# Crosscurrents (Vol. 2 No. 3) **URL:** **Published:** September 1, 1983 --- “The great sociologist Georg Simmel had a profound interest in the problem of individual freedom.” ## Political Philosophy The revival of interest in natural rights among political philosophers continues. Highly recommended is the collection _Human Rights_ (Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1984), ed. Ellen Frankel Paul, Fred D. Miller Jr., and Jeffrey Paul. The Oxford political philosopher John Gray has expanded and rewritten his essay “F. A. Hayek and the Rebirth of Classical Liberalism,” _Literature of Liberty_, 1982, V, 4, pp. 19–101, which now appears in book form: _Hayek on Liberty_ (Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1984). The _Institut économique de Paris_ is publishing a series of books to revive the liberal tradition in France. It is translating Hayek’s _Law, Legislation and Liberty_, Robert Nozick’s _Anarchy, State and Utopia_ and reprinting some of the works of indigenous classical liberal, Frédéric Bastiat. Available so far is Bastiat’s essays _Propriété et Loi suivi de l’état_, ed. Florin Aftalion (Insitut économique de Paris, 1983) and his _Oeuvres économiques_, ed. Florin Aftalion (Paris: Presses Universitaires de France, 1983). Both are masterpieces of style and withering polemic in the cause of free trade and _laissez-faire_. John Locke continues to be reassessed by scholars. Johannes Rohbeck, “Property and Labour in the Social Philosphy of John Locke,” _History of European Ideas_ 5, 1, pp. 65–77, argues that Locke owed much to the more radical Levellers, who wrote about property during the English Revolution. A sympathetic treatment of rights is given by Terrence McConnell, “The Nature and Basis of Inalienable Rights,” _Law and Philosophy_, 1984, 3, 1, pp. 25–29. ## Legal Theory The legal philosopher Lon Fuller is the subject of a useful monograph by Robert S. Summer, _Lon Fuller_ (London: Edward Arnold, 1984). ## Economics The great liberal economist Lord Robbins, who died in 1984, will be able to influence another generation of economics students with the very welcome reprint of his classic work _An Essay on the Nature and Significance of Economic Science_ (London: Macmillan, 1984 3rd ed.), ed. William J. Baumol. Two articles in a recent issue of the _History of Political Economy_ 16, 2, 1984, are of considerable interest. Leland B. Yeager, “Henry George and Austrian Economics,” pp. 157–74, argues that there are similarities between Henry George and the Austrians (although not on the single tax issue) and Patricia J. Euzent and Thomas L. Martin, “Classical Roots of the Emerging Theory of Rent Seeking: The Contribution of Jean-Baptiste Say,” pp. 255–62, show that Say was well aware of the role of the state as a source of monopoly privilege. On the problem of whether the state (as protector of property or dispenser of privileges) creates the conditions for economic development, see Douglass C. North, “Government and the Cost of Exchange in History,” _Journal of Economic History_ XLIV, 2, 1984, pp. 255–64. The _Zeitschrift für die gesamte Staatswissenschaft_ 140, 1, 1984, is a special issue devoted to “The New Institutional Economics.” Of particular interest are the articles by Douglass B. North, “Transaction Costs, Institutions, and Economic History”; T. W. Hutchinson, “Institutionalist Economics Old and New”; and Oliver E. Williamson, “The Economics of Governance: Framework and Implications.” On the important topic of rent-seeking again, James M. Buchanan, “Rent Seeking, Noncompensated Transfers, and Laws of Succession,” _Journal of Law and Economics_ XXVI, 1, 1983, pp. 71–85. ## Feminism Two important works on nineteenth century liberal feminism have been republished by Virago Press of London. The first is a combined edition of _The Subjection of Women_ by John Stuart Mill and _Enfranchisement of Women_ by Harriet Taylor Mill (London: Virago Press, 1983), ed. Kate Soper. The second work is Harriet Martineau’s _Autobiography_ (London: Virago, 1983), 2 vols., ed. Gaby Weiner, on the life of a well-known nineteenth century popularizer of _laissez-faire_ economics. > “We deny the right of any portion of the species to decide for another portion, or any individual for another individual, what is and what is not their ‘proper sphere’” “What is wanted for women is equal rights, equal admission to all social principles; not a position apart, a sort of sentimental priesthood.” Harriet Taylor Mill ## Literature Radical liberal ideas were taken up by some famous poets and novelists like Percy Shelley, John Milton, George Eliot, and Stendahl. Shelley’s political ideas are discussed by Michael Henry Scrivener, _Radical Shelley: The Philosophical Anarchism and Utopian Thought of Percy Bysshe Shelley_ (Princeton University Press, 1982). ## History The remarkable explosion of talent which occurred in Scotland during the mid and late eighteenth century continues to attract scholars. A recent collection of essays is _Wealth and Virtue: The Shaping of Political Economy in the Scottish Enlightenment_ (Cambridge University Press, 1983), ed. Istvan Hont and Michael Ignatieff. A comprehensive collection of the most influential and important articles about Adam Smith and his seminal contribution to the Scottish Enlightenment is _Adam Smith: Critical