72。Ibid。,p。135,M’Cullochadmitsthepossibilitythatamanmayjudgehisowninterestswrongly,butthinksthathiswillnothappeninonecaseoutoftwentyIbid。,p。
15。
73。SeeTorrens’sProductionofWealth,p。208;andM’Culloch’sPoliticalEconomy1843,p。294,whereheadmitsmoreexceptions。
74。ExternalCorn-Trade,p。87,etc。
75。PoliticalEconomysecondedition,pp。21,22。
76。Ibid。,p。67。
77。PoliticalEconomy1925,p。329。
78。ProductionofWealth,p。34,etc。
79。PoliticalEconomy1825,p。318。
80。Mill’sPoliticalEconomysecondedition,p。102;M’Culloch’sPoliticalEconomy1825,pp。289-291。
81。M’Culloch’sPoliticalEconomy,p。290。
82。PrefacetoExternalCorn-trade。
83。Ibid。,p。95。
84。PoliticalEconomy1825,pp。313-18。Thisargumentdisappearsinlatereditions。
85。Ibid。,p。217。
86。PoliticalEconomy,p。221。DeQuinceymakesagreatpointofthisdoctrine,ofwhichitisnotworthwhiletoexaminethemeaning。
87。PoliticalEconomy,p。221n。
88。Ibid。,p。336。
89。Ibid。,p。337。
90。’EssayuponthecircumstanceswhichdeterminetheRateofWages。’1826,p。113。ThiswaswrittenforConstable’sMiscellany,andismainlyrepetitionfromthePoliticalEconomy。Itwasrepublished,withalterations,in1851。
91。PoliticalEconomy,pp。359-61。
92。Ibid。,1843,p。178。
AndseehisremarksontheunfavourablesideoftheFactorySystem,p。
186seq。
93。’Wherevertwopersonshavethemeansofsubsisting,’ashequaintlyobserves,’amarriageinvariablytakesplace。’PoliticalEconomy,p。154。
94。PoliticalEconomy,p。206。
95。PoliticalEconomy,p。344。
96。Ibid。,pp。349-52。
97。Seepamphletontherateofwages,pp。178-204。
98。Tooke’sThoughtsandDetailsontheHighandLowPricesofthelastThirtyYearsappearedin1823secondedition1824。ThiswasrewrittenandembodiedintheHistoryofPrices,thefirsttwovolumesofwhichappearedin1838。Fourlatervolumesappearedin1839,1848,and1857。
99。ThepopularviewisgivenbySouthey。TheRadicals,hesaysin1923,desirewarbecausetheyexpectittoleadtorevolution。’Inthistheyaregreatlydeceived,foritwouldrestoreagriculturalprosperity,andgiveanewspurtoourmanufactures。’
SelectionfromSouthey’sLetters,iii,382。SeealsoLifeandCorrespondence,iv,228,286。
Chapter6:EconomicHereticsI。TheMalthusianControversyTheEconomictheorybecametriumphant。Expoundedfromnewuniversitychairs,summarisedintextbooksforschools,advocatedinthepress,andappliedbyanenergeticpartytosomeofthemostimportantpoliticaldiscussionsoftheday,itclaimedtheadhesionofallenlightenedpersons。Itenjoyedtheprestigeofascientificdoctrine,andthemostpopularretortseemedtobeaninvoluntaryconcessionofitsclaims。Whenopponentsappealedfrom’theorists’topracticalmen,theUtilitariansscornfullysetthemdownasvirtuallyappealingfromreasontoprejudice。Norivaltheoryheldthefield。IfMalthusandRicardodiffered,itwasadifferencebetweenmenwhoacceptedthesamefirstprinciples。
TheybothprofessedtointerpretAdamSmithasthetrueprophet,andrepresenteddifferentshadesofopinionratherthandivergingsects。Therewere,however,symptomsofopposition,which,atthetime,mightbesetdownassimplereluctancetolistentodisagreeabletruths。Inreality,theywereindicationsofadissatisfactionwhichwastobecomeofmoreimportanceandtoleadintimetoamoredecidedrevolt。Imustindicatesomeofthem,thoughtheexpressionsofdissentweresovariousandconfusedthatitisnotveryeasytoreducethemtoorder。
