Book Reviews and Notices : The Merchant Class of Medieval London (1300-1500). BY SYLVIA THRUPP. (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. 1948. Pp. xix, 401. $6.00.)

• Published date: 01 September 1949
• DOI: 10.1177/106591294900200329
• Author: Emil Lucki
• Date: 01 September 1949
• Subject Matter: Articles

447

when

government

does

go

into

business

it

can

and

should

operate

like

private

business.

He

seems

to

overdo

the

point

that

government

is

en-

couraged

to

go

into

business

because

it

can

be

more

efficient,

and

neg-

lects

other

reasons

which

may

be

more

compelling.

In

the

post-World

War

II

period,

Ord

contends,

British

govern-

ment

should

have

retired

permanently

from

business

as

soon

as

safety

permitted,

as

the

American

government

did

when

it

returned,

in

prin-

ciple,

to

British

government

practices

of

1880.

The

American

sesame

to

superior

productive

efficiency

is

the

Sherman

Anti-Trust

Act,

which

compelled

some

industry-and

showed

the

light

to

others-to

decentralize

and

to

practice

&dquo;sharp&dquo;

competition.

Accord-

ing

to

Ord,

the

American

government

has

always

believed

in

sharp

and

unrestricted

competition

in

industry.

In

this

land

of

industrial

efficiency

the

&dquo;politicians

make

laws,

others

administer

them.&dquo;

While

in

Russia

a

huge

government

bureaucracy

is

required,

in

the

United

States

none

is

necessary

to

control

industry.

(Perhaps

we

have

been

witnessing

a

mirage.)

Just

what

is

the

author’s

conception

of

the

proper

role

of

govern-

ment

remains

uncertain.

By

piecing

together

a

number

of

oblique

com~

ments,

the

following

pattern

appears:

Government

is

to

stay

out

of

the

details

of

business,

but

it

is

to

compel

efficiency

by

forcing

sharp

but

fair

competition

and

decentralization.

It

is

to

promote

free

trade,

keep

profits

low,

and

reduce

the

excessive

number

of

middlemen.

The

State

should

operate

as

an

enlightened

owner,

providing

necessary

funds

for

capital

extension.

At

the

same

time

it

does

all

these

things,

it

should

avoid

the

pitfalls

of

planning

and

keep

its

fingers

&dquo;out

of

the

detailed

operation

of

all

these

businesses.&dquo;

How

government

is

to

do

these

things

the

author

does

not

reveal.

In

view

of

the

author’s

vigorous

attacks

against

planning,

one

wonders

if

an

industrial

consultant

is

not

talking

himself

out

of

a

job.

Oregon

State

College.

KLINE

SWYGARD.

The

Merchant

Class

of

Medieval

London

(1300-1500)

.

BY

SYLVIA

THRUPP.

(Chicago:

The

University

of

Chicago

Press.

1948.

Pp.

xix,

401.

$6.00.)

This

book

is

a

study

of

the

merchant

class

in

medieval

London.

It

describes

the

composition

of

the

class,

its

economic

and

political

interests

and

powers,

and

its

social,

religious,

and

cultural

ideals

and

practices.

The

picture

Professor

Thrupp

paints

confirms

most

of

the

things

already

known

to

students

of

medieval

society

and

institutions.

But

the

confirmation

is

of

great

value,

for

it

draws

deeply

and

expertly

on

abundant

manuscript

ma-

terial

and

is

skilfully

seasoned

with

excerpts

that

yield

a

delightful

air