The dominant intellectual figure of mid-19th century Britain. The dominant intellectual figure of mid-19th century Britain

The dominant intellectual figure of mid-19th century Britain.

• The dominant intellectual figure of mid-19th century Britain.

• Logic, Political Economy, Political Philosophy, current affairs.

• Revived Ricardian economics from its faltering status; his intellectual dominance halted development of British economic analysis for 20 years.

• Modern appreciation decidedly mixed.

Born in London in 1806, son of James Mill, philosopher, economist and senior official in the East India Company

• Born in London in 1806, son of James Mill, philosopher, economist and senior official in the East India Company

• Educated by his father, with assistance of Bentham and Francis Place

• Had learned Greek by age 3, and Latin by age 5
• Logician by age 12 and by age 16 a trained Ricardian economist

• 1827, suffers nervous breakdown

• 1830, meets Harriet Taylor and continues intimate relationship with consent of her husband, John Taylor

1830s, editor of the London and Westminster Review, quarterly of the Philosophic Radicals

• 1830s, editor of the London and Westminster Review, quarterly of the Philosophic Radicals

• 1851 – marries Harriet Taylor after husband’s death

• Active career, administrator in the East India Company up to 1857

• 1858 – Harriet Taylor Mill dies in France

• Liberal MP for Westminster 1865-8

• 1873 – dies in and is buried next to Taylor at Avignon, France

A System of Logic (1843)

• A System of Logic (1843)

• Essays on Some Unsettled Questions of Political Economy (1844)

• Principles of Political Economy (1848)

• On Liberty (1859)

• Considerations on Representative Government (1860)

• Utilitarianism (1863)

• The Subjection of Women (1869)

• Autobiography (1873)

Essays on Some Unsettled Questions of Political Economy (1844)

• Essays on Some Unsettled Questions of Political Economy (1844)

• international trade theory: introduces demand considerations to Ricardo’s model of comparative advantage; shows that international trade revolves around one price and reciprocal demand
• treatment of Say’s Law: clarifies role of money as a commodity; fails to appreciate the disequilibrium nature of Sismondi’s and Malthus’ arguments

Principles of Political Economy: with some of their applications to social philosophy (1848)

• Principles of Political Economy: with some of their applications to social philosophy (1848)

• Introduced theory of noncompeting groups
• Analysis of pricing of joint products
• Land rent and opportunity costs
• Confusion in treatment of supply and demand as determinants of price
• Renewal of Ricardian labor theory of value
• Re-emphasis upon the wages fund doctrine
• Renewed emphasis on Malthusian population theory

On Liberty

• On Liberty

• Argument concerns social constraints not government constraints
• Argument for intellectual elitism

• Principles of Political Economy and Utilitarianism

• Considerable watering down of the laissez-faire principle and expansion of the scope of government
• “distinction” between the laws of production and the laws of distribution

Was most interested in applications rather than advances in analysis.

• Was most interested in applications rather than advances in analysis.

• Tendency to trust reputation rather than determine the worth of contributions himself.

• Advances in analysis were minimal, given his reputation at the time.

John Eliot Cairnes (1823-1875)

• John Eliot Cairnes (1823-1875)

• ardent disciple of J.S. Mill
• Whately Chair at Dublin, 1856-61
• The Character and Logical Method of Political Economy (1857)
• first clearly methodological work in economics
• Some Leading Principles of Political Economy Newly Expounded (1874)
• embarrassingly incorporated wages fund theory
• reluctantly reviews Jevons’ marginal utility theory

Henry Sidgwick (1838-1900)

• Henry Sidgwick (1838-1900)

• Philosopher
• Trinity College, Cambridge
• follower of J.S. Mill
• The Method of Ethics (1874)
• attempt to reconcile Mill’s utilitarianism with intuitional (duty) theory of ethics
• Principles of Political Economy (1883)
• critique of Wages Fund theory
• defense of Mill against Jevons’ marginalism
• first economist to recognize problems for market allocation arising from externalities