Book IV: Of Systems of Political Economy
Chapter 2
By restraining, either by high duties or by absolute prohibitions, the importation of such goods from foreign countries as can be produced at home, the monopoly of the home market is more or less secured to the domestic industry employed in producing them. Thus the prohibition of importing either live cattle or salt provisions from foreign countries secures to the graziers of Great Britain the monopoly of the home market for butcher’s meat.  The prohibition of the importation of foreign woollens is equally favourable to the woollen manufacturers. The silk manufacture, though altogether employed upon foreign materials, has lately obtained the same advantage. The linen manufacture has not yet obtained it, but is making great strides towards it. Many other sorts of manufacturers have, in the same manner, obtained in Great Britain, either altogether or very nearly, a monopoly against their countrymen. The variety of goods of which the importation into Great Britain is prohibited, either absolutely, or under certain circumstances, greatly exceeds what can easily be suspected by those who are not well acquainted with the laws of the customs.
That this monopoly of the home market frequently gives great encouragement to that particular species of industry which enjoys it, and frequently turns towards that employment a greater share of both the labour and stock of the society than would otherwise have gone to it, cannot be doubted. But whether it tends either to increase the general industry of the society, or to give it the most advantageous direction, is not, perhaps, altogether so evident.
The general industry of the society never can exceed what the capital of the society can employ. As the number of workmen that can be kept in employment by any particular person must bear a certain proportion to his capital, so the number of those that can be continually employed by all the members of a great society must bear a certain proportion to the whole capital of that society, and never can exceed that proportion. No regulation of commerce can increase the quantity of industry in any society beyond what its capital can maintain. It can only divert a part of it into a direction into which it might not otherwise have gone; and it is by no means certain that this artificial direction is likely to be more advantageous to the society than that into which it would have gone of its own accord.
Every individual is continually exerting himself to find out the most advantageous employment for whatever capital he can command. It is his own advantage, indeed, and not that of the society, which he has in view. But the study of his own advantage naturally, or rather necessarily, leads him to prefer that employment which is most advantageous to the society.
First, every individual endeavours to employ his capital as near home as he can, and consequently as much as he can in the support of domestic industry; provided always that he can thereby obtain the ordinary, or not a great deal less than the ordinary profits of stock.
Thus, upon equal or nearly equal profits, every wholesale merchant naturally prefers the home trade to the foreign trade of consumption, and the foreign trade of consumption to the carrying trade. In the home trade his capital is never so long out of his sight as it frequently is in the foreign trade of consumption. He can know better the character and situation of the persons whom he trusts, and if he should happen to be deceived, he knows better the laws of the country from which he must seek redress. In the carrying trade, the capital of the merchant is, as it were, divided between two foreign countries, and no part of it is ever necessarily brought home, or placed under his own immediate view and command. The capital which an Amsterdam merchant employs in carrying corn from Konigsberg to Lisbon, and fruit and wine from Lisbon to Konigsberg, must generally be the one half of it at Konigsberg and the other half at Lisbon. No part of it need ever come to Amsterdam. The natural residence of such a merchant should either be at Konigsberg or Lisbon, and it can only be some very particular circumstances which can make him prefer the residence of Amsterdam. The uneasiness, however, which he feels at being separated so far from his capital generally determines him to bring part both of the Konigsberg goods which he destines for the market of Lisbon, and of the Lisbon goods which he destines for that of Konigsberg, to Amsterdam: and though this necessarily subjects him to a double charge of loading and unloading, as well as to the payment of some duties and customs, yet for the sake of having some part of his capital always under his own view and command, he willingly submits to this extraordinary charge; and it is in this manner that every country which has any considerable share of the carrying trade becomes always the emporium, or general market, for the goods of all the different countries whose trade it carries on. The merchant, in order to save a second loading and unloading, endeavours always to sell in the home market as much of the goods of all those different countries as he can, and thus, so far as he can, to convert his carrying trade into a foreign trade of consumption. A merchant, in the same manner, who is engaged in the foreign trade of consumption, when he collects goods for foreign markets, will always be glad, upon equal or nearly equal profits, to sell as great a part of them at home as he can. He saves himself the risk and trouble of exportation, when, so far as he can, he thus converts his foreign trade of consumption into a home trade. Home is in this manner the centre, if I may say so, round which the capitals of the inhabitants of every country are continually circulating, and towards which they are always tending, though by particular causes they may sometimes be driven off and repelled from it towards more distant employments. But a capital employed in the home trade, it has already been shown, necessarily puts into motion a greater quantity of domestic industry, and gives revenue and employment to a greater number of the inhabitants of the country, than an equal capital employed in the foreign trade of consumption: and one employed in the foreign trade of consumption has the same advantage over an equal capital employed in the carrying trade. Upon equal, or only nearly equal profits, therefore, every individual naturally inclines to employ his capital in the manner in which it is likely to afford the greatest support to domestic industry, and to give revenue and employment to the greatest number of people of his own country.
Secondly, every individual who employs his capital in the support of domestic industry, necessarily endeavours so to direct that industry that its produce may be of the greatest possible value.
The produce of industry is what it adds to the subject or materials upon which it is employed. In proportion as the value of this produce is great or small, so will likewise be the profits of the employer. But it is only for the sake of profit that any man employs a capital in the support of industry; and he will always, therefore, endeavour to employ it in the support of that industry of which the produce is likely to be of the greatest value, or to exchange for the greatest quantity either of money or of other goods.
But the annual revenue of every society is always precisely equal to the exchangeable value of the whole annual produce of its industry, or rather is precisely the same thing with that exchangeable value. As every individual, therefore, endeavours as much as he can both to employ his capital in the support of domestic industry, and so to direct that industry that its produce may be of the greatest value; every individual necessarily labours to render the annual revenue of the society as great as he can. He generally, indeed, neither intends to promote the public interest, nor knows how much he is promoting it. By preferring the support of domestic to that of foreign industry, he intends only his own security; and by directing that industry in such a manner as its produce may be of the greatest value, he intends only his own gain, and he is in this, as in many other cases, led by an invisible hand to promote an end which was no part of his intention. Nor is it always the worse for the society that it was no part of it. By pursuing his own interest he frequently promotes that of the society more effectually than when he really intends to promote it. I have never known much good done by those who affected to trade for the public good. It is an affectation, indeed, not very common among merchants, and very few words need be employed in dissuading them from it.
What is the species of domestic industry which his capital can employ, and of which the produce is likely to be of the greatest value, every individual, it is evident, can, in his local situation, judge much better than any statesman or lawgiver can do for him. The statesman who should attempt to direct private people in what manner they ought to employ their capitals would not only load himself with a most unnecessary attention, but assume an authority which could safely be trusted, not only to no single person, but to no council or senate whatever, and which would nowhere be so dangerous as in the hands of a man who had folly and presumption enough to fancy himself fit to exercise it.
To give the monopoly of the home market to the produce of domestic industry, in any particular art or manufacture, is in some measure to direct private people in what manner they ought to employ their capitals, and must, in almost all cases, be either a useless or a hurtful regulation. If the produce of domestic can be brought there as cheap as that of foreign industry, the regulation is evidently useless. If it cannot, it must generally be hurtful. It is the maxim of every prudent master of a family never to attempt to make at home what it will cost him more to make than to buy. The tailor does not attempt to make his own shoes, but buys them of the shoemaker. The shoemaker does not attempt to make his own clothes, but employs a tailor. The farmer attempts to make neither the one nor the other, but employs those different artificers. All of them find it for their interest to employ their whole industry in a way in which they have some advantage over their neighbours, and to purchase with a part of its produce, or what is the same thing, with the price of a part of it, whatever else they have occasion for.
What is prudence in the conduct of every private family can scarce be folly in that of a great kingdom. If a foreign country can supply us with a commodity cheaper than we ourselves can make it, better buy it of them with some part of the produce of our own industry employed in a way in which we have some advantage. The general industry of the country, being always in proportion to the capital which employs it, will not thereby be diminished, no more than that of the above-mentioned artificers; but only left to find out the way in which it can be employed with the greatest advantage. It is certainly not employed to the greatest advantage when it is thus directed towards an object which it can buy cheaper than it can make. The value of its annual produce is certainly more or less diminished when it is thus turned away from producing commodities evidently of more value than the commodity which it is directed to produce. According to the supposition, that commodity could be purchased from foreign countries cheaper than it can be made at home. It could, therefore, have been purchased with a part only of the commodities, or, what is the same thing, with a part only of the price of the commodities, which the industry employed by an equal capital would have produced at home, had it been left to follow its natural course. The industry of the country, therefore, is thus turned away from a more to a less advantageous employment, and the exchangeable value of its annual produce, instead of being increased, according to the intention of the lawgiver, must necessarily be diminished by every such regulation.
By means of such regulations, indeed, a particular manufacture may sometimes be acquired sooner than it could have been otherwise, and after a certain time may be made at home as cheap or cheaper than in the foreign country. But though the industry of the society may be thus carried with advantage into a particular channel sooner than it could have been otherwise, it will by no means follow that the sum total, either of its industry, or of its revenue, can ever be augmented by any such regulation. The industry of the society can augment only in proportion as its capital augments, and its capital can augment only in proportion to what can be gradually saved out of its revenue. But the immediate effect of every such regulation is to diminish its revenue, and what diminishes its revenue is certainly not very likely to augment its capital faster than it would have augmented of its own accord had both capital and industry been left to find out their natural employments.
