The Principles of Political Economy

Henry Sidgwick, (1838–1900), philosopher, classicist, lecturer and fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge, and supporter of women's university education, is well known for his Method of Ethics (1874), a significant and influential book on moral theory. First published in 1883, this work considers the role the state plays (and ought to play) in economic life, and whether economics should be considered an Art or a Science. Sidgwick applies his utilitarian views to economics, defending John Stuart Mill's 1848 treatise of the same name. The book calls for a return to traditional political economy by eliminating 'needless polemics'. Sidgwick also outlines the need to bridge the gap between his analytical or deductive method and the inductive method employed by Mill's critics, the new generation of economic philosophers including John Elliot Cairnes and William Stanley Jevons. The second edition, reissued here, was published in 1887.

Preface; Introduction; 1. The present state of economic controversy in England and the special aim of the present work; 2. The scope of political economy; 3. The method of economic science; Book I. Production: 1. The theory of production; 2. The definition and measure of value; 3. Wealth; 4. Causes of variations in production; 5. Capital; 6. Laws of production; Book II. Distribution and Exchange: 1. Introduction; 2. Theory of exchange value or material commodities; 3. Theory of international values; 4. Definition of money; 5. Value of money; 6. Interest; 7. Rent; 8. The remuneration of labour; 9. Particular wages and profits; 10. Monopoly and combination; 11. Transient and local variation in distribution; 12. Custom; Book III. The Art of Political Economy: 1. The art of political economy, as here treated, consists mainly of the theory of what ought to be done by government to improve production or distribution, and to provide for governmental expenditure; 2. The system of natural liberty considered in relation to production; 3. The relations of government to industry; 4. Important cases of governmental interference to promote production; 5. Protection; 6. The principles of distributive justice; 7. Economic distribution; 8. Public finance; 9. Political economy and private morality.

Written by Cambridge philosopher and economist Henry Sidgwick (1838-1900), this work defends the utilitarian convictions of John Stuart Mill against a newer, more radical generation of economic philosophers. The book was first published in 1883; the second edition, reissued here, was published in 1887.