Malthus’sdoctrinewasreallyatthebaseofthewholetheory,thoughitmustbeadmittedthatneitherMalthushimselfnorhisopponentswereclearastowhathisdoctrinereallywas。Hisassailantsoftenattackedtheorieswhichhedisavowed,orassertedprincipleswhichheclaimedashisown。1ImentiononlytosetasidesomerespectableandwearisomegentlemensuchasIngram,Jarrold,Weyland,andGrahame,whoconsideredMalthuschieflyasimpugningthewisdomofProvidence。Theyquotethedivinelaw,’increaseandmultiply’;thinkthatMalthusregardsviceandmiseryasblessings,andprovethatpopulationdoesnot’tend’toincreasetoorapidly。JarroldapparentlyacceptsthedoctrinewhichMalthusattributestoSü;ssmilch,thatliveshavebeenshortenedsincethedaysofthepatriarchs,andthereproductiveforcesdiminishedastheworldhasgrownfuller。Grahamebelievesinaprovidential’ordeal,’constitutedbyinfantmortality,whichisnot,likewarandvice,duetohumancorruption,butabeneficentregulatingforcewhichcorrelatesfertilitywiththestateofsociety。ThismightbetakenbyMalthusasmerelyamountingtoanotherversionofhischecks。Suchbooks,infact,simplyshow,whatdoesnotrequiretobefurtheremphasised,thatMalthushadputhisversionofthestruggleforexistenceintoaformwhichseemedscandaloustotheaverageorthodoxperson。ThevaguenessofMalthushimselfandtheconfusedargumentofsuchopponentsmakesitdoubtfulwhethertheyarereallyansweringhistheoriesorreducingthemtoalessrepulsiveformofstatement。
Inotherdirections,theMalthusiandoctrinerousedkeenfeelingonbothsides,andthelinetakenbydifferentpartiesissignificant。Malthushadappearedasanantagonistoftherevolutionaryparty。Hehadlaiddownwhathetooktobeaninsuperableobstacletotherealisationoftheirdreams。YethisviewswereadoptedandextendedbythosewhocalledthemselvesthoroughRadicals。As,inourdays,Darwinismhasbeenclaimedassupportingbothindividualistandsocialisticconclusions,thetheoryofhispredecessor,Malthus,mightbeappliedinaRadicaloraConservativesense。Inpointoffact,MalthuswasatonceadoptedbytheWhigs,asrepresentedbytheEdinburghReview。
TheywerefollowersofAdamSmithandDugaldStewart;theypiquedthemselves,and,asevenJamesMilladmitted,withjustice,uponeconomicorthodoxy。
TheywereatthesametimepredisposedtoatheorywhichcondemnedtherevolutionaryUtopias。Itprovidedthemwithaneffectiveweaponagainsttheagitatorswhomtheyespeciallydreaded。TheToriesmightbealittlerestrainedbyorthodoxqualms。In1812SoutheywaspermittedtomakeanonslaughtuponMalthusintheQuarterly;2butmorecomplimentaryallusionsfollowed,andfiveyearslatertheessaywaselaboratelydefendedinanablearticle。3Anapologywaseveninsinuatedforthepreviousassault,thoughtheblamewasthrownuponMalthusforputtinghisdoctrinesinanoffensiveshape。AreferencetoOwensuggeststhatthealarmexcitedbySocialismhadsuggestedtheneedofsomesoundpoliticaleconomy。
Anothercontroversywhichwasbeingcarriedonatintervalsindicatesthelineofcleavagebetweenthecapitalistandthelandedinterest。JamesMil’searlypamphlet,CommerceDefended1808,andTorrens’spamphlet,EconomistsRefuted,weresuggestedbythisdiscussion。AlthoughthewarwaspartlyindefenceofBritishtrade,itsvicissitudesproducedvariouscommercialcrises;
andthepatrioticTorieswereanxioustoshowthatwecouldthriveevenifourtradewasshutoutfromtheContinent。Thetradingclassesmaintainedthattheyreallysuppliedthesinewsofwar,andhadarighttosomecontrolofthepolicy。ThecontroversyabouttheordersincouncilandBerlindecreesemphasisedthesedisputes,andcalledsomeattentiontothequestionsinvolvedintheoldcontroversybetweenthe’mercantile’andthe’agricultural’