Though for want of such regulations the society should never acquire the proposed manufacture, it would not, upon that account, necessarily be the poorer in any one period of its duration. In every period of its duration its whole capital and industry might still have been employed, though upon different objects, in the manner that was most advantageous at the time. In every period its revenue might have been the greatest which its capital could afford, and both capital and revenue might have been augmented with the greatest possible rapidity.
The natural advantages which one country has over another in producing particular commodities are sometimes so great that it is acknowledged by all the world to be in vain to struggle with them. By means of glasses, hotbeds, and hot walls, very good grapes can be raised in Scotland, and very good wine too can be made of them at about thirty times the expense for which at least equally good can be brought from foreign countries. Would it be a reasonable law to prohibit the importation of all foreign wines merely to encourage the making of claret and burgundy in Scotland? But if there would be a manifest absurdity in turning towards any employment thirty times more of the capital and industry of the country than would be necessary to purchase from foreign countries an equal quantity of the commodities wanted, there must be an absurdity, though not altogether so glaring, yet exactly of the same kind, in turning towards any such employment a thirtieth, or even a three-hundredth part more of either. Whether the advantages which one country has over another be natural or acquired is in this respect of no consequence. As long as the one country has those advantages, and the other wants them, it will always be more advantageous for the latter rather to buy of the former than to make. It is an acquired advantage only, which one artificer has over his neighbour, who exercises another trade; and yet they both find it more advantageous to buy of one another than to make what does not belong to their particular trades.
Merchants and manufacturers are the people who derive the greatest advantage from this monopoly of the home market. The prohibition of the importation of foreign cattle, and of salt provisions, together with the high duties upon foreign corn, which in times of moderate plenty amount to a prohibition, are not near so advantageous to the graziers and farmers of Great Britain as other regulations of the same kind are to its merchants and manufacturers. Manufactures, those of the finer kind especially, are more easily transported from one country to another than corn or cattle. It is in the fetching and carrying manufactures, accordingly, that foreign trade is chiefly employed. In manufactures, a very small advantage will enable foreigners to undersell our own workmen, even in the home market. It will require a very great one to enable them to do so in the rude produce of the soil. If the free importation of foreign manufactures were permitted, several of the home manufactures would probably suffer, and some of them, perhaps, go to ruin altogether, and a considerable part of the stock and industry at present employed in them would be forced to find out some other employment. But the freest importation of the rude produce of the soil could have no such effect upon the agriculture of the country.
If the importation of foreign cattle, for example, were made ever so free, so few could be imported that the grazing trade of Great Britain could be little affected by it. Live cattle are, perhaps, the only commodity of which the transportation is more expensive by sea than by land. By land they carry themselves to market. By sea, not only the cattle, but their food and their water too, must be carried at no small expense and inconveniency. The short sea between Ireland and Great Britain, indeed, renders the importation of Irish cattle more easy. But though the free importation of them, which was lately permitted only for a limited time, were rendered perpetual, it could have no considerable effect upon the interest of the graziers of Great Britain. Those parts of Great Britain which border upon the Irish Sea are all grazing countries. Irish cattle could never be imported for their use, but must be driven through those very extensive countries, at no small expense and inconveniency, before they could arrive at their proper market. Fat cattle could not be driven so far. Lean cattle, therefore, only could be imported, and such importation could interfere, not with the interest of the feeding or fattening countries, to which, by reducing the price of lean cattle, it would rather be advantageous, but with that of the breeding countries only. The small number of Irish cattle imported since their importation was permitted, together with the good price at which lean cattle still continue to sell, seem to demonstrate that even the breeding countries of Great Britain are never likely to be much affected by the free importation of Irish cattle. The common people of Ireland, indeed, are said to have sometimes opposed with violence the exportation of their cattle. But if the exporters had found any great advantage in continuing the trade, they could easily, when the law was on their side, have conquered this mobbish opposition.
Feeding and fattening countries, besides, must always be highly improved, whereas breeding countries are generally uncultivated. The high price of lean cattle, by augmenting the value of uncultivated land, is like a bounty against improvement. To any country which was highly improved throughout, it would be more advantageous to import its lean cattle than to breed them. The province of Holland, accordingly, is said to follow this maxim at present. The mountains of Scotland, Wales, and Northumberland, indeed, are countries not capable of much improvement, and seem destined by nature to be the breeding countries of Great Britain. The freest importation of foreign cattle could have no other effect than to hinder those breeding countries from taking advantage of the increasing population and improvement of the rest of the kingdom, from raising their price to an exorbitant height, and from laying a real tax upon all the more improved and cultivated parts of the country.
The freest importation of salt provisions, in the same manner, could have as little effect upon the interest of the graziers of Great Britain as that of live cattle. Salt provisions are not only a very bulky commodity, but when compared with fresh meat, they are a commodity both of worse quality, and as they cost more labour and expense, of higher price. They could never, therefore, come into competition with the fresh meat, though they might with the salt provisions of the country. They might be used for victualling ships for distant voyages and such like uses, but could never make any considerable part of the food of the people. The small quantity of salt provisions imported from Ireland since their importation was rendered free is an experimental proof that our graziers have nothing to apprehend from it. It does not appear that the price of butcher’s meat has ever been sensibly affected by it.
Even the free importation of foreign corn could very little affect the interest of the farmers of Great Britain. Corn is a much more bulky commodity than butcher’s meat. A pound of wheat at a penny is as dear as a pound of butcher’s meat at fourpence. The small quantity of foreign corn imported even in times of the greatest scarcity may satisfy our farmers that they can have nothing to fear from the freest importation. The average quantity imported, one year with another, amounts only, according to the very well informed author of the tracts upon the corn trade, to twenty-three thousand seven hundred and twenty-eight quarters of all sorts of grain, and does not exceed the five hundred and seventy-first part of the annual consumption. But as the bounty upon corn occasions a greater exportation in years of plenty, so it must of consequence occasion a greater importation in years of scarcity than in the actual state of tillage would otherwise take place. By means of it the plenty of one year does not compensate the scarcity of another, and as the average quantity exported is necessarily augmented by it, so must likewise, in the actual state of tillage, the average quantity imported. If there were no bounty, as less corn would be exported, so it is probable that, one year with another, less would be imported than at present. The corn-merchants, the fetchers and carriers of corn between Great Britain and foreign countries would have much less employment, and might suffer considerably; but the country gentlemen and farmers could suffer very little. It is in the corn merchants accordingly, rather than in the country gentlemen and farmers, that I have observed the greatest anxiety for the renewal and continuation of the bounty.
Country gentlemen and farmers are, to their great honour, of all people, the least subject to the wretched spirit of monopoly. The undertaker of a great manufactory is sometimes alarmed if another work of the same kind is established within twenty miles of him. The Dutch undertaker of the woollen manufacture at Abbeville stipulated that no work of the same kind should be established within thirty leagues of that city. Farmers and country gentlemen, on the contrary, are generally disposed rather to promote than to obstruct the cultivation and improvement of their neighbours’ farms and estates. They have no secrets such as those of the greater part of manufacturers, but are generally rather fond of communicating to their neighbours and of extending as far as possible any new practice which they have found to be advantageous. Pius Questus, says old Cato, stabilissimusque, minimeque invidiosus; minimeque male cogitantes sunt, qui in eo studio occupati sunt. Country gentlemen and farmers, dispersed in different parts of the country, cannot so easily combine as merchants and manufacturers, who, being collected into towns, and accustomed to that exclusive corporation spirit which prevails in them, naturally endeavour to obtain against all their countrymen the same exclusive privilege which they generally possess against the inhabitants of their respective towns. They accordingly seem to have been the original inventors of those restraints upon the importation of foreign goods which secure to them the monopoly of the home market. It was probably in imitation of them, and to put themselves upon a level with those who, they found, were disposed to oppress them, that the country gentlemen and farmers of Great Britain in so far forgot the generosity which is natural to their station as to demand the exclusive privilege of supplying their countrymen with corn and butcher’s meat. They did not perhaps take time to consider how much less their interest could be affected by the freedom of trade than that of the people whose example they followed.
To prohibit by a perpetual law the importation of foreign corn and cattle is in reality to enact that the population and industry of the country shall at no time exceed what the rude produce of its own soil can maintain.
There seem, however, to be two cases in which it will generally be advantageous to lay some burden upon foreign for the encouragement of domestic industry.
The first is, when some particular sort of industry is necessary for the defence of the country. The defence of Great Britain, for example, depends very much upon the number of its sailors and shipping. The Act of Navigation, therefore, very properly endeavours to give the sailors and shipping of Great Britain the monopoly of the trade of their own country in some cases by absolute prohibitions and in others by heavy burdens upon the shipping of foreign countries. The following are the principal dispositions of this Act.
First, all ships, of which the owners and three-fourths of the mariners are not British subjects, are prohibited, upon pain of forfeiting ship and cargo, from trading to the British settlements and plantations, or from being employed in the coasting trade of Great Britain.
