Disquisition by Scripps, E.W., A theory of waste, November 4, 1910

              Ohio University Libraries, E.W. Scripps Papers, MSS 117, Series 4, http://media.library.ohiou.edu/scripps
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A THiDRY OF WASTE
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HAVING BItlARD TO ITS EFmT IN ADVANCING HUKA.N MATERIAL
\l&FlBE AND INTELLECTUAL DEVELOPMENT -- IN FACT, CIVILIZATION.
I do noi;, intend to here deyelop an. ar~nt.. I only pro­pose
to to~&te, in the Sbape of notes, lome ideas and ~8tion.
that haTe lately occurred to my mind. It is possible that this sub­ject
will seize upon _ a.nd compel .. to giTe it further and long
consideration, so that &t 80_ fUture time I may treat it more fully.
Ie .....at. an eTU or & good? Oan a natural law be an eTil?
Is not the collectiTe mind of the whole human race far more
liable to uriTe at wise conclusions than the mind afmy indiyidual
of the race?
1ha.t would occur if eTery human being should suddenly, or
STan by degrees, become possessed of that intellectual. faculty o.r
peculiarity which now ma.rks only a Terr infiniatel!lllal number of the
whole family of man?
At the present time there are only a few people out of sTery
BPIlion Who practioe to any considerable extent What is called econGmy,­tha.
t is to aa.y. who do not eonaume iBmedia.tely after baTing become
possessed of it, any na.tural or artificial product however come by.
Thele few accgalla.te possessions web. as land, buildings,
all sorts of manufa.cturing impliment. and organs of trade; money in
the form of coined :metal or goTemment certificates of the same; of
obligations of other persons auch as notes &nd mortgages, etc.
On two preTious occasions in my a.ttempts to define what
'Wealth is, I ha.Te tried to show that the aount of material wea.lth
iaexistence is not only Tery 8III8l1 but th&t it cannot be imcrea.aed e""'" a Tery limited extent. 'h
Property in food stuffs of all sorts and descriptions is 80
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