THIS, like every book, is a child of its own time, and reflects the intellectual atmosphere within which it was produced. If it had not been for the work of John Dewey, Thorstein Veblen, and Walton H. Hamilton, this would surely have been a very different book. The extensive illustrative material, drawn from current and easily available sources, is merely illustrative. It is not part of the argument, and the argument is not dependent upon it. The material available for the purposes of illustrating the theme of this book is almost infinite in its variety and amount. It is as wide as is the record of contemporary social life.