THE ECONOMIC BASIS OF POLITICS Charles A. Beard HOW ENGLAND IS GOVERNED Rt. Hon. C. F. G. Masterman HUMAN NATURE IN POLITICS THE GERMAN CONSTITUTION COPYRIGHT, 1924, BY ALFRED A. KNOPF, INC. · JK271 MANUFACTURED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA PREFATORY NOTE My friend and former student, Mr. Wallace, asks me to write a few words to serve as a preface to his first venture into the realm of book publishing. I do not think that any commendation from me will add to the substantial merits of his book, but I am glad to comply with his request because I believe that his little volume will serve a useful purpose. He has especially designed it for those who are making a serious beginning in the study of American politics and in my opinion has succeeded admirably in his undertaking. I am all the more happy to say a good word for his book, because in it he expresses dissent from many propositions which he heard in my class-room and strikes out on new lines of his own. It is by applying the Socratic elenchus to cherished notions that we advance slowly along our dusty way. Though Mr. Wallace's book is primarily intended for beginners in the study of politics, I am inclined to think that many who imagine themselves wise in their generation may profit from reading it. The method of approach is novel. It has none of the stilted formalism of the "civics" book-a form of "literature" that has done immense damage to the interest which boys and girls naturally have in public affairs. In 556625 |