Edgar Hardcastle
Encyclopedia
Edgar Richard "Hardy" Hardcastle (1900 – June 1995) was a theoretician of Marxist economics
.
The son of a founder member of the Socialist Party of Great Britain
, Hardcastle went to prison as a socialist conscientious objector
in the First World War, formally joining his father's party in 1922. After studying at the London School of Economics
under Professor Edwin Cannan
, he worked all his life as a researcher in the trade union
movement, first for the Agriculture Workers Union, then for a short while for the international trade union movement in Brussels
, then till his retirement for the Union of Post Office Workers where he was chief adviser to a succession of UPW General Secretaries.
His main interest was monetary economics. From the 1930s on, as his Socialist Standard
articles (written under the pen name of H.) testify, he did battle against Keynes on behalf of Marx and also, more curiously it might be thought, on behalf of his old professor, Cannan. Edwin Cannan, a largely forgotten bourgeois economist of the first part of this century, could be described as the last of the classical political economists and, as such, shared with Marx certain economic views, in particular that inflation
was a purely monetary phenomenon caused by an excessive issue of an inconvertible paper currency and that banks were merely financial intermediaries without any power to "create credit
." Both of these positions were denied by Keynes whose views became part of the economic orthodoxy.
Hardcastle's empirical bent enabled the SPGB to refute, with the necessary statistical evidence, theories which have sometimes been attributed to Marx such as under-consumptionism, the increasing pauperisation of the working class, the collapse of capitalism (Hardcastle was the author of the famous 1932 SPGB pamphlet Why Capitalism Will Not Collapse) and—more controversially within the Party—the increasing severity of economic crises.
Hardcastle gave a great input into the SPGB, particularly to the Socialist Standard, serving on the editorial committee for over thirty years and contributing articles from the early 1920s onwards. He was also a member of the Executive Committee for decades and a Party lecturer and representative in debates (see Socialist Party of Great Britain debates
).
Towards the end of his life, Hardcastle found himself a member of one of two branches which were expelled by a poll of all the membership for deliberately and repeatedly refusing to apply a democratically-arrived-at Conference decision. The two expelled branches went on to form the Socialist Studies
group in 1991, of which Hardcastle remained a member until his death some four years later.
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
.
The son of a founder member of the Socialist Party of Great Britain
Socialist Party of Great Britain
The Socialist Party of Great Britain , is a small Marxist political party within the impossibilist tradition. It is best known for its advocacy of using the ballot box for revolutionary purposes; opposition to reformism; and its early adoption of the theory of state capitalism to describe the...
, Hardcastle went to prison as a socialist conscientious objector
Conscientious objector
A conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, and/or religion....
in the First World War, formally joining his father's party in 1922. After studying at the London School of Economics
London School of Economics
The London School of Economics and Political Science is a public research university specialised in the social sciences located in London, United Kingdom, and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
under Professor Edwin Cannan
Edwin Cannan
Edwin Cannan was a British economist and historian of economic thought. He was a professor at the London School of Economics from 1895 to 1926....
, he worked all his life as a researcher in the trade union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
movement, first for the Agriculture Workers Union, then for a short while for the international trade union movement in Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
, then till his retirement for the Union of Post Office Workers where he was chief adviser to a succession of UPW General Secretaries.
His main interest was monetary economics. From the 1930s on, as his Socialist Standard
Socialist Standard
The Socialist Standard is a monthly socialist magazine published without interruption since 1904 by the Socialist Party of Great Britain. The magazine is written in a simple, direct style and focuses mainly on socialist advocacy and Marxian analysis of current events, particularly those affecting...
articles (written under the pen name of H.) testify, he did battle against Keynes on behalf of Marx and also, more curiously it might be thought, on behalf of his old professor, Cannan. Edwin Cannan, a largely forgotten bourgeois economist of the first part of this century, could be described as the last of the classical political economists and, as such, shared with Marx certain economic views, in particular that inflation
Inflation
In economics, inflation is a rise in the general level of prices of goods and services in an economy over a period of time.When the general price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services. Consequently, inflation also reflects an erosion in the purchasing power of money – a...
was a purely monetary phenomenon caused by an excessive issue of an inconvertible paper currency and that banks were merely financial intermediaries without any power to "create credit
Social Credit
Social Credit is an economic philosophy developed by C. H. Douglas , a British engineer, who wrote a book by that name in 1924. Social Credit is described by Douglas as "the policy of a philosophy"; he called his philosophy "practical Christianity"...
." Both of these positions were denied by Keynes whose views became part of the economic orthodoxy.
Hardcastle's empirical bent enabled the SPGB to refute, with the necessary statistical evidence, theories which have sometimes been attributed to Marx such as under-consumptionism, the increasing pauperisation of the working class, the collapse of capitalism (Hardcastle was the author of the famous 1932 SPGB pamphlet Why Capitalism Will Not Collapse) and—more controversially within the Party—the increasing severity of economic crises.
Hardcastle gave a great input into the SPGB, particularly to the Socialist Standard, serving on the editorial committee for over thirty years and contributing articles from the early 1920s onwards. He was also a member of the Executive Committee for decades and a Party lecturer and representative in debates (see Socialist Party of Great Britain debates
Socialist Party of Great Britain debates
Debates between the Socialist Party of Great Britain and other groups were of particular importance in bringing the party case to an outside audience without the sometimes off-putting rhetoric of platform speaking, or the one-sidedness of educational talks...
).
Towards the end of his life, Hardcastle found himself a member of one of two branches which were expelled by a poll of all the membership for deliberately and repeatedly refusing to apply a democratically-arrived-at Conference decision. The two expelled branches went on to form the Socialist Studies
Socialist Studies (1989)
Socialist Studies was first published in 1989 by the Camden and North West London branches of the Socialist Party of Great Britain, though since issue № 3 it has been published by an independent organisation ....
group in 1991, of which Hardcastle remained a member until his death some four years later.
External links
- Edgar Hardcastle Archive at the Marxist Internet Archive