Thomas Hodgskin
Encyclopedia
Thomas Hodgskin was an English
socialist
writer
on political economy
, critic of capitalism
, free-market anarchist and defender of free trade
and early trade union
s. Hodgskin was "a free-market radical who was one of the first to apply the term 'capitalist' disparagingly to the beneficiaries of government favors bestowed on capital at the expense of labor."
Born of a father who worked in the Chatham Naval Dockyard, Hodgskin
joined the navy at the age of 12. He rose rapidly through the ranks in
the years of naval struggle with the French to the rank of first
lieutenant. Following the naval defeat of the French the opportunities
for advancement closed and Hodgskin increasingly ran into disciplinary
trouble with his superiors, eventually leading to his court martial
and dismissal in 1812. This prompted his first book An Essay on Naval Discipline (1813) a scathing critique of the brutal authoritarian
regime then current in the navy.
Entering Edinburgh
University for study he later came to London in
1815 and entered the utilitarian circle around
Francis Place
, Jeremy Bentham
and James Mill
. With their support he
spent the next five years in a programme of travel and study around
Europe which resulted, inter alia, in a second book "Travels in North
Germany" (1820).
After 3 years in Edinburgh, Hodgskin returned to London in 1823 as a
journalist. Influenced by, amongst others, Jean Baptiste Say, his
views on political economy
had diverged from the utilitarian
orthodoxy of David Ricardo
and James Mill
. During the
controversy around the parliamentary acts to first legalise and then
ban worker's "combinations" Mill and Ricardo had been in favour of the
ban whereas Hodgskin supported the right to organise. Taking Ricardo's
labour theory of value he used it to denounce the appropriation of
the most part of value produced by the labour of industrial workers as
illegitimate. He propounded these views in a series of lectures at the
London Mechanics Institute where he debated with
William Thompson with whom he shared the critique of capitalist expropriation
but not the proposed remedy. The results of these lectures and debates
he published as "Labour Defended against the Claims of Capital"
(1825), "Popular Political Economy" (1827) and "Natural and
Artificial Right of Property Contrasted" (1832). The title of
"Labour Defended" was a jibe at James Mill
's earlier "Commerce
Defended" and signalled his opposition to the latters taking sides
with the capitalists against their employees.
Though his criticism of Employers appropriation of the lion's share of
the value produced by their employees went on to influence subsequent
generations of socialists, including Karl Marx
, Hodgskin's
fundamental Deist
beliefs identified production and
exchange based on the labour theory of value (freed from the
supposedly illegitimate expropriations of rent, interest and owner's
profits) as part of "natural right", the divinely ordained proper
relations of society contrasted to "artificial" contrivances — the
source of disharmonies and conflicts. He rejected the proto-communism
of William Thompson and Robert Owen
by the same appeal to
"natural right".
In 1823 Hodgskin joined forces with Joseph Clinton Robinson in founding the "Mechanics Magazine". In the October 1823 edition Hodgskin and Francis Place wrote a manifesto for a Mechanics Institute. This would be more than a technical school but a place where practical studies could be combined with practical reflection about the condition of society. The inaugural meeting to found the Institute took place in 1823 but the idea was taken over by people of less radical views concerned about Hodgskin's unorthodox economic views including George Birkbeck
a well known educator from Glasgow.
Despite his high profile in the agitated revolutionary times of the 1820s, he retreated into the realm of Whig
journalism after the Reform Act 1832
. He became an advocate of free trade
and spent 15 years writing for The Economist
. He worked on the paper with its founder James Wilson
and with the young Herbert Spencer
. Hodgskin viewed the demise of the Corn Laws as the first step to the downfall of government and his libertarian anarchism was regarded as too radical by many of the liberals of the Anti-Corn Law League. He left the Economist in 1857. He continued working as a journalist for the rest of his life.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
socialist
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
on political economy
Political economy
Political economy originally was the term for studying production, buying, and selling, and their relations with law, custom, and government, as well as with the distribution of national income and wealth, including through the budget process. Political economy originated in moral philosophy...
, critic of capitalism
Capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system that became dominant in the Western world following the demise of feudalism. There is no consensus on the precise definition nor on how the term should be used as a historical category...
, free-market anarchist and defender of free trade
Free trade
Under a free trade policy, prices emerge from supply and demand, and are the sole determinant of resource allocation. 'Free' trade differs from other forms of trade policy where the allocation of goods and services among trading countries are determined by price strategies that may differ from...
and early 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...
s. Hodgskin was "a free-market radical who was one of the first to apply the term 'capitalist' disparagingly to the beneficiaries of government favors bestowed on capital at the expense of labor."
Born of a father who worked in the Chatham Naval Dockyard, Hodgskin
joined the navy at the age of 12. He rose rapidly through the ranks in
the years of naval struggle with the French to the rank of first
lieutenant. Following the naval defeat of the French the opportunities
for advancement closed and Hodgskin increasingly ran into disciplinary
trouble with his superiors, eventually leading to his court martial
and dismissal in 1812. This prompted his first book An Essay on Naval Discipline (1813) a scathing critique of the brutal authoritarian
regime then current in the navy.
Entering Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
University for study he later came to London in
1815 and entered the utilitarian circle around
Francis Place
Francis Place
Francis Place was an English social reformer.-Early career and influence:Born in the debtor's prison which his father oversaw near Drury Lane, Place was schooled for ten years before being apprenticed to a leather-breeches maker. At eighteen he was an independent journeyman, and in 1790 was...
, Jeremy Bentham
Jeremy Bentham
Jeremy Bentham was an English jurist, philosopher, and legal and social reformer. He became a leading theorist in Anglo-American philosophy of law, and a political radical whose ideas influenced the development of welfarism...
and James Mill
James Mill
James Mill was a Scottish historian, economist, political theorist, and philosopher. He was a founder of classical economics, together with David Ricardo, and the father of influential philosopher of classical liberalism, John Stuart Mill.-Life:Mill was born at Northwater Bridge, in the parish of...
