James Mill, John Stuart Mill, and the History of Economic Thought

Commemorating the 250th anniversary of James Mill’s birth and the 150th of John Stuart Mill’s death, this volume analyses the Mills’ discussions on topics such as environment, cultivation, education, utilitarianism, socialism, international relations, international trade, and living standard. John Stuart Mill is an important figure of the classical political economy, and his father played a critical role in the early stages of his intellectual development. The contributions of the two Mills are examined by leading scholars on the theory and history of economics from Japan, UK, and France. They not only deal with the Mills’ individual contributions but also shed light on their relationships and associations with a number of economists and philosophers in Britain between the late 18th and the early 20th centuries, including Adam Smith, Malthus, Ricardo, Pennington, Torrens, Martineau, Longfield, Morris, Sidgwick, and Marshall. This book is an essential read for scholars interested in the economics of James and John Mill, and reconsideration of their theories and thoughts using the backdrop of the current state of society. Cover Half Title Series Information Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Table of Contents List of Figures List of Tables List of Contributors Acknowledgements Introduction In Commemoration of the Birth of James Mill and the Death of His Son John Stuart Mill Part I Cultivation and Education 1 John Stuart Mill and the Stationary State 1.1 Introduction: Mill’s Relevance Today 1.2 The Concept Before Mill 1.3 Mill’s Stationary State 1.4 The Reception of the Concept 1.5 The Question of Motive 1.6 William Morris as a Disciple of J.S. Mill 1.7 Conclusion Notes References 2 James and John Stuart Mill On Education 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Background: From Hobbes to Helvetius 2.3 James Mill 2.4 John Stuart Mill 2.5 Individual Genius Notes References Part II Utilitarianism 3 The Felicific Calculus and the Art of Life According to James and John Stuart Mill 3.1 Introduction 3.2 From the Origin and Perfectibility of Calculation ... 3.2.1 Pleasure, the Sovereign Master of Humanity 3.2.2 From Sensations to Ideas, From a Difference of Degree to a Difference in Nature 3.2.3 Like the Idea, the Felicific Calculus Is Perfectible 3.3 ... to the Art of Calculation 3.3.1 Morality as an Attribute of Calculation 3.3.2 The Advantage of Calculation 3.3.3 The Aesthetics of Calculation, Towards an Unconscious Calculation? 3.4 Conclusion Notes References 4 John Stuart Mill, Sidgwick, and the Philosophical Foundations of Political Economy 4.1 Economics and Philosophy 4.2 Mill and Altruistic Humanity 4.3 Sidgwick and Ethical Dualism 4.4 Conclusion Notes References Part III International Relations and Trade 5 John Stuart Mill On Britain’s Dependencies: Focusing On Its Military Expenditure in the Nineteenth Century 5.1 Introduction 5.2 ‘Dependencies’ in Mill’s Writings 5.3 Merits and Demerits Resulting From Civilised Dependencies 5.4 Means for Minimising and Compensating for Demerits 5.4.1 The Admission of Inhabitants of Civilised Dependencies Into Imperial Public Offices 5.4.2 Britain’s Public Finance in the Nineteenth Century 5.4.3 Inadvisable Means for a Reduction in British Military Expenditure 5.4.4 The Extension of Suffrage 5.4.5 The Resumption of the Right of Search 5.4.6 The Abolition of a Permanent Army 5.5 The Last Resort: Government Loans for War Expenditure 5.6 Conclusion Notes References 6 ‘I Profess to Have Made No Discovery’: James Mill On Comparative Advantage 6.1 Setting the Stage 6.1.1 Ricardo’s Statements 6.1.2 Another Meaning for the Four Numbers? 