On Marshall's Idealism (original) (raw)
Related papers
Centenary Essays on Alfred Marshall
American Journal of Economics and Sociology, 1991
These twelve essays, commemorating the centenary of the publication of the Principles, were commissioned by the Royal Economic Society, which Marshall was instrumental in founding. The authors are well-known economists, and the editor is the leading Marshall scholar. Hoping to appeal to a wide audience, the essays are "broad evaluations of Marshall's work, its impact, and its lessons for today's economics as well as contributions of a more specialised interpretative or biographical nature'' (ix). The collection is divided into three parts. The first five essays assess Marshall's influence on economics, in particular labor, money, international trade, and industrial organization. The next three are biographical. The final four essays address "various facets of the economics of the Principles, " including capital theory, time-period analysis, barter, and consumer's surplus. The editor was guided by three broad principles: the authors were not selected because they are Marshall specialists; they were not restricted to evaluating the Principles; and they were given free rein in treating their topics, choosing their "own vantage points" and providing a "personal reaction rather than a synthesis of others' views" (ix-x). These essays thus "do not provide a comprehensive, impartial, and 'definitive' coverage" of Marshall and his work (XI.
Alfred Marshall versus the historical school?
Journal of Economic Studies, 2005
Purpose-This paper aims to counter the view that Marshall was an opponent of the historical school. This false account has survived and prospered because it has fitted into more general conceptions of intellectual history, held by both orthodox and heterodox economists. Design/methodology/approach-Marshall's affinity with the historical school is established by examining his writings and his relationship with historical school sympathisers in the UK. Findings-It is established that Marshall regarded his work as building on historical school insights, and he repeatedly referred positively to the ideas of the German historical school. It is argued in this paper that Marshall's opposition to the historical school was confined to its anti-theoretical wing, principally Cunningham. In other important respects Marshall's position was compatible with German and British historicism. Originality/value-In preceding literature, Marshall's affinities with the historical school have been denied, unacknowledged, or unexplored.
Book Review -Peter Groenewegen, The Minor Marshallians and Alfred Marshall: An Evaluation
2013
Readers of the Marshall Studies Bulletin are familiar with the literature on post-Marshallian economics that has advanced various different interpretations of Marshall's legacy. As Peter Groenewegen rightly points out in the introduction to his volume, study of the lives of major Marshallians, and of their theoretical contributions to economic analysis - focusing mostly on three individuals (Pigou, Maynard Keynes and Robertson) - has been extensively developed over the last decades (Collard, 1981; Groenewegen, 1995; Fletcher, 2000; Raffaelli et al., 2011). This new contribution remains concerned with Marshall's legacy and, in this sense, lies squarely within the wider tradition of post-Marshallian economics. However, it departs from the long-standing focus on Marshall's three most famous students and, instead, examines the contributions of ten 'minor' Marshallians who have received considerably less attention in the literature, from either a biographical or an an...
Charles Taylor's most recent book, pithily titled A Secular Age 1 , which grew out of the Gifford Lectures of 1999, can in many ways be considered a synthesis of his extensive oeuvre: His outstanding methodology in the history of ideas, steeped in Hegel's phenomenological approach, is connected with his valuable reflections on the theory of the social sciences as well as his strong religious engagement. It also forms a sophisticated theory of secularisation that, in terms of differentiation, is unparalleled. Of course, Taylor might have explained everything he had to say in considerably fewer pages, since the individual chapters are conceived more as independent essays. (ix) Certain examples recur regularly, and occasionally entire sentences are repeated word for word (360 and 400, 361 and 398). But, on account of Taylor's elegant writing, it is nevertheless always pleasant to read his prose. Particularly fascinating is the -stance‖ with which he approaches his theme-for he rightly maintains that Edward Gibbons' success has less to do with his material insights than with the dry irony of his -unflappable stance.‖ (241, 272ff., 286ff.) 2 It is clear that Taylor's own approach is opposed to that of Gibbons-he approaches the topic of religion with a genuinely cognitive interest: His aim is not simply to learn about religious people, but to learn from them. But this intellectual candour, this sincere respect, applies equally to those who, in the past century, detached themselves from religion, people Taylor tries sympathetically to understand. On all 851 pages of the text, one 1 That the book was written in the 20 th century becomes obvious when the 19 th century is called -the last century.‖ (168) -One, two, three! Time runs very quickly, and we with it.‖ (-Einzweidrei! Im Sauseschritt/Läuft die Zeit, wir laufen mit,‖ from Wilhelm Busch's Julchen.) 2 Analogously, he writes about religion: -But I'm talking about the underlying attitudes.
Poetry, Faith & Chivalry: Alfred Marshall's Response to Socialism
History of Economics Review, 2007
After his return to Cambridge in 1885 Alfred Marshall constructed an elaborate criticism of modern socialism and developed an alternative creed of economic chivalry. The paper interprets both criticism and alternative in light of Marshall’s early philosophical model of human character. In the first instance, such an interpretation reveals the modern economist as an ideal type possessed of both a warm heart and a cool head - an earlier generation of economists reasoned clearly but without heartfelt sympathy, while the modern socialist sacrifices scientific reasoning to generous but impetuous sentiment. But Marshall’s early model of character included a spiritual component in addition to a mechanical analysis of both reason and sympathy. In his mature reflections on socialism and chivalry this spiritual component translated into a ‘faith’ in social progress founded upon free competition and giving rise to a chivalrous ethos of self-sacrifice among public servants and members of the co-operative movement. But Marshall also developed a weaker form of chivalry, in which business men were to be motivated, not by the spirit of altruism but by a striving for sympathetic approval and an emotive desire to emulate honourable actions.