This work investigates the fundamental economic question of whether over-saving and under-consumption are the primary drivers of industrial depressions. The authors, A. F. Mummery and John Atkinson Hobson, challenge the prevailing classical economic orthodoxy of their time by arguing that excessive capital accumulation leads to a glut of goods that the market cannot absorb. They propose a framework where the balance between production and consumption is essential for maintaining economic stability and preventing cyclical crises.

Economists and historians frequently cite this text as a foundational document for the under-consumptionist school of thought that later influenced Keynesian economics. Readers often note the academic density of the prose, which reflects the rigorous late-nineteenth-century debate surrounding industrial capitalism.