ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book addresses primarily to the wide public—civil servants, bankers, Members of Parliament, economists, and financial journalists—who are interested in the efficient organisation of our economy for war and all of whom bear a responsibility for, and will play a part in, the choice of policy. It examines the problem of industrial mobilisation, and suggests an assumption that can reasonably be made about the scale on which that mobilisation may have to take place. The book describes the three main methods—taxation, industrial control, and borrowing—by which the mobilisation could be organised. It is concerned with the causes, consequences, and desirability of permitting an expansion of money income to occur as a result of Government borrowing. The book concludes with a brief reference to the main financial problem of a transition to a victorious peace.
