Spencer Heath Archive

Item 1895

Notes dictated to Spencer MacCallum for a letter to Frank Chodorov, to accompany a projected article on national income.

1957?

 

 

 

Dear Frank Chodorov:

There is a whole lot of confusion about just what is the national income and how to figure it. I think there would be less confusion if economists would entertain more generally the fact that in an exchange or market economy the only things that can be taken account of are the contri­butions of services and goods to the market. Things that are not contributions to the market do not have any social or economic significance because they do not involve any relationship between people that can be expressed in numerical terms and thereby have statistical significance.

My own reflections on this subject are contained in the article which I enclose herewith. I think I can fairly presume that you are committed to raising the level of popular thinking on such matters. You may therefore wish to use this article in some manner or any part of it. If so, please feel at full liberty to do so with or without credit to me.

I am happy to congratulate you on your new responsibilities and wish you and The Freeman a great deal of success. I think the spirit In which you introduced yourself to Freeman readers and assumed your obligations to them was admirable.

Cordially,

 

/This same letter and accompanying article were to have been sent to Henry Hazlitt by substituting the final paragraph as follows:/

 

 

     I was very sorry to hear of your rather serious illness some time ago. I certainly hope you have fully recovered by now and are driving away harder than ever to get economic horse sense into the public mind.