ABSTRACT
An evaluation of the arts and social sciences at universities reveals many 'uses' in the narrower, economic sense, but the value of these subjects is grossly underestimated if the broader contributions to national life are ignored. In 1984, for instance, some 30,000 graduates, nearly 45 percent of the total 68,000 produced by British universities, were in arts and social science, as compared to 35 per cent in science and engineering. The bulk of social science and certainly of arts graduates seem to recommend themselves to employers, however, not so much for having acquired knowledge as for their 'personal qualities'. The arts and social science disciplines are central to the process by which societies set a balance in such matters, and it would be naïve to believe this is not of great consequence for the national economy merely because it is probably impossible to measure the return.
