1,721,081 research outputs found
THE “SOCIAL VALUE” DEBATE: AN EARLY CHAPTER IN THE HISTORY OF AMERICAN MARGINALISM
No full textThis paper provides a reconstruction of the debate on “social value” among early
marginalists in the US. This will be done in three steps. The first step analyzes John
B. Clark’s approach to social value as presented in his Distribution of Wealth; the
second step deals with other influential contemporaries who adopted a similar social
value perspective, with a main focus on Edwin R. A. Seligman; the third step
discusses those critics who, with due differences in emphasis and style, animated
the debate over social value, reviewing (among others) the contributions of Herbert
J. Davenport, Joseph Schumpeter, Benjamin Anderson, John Maurice Clark, and
George P. Watkins. The final section presents some conclusions
Progressive-Era Racism and Another ‘Blaming the Victim’ Narrative: Thomas Nixon Carver’s “Make the Name ‘N*gger’ Honorable” (1905)
Full text linkThis note reproduces a brief article by Thomas Nixon Carver, a leading Progressive Era American economist on what was then called the ‘Negro Question’. This virtually unknown piece represents a striking in-stance of blaming the victim for her/his condition which is to be found in the economic literature of the period
American Academic Male Economists and Women’s Suffrage: Another Look at Progressive-Era (Il)Liberalism
No full textDuring the Progressive Era (1890–1920) in the U.S., the debate on
women’s enfranchisement involved two opposite sides: detractors
(Antis) and supporters. Detractors converged on the idea that
women’s enfranchisement might have harmed the natural
harmony of society, based on a strict division of roles between
sexes. Supporters developed three different arguments: women’s
suffrage would have reinforced the democratic system; it would
have strengthened social cohesion; it would have led to several
economic advantages of the society as a whole. Major American
economists of the time joined the debate. The aim of this paper
is to describe the position of the foremost male academic
economists of the time by digging the lesser-known propaganda
literature of the period. By showing the position of those who
were against women’s suffrage, we point out their illiberalism
which, in some cases, was actual chauvinism. By showing the
arguments of those who supported women’s suffrage, we point
out different nuances of endorsement: while some were in favor
in the name of gender equality, others did not give up forms of
biologically determinism and gender-biased stereotypes
Survival Value and a Robust, Practical, Joyless Individualism: Thomas Nixon Carver, Social Justice, and Eugenics
Full text linkThe aim of this paper is to provide a compressive assessment of Thomas Nixon Carver's thought - from his early formative years in the 1880s to his post WWII career as a journalist and pamphleteer. The main (albeit not exclusive) focus of this paper will be on the theoretical and philosophical coordinates of Carver's "new liberalism" - his own definition - and how this broad vision was intrinsically connected with an explicit hierarchical and eugenic approach to human nature. Just as important, what follows is also an attempt to increase our general understanding of the extent in which eugenic considerations permeated the realm of political economy during the first decades of the last century and how, in some specific cases as that of Carver, this influence persisted after the end of the Progressive Era
Two minds that never met: Frank H. knight on john M. keynes once again — A documentary note
No full textThis note presents new archival evidence about Frank H. Knight’s views on John M. Keynes. The relevant material is composed of a series of lecture notes taken by Perham C. Nahl in Frank H. Knight’s course on Business Cycles at the University of California at Berkeley in the fall of 1936. It emerges from the notes that the methodological gap between Keynes and Knight was irreducible, which explains the harsh tone of Knight’s published review of The General Theory. Connected to this is Knight’s strenuous defense of the ‘postulates of classical political economy’ as criticized by Keynes in chapter 2 of his book, an argument that was better expounded in the classroom than in the review. However, besides strong criticisms, a few constructive remarks can also be found in the notes. In criticizing Keynes, Knight proposed an interesting analysis of the business cycle that he did not develop in the published review of The General Theory, and there is even some evidence that Knight was attracted to Keynes’s discussion of ‘liquidity preference.’
Eugenics and American Economics in the Interwar Years: The Case of Thomas Nixon Carver
No full textThe aim of this paper is to explore in some detail Carver’s eugenic ideas with a main, albeit non-exclusive, focus on the interwar years. Although his major contributions had all appeared prior to 1918, Carver remained particularly productive throughout the 1920s and 1930s, publishing several articles and eight books, which include The Principles of National Economy (1921), and The Essential Factors of Social Evolution (1935)—two works which contain significant traces of eugenic reasoning. Just as important, Carver’s interwar activities were not limited to academia. After his retirement from Harvard in 1932 he became involved in the activities of the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, while in view of the 1936 Presidential elections he took active part in the organization of the Research Division of the Republican National Committee. As we will document below, these activities gave Carver an opportunity to promote his eugenic beliefs at the national level
A CURIOSITY FORM THE WESLEY CLAIR MITCHELL PAPERS: FAY ON MARSHALL AND SOME CONTROVERSIAL MATTER
No full textThis brief note reproduces some archival material which shed new light on Marshall
Eugenics and Socialist Thought in the Progressive Era: The case of James Medbery MacKaye
Full text linkThe aim of this essay is to assess James Medbery MacKaye’s contribution to socialist thought during the Progressive Era. Largely forgotten today, MacKaye proposed a special version of socialism, which he called “Pantocracy,” based on a peculiar blend of utilitarian and eugenic assumptions. Specifically, MacKaye held that biological fitness mapped to the capacity for happiness—biologically superior individuals possess a greater capacity for happiness—and saw the eugenic breeding of “a being or race of beings capable in the first place of happiness” as a possibility open by the advent of Pantocracy. Incidentally, this essay provides further evidence that the influence of eugenic and racialist beliefs upon the American Progressive Era political economy was so deep-rooted and pervasive that it did cut across traditional ideological boundaries
Herbert J. Davenport on Conspicuous Consumption and the Economics of Feminism
No full textThis article analyzes Herbert J. Davenport’s discussions of conspicuous consumption and feminism. Even though these (typically) Veblenian topics represent two “episodes” in many respects disconnected with the central body of Davenport’s theoretical interests, the assessment of Davenport’s views on these matters enlarges our knowledge of the development of his thought. Our analysis shows how Davenport can be enrolled among the forerunners of the modern theory of positional goods. Moreover, our article offers some new findings on the impact of Veblen’s ideas on one of his closest students at the Chicago University
Economists and Eugenics: Progressive Era Racism and its (Jewish) Discontents
Full text linkThis work analyzes the contribution to the debates on labor and immigration of a group of Jewish academicians and reformers who, during the second half of the Progressive Era, explicitly took a stance against the racialist and eugenic rhetoric of the period. This group includes first-rank economists like Edwin R. A. Seligman, Jacob H. Hollander, and Emanuel A. Goldenweiser; influential field specialists such as Isaac A. Hourwich and Isaac M. Rubinow; and relatively less known figures like Max J. Kohler and Samuel K. Joseph. By focusing on the voices of these dissenters, the work enriches the emerging picture of Progressive Era eugenic and racial thought
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