Secondly, a great variety of the most bulky articles of importation can be brought into Great Britain only, either in such ships as are above described, or in ships of the country where those goods are purchased, and of which the owners, masters, and three-fourths of the mariners are of that particular country; and when imported even in ships of this latter kind, they are subject to double aliens’ duty. If imported in ships of any other country, the penalty is forfeiture of ship and goods. When this act was made, the Dutch were, what they still are, the great carriers of Europe, and by this regulation they were entirely excluded from being the carriers to Great Britain, or from importing to us the goods of any other European country.
Thirdly, a great variety of the most bulky articles of importation are prohibited from being imported, even in British ships, from any country but that in which they are produced, under pains of forfeiting ship and cargo. This regulation, too, was probably intended against the Dutch. Holland was then, as now, the great emporium for all European goods, and by this regulation British ships were hindered from loading in Holland the goods of any other European country.
Fourthly, salt fish of all kinds, whale-fins, whale-bone, oil, and blubber, not caught by and cured on board British vessels, when imported into Great Britain, are subjected to double aliens’ duty. The Dutch, as they are they the principal, were then the only fishers in Europe that attempted to supply foreign nations with fish. By this regulation, a very heavy burden was laid upon their supplying Great Britain.
When the Act of Navigation was made, though England and Holland were not actually at war, the most violent animosity subsisted between the two nations. It had begun during the government of the Long Parliament, which first framed this act, and it broke out soon after in the Dutch wars during that of the Protector and of Charles the Second. It is not impossible, therefore, that some of the regulations of this famous act may have proceeded from national animosity. They are as wise, however, as if they had all been dictated by the most deliberate wisdom. National animosity at that particular time aimed at the very same object which the most deliberate wisdom would have recommended, the diminution of the naval power of Holland, the only naval power which could endanger the security of England.
The Act of Navigation is not favourable to foreign commerce, or to the growth of that opulence which can arise from it. The interest of a nation in its commercial relations to foreign nations is, like that of a merchant with regard to the different people with whom he deals, to buy as cheap and to sell as dear as possible. But it will be most likely to buy cheap, when by the most perfect freedom of trade it encourages all nations to bring to it the goods which it has occasion to purchase; and, for the same reason, it will be most likely to sell dear, when its markets are thus filled with the greatest number of buyers. The Act of Navigation, it is true, lays no burden upon foreign ships that come to export the produce of British industry. Even the ancient aliens’ duty, which used to be paid upon all goods exported as well as imported, has, by several subsequent acts, been taken off from the greater part of the articles of exportation. But if foreigners, either by prohibitions or high duties, are hindered from coming to sell, they cannot always afford to come to buy; because coming without a cargo, they must lose the freight from their own country to Great Britain. By diminishing the number of sellers, therefore, we necessarily diminish that of buyers, and are thus likely not only to buy foreign goods dearer, but to sell our own cheaper, than if there was a more perfect freedom of trade. As defence, however it is of much more importance than opulence, the Act of Navigation is, perhaps, the wisest of all the commercial regulations of England.
The second case, in which it will generally be advantageous to lay some burden upon foreign for the encouragement of domestic industry is, when some tax is imposed at home upon the produce of the latter. In this case, it seems reasonable that an equal tax should be imposed upon the like produce of the former. This would not give the monopoly of the home market to domestic industry, nor turn towards a particular employment a greater share of the stock and labour of the country than what would naturally go to it. It would only hinder any part of what would naturally go to it from being turned away by the tax into a less natural direction, and would leave the competition between foreign and domestic industry, after the tax, as nearly as possible upon the same footing as before it. In Great Britain, when any such tax is laid upon the produce of domestic industry, it is usual at the same time, in order to stop the clamorous complaints of our merchants and manufacturers that they will be undersold at home, to lay a much heavier duty upon the importation of all foreign goods of the same kind.
This second limitation of the freedom of trade according to some people should, upon some occasions, be extended much farther than to the precise foreign commodities which could come into competition with those which had been taxed at home. When the necessaries of life have been taxed any country, it becomes proper, they pretend, to tax not only the like necessaries of life imported from other countries, but all sorts of foreign goods which can come into competition with anything that is the produce of domestic industry. Subsistence, they say, becomes necessarily dearer in consequence of such taxes; and the price of labour must always rise with the price of the labourers’ subsistence. Every commodity, therefore, which is the produce of domestic industry, though not immediately taxed itself, becomes dearer in consequence of such taxes, because the labour which produces it becomes so. Such taxes, therefore, are really equivalent, they say, to a tax upon every particular commodity produced at home. In order to put domestic upon the same footing with foreign industry, therefore, it becomes necessary, they think, to lay some duty upon every foreign commodity equal to this enhancement of the price of the home commodities with which it can come into competition.
Whether taxes upon the necessaries of life, such as those in Great Britain upon soap, salt, leather, candles, etc., necessarily raise the price of labour, and consequently that of all other commodities, I shall consider hereafter when I come to treat of taxes. Supposing, however, in the meantime, that they have this effect, and they have it undoubtedly, this general enhancement of the price of all commodities, in consequence of that of labour, is a case which differs in the two following respects from that of a particular commodity of which the price was enhanced by a particular tax immediately imposed upon it.
First, it might always be known with great exactness how far the price of such a commodity could be enhanced by such a tax: but how far the general enhancement of the price of labour might affect that of every different commodity about which labour was employed could never be known with any tolerable exactness. It would be impossible, therefore, to proportion with any tolerable exactness the tax upon every foreign to this enhancement of the price of every home commodity.
Secondly, taxes upon the necessaries of life have nearly the same effect upon the circumstances of the people as a poor soil and a bad climate. Provisions are thereby rendered dearer in the same manner as if it required extraordinary labour and expense to raise them. As in the natural scarcity arising from soil and climate it would be absurd to direct the people in what manner they ought to employ their capitals and industry, so is it likewise in the artificial scarcity arising from such taxes. To be left to accommodate, as well as they could, their industry to their situation, and to find out those employments in which, notwithstanding their unfavourable circumstances, they might have some advantage either in the home or in the foreign market, is what in both cases would evidently be most for their advantage. To lay a new tax upon them, because they are already overburdened with taxes, and because they already pay too dear for the necessaries of life, to make them likewise pay too dear for the greater part of other commodities, is certainly a most absurd way of making amends.
Such taxes, when they have grown up to a certain height, are a curse equal to the barrenness of the earth and the inclemency of the heavens; and yet it is in the richest and most industrious countries that they have been most generally imposed. No other countries could support so great a disorder. As the strongest bodies only can live and enjoy health under an unwholesome regimen, so the nations only that in every sort of industry have the greatest natural and acquired advantages can subsist and prosper under such taxes. Holland is the country in Europe in which they abound most, and which from peculiar circumstances continues to prosper, not by means of them, as has been most absurdly supposed, but in spite of them.
As there are two cases in which it will generally be advantageous to lay some burden upon foreign for the encouragement of domestic industry, so there are two others in which it may sometimes be a matter of deliberation; in the one, how far it is proper to continue the free importation of certain foreign goods; and in the other, how far, or in what manner, it may be proper to restore that free importation after it has been for some time interrupted.
The case in which it may sometimes be a matter of deliberation how far it is proper to continue the free importation of certain foreign goods is, when some foreign nation restrains by high duties or prohibitions the importation of some of our manufactures into their country. Revenge in this case naturally dictates retaliation, and that we should impose the like duties and prohibitions upon the importation of some or all of their manufactures into ours. Nations, accordingly, seldom fail to retaliate in this manner. The French have been particularly forward to favour their own manufactures by restraining the importation of such foreign goods as could come into competition with them. In this consisted a great part of the policy of Mr. Colbert, who, notwithstanding his great abilities, seems in this case to have been imposed upon by the sophistry of merchants and manufacturers, who are always demanding a monopoly against their countrymen. It is at present the opinion of the most intelligent men in France that his operations of this kind have not been beneficial to his country. That minister, by the tariff of 1667, imposed very high duties upon a great number of foreign manufactures. Upon his refusing to moderate them in favour of the Dutch, they in 1671 prohibited the importation of the wines, brandies, and manufactures of France. The war of 1672 seems to have been in part occasioned by this commercial dispute. The peace of Nimeguen put an end to it in 1678 by moderating some of those duties in favour of the Dutch, who in consequence took off their prohibition. It was about the same time that the French and English began mutually to oppress each other’s industry by the like duties and prohibitions, of which the French, however, seem to have set the first example. The spirit of hostility which has subsisted between the two nations ever since has hitherto hindered them from being moderated on either side. In 1697 the English prohibited the importation of bonelace, the manufacture of Flanders. The government of that country, at that time under the dominion of Spain, prohibited in return the importation of English woollens. In 1700, the prohibition of importing bonelace into England was taken off upon condition that the importance of English woollens into Flanders should be put on the same footing as before.
