The Political Economy of Progress
John Stuart Mill and Modern Radicalism
Published in December 2016
Book
Hardback
272 pages
978-0-19-046063-1 (ISBN)
Description
While there had been much radical thought before John Stuart Mill, Joseph Persky argues it was Mill, as he moved to the left, who provided the radical wing of liberalism with its first serious analytical foundation, a political economy of progress that still echoes today. A rereading of Mill's mature work suggests his theoretical understanding of accumulation led him to see laissez-faire capitalism as a transitional system. Deeply committed to the egalitarian
precepts of the Enlightenment, Mill advocated gradualism and rejected revolutionary expropriation on utilitarian grounds: gradualism, not expropriation, promised meaningful long-term gains for the working classes. He endorsed laissez-faire capitalism because his theory of accumulation saw that system
approaching a stationary state characterized by a great reduction in inequality and an expansion of cooperative production. These tendencies, in combination with an aggressive reform agenda made possible by the extension of the franchise, promised to provide a material base for social progress and individual development.
The Political Economy of Progress goes on to claim that Mill's radical political economy anticipated more than a little of Marx's analysis of capitalism and laid a foundation for the work of Fabians and other gradualist radicals in the 20th century. More recently, modern philosophic radicals, such as Rawls, have deep links to this Millean political economy. These links are still worthy of development. In particular, a politically meaningful acceptance of Rawls's radical liberalism
waits on a movement capable of re-engineering the workplace in a manner consistent with Mill's endorsement of worker management.
precepts of the Enlightenment, Mill advocated gradualism and rejected revolutionary expropriation on utilitarian grounds: gradualism, not expropriation, promised meaningful long-term gains for the working classes. He endorsed laissez-faire capitalism because his theory of accumulation saw that system
approaching a stationary state characterized by a great reduction in inequality and an expansion of cooperative production. These tendencies, in combination with an aggressive reform agenda made possible by the extension of the franchise, promised to provide a material base for social progress and individual development.
The Political Economy of Progress goes on to claim that Mill's radical political economy anticipated more than a little of Marx's analysis of capitalism and laid a foundation for the work of Fabians and other gradualist radicals in the 20th century. More recently, modern philosophic radicals, such as Rawls, have deep links to this Millean political economy. These links are still worthy of development. In particular, a politically meaningful acceptance of Rawls's radical liberalism
waits on a movement capable of re-engineering the workplace in a manner consistent with Mill's endorsement of worker management.
Reviews / Votes
"Stressing Mill's historically situated political economy and his theories of the path of progressive social justice, Persky compares Mill to a wide-ranging cast of philosophers and economists in his own time and today. It includes both institutional and moral transformation ranging from producer-owned cooperatives and family life to the evolution of social and moral psychology to embrace growing egalitarian sympathies that require increasing material redistributions. Summing up: Highly recommended." --CHOICE"Joseph Persky's Political Economy of Progress is a thoughtful and provocative reflection on problems with modern radical thought, and how a sympathetic reading of John Stuart Mill can provide some needed coherence. It is definitely worth reading." -- David Colander, Christian A Johnson Distinguished Professor of Economics, Middlebury College"Like Fleischacker on Smith, Persky on Mill claims the man for the left. The claim is certainly correct, and is here thoroughly argued, exhibiting the generosity and thoughtfulness characteristic of Perksy's scholarship. Mill was simultaneously the apotheosis of laissez-faire and the beginning of its long descent. Some of us think the descent was ill-considered. To understand it, though, Persky's is the essential book, a pleasure to read from beginning to end." -- Deirdre McCloskey, Distinguished Professor of Economics, History, English, and Communication Emerita, University of Illinois at Chicago"This fine book straddles the disciplines of intellectual history and political philosophy. Persky's original and insightful discussion of how John Stuart Mill reconciled the tension between his progressivism and his commitment to liberalism will be of considerable interest to scholars of Mill and of Utilitarianism in general. The book's argument that Utilitarianism provides the most robust grounding for the design of public policy opens up a useful debate on what philosophical principles should underpin social and economic policymaking. An excellent chapter on Mill and Fabianism illustrates the author's intriguing hypothesis that modern radicalism is reformist rather than revolutionary. This book is sure to find favor with intellectual historians and political philosophers who specialize in Mill and themes of social justice." -- Gary Mongiovi, Professor of Economics, St John's University"Persky's book marks a significant advance in our knowledge of John Stuart Mill and of his place in the history of economic thought. It argues convincingly that Mill made important additions to the work of his predecessors, and that these additions make Mill's work of great interest and relevance today." -- Steven Pressman, Emeritus Professor of Economics and Finance, Monmouth University and Professor of Economics, Colorado State UniversityMore details
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05/2016
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05/2016
1st Edition
OUP eBook
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Person
Joseph Persky is Professor of Economics at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Professor Persky's work takes distributional questions as central to both history and current policy. His articles have appeared in a number of journals, including the American Economics Association's Journal of Economic Perspectives, where he is the informal editor of the Retrospectives feature. He is the author of The Burden of Dependency, an exploration of the
history of economic thought in the Southern U.S. He is a co-author of When Corporations Leave Town, and Does "Trickle Down " Work?, both concerned with distributional implications of metropolitan economic development strategies. Persky's politics slant to the labor left.
history of economic thought in the Southern U.S. He is a co-author of When Corporations Leave Town, and Does "Trickle Down " Work?, both concerned with distributional implications of metropolitan economic development strategies. Persky's politics slant to the labor left.