Ekonomia polityczna a demokracja w pismach klasyków liberalizmu – John Stuart Mill i Herbert Spencer
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.12797/Politeja.20.2023.87.09Keywords:
democracy, classical economics, liberalism, John Stuart Mill, Herbert SpencerAbstract
POLITICAL ECONOMY AND DEMOCRACY IN THE WRITINGS OF CLASSICAL LIBERALS – JOHN STUART MILL AND HERBERT SPENCER
The main aim of this paper is showing mainstream economic theory as an important factor shaping the evolution of political liberalism. The role of the economic theory in this process seems underestimated. The paper analyses the writings of two classical liberal thinkers – John Stuart Mill and Herbert Spencer, the former a pioneer of egalitarian liberalism, the latter of laissez-faire liberalism. Both Mill and Spencer were the followers of the classical political economy accepting the classical theory of distribution. Both saw the distribution of wealth as a spontaneous process, seeing no possibility correcting it for the people’s sake without disturbances or damages. According to the classical theory of wage fund, workers would get higher incomes only through accumulation of capital by owners and repressing their own fertility. Such statement was fundamentally opposite to all postulates of the workers’ movement. Workers always claimed bigger share in social income and legislation favoring laborers. The inevitable result of this contradiction was a conflict between liberal and democratic ideas. Mill and Spencer proposed two different solutions. J. S. Mill found a specific compromise and proposed enlarging franchise on working class, but with a still dominant position of the educated classes. Mill was against equal franchise for the working class because he did not conceive them as liable, rational and sober people. This position results from the wage fund doctrine; according to it, abundant workers’ fertility is wasteful for them and only sexual restraint (or chastity) would make their wages higher. Spencer in his early writing was an enthusiast of democracy, supposing the working class’ affinity to free market solutions. His later disappointment with democracy turned him into a strong critic of democratic parliamentarism from the standpoint of laissez-faire individualism. The case of these two liberal thinkers shows fundamental difficulty in reconciliation between the ideas of democracy and free market. We could choose democracy accepting welfare state or choose free market solution and become unambiguous critics of democracy. Spencer was a forerunner of all later ‘neoliberal’ critics of welfare state. Mill’s opinion was halfway between laissez-faire liberalism and modern egalitarian liberalism. Democracy and equal voting rights became acceptable by mainstream economist only when they had abandoned the wage fund doctrine and other constructs of the classical political economy. Thus changes in the economic theory had a significant impact on the evolution of political liberalism.
Downloads
References
Aksiuto K., Szczęście i wolność. Utylitarystyczny liberalizm John Stuarta Milla, Warszawa 2016.
[Bailey S.], The Rationale of Political Representation, London 1835.
Barker E., Political Thought in England 1848 to 1914, Oxford 1954.
Barr N., Ekonomia polityki społecznej, przeł. K. Czarnecki, P. Łuczak, M. Żukowski, Poznań 2016.
Bentham J., Plan of Parliamentary Reform, in the Form of the Catechism, with Reasons for Each Article, with an Introduction, Shewing the Necessity of Radical, and the Inadequacy of Moderate Reform, [w:] J. Bentham, Works, t. III, red. J. Bowring, Edinburgh 1843, s. 433 552.
Blaug M., Ricardian Economics: A Historical Study, Westport 1973.
Blaug M., Teoria ekonomii. Ujęcie retrospektywne, przeł. I. Budzyńska i in., Warszawa 2000.
Boyer G.R., An Economic History of the English Poor Law, 1750-1850, Cambridge 1990, https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511528590. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511528590
Butterfield H., The Whig Interpretation of History, London 1968.
Claeys G., Mill and Paternalism, Cambridge 2013, https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139028011. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139028011
Clark G., Pożegnanie z jałmużną. Krótka historia gospodarcza świata, przeł. J. Lang, Poznań 2014.
Cowherd R.G., Political Economists and the English Poor Laws: A Historical Study of the Influence of Classical Economics on the Formation of Social Welfare Policy, Athens 1977.
Czech S., Gospodarka w służbie idei. Rzecz o modelu szwedzkim, Katowice 2013, Prace Naukowe – Uniwersytet Ekonomiczny w Katowicach.
Czech S., Od konfliktu do kooperacji. Instytucjonalizacja konfliktu interesów zbiorowych w szwedzkim modelu gospodarczym, Warszawa 2019.
Doherty G., Gray T., Herbert Spencer and the Relation Between Economic and Political Liberty, „History of Political Thought” 1993, R. 14, nr 3, s. 475-490.
Freeden M., The New Liberalism: An Ideology of Social Reform, Oxford 1978.