There may be good policy in retaliations of this kind, when there is a probability that they will procure the repeal of the high duties or prohibitions complained of. The recovery of a great foreign market will generally more than compensate the transitory inconveniency of paying dearer during a short time for some sorts of goods. To judge whether such retaliations are likely to produce such an effect does not, perhaps, belong so much to the science of a legislator, whose deliberations ought to be governed by general principles which are always the same, as to the skill of that insidious and crafty animal, vulgarly called a statesman or politician, whose councils are directed by the momentary fluctuations of affairs. When there is no probability that any such repeal can be procured, it seems a bad method of compensating the injury done to certain classes of our people to do another injury ourselves, not only to those classes, but to almost all the other classes of them. When our neighbours prohibit some manufacture of ours, we generally prohibit, not only the same, for that alone would seldom affect them considerably, but some other manufacture of theirs. This may no doubt give encouragement to some particular class of workmen among ourselves, and by excluding some of their rivals, may enable them to raise their price in the home market. Those workmen, however, who suffered by our neighbours’ prohibition will not be benefited by ours. On the contrary, they and almost all the other classes of our citizens will thereby be obliged to pay dearer than before for certain goods. Every such law, therefore, imposes a real tax upon the whole country, not in favour of that particular class of workmen who were injured by our neighbours’ prohibition, but of some other class.
The case in which it may sometimes be a matter of deliberation, how far, or in what manner, it is proper to restore the free importation of foreign goods, after it has been for some time interrupted, is, when particular manufactures, by means of high duties or prohibitions upon all foreign goods which can come into competition with them, have been so far extended as to employ a great multitude of hands. Humanity may in this case require that the freedom of trade should be restored only by slow gradations, and with a good deal of reserve and circumspection. Were those high duties and prohibitions taken away all at once, cheaper foreign goods of the same kind might be poured so fast into the home market as to deprive all at once many thousands of our people of their ordinary employment and means of subsistence. The disorder which this would occasion might no doubt be very considerable. It would in all probability, however, be much less than is commonly imagined, for the two following reasons:-
First, all those manufactures, of which any part is commonly exported to other European countries without a bounty, could be very little affected by the freest importation of foreign goods. Such manufactures must be sold as cheap abroad as any other foreign goods of the same quality and kind, and consequently must be sold cheaper at home. They would still, therefore, keep possession of the home market, and though a capricious man of fashion might sometimes prefer foreign wares, merely because they were foreign, to cheaper and better goods of the same kind that were made at home, this folly could, from the nature of things, extend to so few that it could make no sensible impression upon the general employment of the people. But a great part of all the different branches of our woollen manufacture, of our tanned leather, and of our hardware, are annually exported to other European countries without any bounty, and these are the manufactures which employ the greatest number of hands. The silk, perhaps, is the manufacture which would suffer the most by this freedom of trade, and after it the linen, though the latter much less than the former.
Secondly, though a great number of people should, by thus restoring the freedom of trade, be thrown all at once out of their ordinary employment and common method of subsistence, it would by no means follow that they would thereby be deprived either of employment or subsistence. By the reduction of the army and navy at the end of the late war, more than a hundred thousand soldiers and seamen, a number equal to what is employed in the greatest manufactures, were all at once thrown out of their ordinary employment; but, though they no doubt suffered some inconveniency, they were not thereby deprived of all employment and subsistence. The greater part of the seamen, it is probable, gradually betook themselves to the merchant-service as they could find occasion, and in the meantime both they and the soldiers were absorbed in the great mass of the people, and employed in a great variety of occupations. Not only no great convulsion, but no sensible disorder arose from so great a change in the situation of more than a hundred thousand men, all accustomed to the use of arms, and many of them to rapine and plunder. The number of vagrants was scarce anywhere sensibly increased by it, even the wages of labour were not reduced by it in any occupation, so far as I have been able to learn, except in that of seamen in the merchant service. But if we compare together the habits of a soldier and of any sort of manufacturer, we shall find that those of the latter do not tend so much to disqualify him from being employed in a new trade, as those of the former from being employed in any. The manufacturer has always been accustomed to look for his subsistence from his labour only: the soldier to expect it from his pay. Application and industry have been familiar to the one; idleness and dissipation to the other. But it is surely much easier to change the direction of industry from one sort of labour to another than to turn idleness and dissipation to any. To the greater part of manufactures besides, it has already been observed, there are other collateral manufactures of so similar a nature that a workman can easily transfer his industry from one of them to another. The greater part of such workmen too are occasionally employed in country labour. The stock which employed them in a particular manufacture before will still remain in the country to employ an equal number of people in some other way. The capital of the country remaining the same, the demand for labour will likewise be the same, or very nearly the same, though it may be exerted in different places and for different occupations. Soldiers and seamen, indeed, when discharged from the king’s service, are at liberty to exercise any trade, within any town or place of Great Britain or Ireland. Let the same natural liberty of exercising what species of industry they please, be restored to all his Majesty’s subjects, in the same manner as to soldiers and seamen; that is, break down the exclusive privileges of corporations, and repeal the Statute of Apprenticeship, both which are real encroachments upon natural liberty, and add to these the repeal of the Law of Settlements, so that a poor workman, when thrown out of employment either in one trade or in one place, may seek for it in another trade or in another place without the fear either of a prosecution or of a removal, and neither the public nor the individuals will suffer much more from the occasional disbanding some particular classes of manufacturers than from that of soldiers. Our manufacturers have no doubt great merit with their country, but they cannot have more than those who defend it with their blood, nor deserve to be treated with more delicacy.
To expect, indeed, that the freedom of trade should ever be entirely restored in Great Britain is as absurd as to expect that an Oceana or Utopia should ever be established in it. Not only the prejudices of the public, but what is much more unconquerable, the private interests of many individuals, irresistibly oppose it. Were the officers of the army to oppose with the same zeal and unanimity any reduction in the numbers of forces with which master manufacturers set themselves against every law that is likely to increase the number of their rivals in the home market; were the former to animate their soldiers in the same manner as the latter enflame their workmen to attack with violence and outrage the proposers of any such regulation, to attempt to reduce the army would be as dangerous as it has now become to attempt to diminish in any respect the monopoly which our manufacturers have obtained against us. This monopoly has so much increased the number of some particular tribes of them that, like an overgrown standing army, they have become formidable to the government, and upon many occasions intimidate the legislature. The Member of Parliament who supports every proposal for strengthening this monopoly is sure to acquire not only the reputation of understanding trade, but great popularity and influence with an order of men whose numbers and wealth render them of great importance. If he opposes them, on the contrary, and still more if he has authority enough to be able to thwart them, neither the most acknowledged probity, nor the highest rank, nor the greatest public services can protect him from the most infamous abuse and detraction, from personal insults, nor sometimes from real danger, arising from the insolent outrage of furious and disappointed monopolists.
The undertaker of a great manufacture, who, by the home markets being suddenly laid open to the competition of foreigners, should be obliged to abandon his trade, would no doubt suffer very considerably. That part of his capital which had usually been employed in purchasing materials and in paying his workmen might, without much difficulty, perhaps, find another employment. But that part of it which was fixed in workhouses, and in the instruments of trade, could scarce be disposed of without considerable loss. The equitable regard, therefore, to his interest requires that changes of this kind should never be introduced suddenly, but slowly, gradually, and after a very long warning. The legislature, were it possible that its deliberations could be always directed, not by the clamorous importunity of partial interests, but by an extensive view of the general good, ought upon this very account, perhaps, to be particularly careful neither to establish any new monopolies of this kind, nor to extend further those which are already established. Every such regulation introduces some degree of real disorder into the constitution of the state, which it will be difficult afterwards to cure without occasioning another disorder.
How far it may be proper to impose taxes upon the importation of foreign goods, in order not to prevent their importation but to raise a revenue for government, I shall consider hereafter when I come to treat of taxes. Taxes imposed with a view to prevent, or even to diminish importation, are evidently as destructive of the revenue of the customs as of the freedom of trade.


2 Organizing Content
Organizing content so it has a logical flow just makes sense. Using chapters, headings, and sub-headings to organize a resource allows students to clearly see how the main concepts are related. In addition, headings are one of the main ways that students using a screen reader navigate through a chapter.
Who are you doing this for?
Everyone benefits from having content that’s clearly organized. Well-organized content supports students who:
- Have certain learning disabilities
- Are blind or have low vision
Why is this important?
Headings help to identify the hierarchical structure of a document (e.g., sections, sub-sections). They provide a visual cue that helps sighted readers quickly navigate through sections of a document, skimming until they find the section they are looking for. Similarly, headings create logical divisions in the content and allow a non-sighted user to navigate a page or document easily using a screen reader.
When it comes to using visual references to indicate the hierarchy and structure of a document, you might be accustomed to changing the font style, enlarging the type size, or highlighting the text with bold, underline or italics to create the impression of a heading. This approach presents problems when creating material with accessibility in mind because screen readers won’t identify the text as a heading. Instead, the screen reader will just “read” through the text of a heading as if it were regular content, missing your intended cues about structure and organization.
What do you need to do?
VIULearn
In VIULearn, use the Format option the HTML editor as shown in the screenshot below.
Word Documents
In Word, use the heading styles feature located in the Home tab as shown in the screenshot below.
To read more about using Headings in Word check the Microsoft Office support website.
Google Docs
In Google Docs, use the styles feature as shown in the screenshot below.
To read more about using headings in Google docs check the Google Docs Help Center.


