Although he took pains to acknowledge that size had some benefi ts, he identifi ed “the important economic issue of our day” as the fact that “the mere size of business units tends almost inevitably to result in attempts to escape the impact of competition which have important— and in my opinion highly undesirable— consequences for the operation of the economic system.” He also strongly believed that democracy should take pre ce dence over the dictates of economic theory. If the public wanted direct controls, he expressed the opinion that economists should set about developing effi cient implementations rather than expressing frustration at perceived theoretical defi ciencies. Satisfying such demands promoted confi dence and stability in the economic system, which, Viner believed, held priority over governmental adherence in all cases to abstract economic theory.

Angus Burgin, The Great Persuasion, loc. 100