English Historical School
Part of the series where I am trying to learn more about each of the major economic schools of thought.
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References
Notes
The English historical school of economics, although not nearly as famous as its German counterpart, sought a return of inductive methods in economics, following the triumph of the deductive approach of David Ricardo in the early 19th century. The school considered itself the intellectual heirs of past figures who has emphasized empiricism and induction, such as Francis Bacon and Adam Smith.
- Included in this school:
- William Whewell
- Richard Jones
- Thomas Edward Cliffe Leslie
- Walter Bagehot
- Thorold Rogers
- Arnold Toynbee
- William Cunningham
- William Ashley
Concepts
- They pursued an inductive approach to economics rather than the deductive approach taken by classical and neoclassical theorists.
- They recognized the need for statistical research.
- They rejected the hypothesis of
the profit maximizing individual
or thecalculus of pleasure and pain
as the only basis for economic analysis and policy. - They believed it was more reasonable to base analysis on the collective whole of altruistic individuals.
- They rejected the idea that economic policy prescriptions would apply universally, without regard to place and time.
Influences
- John Stuart Mill
- English philosopher, political economist, politician and civil servant. One of the most influential thinkers in the history of liberalism, he contributed widely to social theory, political theory, and political economy.
- Auguste Comte
- French philosopher, mathematician, and writer who formulated the doctrine of positivism. He is often regarded as the first philosopher of science in the modern sense of the term.
- Herbert Spencer
- English polymath active as a philosopher, psychologist, biologist, sociologist, and anthropologist. Spencer originated the expression
survival of the fittest
, which he coined in Principles of Biology (1864) after reading Charles Darwin's 1859 book On the Origin of Species.
- English polymath active as a philosopher, psychologist, biologist, sociologist, and anthropologist. Spencer originated the expression
- The second half of Queen Victoria's reign saw the triumph of evolutionary concepts in the sciences and a transition from "coal and iron" based manufacturing economy to one based on communication, urbanization, finance, and empire.
- The rise of the historical school of jurisprudence provided "allies in the struggle against the dominance of the abstract theory".
- Historical economists view classical and neoclassical economics as too formal and as a rationalization of free trade policies in a colonial and imperial setting.