2 Historical Events and Philosophical Influences in Curriculum and Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy
“He who controls the curriculum controls history.” —Arthur Schlessinger, The Disuniting of America
Introduction
To fully understand why we have the curricula we do today, it is necessary to take a look back at the historical foundations of curriculum in the U.S. as well as the roots of curriculum in ancient civilizations that have an influence today. Schlessinger (1991) asks a critical question: What should we be teaching school children? This is an avenue for other questions:
- With all the things that divide us, and what is it that can hold Americans together?
- What is the historian’s role in all this?
He goes on to state, “The historian’s goals are accuracy, analysis, and objectivity in the reconstruction of the past. . . History as a weapon is an abuse of history.”
As teachers and developers of history, it is very important to know what has been taught, what is being taught, and how can we develop curriculum that teaches students with wisdom and accuracy.
Bloom’s Taxonomy, which was developed in the 1950’s and later revised, articulates many kids of learning, recognition and recall to analysis, synthesis and the production of ideas and performance (Darling-Hammond & Bransford, 2005).
Essential Questions
- How has history influenced curriculum?
- Why has Bloom’s Taxonomy been used extensively by generations of K-12 teachers and college instructors in their teaching
- How is Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy different than the original Taxonomy?
- Why is it important to know what has been taught, what is being taught, and how we can develop curriculum that teaches students with wisdom and accuracy?
Curriculum in Formal Education
In formal education or schooling, a curriculum is the set of courses, course work, and content offered at a school or university. A curriculum may be partly or entirely guided by an external, governing body, often the state departments of Education in the U.S (Curriculum Studies), p. 130).
Curriculum questions have been raised since Plato’s design for education in his ideal State, (Flinders & Thornton, 2013). In the U.S. in the 18th century, how curriculum was developed and implemented varied greatly from what we see today.
Traditional Education
In all societies, traditional education was aimed at learning the ways of the parents. It was, and still is in some communities, a very conservative form of education and emphasizes on maintaining the status quo in society. The culture, traditions, and practices of the people are passed on from one generation to the next as evidence in methods that do not change much over the years.
Ancient Era
From Curriculum Studies, p. 50
Curriculum can be traced to the ancient era of the Greek, Roman, Hebrew and Christian periods. Greek education, which has influenced the current world systems of education, is credited to the work of Socrates and other Greek scholars such as Aristotle. The main aim of Greek education was good citizenship for the populace, who would support and defend the state and its laws; development of a rational mind; and creativity that influenced the arts
Roman education emphasized equipping the citizenry with knowledge and skills to defend the state; respecting tradition as the foundation of the culture; and highlighting the value of practical skills to maintain daily life among other educational aims. On the other hand, Christian education focused primarily on moral education and character building
Historical Foundations of Curriculum in the U.S.
From Curriculum Studies, p. 130
In The Curriculum, the first textbook published on the subject in 1918, John Franklin Bobbitt said that curriculum, as an idea, has its roots in the Latin word for “race-course” explaining the curriculum as the course of deeds and experiences through which children become the adults they should be for success in adult society. Furthermore, curriculum encompasses the entire scope of formative deeds and experiences occurring in and out of school, and not just experiences occurring in school; experiences that are unplanned and undirected, and experiences intentionally directed for the purposeful formation of adult members of society.
The following slide show provides more information about the history of curriculum in the U.S.
- Curriculum and Education Part 1_Etext_Captioned
- Curriculum and Education Part 2_Etext_Captioned
- Curriculum and Education Part 3_Etext_Captioned
The following is an image of Madeline Hunter’s Instructional Model Evaluation Scorecard as mentioned in Curriculum and Education video presentation.
Madeline Hunter’s Instructional Model Evaluation Scorecard
Downloadable adapted version: Madeline Hunter Instructional Model Evaluation Scorecard
ILA 2.1
Reflect on how history speaks to professional practice in teaching. How might the trends in society today influence curriculum in the future? Utilize the annotation tool for capturing your thoughts.
Bloom’s Taxonomy
From P. Armstrong, Vanderbilt University Center for Teaching, and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Many curriculum developers have incorporated Bloom’s Taxonomy into curriculum because they have found it helpful to teachers and administrators when defining standards and creating lessons.
In 1956, Benjamin Bloom with collaborators Max Englehart, Edward Furst, Walter Hill, and David Krathwohl published a framework for categorizing educational goals: Taxonomy of Educational Objectives. Familiarly known as Bloom’s Taxonomy, this framework has been applied by generations of K-12 teachers and college instructors in their teaching.
Following are the authors’ brief explanations of these main categories from the Appendix of Taxonomy of Educational Objectives (Handbook One, pp. 201-207).
Table 2.1: Cognitive Levels with Descriptions
| Cognitive Level | Description |
| Knowledge | “involves the recall of specifics and universals, the recall of methods and processes, or the recall of a pattern, structure, or setting.” |
| Comprehension | “refers to a type of understanding or apprehension such that the individual knows what is being communicated and can make use of the material or idea being communicated without necessarily relating it to other material or seeing its fullest implications.” |
| Application | “refers to the ‘use of abstractions in particular and concrete situations.’” |
| Analysis | “represents the ‘breakdown of a communication into its constituent elements or parts such that the relative hierarchy of ideas is made clear and/or the relations between ideas expressed are made explicit.’” |
| Synthesis | “involves the ‘putting together of elements and parts so as to form a whole.’” |
| Evaluation | “engenders judgments about the value of material and methods for given purposes.” |
Barbara Gross Davis, in the “Asking Questions” chapter of Tools for Teaching, also provides examples of questions corresponding to the six categories. This chapter is not available in the online version of the book, but Tools for Teaching is available in the CFT Library. See its ACORN record for call number and availability.
The framework elaborated by Bloom and his collaborators consisted of six major categories:
- Knowledge
- Comprehension
- Application
- Analysis
- Synthesis
- Evaluation
The categories after Knowledge were presented as “skills and abilities,” with the understanding that knowledge was the necessary precondition for putting these skills and abilities into practice.
While each category contained subcategories, all lying along a continuum from simple-to-complex and concrete-to-abstract, the taxonomy is popularly remembered according to the six main categories.
Bloom’s Taxonomy underpins the classical ‘knowledge, attitude, skills’ structure of learning methods and evaluation. It remains the most widely used system of its kind in education particularly, and also in industry and corporate training. It’s easy to see why, because it is such a simple, clear, and effective model, both for explanation and application of learning objectives, teaching and training methods, and measurement of learning outcomes.
The Revised Taxonomy (2001)
A group of cognitive psychologists, curriculum theorists and instructional researchers and testing and assessment specialists published in 2001 a revision of Bloom’s Taxonomy with the title A Taxonomy for Teaching, Learning, and Assessment. This title draws attention away from the somewhat static notion of “educational objectives” (in Bloom’s original title) and points to a more dynamic conception of classification.
The authors of the revised taxonomy underscore this dynamism, using verbs and gerunds to label their categories and subcategories (rather than the nouns of the original taxonomy). These “action words” describe the cognitive processes by which thinkers encounter and work with knowledge.
Table 2.2 Cognitive Levels with Action Word Examples
| Cognitive Level | Action Word Examples |
| Remember |
|
| Understand |
|
| Apply |
|
| Analyze |
|
| Evaluate |
|
| Create |
|
In the revised taxonomy, knowledge is at the basis of these six cognitive processes, but its authors created a separate taxonomy of the types of knowledge used in cognition:
- Factual Knowledge
- knowledge of terminology
- knowledge of specific details and elements
- Conceptual Knowledge
- knowledge of classifications and categories
- knowledge of principles and generalizations
- knowledge of theories, models, and structures
- Procedural Knowledge
- knowledge of subject-specific skills and algorithms
- knowledge of subject-specific techniques and methods
- knowledge of criteria for determining when to use appropriate procedures
- Metacognitive Knowledge
- strategic Knowledge
- knowledge about cognitive tasks, including appropriate contextual and conditional knowledge
- self-knowledge
Mary Forehand from the University of Georgia provides a guide to the revised version giving a brief summary of the revised taxonomy and a helpful table of the six cognitive processes and four types of knowledge.
Why Use Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy in Curriculum Development and Lesson Planning?
The authors of the revised taxonomy suggest a multi-layered answer to this question, to which the author of this teaching guide has added some clarifying points:
- Objectives (learning goals) are important to establish in a pedagogical interchange so that teachers and students alike understand the purpose of that interchange.
- Organizing objectives helps to clarify objectives for themselves and for students.
- Having an organized set of objectives helps teachers to:
- “plan and deliver appropriate instruction;”
- “design valid assessment tasks and strategies;” and
- “ensure that instruction and assessment are aligned with the objectives.”
ILA 2.2
As an educator how are Bloom’s levels and examples helpful to teachers in developing lesson plans and meeting standards? Utilize the ILA Responses Group in the Hypothesis annotation tool to share your thoughts.
Summary
It is important to understand the influence of history on curriculum because there are many competing visions of teaching and learning that affect curriculum today. Bloom’s Taxonomy provides the foundation for the classical structure of teaching and learning, and the Revised Taxonomy is widely used because it is an effective model for writing curriculum and measuring outcomes.