systems。AgrotesqueexaggerationofonetheorywasgivenbyMill’sopponent,WilliamSpence41783-1860,inhisBritainIndependentofCommerce,whichwentthroughseveraleditionsin1808,andrefurbishedorpervertedthedoctrineoftheFrencheconomists。Theargument,atleast,showswhatfallaciesthenneededconfutationbytheorthodox,intheprefacetohiscollectedtracts,Spenceobservesthatthehighpriceofcornwasthecauseof’allourwealthandprosperityduringthewar。’TheCausesofthehighprice’assisted,’headmits,’byoccasionalbadseasons’
werethe’nationaldebt,inotherwords,taxation,’whichraisedtheprice,first,ofnecessaries,andthenofluxuriesthus,hesays,’neutralisingitsotherwiseinjuriouseffects’,andthevirtualmonopolybytheagriculturistofthehomemarket。5Allourwealth,thatis,wasproducedbytaxationaidedbyfamine,or,inbrief,bythelandowner’spowerofsqueezingmoreoutofthepoor。Foreigntrade,accordingtoSpence,isaltogethersuperfluous。ItseffectissummedupbythestatementthatwegivehardwaretoAmerica,and,inreturn,getonly’thevileweed,tobacco。’6Spence’swritingsonlyshowtheeffectofstrongprejudicesonaweakbrain。
Asimilarsentimentdictatedamorenoteworthyargumenttoamuchablerwriter,whoserelationtoMalthusissignificant——ThomasChalmers1780-1847,7probablybestrememberedatpresentforhisleadershipofthegreatdisruptionof1843。Hehadareputationforeloquenceandphilosophicabilitynotfullyintelligibleatthepresentday。Hisappearancewasuncouth,andhiswrittenstyleisoftenclumsy。Hegaveanimpressionattimesofindolenceandoftimidity。Yethissuperficialqualitiesconcealedanardenttemperamentandcordialaffections。Underasufficientstimulushecouldblazeoutinstirringspeechandvigorousaction。Hisintellectualtrainingwaslimited。
Hehad,wearetold,beenmuchinfluencedinhisyouthbytheFrenchphilosophersofthetime,andhadappearedonthesideofthemorefreethinkingpartyinthefamousLesliecontroversy,Soonafterwards,however,hewasconvertedto’evangelical’views。HestillacceptedThomasBrownasagreatmetaphysician,8butthoughtthatmoralquestionsBrown’sdeisticaloptimismrequiredtobecorrectedbyaninfusionofButler’stheoryofconscience。HecouldadaptButler’sAnalogy,andwriteedifyingBridgewatertreatise。
Ineedonlysay,however,that,thoughhisphilosophywasnotveryprofoundhehadanenthusiasmwhichenableshimattimetowriteforciblyandimpressively。
Chalmerswasfrom1803to1815ministerofKilmany,Fifeshire,andhisattentionhadalreadydrawntothequestionofpauperism。HetookpartintheSpencecontroversy,byanessayupontheExtentofStabilityofNationalResources。9InthisheexpoundeddoctrinewhichisafterwardsgiveninhisPoliticalEconomyinConnectionwiththeMoralStateandMoralofAspectsSociety。10Themainpurposeofhisearlybookisthuspatriotic。Itismeant,likeSpence’spamphlet,toprovethatNapoleoncoulddousnovitalinjury。
Shouldhesucceed,hewouldonlylopoffsuperfluousbranches,nothewdownthemaintrunk。Chalmers’sargumenttoshowtheeasewithwhichacountrymayrecovertheeffectsofadisastrouswarishighlypraisedbyJ。S。Mill11asthefirstsoundexplanationofthefacts。Chalmers’sposition,however,isradicallydifferentfromthepositionofeitherJamesorJ。S。Mill,EssentiallyitisthedevelopmentoftheFrencheconomists’
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