Federal Government and Production
Year: 1920
Type: article
Abstract: TW HAT can the government do for production? According to past political thought the best thing the government could do was to keep its hands off except when the exercise of police power was necessary to maintain property rights. However, there has been developing a larger concept of governmental functionsconstructive as well as punitive duties. Dissatisfaction with inefficiency that has developed under private control has led some enthusiasts to suggest and urge as a solution of production problems that all or some of the large industries be nationalized. That solution would involve production in all the evils of the bureaucratic system, would deaden individual initiative and would halt production progress by the perversions of majority decisions, quantity values and the negligible consideration which politics gives to facts and scientific law. All progress is individual and begins with basic things first. Therefore, this discussion can wisely ignore the socialistic theory of governmental functions and consider only what the government can contribute to production under private initiative. In the constructive field, governmental work is most effective when it has the least mandatory power. When government service to be effective must win for itself confidence and leadership, it is forced to ground its activity upon facts and laws-the test of permanent production efficiency. NEED FOR INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH
Author: Grant Hamilton
Institution: United States Department of Labor
Language: English
Subfield: Economics and Econometrics
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2334451797