In moving from the historical influences of curriculum and the influence of Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy, the importance of philosophy, and different curriculum philosophies that guide the development and implementation of curriculum follows in the next chapter.


73 12.3 Discussion
The Role of Gamification in Enhancing Student Engagement and Social-Emotional Learning
Gamification in education has received attention over the last few years as an educational tool to improve student engagement and learning outcomes by integrating game elements such as points, leaderboards and badges into the classroom to make learning more interactive and enjoyable (Cheong et al., 2017). My research includes various academic sources from peer-reviewed journals covering primary and secondary studies, such as systematic reviews, meta-analyses, and editorials. Research has shown that gamification can foster motivation and engagement, but its effectiveness largely depends on how these elements are used and the context in which they are used (Sailer & Homner, 2019). Studies have highlighted that social interaction and feedback are crucial in maintaining student interest and encouraging active participation (Chung & Pan, 2023). However, the challenge in applying gamification is the risk of overcomplicating the experience for students or making the game mechanics too difficult, which could discourage the learning process (Marques et al., 2023). Integrating digital tools for social-emotional learning (SEL) is also increasing, with many educators recognizing the importance of teaching social skills, emotional regulation, and peer interaction (Short, 2016). As more schools explore ways to integrate SEL into their curriculum, gamification offers a promising approach to fostering these skills. Gamification in the classroom that creates social-emotional opportunities can help students practice social skills in a safe, supportive environment (Dibello, 2012).
Positive Impact of Gamification
Multiple studies support gamification in improving different elements of learning. Sailer and Homner’s (2019) meta-analysis indicates that gamification can positively affect cognitive, motivational, and behavioural outcomes. This meta-analysis also suggests that gamification can increase academic performance and student engagement. Cheong et al. (2017) found that students responded positively to game elements when these features included progress tracking and some competition. These findings highlight the importance of utilizing well-balanced and thoughtful gamification strategies.
Challenges and Concerns in Gamification
There were concerns about the potential of gamification, particularly when it leads to excessive competition to become a form of escapism. Marques et al. (2023) stated that escapists in gaming can affect mental health and social behaviour and could have both positive and negative outcomes. These concerns suggest that educational games focus on cooperative play and positive feedback, which can foster healthy social interactions and support emotional well-being.
Finding the right balance between the fun aspects of games and the educational goals of gamification in education can be challenging. Students can lose focus on the learning objectives if the game elements distract or encourage too much competition. It is important to ensure the game is enjoyable and engaging while keeping the lesson focused (Cheong et al., 2017). Another area for improvement is that focusing too much on rewards like points or badges can make students more motivated by those rewards than by actual learning. Over time, this can lower their intrinsic motivation (Marques et al., 2023). Teachers must monitor how students respond to the game elements and adjust them to ensure that learning stays the main focus.
Opportunities in Gamification
Gamification can tap into what interests’ students and motivate them to learn by using game elements that match their learning styles. Adding social activities, like group challenges, can help students work together and develop social and emotional skills and academic knowledge (Sailer & Homner, 2019). Gamification can also be personalized, allowing students to learn at their own pace and receive tailored feedback, which is especially helpful for students struggling in a traditional classroom (Dibello, 2012). Considerations in gamification include using more up-to-date technologies, such as virtual and augmented reality, which make learning experiences more interactive and real-world-like. These tools can create dynamic, gamified environments that help students apply their learning in realistic situations (Chung & Pan, 2023).
Social-Emotional Learning Through Gamification
Integrating digital tools for social-emotional learning (SEL) is increasing, with many educators recognizing the importance of teaching social skills, emotional regulation, and peer engagement (Short, 2016). Incorporating gamified learning for SEL is earning more attention as educators increasingly recognize the importance of teaching social skills, emotional regulation, and peer interaction. Gamified SEL lessons provide a promising avenue for fostering these skills. Classroom activities designed with gamified elements can create opportunities for students to practice social skills in a safe and supportive environment where students can build confidence and improve peer relationships (Dibello, 2012).
The article Assessing the effects of flow, social interaction, and engagement on students’ gamified learning: A mediation analysis highlights the role of peer interaction and social influence in motivating students within gamified environments (Chung & Pan, 2023). The findings suggest that educators can use gamification to create activities that promote academic growth and support student’s social and emotional development. With the growing focus on SEL, gamification can be an effective tool to foster empathy, enhance problem-solving abilities, and improve emotional regulation skills (Chung & Pan, 2023).


Chapter 8: Angular Kinetics
8.2 Torque
Authors: Paul Peter Urone, Roger Hinrichs
Adapted by: Rob Pryce, Alix Blacklin
Learning Objectives
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
- State the second condition that is necessary to achieve equilibrium.
- Explain torque and the factors on which it depends.
- Describe the role of torque in rotational mechanics.
Torque
The second condition necessary to achieve equilibrium involves avoiding accelerated rotation (maintaining a constant angular velocity). A rotating body or system can be in equilibrium if its rate of rotation is constant and remains unchanged by the forces acting on it. To understand what factors affect rotation, let us think about what happens when you open an ordinary door by rotating it on its hinges.
Several familiar factors determine how effective you are in opening the door. See the figure below. First of all, the larger the force, the more effective it is in opening the door—obviously, the harder you push, the more rapidly the door opens. Also, the point at which you push is crucial. If you apply your force too close to the hinges, the door will open slowly, if at all. Most people have been embarrassed by making this mistake and bumping up against a door when it did not open as quickly as expected. Finally, the direction in which you push is also important. The most effective direction is perpendicular to the door—we push in this direction almost instinctively.
The magnitude, direction, and point of application of the force are incorporated into the definition of the physical quantity called torque. Torque is the rotational equivalent of a force. It is a measure of the effectiveness of a force in changing or accelerating a rotation (changing the angular velocity over a period of time). In equation form, the magnitude of torque is defined to be
where [latex]\tau[/latex] (the Greek letter tau) is the symbol for torque, [latex]r[/latex] is the distance from the pivot point to the point where the force is applied, [latex]F[/latex] is the magnitude of the force, and [latex]\theta[/latex] is the angle between the force and the vector directed from the point of application to the pivot point, as seen in the figures above and below. An alternative expression for torque is given in terms of the perpendicular lever arm [latex]{r}_{\perp }[/latex] (or moment arm) as shown in these figures, which is defined as
so that
The moment arm [latex]{r}_{\perp }[/latex] is the shortest distance from the pivot point to the line along which [latex]\mathbf{\text{F}}[/latex] acts; it is shown as a dashed line in the two figures above. Note that the line segment that defines the distance [latex]{r}_{\perp }[/latex] is perpendicular to [latex]\mathbf{\text{F}}[/latex], as its name implies. It is sometimes easier to find or visualize [latex]{r}_{\perp }[/latex] than to find both [latex]r[/latex] and [latex]\theta[/latex]. In such cases, it may be more convenient to use [latex]\tau ={r}_{\perp }\mathbf{F}[/latex] rather than [latex]\tau =\text{rF}\phantom{\rule{0.25em}{0ex}}\text{sin}\phantom{\rule{0.25em}{0ex}}\theta[/latex] for torque, but both are equally valid.
The SI unit of torque is newtons times meters, usually written as [latex]\text{N}·\text{m}[/latex]. For example, if you push perpendicular to the door with a force of 40 N at a distance of 0.800 m from the hinges, you exert a torque of 32 N·m(0.800 m × 40 N × sin 90º) relative to the hinges. If you reduce the force to 20 N, the torque is reduced to [latex]\text{16 N·m}[/latex], and so on.
The torque is always calculated with reference to some chosen pivot point. For the same applied force, a different choice for the location of the pivot will give you a different value for the torque, since both [latex]r[/latex] and [latex]\theta[/latex] depend on the location of the pivot. Any point in any object can be chosen to calculate the torque about that point. The object may not actually pivot about the chosen “pivot point.”
Note that for rotation in a plane, torque has two possible directions. Torque is either clockwise or counterclockwise relative to the chosen pivot point, as illustrated for points B and A, respectively, in the hockey stick figure. If the object can rotate about point A, it will rotate counterclockwise, which means that the torque for the force is shown as counterclockwise relative to A. But if the object can rotate about point B, it will rotate clockwise, which means the torque for the force shown is clockwise relative to B. Also, the magnitude of the torque is greater when the lever arm is longer.
Now, the second condition necessary to achieve equilibrium is that the net external torque on a system must be zero. An external torque is one that is created by an external force. You can choose the point around which the torque is calculated. The point can be the physical pivot point of a system or any other point in space—but it must be the same point for all torques. If the second condition (net external torque on a system is zero) is satisfied for one choice of pivot point, it will also hold true for any other choice of pivot point in or out of the system of interest. (This is true only in an inertial frame of reference.) The second condition necessary to achieve equilibrium is stated in equation form as
where net means total. Torques, which are in opposite directions are assigned opposite signs. A common convention is to call counterclockwise (ccw) torques positive and clockwise (cw) torques negative.
When two children balance a seesaw as shown in the figure below, they satisfy the two conditions for equilibrium. Most people have perfect intuition about seesaws, knowing that the lighter child must sit farther from the pivot and that a heavier child can keep a lighter one off the ground indefinitely.
