Governments of democratic countries during the war have accepted a new responsibility – that of maintaining a high and stable level of employment within their borders.

It is of course not a new thing for governments, as far as lies within their power, to seek governmentally determined results from the workings of the economic system. The writings of those early economic thinkers, the Mercantilists, show that it was generally believed that the course of trade, in addition to enriching the individuals who carried it on, should lead to the accumulation of “treasure” within the nation and increase its economic and therefore its military strength in relation to that of its actual and potential rivals.

Gradually, however, these beliefs gave way to the general view that the economic system could generally be left to run itself, and that governments should confine their intervention to making the rules, and to some extent to protecting the weak and succouring the injured. This non-interventionist attitude of governments of course had its exceptions – defence and the promotion of industrial development have long been recognized as at least plausible excuses. And of course during wars the workings of the economic system have always been subordinated to a greater or less extent to the over-riding purpose of winning the war.