tenns. The wasteful expenditure Is good for trade. It is only in the eventual liquidation that a dlMdvuiltigeoiw boaineH oODseqoenoe comes in view.
THE THEORY OF MODERN WELFARE 253
It was said above that since the seventies the ordinary course of affairs in business, when undisturbed by transient circumstances extraneous to the industrial system proper, has been chronic depression. The fact of such prevalent depression will probably not be denied by any student of the situation during this period, so far as regards America and, in a degree, England.' For the Continent of Europe tliia characterization would have to be materially qualified. But the reply is ready to hand that governmental interferences with trade have been so ubiquitous on the Continent, particularly in the German-speaking commuQities, that their case ia fairly to be thrown out of any general theory. It may also be questioned whether the industrial system of Germany, e.g., throughout this period conforms to the requirements of the theory in respect of the degree of development of