Example: She Saw Torques On A Seesaw
The two children shown in the figure above are balanced on a seesaw of negligible mass. (This assumption is made to keep the example simple—more involved examples will follow.) The first child has a mass of 26.0 kg and sits 1.60 m from the pivot.
(a) If the second child has a mass of 32.0 kg, how far is she from the pivot?
(b) What is [latex]{F}_{\text{p}}[/latex], the supporting force exerted by the pivot?
Strategy
Both conditions for equilibrium must be satisfied. In part (a), we are asked for a distance; thus, the second condition (regarding torques) must be used, since the first (regarding only forces) has no distances in it. To apply the second condition for equilibrium, we first identify the system of interest to be the seesaw plus the two children. We take the supporting pivot to be the point about which the torques are calculated. We then identify all external forces acting on the system.
Solution (a)
The three external forces acting on the system are the weights of the two children and the supporting force of the pivot. Let us examine the torque produced by each. Torque is defined to be
Here [latex]\theta =90º[/latex], so that [latex]\text{sin}\phantom{\rule{0.25em}{0ex}}\theta =1[/latex] for all three forces. That means [latex]{r}_{\perp }=r[/latex] for all three. The torques exerted by the three forces are first,
second,
and third,
Note that a minus sign has been inserted into the second equation because this torque is clockwise and is therefore negative by convention. Since [latex]{F}_{\text{p}}[/latex] acts directly on the pivot point, the distance [latex]{r}_{\text{p}}[/latex] is zero. A force acting on the pivot cannot cause a rotation, just as pushing directly on the hinges of a door will not cause it to rotate. Now, the second condition for equilibrium is that the sum of the torques on both children is zero. Therefore
or
Weight is mass times the acceleration due to gravity. Entering [latex]{\mathit{mg}}_{}[/latex] for [latex]w[/latex], we get
Solve this for the unknown [latex]{r}_{2}[/latex]:
The quantities on the right side of the equation are known; thus, [latex]{r}_{2}[/latex] is
As expected, the heavier child must sit closer to the pivot (1.30 m versus 1.60 m) to balance the seesaw.
Solution (b)
This part asks for a force [latex]{F}_{\text{p}}[/latex]. The easiest way to find it is to use the first condition for equilibrium, which is
The forces are all vertical, so that we are dealing with a one-dimensional problem along the vertical axis; hence, the condition can be written as
where we again call the vertical axis the y-axis. Choosing upward to be the positive direction, and using plus and minus signs to indicate the directions of the forces, we see that
This equation yields what might have been guessed at the beginning:
So, the pivot supplies a supporting force equal to the total weight of the system:
Entering known values gives
Discussion
The two results make intuitive sense. The heavier child sits closer to the pivot. The pivot supports the weight of the two children. Part (b) can also be solved using the second condition for equilibrium, since both distances are known, but only if the pivot point is chosen to be somewhere other than the location of the seesaw’s actual pivot!
Several aspects of the preceding example have broad implications. First, the choice of the pivot as the point around which torques are calculated simplified the problem. Since [latex]{F}_{\text{p}}[/latex] is exerted on the pivot point, its lever arm is zero. Hence, the torque exerted by the supporting force [latex]{F}_{\text{p}}[/latex] is zero relative to that pivot point. The second condition for equilibrium holds for any choice of pivot point, and so we choose the pivot point to simplify the solution of the problem.
Second, the acceleration due to gravity canceled in this problem, and we were left with a ratio of masses. This will not always be the case. Always enter the correct forces—do not jump ahead to enter some ratio of masses.
Third, the weight of each child is distributed over an area of the seesaw, yet we treated the weights as if each force were exerted at a single point. This is not an approximation—the distances [latex]{r}_{\text{1}}[/latex] and [latex]{r}_{\text{2}}[/latex] are the distances to points directly below the center of gravity of each child. As we shall see in the next section, the mass and weight of a system can act as if they are located at a single point.
Finally, note that the concept of torque has an importance beyond static equilibrium. Torque plays the same role in rotational motion that force plays in linear motion. We will examine this in the next chapter.
Take-Home Experiment
Take a piece of modeling clay and put it on a table, then mash a cylinder down into it so that a ruler can balance on the round side of the cylinder while everything remains still. Put a penny 8 cm away from the pivot. Where would you need to put two pennies to balance? Three pennies?


5 Brochures, Newsletters and Posters
Amber Gulbranson; Nancy Jacob; and Haley Sakki
Photo by Branden Harvey on Unsplash
Chapter Objectives
- Create informative brochures, newsletters and posters
- Apply basic design principles to brochures, newsletters and posters
- Identify purpose for creating brochures, newsletters and posters
Brochures, Newsletters, and Posters
Introduction
Brochures, Newsletters, and Posters are one of the most practical forms of distributing information to a wide population. They are useful to reach out to the general public to spread awareness of a specific topic or to bring attention to companies and introduce particular services. Brochures and/or pamphlets are a practical way to inform readers about a service (e.g., outreach programs, counselling, etc. ), advertise to the public about companies (e.g., Elizabeth Fry Society, Salvation Army, etc.), or to promote products (e.g., harm reduction equipment such as sterile water, crack pipes, needles, etc.). Brochures are distributed at locations such as your doctors office, schools, restaurants, local companies, etc. Newsletters are a common way for businesses, institutions, and organization to update it’s subscribers on recent information and/or activities. Newsletters contain many different fonts, pictures, and shapes to attract the readers attention. They are issued periodically to those of interest. Newsletters are a creative way to communicate and advertise new ideas. Newsletters are similar to newspapers but instead newspapers are sent out on a daily basis while newsletters are often only sent out on a weekly basis. Posters include eye-catching images and visual designs, bright colours, and various text fonts and sizes to draw in attention. Posters give people an opportunity to reach out to the general public to spread awareness to a topic or to bring attention to companies and introduce services at numerous locations. Posters aren’t required to be handed out and only require someone to pass by and take a couple moments to read on a wall resulting in no one being chased down to offer them one.
Brochures
A brochure, also known as a pamphlet, is an informational paper that is mainly used for advertising. A brochure is a single piece of paper that can be folded in many different ways, with summary information regarding an organization, company, product, service, etc., printed on either side of it. There are six main types of brochures that are most commonly used: the Gate Fold Brochure, the Tri-Fold Brochure, the Bi-Fold Brochure, Leaflets/ Flyers, Folders/ Insert Brochures, and Z-Fold Brochures. These different types of brochures will be discussed later on in the chapter.
Purpose of a Brochure
The main purpose of a brochure is to promote something, whether this be an organization, company, product, or service, and inform the reader of the benefits of the item being promoted. An example of a good usage of a brochure would be for the Elizabeth Fry Society to promote their programs and services and inform the public about them. The brochure would have the Elizabeth Fry Society logo on it, and in it would be summarized information on each of their services: Ongoing support & volunteer services, Community reintegration & housing support, Bail verification and supervision program, Restorative justice and conflict mediation, and the Open arts studio. The information included in a brochure is usually summarized as there is minimal room.
The purpose of a brochure is to capture the attention of the reader to then “extend the reader’s knowledge on one specific topic in which the brochure centers around”(Edraw. 2014).
When would a Brochure be Used?
A brochure would be used when someone wants to release information about a certain topic in a condensed way that is easy to read and interesting to look at. A brochure can also be used when a company or organization wants to advertise a new program or get out information about an old program, or if any business/ organization has a product/ service that they would like to promote or inform about.
What Elements Should be Included?
There are eight key elements that should be considered when creating a brochure:
8 Key Elements of a Brochure
Command Attention with the Cover
- The first thing to do is to create a cover for the brochure that catches the eye of the reader. An eye catching cover has an uncluttered design and consists of 3 main elements:
- the company’s logo
- an image that stands out
- a phrase that captivates the reader to want to learn more
- The phrases that are typically most effective usually are in a large font, fewer than ten words, and placed at the top or the bottom or the brochure as opposed to the middle.
Attract Attention With Compelling Text
- The design on the cover is going to get people to take a look, but the phrase on the cover is whats is going to convince the to pick up the brochure and read it. There are two techniques to arouse the reader’s curiosity…
- Ask a question on the cover and answer it on the inside.
- Start a phrase on the cover and continue it on the inside.
Set the Tone With Colour
- Using colour is a great way to set the mood of your message. Bright colours are a good choice for you if your business is fun and whimsical, if you want to portray a more serious business message then more neutral hues will be better suited for you.
Choose the Right Font and Size
- Another way to set the right mood of your message is to choose the right font. You want to make sure that the font you chose to use is easy to read. Using different sizes will also help highlight importance of different information. The more important information should be in the larger size with the subheadings in a smaller size. Different sizes also help provide visual interest for the reader.
Use white Space Strategically
- White space is another word for empty space. This white space is as important as images and text. Having white space keeps your brochure from looking cluttered. White space can also be used to draw attention to key images or information.
Organize with Boxes
- Boxes are another way to draw attention to key images or information. If you are using boxing be sure to use them sparingly or else it defeats the purpose of using them.
