Prosperity and Depression.pdf

Chap. 8Recent Discussions on the Trade CycleSecondly, these theories' suffer from the factDifferences in that their authors have not been able to make cleat interminology all cases whether apparent differences between theirversus views and those of other writers rest on differentdifferences in empirical assumptions or only on a different usagesubstance. of terms; in other words, whether differences are ofa material kind or ofa purely terminological nature.There can be no doubt that,in recent years, the discussions onsavingand investment and the possibility of their being unequal, onhoarding, liquidity-preference and the rate ofinterest, and similartopics, have made it increasingly evident that purely verbal misunderstandingsand slight,differences in the definition of terms haveplayed a very great role. l ' The exaggerated impression ofimportancewhich prevailed with respect to the real (as against purelyterminological) 'differences between different schools of thought,especially between what some writers 2 like to call the " classical "and the " modern " view, has already been modified. But it issafe to assume that this process of terminological clarification isnot yet completed, and it is hoped that the present chapter will doa. little to hasten it.Even in those instances where the new theories amount tonothing more than a terminological innovation and cannot be saidto be in material contradiction to the traditional views, they havesometimes served a useful purpose, by, bringing to light hiddenimplications in the older theoretical schemes and forcing thepropounders of " rival" theories to make all their assumptionsclear and explicit.All this will be illustrated in the following sections.1 Professor Robertson has recently made an attempt at separatingterminological from substantial differences. Ct." A Survey of ModernMonetary Controversy" in The Manchester School, Vol. 9. No. I, April1938.I Ct., for example, A. P. Lerner: U Alternative Formulations of theTheory of Interest" in the Economic Journal, Vol. 48, June 1938, passim.