The Theory of Prices: A Re-Examination of the Central Problems of Monetary Theory, Vol. I

From the author:

The fundamental proposition from which this study proceeds is that the Theory of Prices must be conceived of as an organon, in the sense in which Marshall’s Principles may be said to be an organon. The Theory of Prices, for those who accept this view, is not a set of maxims of monetary policy, which can claim neither· the general validity nor the authority that may be said to attach to a set of conceptual tools. Nor is it a series of speculations as to matters of fact, with respect to which the last word must be provided by investigations of the “facts” themselves. The reader, therefore, who expects a discussion of such matters as the wisdom of attempting to stabilize the price level, or a “theory” of the business cycle, in the sense of a surmise as to the facts of cyclical variation, is warned that he will be disappointed.