Choose an Appropriate Fold
- There are many different types of folds that can be used for a brochure. Some of the fold are better used for brochures with little information whereas some of the folds are better used for brochures with lots of information. A Z-Fold is used when a lot of information is being presented as only one panel at a time is being displayed which stops the reader from being bombarded with information. A basic Tri-Fold is used for brochures with less information and a large central image. The 6 different types of folds will be discussed later on in the chapter.
Bring the Brochure to Life with Photographs
- Pictures and images are a great way to communicate your company’s message without using text. Make sure not to rely too heavily on pictures, 2-4 pictures is sufficient to ensure that the reader is not too overwhelmed.
Examples of Brochures (6 folds)
Gate Fold Brochure
- The gate fold brochure is fairly uncommon but when it is used correctly can have a great impact. They are uncommonly used because of their cost, therefore mainly being used for high-end marketing. Theses brochures are made of high quality paper which makes them more durable and easy to distribute. The inward fold of this brochure is a unique feature that makes it easy to carry. The gate fold brochure has an eight panel structure which allows for a lot of room for information or images.
Tri-Fold Brochure
- This type of brochure has three folds. It provides six panels to place information and images as opposed to the eight panels of the gate fold brochure. The tri-fold brochure is a very common type of brochure because of their low cost.
Bi-Fold Brochure
- This is the type of brochure that is most commonly used. They are folded in half which creates four panels: the front cover, the back cover, and the two middle panels. It is a simple brochure which makes it easy for the reader to scan through the information. A more advanced form of the bi-fold brochure is the booklet. The booklet is more useful for companies that produce many products or services and need a lot of space for advertising.
Leaflets/ Flyers
- A leaflet/ flyer is different from the other types as they are used for targeting a large number of people. Since leaflets are common, you need to ensure that you are unique in your design and presentation. There is only one page in a leaflet/ flyer making it very reader-friendly. The information is also concise and to the point on a leaflet.
Folders and Inserts Brochure
- These types of brochures have an additional feature. They have folders within the brochure. These types of brochures are useful for storing feedback forms or an enrollment form which can be filled out on the spot by the reader.
Z-Fold Brochure
- This brochure gets its name because it folds into a ‘Z’. It looks like an accordion, and it’s more advanced version which has more folds is called the accordion fold brochure. The Z-Fold brochure allows information to be proposed in great detail as there are three panels. The z-fold is also a good alternative to the tri-fold.
The above information was adapted from: (Motkar, S. 2018)
Newsletters
A Newsletter is a printed or electronic report that is sent out to those with specific interest. It contains analysis and news about information and activities within a certain business, institution, or organization. It is issued periodically to its subscribers. A Newsletter should include a good title, eye catching pictures, with relevant and interesting information.
Purpose of a Newsletter
A Newsletters main purpose is to keeps customers or employees informed of what is taking place in your community or company. They also help promote organizations, products, services, and businesses. Newsletters are appealing and easy to read. It helps build regular communication with customers and employees, while being a cost-effective way to do so.
When Would a Newsletter be Used?
A newsletter is used to spread awareness of information and activities to its subscribers.
What Elements Should be Included?
There are six key elements that should be considered while creating a newsletter:
6 Key Elements of a Newsletter
Good Title
- Having a good title will determine whether or not someone will read your newsletter. You should have a creative title that will catch the readers attention while informing them on what your newsletter is about. Your title should be professional. Having a good title can also prevent E-Newsletter from being automatically sent to junk mail.
Eye-Catching Picture
- One of the most appealing parts of a newsletter is the pictures you include. These pictures can help catch the readers attention. The pictures should convey what the newsletter is about. It is important to only include pictures that are related to your topic while making them appealing to the eye.
Quality Content
- Your newsletter should contain information only about your business, organization, or services. Your newsletter can be creative and funny but it should always bring back to it’s main purpose. Don’t include details that aren’t related to your topic.
Length
- Your Newsletter should be short and straight to the point. The length can sometimes determine whether or not someone will read your article. If readers see something that is lengthy they will often begin to lose interest fast.
Offer a Call to Action
- Give your readers a reason to either use your product, services, or website. You can do this by asking the readers to refer you to a friend. This can help increase the chance in sales while getting your business, organization, or service out there.
Make Unsubscribing Easy
- Make readers feel comfortable and like they have a way out. This will often help them develop more trust in you and gain more interest in your company.
All information above was adapted from: (Lerner, K. 2011)
Examples of Newsletters
There are three different main types of newsletters that can be used: Company Newsletters, Consumers Newsletters, and Organization Newsletters.
3 Examples of Newsletters
Company Newsletters
- Used in businesses to keep employees and staff informed. In these newsletters it will contain information about new products, services, changes, and policies.
Lucidpress (2017).
Consumer Newsletters
-
Used to stay in touch with customers. Informs them on new product launch, industry news, and changes to services. 45 Engaging Email Newsletter Templates (2019)
Organization Newsletter
- This is a combination of a consumer and customer newsletter. This provides both employees and customers with updates, information, tips, and announcements. This is often used by non-profit agencies and ministries.
Letterflat (2018).
All information above was adapted from: (Word Wise Tips).
Posters
A poster is a single piece of paper that is posted all over the community to draw in the attention of the public while providing information about a particular topic. Posters include eye catching images and visual designs, bright colours, and various text fonts and sizes.
Purpose of a poster
Posters give people an opportunity to reach out to the general public to spread awareness to a topic or to bring attention to companies and introduce services at numerous locations. Posters aren’t required to be handed out and only require someone to pass by and take a couple moments to read on a wall resulting in no one being chased down to offer them one.
There are five different types of posters than can be featured: Advertising, Informative, Subjective, Affirmation, and Propaganda.
Types of Posters
Advertising
- Advertisement posters are used to promote an event, a new product, and/or a new company/organization. Advertising posters are usually colourful and include large visuals to draw in the attention of individuals walking by where it can be readily seen.
Informative
- Informative posters are used to educate and influence individuals about a specific topic. They are used to raise awareness to local, national, or international problems and to inform people of campaigns happening to contribute to causes.
Subjective
- Subjective posters are used to publicize a topic in particular. They are sold/provided at public events, exhibits, or functions for organizations and/or companies.
Affirmation
- Affirmation posters are used for inspiring the public. Motivational quotes, meaningful pictures, bible verses, and slogans can be features. They’re meant to brighten someone’s day and lift them up. Affirmation posters can often be used for public reminders to remain insight of their goals, priorities, and their future.
Propaganda
- Propaganda posters are used to associate with corporate communication or political campaigns. Often times they feature organization/company logos and provide the values or mission statement of a company, organization, or political candidate.
All information above was adapted from: (Naillon, B.).
There are six key structure/format elements included in a poster: Header, Title, Main Area, Footer Area, Background, and Fonts.
Structure/Format
Header
- Headings aren’t required in all posters, but would be the ideal spot to place the logo of the company or organization the poster is being made for.
Title
- The title should be clearly visible, not too lengthy, and be interesting enough to catch the attention of the public. Due to lack of space, titles are often placed beside the logo.
Main Area
- In the main area, the poster’s main statement and/or visual is to be placed here. The main area can be structured and sub-divided by using multiple columns or an image across all columns, etc. The main area is to provide the eye-catching content to draw in the attention of others.
Footer Area
- Header and footer can be viewed as a framework tying the whole posterl together. However, the footer is not just a graphic element; this is where you can indicate references and contact details as well.
Background
- Posters not only use bright colours to stand out, but often times will include a structure or image as the background. This visual should be related to the poster’s topic and be faint enough to not be distracting and take away the attention from the purpose of the poster; getting a message across.
Fonts
- In a poster you can use various types of fonts that will catch the attention of readers, but also not be too distracting or difficult to read. Large and decorative fonts should be avoided. Emphasis such as underscores, italics, and coloured font should also be avoided.
All information above was adapted from: (Structure and types of Posters).
References
Edraw. (2014). What is a Brochure? Retrieved from: https://www.edrawsoft.com/what-is-brochure.php
Motkar, S. (2018, May 8). Types of Brochures. Retrieved from: https://marketingwit.com/types-of-brochures
Naillon, B. (n.d). Types of Posters. Retrieved from: https://bizfluent.com/facts-6152556-types-posters.html
Print Place. (2006). 8 Key Brochure Design Elements. Retrieved from: https://www.printplace.com/articles/key-brochure-design-elements
Structure and types of Posters. (2018). A Poster’s Structure. Retrieved from: http://www.geo.uzh.ch/microsite/olwa/olwa/en/html/unit5_kap53.html
Elizabeth Fry Society. Programs. Retrieved from: http://efrysudbury.com/#
Lerner, K. (2011). The 5 Things Your Newsletter Must Include. Retrieved from https://www.topleftdesign.com/blog/2011/08/the-5-things-your-newsletter-must-include/
Word Wise Tips. 3 Types of Newsletters. Retrieved from: https://www.nonprofitcopywriter.com/types-of-newsletters.html
Lucidpress. (2017). Skyline Hight Classroom Newsletter Template. Retrieved from: https://www.lucidpress.com/pages/templates/newsletters/classroom-newsletter-template
45 Engaging Email Newsletter Templates, Design Tips & Examples For 2019. (2019). Retrieved from https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/152066924903894228/7
Letterflat. Company Newsletter Templates. (2018). Retrieved from https://letterflat.com/7-company-newsletter-templates/