Introduction to economics / by Jhon C. Powicke and Peter H. May

This book is intended for those embarking for the first time on a study of Economics. Let us be quite clear, right at the beginning, that there is no short cut to an understanding of this subject. Hard, disciplined thought is essential for success. Given this basic ingredient the study can be both absorbing and satisfying.

Some elementary texts present a descriptive account of the economy, others take the student straight into theoretical analysis. The former, we feel, present what appear to the beginner as a mass unrelated facts and interest ebbs in the face of a lack of purpose. The second approach breeds bewilderment and dis illusionment with a course of study which seems divorced from the world of reality. We are confident that it is only by combining a continuous thread of argument with analytical method that interest can be maintained and ability in the subject developed.

As this is a beginner's book the picture that it seeks to create is far from complete, the outlines are sketched in but much of the detail is lacking. The understanding of the economy which can be gleaned from it will be of help both to those who proceed no further and to those who continue to advanced studies but will not be sufficient to warrant anyone imagining that he or she has become an expert. This warning is given because it is a common failing of those studying Economics to mistake the dawn for the full light of day.