Górecki O.A., Obrona państwa ograniczonego. Polityczno-prawna doktryna Herberta Spencera, Kraków 2013.
Greengarten I.M., Thomas Hill Green and the Development of Liberal-Democratic Thought, Toronto 1981, https://doi.org/10.3138/9781487596170. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3138/9781487596170
Grygieńć J., Thomas Hill Green. Od epistemologii do filozofii politycznej, Toruń 2009.
Grzybek D., Kwestia płacy roboczej klasycznej ekonomii politycznej, Kraków 2018.
Halevy E., The Growth of Philosophic Radicalism, New York 1928.
Hayek F.A., Droga do zniewolenia, przeł. K. Gurba i in., Kraków 2009.
Hayek F.A., Konstytucja wolności, przeł. J. Stawiński, Warszawa 2006.
Hayek F.A., Prawo, legislacja i wolność. Nowe sformułowanie liberalnych zasad sprawiedliwości i ekonomii politycznej, przeł. G. Łuczkiewicz, Warszawa 2020.
Hayek F.A., The Constitution of Liberty, London–New York 1999.
Himmelfarb G., Darwin and the Darwinian Revolution, Chicago 1996.
Hollander S., Classical Economics, Toronto 1992, https://doi.org/10.3138/9781442672994. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3138/9781442672994
Hollander S., The Economics of John Stuart Mill, t. 1-2, Toronto 1985, https://doi.org/10.3138/9781442674240. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3138/9781442674240
Hollander S., The Economics of Thomas Robert Malthus, Toronto 1996, https://doi.org/10.3138/9781442681156. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3138/9781442681156
Hume D., Idea of a Perfect Government, [w:] D. Hume, The Philosophical Works, t. III, Edinburgh 1826, s. 561-679.
Kelly P., J.S. Mill o wolności, [w:] Myśliciele polityczni. Od Sokratesa do współczesności, red. D. Boucher, P. Kelly, przeł. A. Dąbrowska, T. Sieczkowski, Kraków 2008, s. 433-458.
Keynes J.M., The End of Laissez-Faire, [w:] J.M. Keynes, Essays in Persuasion, London 1931, s. 312-322.
King J.E., Utopian or Scientific? A Reconsideration of the Ricardian Socialists, „History of Political Economy” 1983, R. 15, nr 3, s. 345-373, https://doi.org/10.1215/00182702-15-3-345. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1215/00182702-15-3-345
Landreth H., Colander D.C., Historia myśli ekonomicznej, przeł. A. Szeworski, Warszawa 1998.
Liberal Equity, red. A. Gutmann, Cambridge 1980.
Lindert P.H., Growing Public: Social Spending and Economic Growth Since the Eighteenth Century, t. 1, Cambridge 2007.
Lindert P.H., Making Social Spending Work, Cambridge 2021, https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108784467. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108784467
Locke J., Dwa traktaty o rządzie, przeł. Z. Rau, Warszawa 1992, Biblioteka Klasyków Filozofii.
Lowenthal E., The Ricardian Socialists, New York 1911.
Łukaszewicz A., Socjalizm ricardiański w historii ekonomii politycznej. Poglądy społeczno-ekonomiczne W. Thompsona, J.F. Braya, J. Graya, Th. Hodgskina, Warszawa 1961.
Macaulay T.B., Mill on Government, [w:] T.B. Macaulay, Miscellaneous Writings, t. 1, London 1860, s. 285-286.
Macpherson C.B., The Political Theory of Possessive Individualism: Hobbes to Locke, Oxford 1962.
Magid H.M., John Stuart Mill 1806-1873, przeł. E. Ciżewska, [w:] Historia filozofii politycznej. Podręcznik, red. L. Strauss, J. Cropsey, Warszawa 2010, s. 796-811.
McCulloch J.R., An Essay on the Circumstances which Determine the Rate of Wages and Condition of Labouring Classes, Edinburgh 1826.
Miller W.L., Herbert Spencer’s Drift to Conservatism, „History of Political Thought” 1982, R. 3, nr 3, s. 483-497.
Mill J., Elements of Political Economy, [w:] J. Mill, Selected Economics Writings, red. D. Winch, Edinburgh–London 1966, s. 203-366.
Mill J., Government, [w:] Supplement to the Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Editions of Encyclopaedia Britannica, t. 4, Edinburgh 1824, s. 491-505.
Mill J.S., Autobiografia, przeł. M. Szerer, Warszawa 1931.
