Political economy

Wealth, work and the cost of everyday goods provide the starting points for William Stanley Jevons's introductory lessons in economics. Written for elementary instruction and general readers, the primer explains what wealth means and how it is produced, shared and used. Its contents move through division of labour, capital, wages, money, banking and taxation, connecting economic terms with questions that arise in ordinary working life.

Jevons also argues strongly for his own understanding of sound economic practice. He criticises poorly considered charity, restrictions imposed by trade unions and the belief that slower work can increase general prosperity. His discussion of professional associations applies similar scrutiny to rules governing lawyers. Readers today can use the book to examine how a nineteenth-century teacher presented economic reasoning, including the assumptions behind his claims about wages, machinery and public welfare.