There is also a 19th century American tradition in this vein. People like John
Commons of the Wisconsin Progressive School wrote books with "Political Economy"
in the title. Of course, all this is before the rise of 20th century American
"Political Science," which by splitting economics from politics, tried quite
explicitly to provide another explanation besides Marx's dialectical materialism
as the motor of history.
Joel Blau
Michael Hoover wrote:
> > Quoth Mine:
> > > Although originally the concept [of political economy] was
> > >invented by Marx and his contemporaries,
> >
> > Quoth Justin:
> > >I made this mistake once early in grad school, and my political theory
> > >teacher humiliated me in front of everyone.. Pol econ was the term for
> > >what we call economics, mainly, but also political science with an eye
> > >towards material reproduction, for over 100 years before Marx. Rousseau
> > >discusses it, Smith thought of himself as doing pol econ. --jks
> >
> > Quoth one Piercy Ravenstone, fiercely taking a three-year-old Karl Marx to
> > pre-emptive task, in 'A Few Doubts as to the Correctness of Some Opinions
> > Generally Entertained on the Subjects of Population and *Political
> > Economy*' (1821):
> > '(Capital) serves to account for whatever cannot be accounted for in any
> > other way. Where reason fails, where argument is insufficient, it operates
> > like a talisman to silence all doubts. It occupies the same place in their
> > theories, which was held by darkness in the mythology of the ancients. It
> > is the root of all their genealogies, it is the great mother of all things,
> > it is the cause of every event that happens in the world. Capital,
> > according to them, is the parent of industry, the forerunner of all
> > improvements ... It is the deity of their idolatry which they have set up
> > to worship in the high places of the Lord; and were its powers what they
> > imagine, it would not be unworthy of their adoration.'
> > Rob.
>
> ah yes, political economy, the 'science' of acquisition...
>
> I had grad school prof who thought it'd be really good idea for me to
> read, in addition to Smith, some other 18th century Scottish political
> economists such as Adam Ferguson, James Steuart. If memory serves,
> Steuart's book _Inquiry into Principles of Political Economy_ appeared
> decade or so before Smith's _Inquiry into Wealth of Nations_ (JS may
> have been first to use term as such but some listers no doubt know more
> about that stuff than me). Marx. who *critiqued* political economy,
> refers approvingly to Steuart as thinker with historical view and
> understanding of historically different modes of production (contrasting
> him to those positing/holding bourgeois individual to be natural).
>
> Early 19th century saw number of books with political economy in title:
> Say, Ricardo, Malthus, among better known... Michael Hoover
