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Discussion on R.M. Johnston's paper

Ogilvy, AJ 1895 , 'Discussion on R.M. Johnston's paper' , Papers & Proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania , pp. 98-101 .

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Abstract

Mr. A. J. Ogilvy said:—Mr. Johnston's opening statement
(condensed) is that cost of production, not demand
and supply, primarily determined prices. Later, he qualified
that by excluding things the cost of which was
determined by scarcity alone, confining it to things
-which could be increased (indefinitely, I suppose), and
where competition operated without restraint. In short that,
just as south of the tropics the wind would always blow from
the west if there were no land to disturb, and just as every
planet's orbit would describe an ellipse if there were no other
planets to perturb, so price would always represent cost of
production measured in labour if there were no natural
scarcity or artificial interference. Mr. Johnston has proved
this conclusively, but the case thus qualified seems so plain
from the mere statement of it that one was surprised to hear
that it required proof, and I suspect that the dispute, where
there is any, arises from neither party quite understanding
the other's position ; for the law of demand and supply and
cost of production are not rivals at all, but each is the complement
of the other.

Item Type: Article
Authors/Creators:Ogilvy, AJ
Keywords: Royal Society of Tasmania, Van Diemens Land, VDL, Hobart Town, natural sciences, proceedings, records
Journal or Publication Title: Papers & Proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania
Collections: Royal Society Collection > Papers & Proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania
Additional Information:

In 1843 the Horticultural and Botanical Society of Van Diemen's Land was founded and became the Royal Society of Van Diemen's Land for Horticulture, Botany, and the Advancement of Science in 1844. In 1855 its name changed to Royal Society of Tasmania for Horticulture, Botany, and the Advancement of Science. In 1911 the name was shortened to Royal Society of Tasmania.

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