6.2 ‘Colony’, 1818 6.3 Elements of Political Economy, 1821 6.3.1 Trade Between England and Poland 6.3.2 Mill’s Presentation of Ricardo’s Approach 6.3.3 Trade Between England and Germany 6.4 Elements of Political Economy, 1824 6.5 Elements of Political Economy, 1826 6.5.1 Development of the England/Poland Example 6.5.2 Development of the England/Germany Example 6.6 Money and International Trade 6.7 Concluding Remarks Notes References 7 James Mill and the Alleged Error in Ricardo 7.1 The Alleged Question 7.2 James Mill and Ricardo’s Principles of Political Economy and Taxation 7.2.1 James Mill’s Writing Method 7.2.2 The First Parcel: Main Principles of Economics 7.2.3 The Second Parcel: Doctrines of Taxation 7.2.4 The Final Parts: The Polemical Chapters On Smith and Others 7.2.5 The England–France Corn Trade Illustration 7.2.6 The Completion of Principles 7.3 After the Publication of Ricardo’s Principles 7.3.1 James Mill’s ‘Colony’ Article 7.3.2 James Mill’s Reading of Ricardo’s Notes On Malthus 7.3.3 James Mill’s Publication of a Schoolbook On Economics 7.4 Who Was the True Author of Elements? Appendix: James Mill’s Illustrations of Comparative Advantage A.7.1 The First England–Poland Model (100, 100, 150, 200) A.7.2 The Second England–Poland Model (4, 4, 20, 20) A.7.3 The First England–Germany Model (2, 3, 20, 24) A.7.4 The Second England–Germany Model (10, 10, 15, 20) Notes References 8 John Stuart Mill as the Founder of the Theory of Reciprocal Demand 8.1 Introduction 8.2 Mill’s Basic Theory of Reciprocal Demand in Essay I 8.3 Predecessors of J.S. Mill: Torrens, Longfield, and Pennington 8.3.1 Robert Torrens 8.3.2 Mountifort Longfield 8.3.3 James Pennington 8.4 James Mill 8.4.1 Inheritance Relations From James Mill to J.S. Mill 8.4.2 Differences Between the Second and Third Editions of Elements 8.5 Conclusion Notes References Part IV Work and Life 9 John Stuart Mill On the Theory of Wages and Ricardo 9.1 Introduction 9.2 Ricardo’s Theory of Wages 9.2.1 ‘Labour’ as a Commodity and Its ‘Natural Price’ 9.2.2 ‘Natural Price of Labour’ and ‘Market Price of Labour’ 9.3 Mill On the Theory of Wages 9.3.1 The Theory of Wages in ‘Production’ 9.3.2 The Theory of Wages in ‘Distribution’ 9.4 Concluding Remarks Notes References 10 Alfred Marshall’s Acceptance and Deviation From John Stuart Mill 10.1 Introduction 10.2 The Condition of the Labouring Class 10.3 Marshall and J.S. Mill On the ‘Standard of Life’ 10.4 On Population 10.4.1 Mill 10.4.2 Marshall 10.5 On Education 10.5.1 Mill 10.5.2 Marshall 10.6 On Trade Unions 10.6.1 Mill 10.6.2 Marshall 10.7 Marshall’s Criticism of the Millian Wage-Fund Theory 10.8 Conclusion Notes References 11 James Mill, John Stuart Mill, and Harriet Martineau: Connections, Disconnections, and Convergence 11.1 Introduction 11.2 James Mill and J.S. Mill: The Elements of Political Economy 11.2.1 James Mill and the Education of His Son John: Classical Subjects and the Path to Political Economy 11.2.2 James Mill and the Publication of The Elements of Political Economy 11.3 Harriet Martineau and James Mill: The Illustrations of Political Economy 11.4 J.S. Mill and Harriet Martineau: The Moral of Many Fables 11.4.1 Mill and Martineau On Laissez-Faire 11.4.2 J.S. Mill’s Review of The Moral of Many Fables 11.5 Conclusion Notes References 12 John Stuart Mill’s ‘Qualified Socialism’ 12.1 Introduction 12.2 Mill’s ‘Qualified Socialism’ 12.3 Marrying Mill’s Feminism and His Socialism 12.4 Conclusion Notes References Index