The Conception and Understanding of History

Economic history is possible only because there is an economic theory capable of throwing light upon economic actions. If there were no economic theory, reports concerning economic facts would be nothing more than a collection of unconnected data open to any arbitrary interpretation. It has been asserted that history can never be scientific, because historical understanding depends on the historian's subjective value judgments. The writings of historians are always one sided and partial. They do not report the facts. They distort them.