sight of the path of his thought or of the policy tradition that his students carried into their various roles in government. Information about the early years permits a more accurate narrative of the interaction between his "habitual assumptions" and the almost accidental "collective activities" that turned his mind in new directions. The book describes his work for the Wisconsin Industrial Commission where he learned about the legal notion of reasonable value, a notion that he would expand beyond its legal context to a theory of due process in policy formation. It traces the tragic consequences of his appointment to the United States Commission on industrial relations in 1914.
