History quetiom
Yunqian Zhang
LiberalismandthePoliticalEconomists.pptLiberalism and the Political Economists
Nineteenth Century Liberalism
From the end of the Napoleonic wars, liberalism became the doctrine of the bourgeoisie
It was not the “liberalism” of today.
Above all, a doctrine of liberty:
- Individualism
- Liberty of the individual, and tolerance
- Sacred nature of private property
- Minimal government intervention and regulation (Laissez-faire)
In many respects, it was closer to today’s libertarianism
Britain: Political Liberalism in Action
Economic Woes and the Chartist Movement
Other Pressures for Political Reform
- Rural economic distress
- Religious discrimination (Catholics, especially)
- Desire of new middle classes for more political influence
- Desire of growing cities for representation (end “rotten boroughs”)
- Influence of House of Lords, blocking reform
Subsequent Legislation after 1832
- Abolition of Slave trade
- Poor Law Act, 1834
- Repeal of Corn Laws, 1842
- Further extension of franchise, 1867
II. The Political Economists
Political Economy
- The social science that deals with political science and economics as one subject
- The study of the interrelationships between political and economic processes
Thomas Malthus (1766-1834)
An Essay on the Principle of Population
Influential treatise of 1803, posited that while food supply increases arithmetically, population grows geometrically, leading to catastrophic over-population
This catastrophe could be prevented only by individual self-restraint (late marriage, chastity); otherwise, it would inevitably be corrected (by war, famine, epidemics)
Argued that well-intended interference with this mechanism would only produce awful unintended consequences
- ie, traditional forms of charity to the poor were not in society’s best interest
Malthus emphasized constant struggle to survive; concept of struggle (competition)would become integral to liberal ideology
Above, Irish Great Famine of 1845-49; 1 million died, 1 million emigrated (out of population of 8-10 million)
David Ricardo;
Jeremy Bentham
Ricardo, On the Principles of Political Economy and Taxation (1819)
Did not talk about what benefited all, as Smith did, rather emphasized struggle (competition) between different groups:
the wage-earner and the factory owner are “natural foes”; there is an “iron law of wages”
Bentham: Utilitarianism
how to decide what is right, what policies to pursue? Whatever gives the greatest happiness to the greatest number
Liberty, virtue, hard-work
Critiques of the Economists
In preaching laissez-faire, they failed to see that the government did intervene in the market (promulgating laws against strikes and unions; upholding severe punishments for transgression of property rights, etc.)
In arguing that helping the poor would disincentivize hard work and distort the workings of the market—or nature– they made no allowances for boom-and-bust cycles of capitalism, or other factors outside the control of the working poor.
In celebrating individual liberty and competition, they downplayed or overlooked the role of community and cooperation.