. With their support he
spent the next five years in a programme of travel and study around
Europe which resulted, inter alia, in a second book "Travels in North
Germany" (1820).
After 3 years in Edinburgh, Hodgskin returned to London in 1823 as a
journalist. Influenced by, amongst others, Jean Baptiste Say, his
views on political economy
Political economy
Political economy originally was the term for studying production, buying, and selling, and their relations with law, custom, and government, as well as with the distribution of national income and wealth, including through the budget process. Political economy originated in moral philosophy...
had diverged from the utilitarian
orthodoxy of David Ricardo
David Ricardo
David Ricardo was an English political economist, often credited with systematising economics, and was one of the most influential of the classical economists, along with Thomas Malthus, Adam Smith, and John Stuart Mill. He was also a member of Parliament, businessman, financier and speculator,...
and James Mill
James Mill
James Mill was a Scottish historian, economist, political theorist, and philosopher. He was a founder of classical economics, together with David Ricardo, and the father of influential philosopher of classical liberalism, John Stuart Mill.-Life:Mill was born at Northwater Bridge, in the parish of...
. During the
controversy around the parliamentary acts to first legalise and then
ban worker's "combinations" Mill and Ricardo had been in favour of the
ban whereas Hodgskin supported the right to organise. Taking Ricardo's
labour theory of value he used it to denounce the appropriation of
the most part of value produced by the labour of industrial workers as
illegitimate. He propounded these views in a series of lectures at the
London Mechanics Institute where he debated with
William Thompson with whom he shared the critique of capitalist expropriation
but not the proposed remedy. The results of these lectures and debates
he published as "Labour Defended against the Claims of Capital"
(1825), "Popular Political Economy" (1827) and "Natural and
Artificial Right of Property Contrasted" (1832). The title of
"Labour Defended" was a jibe at James Mill
James Mill
James Mill was a Scottish historian, economist, political theorist, and philosopher. He was a founder of classical economics, together with David Ricardo, and the father of influential philosopher of classical liberalism, John Stuart Mill.-Life:Mill was born at Northwater Bridge, in the parish of...
's earlier "Commerce
Defended" and signalled his opposition to the latters taking sides
with the capitalists against their employees.
Though his criticism of Employers appropriation of the lion's share of
the value produced by their employees went on to influence subsequent
generations of socialists, including Karl Marx
Karl Marx
Karl Heinrich Marx was a German philosopher, economist, sociologist, historian, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. His ideas played a significant role in the development of social science and the socialist political movement...
, Hodgskin's
fundamental Deist
Deism
Deism in religious philosophy is the belief that reason and observation of the natural world, without the need for organized religion, can determine that the universe is the product of an all-powerful creator. According to deists, the creator does not intervene in human affairs or suspend the...
beliefs identified production and
exchange based on the labour theory of value (freed from the
supposedly illegitimate expropriations of rent, interest and owner's
profits) as part of "natural right", the divinely ordained proper
relations of society contrasted to "artificial" contrivances — the
source of disharmonies and conflicts. He rejected the proto-communism
of William Thompson and Robert Owen
Robert Owen
Robert Owen was a Welsh social reformer and one of the founders of utopian socialism and the cooperative movement.Owen's philosophy was based on three intellectual pillars:...
by the same appeal to
"natural right".
In 1823 Hodgskin joined forces with Joseph Clinton Robinson in founding the "Mechanics Magazine". In the October 1823 edition Hodgskin and Francis Place wrote a manifesto for a Mechanics Institute. This would be more than a technical school but a place where practical studies could be combined with practical reflection about the condition of society. The inaugural meeting to found the Institute took place in 1823 but the idea was taken over by people of less radical views concerned about Hodgskin's unorthodox economic views including George Birkbeck
George Birkbeck
George Birkbeck was a British doctor, academic, philanthropist, pioneer in adult education and founder of Birkbeck College.-Biography:...
a well known educator from Glasgow.
Despite his high profile in the agitated revolutionary times of the 1820s, he retreated into the realm of Whig
British Whig Party
The Whigs were a party in the Parliament of England, Parliament of Great Britain, and Parliament of the United Kingdom, who contested power with the rival Tories from the 1680s to the 1850s. The Whigs' origin lay in constitutional monarchism and opposition to absolute rule...
journalism after the Reform Act 1832
Reform Act 1832
The Representation of the People Act 1832 was an Act of Parliament that introduced wide-ranging changes to the electoral system of England and Wales...
. He became an advocate of free trade
Free trade
Under a free trade policy, prices emerge from supply and demand, and are the sole determinant of resource allocation. 'Free' trade differs from other forms of trade policy where the allocation of goods and services among trading countries are determined by price strategies that may differ from...
and spent 15 years writing for The Economist
The Economist
The Economist is an English-language weekly news and international affairs publication owned by The Economist Newspaper Ltd. and edited in offices in the City of Westminster, London, England. Continuous publication began under founder James Wilson in September 1843...
. He worked on the paper with its founder James Wilson
James Wilson
James Wilson was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States and a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence. Wilson was elected twice to the Continental Congress, and was a major force in drafting the United States Constitution...
and with the young Herbert Spencer
Herbert Spencer
Herbert Spencer was an English philosopher, biologist, sociologist, and prominent classical liberal political theorist of the Victorian era....
. Hodgskin viewed the demise of the Corn Laws as the first step to the downfall of government and his libertarian anarchism was regarded as too radical by many of the liberals of the Anti-Corn Law League. He left the Economist in 1857. He continued working as a journalist for the rest of his life.