Book excerpt: The fifteen essays in this collection, first published in 1947, treat a variety of economic, social, political, and philosophical problems and were written by a legendary professor of economics at the University of Chicago. Professor Knight (1885-1972) wrote from the viewpoint of ethics as well as economics. His own words best describe his objective in this book: "The basic principle of science--truth or objectivity--is essentially a moral principle. . . . The presuppositions of objectivity are integrity, competence, humility. . . . All coercion is absolutely excluded in favor of free meeting of free minds."