Mill J.S., O rządzie reprezentatywnym, przeł. G. Czernicki, [w:] J.S. Mill, O rządzie reprezentatywnym. Poddaństwo kobiet, przeł. G. Czernicki, M. Chyżyńska, Kraków 1995, Demokracja – Znak.
Mill J.S., Parliamentary Reform, [w:] J.S. Mill, Collected Works of John Stuart Mill. Vol. XXVI, Journals and Debating Speeches, Toronto 1988, s. 261-171, https://doi.org/10.3138/9781442680814. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3138/9781442680814
Mill J.S., Rationale of Representation, [w:] J.S. Mill, Collected Works of John Stuart Mill. Vol. XVIII, Essays on Politics and Society, cz. 1, Toronto 1977, s. 15-46.
Mill J.S., Zasady ekonomii politycznej i niektóre jej zastosowania do filozofii społecznej, t. 1, przeł. E. Taylor, Warszawa 1964, Biblioteka Dzieł Ekonomii Politycznej. Szkoła Klasyczna.
Mises L., Liberalism in the Classical Tradition, New York 1985.
Mises L., Liberty and Property, Auburn 2009.
Mises L., Human Action: A Treatise on Economics, Indianapolis 2007.
Mises L., Ludzkie działanie. Traktat o ekonomii, przeł. W. Falkowski, Warszawa 2007.
Nowy liberalizm. Wybór tekstów, red. J. Grygieńć, C. Tyler, Toruń 2016, Polityka w Kulturze.
Nozick R., Anarchia, państwo i utopia, przeł. P. Maciejko, M. Szczubiałka, Warszawa 2010.
O’Brien D.P., The Classical Economics Revisited, Princeton 2004.
Okólski M., Fihel A., Demografia. Współczesne zjawiska i teorie, Warszawa 2012.
Pelling H., A History of British Trade Unionism, wyd. 5, New York 1992, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-12968-3. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-12968-3
Pipes R., Własność a wolność, przeł. L. Niedzielski, Warszawa 2000, Spectrum.
Poynter J.R., Society and Pauperism: English Ideas on Poor Relief, 1795-1834, London–Toronto 1969, https://doi.org/10.3138/9781487579609. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3138/9781487579609
Rawls J., Wykłady z historii filozofii polityki, przeł. S. Szymański, Warszawa 2010, Współczesna Myśl Humanistyczna. Wykłady Akademickie.
Ryan A., The Making of Modern Liberalism, Princeton 2012, https://doi.org/10.23943/princeton/9780691148403.003.0002. DOI: https://doi.org/10.23943/princeton/9780691148403.001.0001
Rzegocki A., Lord Macaulay – liberalny strażnik tradycji, [w:] T.B. Macaulay, O rewolucjach, makiawelizmie i postępie. Wybór szkiców, red. A. Rzegocki, Kraków 1999, Mała Seria – Arcana.
Schofield P., Utility and Democracy: The Political Thought of Jeremy Bentham, Oxford 2006, https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198208563.001.0001. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198208563.001.0001
Smith A., Badania nad naturą i przyczynami bogactwa narodów, t. 1, przeł., S. Wolff, O. Einfeld, Warszawa 2007.
Spencer H., Jednostka wobec państwa, przekład anonimowy, red. A. Bosiacki, Warszawa 2002, Klasycy Myśli Prawnej.
Spencer H., Social Statics, or the Conditions Essential to Human Happiness Specified, and the First of them Developed, London 1851.
Spencer H., The Proper Sphere of Government, [w:] H. Spencer, The Man Versus the State, with Six Essays on Government, Society and Freedom, Indianapolis 1981.
Stephen L., The English Utilitarians. Vol. II, James Mill, London 1900.
Stiglitz J.E., Ekonomia sektora publicznego, red. przekładu R. Rapacki i in., Warszawa 2004.
The Economic History of Britain Since 1700. Vol. 1, 1700-1860, red. R. Floud, D. McCloskey, Cambridge 1994.
Tulejski T., Od zasady użyteczności do demokracji. Filozofia polityczna Jeremy Benthama, Łódź 2004, Monografie Wydziału Prawa i Administracji Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego.
Vaughan K.I., John Locke: Economist and Social Scientist, Chicago 1982.
Vint J., Capital and Wages: A Lakatosian History of the Wages Fund Doctrine, Aldershot 1994.
Webb S., Webb B., The History of Trade Unionism, London 1894.
Weiler P., The New Liberalism: Liberal Social Theory in Great Britain, 1889-1914, London 2017, https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315524252. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315524252
Winch D., Wealth and Life: Essays on the Intellectual History of Political Economy in Britain 1848-1914, Cambridge 2009.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
