Liberty-Finder » 19th Century

British Whig Party

admin — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 22:13:58 +0000

The Whigs are often described as one of the two original political parties (the other being the Tories) in England and later the United Kingdom from the late 17th to the mid-19th centuries. The Whigs’ origin lay in constitutional monarchism and opposition to absolute rule. Both parties began as loose groupings or tendencies, but became quite formal by 1784, with the ascension of Charles James Fox as the leader of a reconstituted “Whig” party ranged against the governing party of the new “Tories” under William Pitt the Younger.

The Whig party slowly evolved during the 18th century. The Whig tendency supported the great aristocratic families, the Protestant Hanoverian succession and toleration for nonconformist Protestants (the “dissenters,” such as Presbyterians), while the Tories supported the exiled Stuart royal family’s claims for the throne (Jacobitism), the established Church of England and the gentry. Later on, the Whigs drew support from the emerging industrial interests and wealthy merchants, while the Tories drew support from the landed interests and the British Crown. The Whigs were originally also known as the “Country Party” (as opposed to the Tories, the “Court Party”). By the first half of the 19th century, however, the Whig political programme came to encompass not only the supremacy of parliament over the monarch and support for free trade, but Catholic emancipation, the abolition of slavery and, significantly, expansion of the franchise (suffrage). (CC Wikipedia 03/27/2010)

François-René de Chateaubriand

admin — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 15:48:11 +0000

François-René, vicomte de Chateaubriand (1768 – 1848) was a French writer, politician and diplomat. He is considered the founder of Romanticism in French literature.

David Ricardo

admin — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 15:21:55 +0000

David Ricardo (1772 – 1823) was an English political economist, often credited with systematizing economics, and was one of the most influential of the classical economists, along with Thomas Malthus and Adam Smith. He was also a member of Parliament, businessman, financier and speculator, who amassed a considerable personal fortune. Perhaps his most important contribution was the theory of comparative advantage, a fundamental argument in favor of free trade among countries and of specialization among individuals. Ricardo argued that there is mutual benefit from trade (or exchange) even if one party (e.g. resource-rich country, highly-skilled artisan) is more productive in every possible area than its trading counterpart (e.g. resource-poor country, unskilled laborer), as long as each concentrates on the activities where it has a relative productivity advantage. (CC Wikipedia – 03/13/2010)

Eugen von Böhm-Bawerk

admin — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 21:28:49 +0000

Eugen Ritter von Böhm-Bawerk (1851 – 1914) was an Austrian economist who made important contributions to the development of Austrian economics. Trained in the University of Vienna as a lawyer where he read Carl Menger‘s Principles of Economics and quickly became an adherent of his theories. Joseph Schumpeter said that Böhm-Bawerk “was so completely the enthusiastic disciple of Menger that it is hardly necessary to look for other influences.” During his time at the Vienna university he became good friends with Friedrich von Wieser.

After completing his studies he entered the Austrian ministry of finance, spent the 1880s at the University of Innsbruck (1881-1889), time during he published the first two (out of three) volumes of his magnum opus, Capital and Interest.

In 1889 he was called to Vienna by the finance ministry to draft a proposal for direct-tax reform. Böhm-Bawerk’s proposal called for a modern income tax, which was soon approved and met with a great deal of success in the next few years.

He then became Austrian Minister of Finance in 1895. He was to serve briefly and again on another occasion, although a third time he remained in the post from 1900-1904. As Finance Minister he fought continuously for strict maintenance of the legally fixed gold standard and a balanced budget. In 1902 he eliminated the sugar subsidy, which had been a feature of the Austrian economy for nearly two centuries. He finally resigned in 1904, when the increased fiscal demands of the army threatened to unbalance the budget. Joseph Schumpeter praised Böhm-Bawerk’s efforts toward “the financial stability of the country.” His image was on the one-hundred schilling banknote between 1984 and 2002, when the euro was introduced.

He wrote extensive critiques of Karl Marx’s economics in the 1880s and 1890s, and several prominent Marxists attended his seminar in 1905-06. He returned to teaching in 1904, with a chair at the University of Vienna. He taught many students including Joseph Schumpeter, Ludwig von Mises and Henryk Grossman. (CC Wikipedia)

Carl Menger

admin — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 10:19:25 +0000

Carl Menger (February 28, 1840 – February 26, 1921) was the founder of the Austrian School of economics, famous for contributing to the development of the theory of marginal utility that refuted the cost-of-production theories of value developed by the classical economists such as Adam Smith and David Ricardo.

In 1867 Menger began a study of political economy which culminated in 1871 with the publication of his Principles of Economics (Grundsätze der Volkswirtschaftslehre), thus becoming the father of the Austrian School of economic thought. It was in this work that he challenged classical cost-based theories of value with his theory of marginality.

Ensconced in his professorship he set about refining and defending the positions he took and methods he utilized in Principles, the result of which was the 1883 publication of Investigations into the Method of the Social Sciences with Special Reference to Economics (Untersuchungen über die Methode der Socialwissenschaften und der politischen Oekonomie insbesondere). The book caused a firestorm of debate, during which members of the Historical School of Economics began to derisively call Menger and his students the “Austrian School” to emphasize their departure from mainstream economic thought in Germany. In 1884 Menger responded with the pamphlet The Errors of Historicism in German Economics and launched the infamous Methodenstreit, or methodological debate, between the Historical School and the Austrian School. During this time Menger began to attract like-minded disciples who would go on to make their own mark on the field of economics, most notably Eugen von Böhm-Bawerk and Friedrich von Wieser.

In 1867 Menger began a study of political economy which culminated in 1871 with the publication of his Principles of Economics (Grundsätze der Volkswirtschaftslehre), thus becoming the father of the Austrian School of economic thought. It was in this work that he challenged classical cost-based theories of value with his theory of marginality.

Ensconced in his professorship he set about refining and defending the positions he took and methods he utilized in Principles, the result of which was the 1883 publication of Investigations into the Method of the Social Sciences with Special Reference to Economics (Untersuchungen über die Methode der Socialwissenschaften und der politischen Oekonomie insbesondere). The book caused a firestorm of debate, during which members of the Historical School of Economics began to derisively call Menger and his students the “Austrian School” to emphasize their departure from mainstream economic thought in Germany. In 1884 Menger responded with the pamphlet The Errors of Historicism in German Economics and launched the infamous Methodenstreit, or methodological debate, between the Historical School and the Austrian School. During this time Menger began to attract like-minded disciples who would go on to make their own mark on the field of economics, most notably Eugen von Böhm-Bawerk and Friedrich von Wieser. (CC Wikipedia)