Assessments_ (London: Croom Helm, 1984), 4 vols., ed. John Cunningham Wood. If ever there was a classical liberal heyday it was the nineteenth century in England. The broader theoretical framework in which classical liberals operated is the subject of _That Noble Science of Politics: A Study in Nineteenth-Century Intellectual History_ (Cambridge University Press, 1983), ed. Stefan Collini, Donald Winch, and John Burrow. An overview of classical liberalism appears in Anthony Arblaster, _The Rise and Decline of Western Liberalism_ (Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1984). Unfortunately, Arblaster ignores most of the radical liberal tradition that we have discussed in past issues of the _Humane Studies Review_. Marxist theorists of “dependency” have a difficult time explaining how some dependent colonial societies such as Australia, Argentina, and South Africa flourished under the colonial domination. Donald Denoon, in _Settler Capitalism: The Dynamics of Dependent Development in the Southern Hemisphere_ (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1983), shows that the absence of capitalist institutions rather than colonial dependency as such is the cause of poverty and backwardness. The rich heritage of nineteenth century French liberalism is gradually being rediscovered by scholars. The most recent work is Cheryl B. Welch, _Liberty and Utility: The French Idéologues and the Transformation of Liberalism_ (New York: Columbia University Press, 1984). A new translation of a classic essay by Ludwig von Mises is highly recommended: _Nation, State, and Economy: Contributions to the Politics and History of our Time_, trans. Leland B. Yeager (New York University Press, 1983). Jeffrey Williamson argues in a recent paper that money needed to finance the Napoleonic Wars siphoned capital away from industry and thus slowed down British economic development. See Jeffrey G. Williamson, “Why Was British Growth So Slow During the Industrial Revolution?,” _Journal of Economic History_ XLIV, 3, 1984, pp. 687–712. The way in which the State has gradually and increasingly taken over various aspects of the German economy from the late nineteenth century to the present is the subject of Gerold Ambrosius, _Der Staat als Unternehmer_ (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck und Ruprecht, 1984). The right to bear arms is a fundamental plank in the classical liberal platform of basic individual liberties. On the history of this right, see Lawrence D. Cress, “An Armed Community: The Origins and Meaning of the Right to Bear Arms,” _Journal of American History_, 1984, 71, 1, pp. 22–42. Should a historian make moral judgments? Faced with the brutality of states in the modern period it is hard not to. The great advocate of moral judgments in history was the liberal historian Lord Acton. The development of Acton’s views on this vital matter can be found in T. Murphy, “Lord Acton and the Question of Moral Judgments in History: The Development of his Position,” _Catholic Historical Review_, 1984, LXX, 2, pp. 225–50. An interesting historical, although not particularly sympathetic, treatment of the relationship between economic and political liberalism is Rudolf The Red Nosed Walther, “Economic Liberalism,” _Economy and Society_, 1984, 13, 2, pp. 178–207. > “The legal subordination of one sex to another—is wrong in itself, and now one of the chief hindrances to human improvement.” > > “Since nobody asks for protective duties and bounties in favour of women; it is only asked that the present bounties and protective duties in favour of men should be recalled.” John Stuart Mill Amazing changes in a liberal direction are taking place in Communist China. Contemporary events make the “Special Issue On China” of _Theory and Society_, 1984, 13, 3, relevant. In particular, A. Feuerwerker, “The State and the Economy in Late Imperial China,” pp. 297–326, and Mark Elvin, “Why China Failed to Create an Endogenous Industrial Capitalism: A Critique of Max Weber’s Explanation,” pp. 379–91. ## Sociology For a view of modern history which sees the expanding role of the state and its bureaucracies as the central factor we can recommend the new and expanded edition of Henry Jacoby’s _Die Bürokratisierung der Welt_ (New York and Frankfurt am Main: Campus Verlag, 1984). The great sociologist Georg Simmel had a profound interest in the problem of individual freedom. Many of his perceptive essays can be found in _Das Individuum und die Freiheit: Essais_ (Berlin: Verlag Klaus Wagenbuch, 1984). The death of French liberal sociologist Raymond Aron was a great loss to the liberal movement. A translation has appeared of an article Aron wrote about one of his great liberal mentors, Élie Halévy, who is most famous for his multi-volume history of England and for the collection of essays, _The Era of Tyrannies: Essays on Socialism and War_, trans. R. K. Webb (New York University Press, 1966). See Aron’s “Elie Halévy,” _Government and Opposition_, 1984, 19, 4, pp. 407–22. ## War and Peace A useful encyclopedia of pacifist ideas and movements in the German speaking lands of Europe is _Die Friedensbewegung: Organisierter Pazifismus in Deutschland, Österreich und in der Schweiz_ (Düsseldorf: ECON Taschenbuch Verlag, 1983), ed. Helmut Donat and Karl Holl. A central theme of the _Humane Studies Review_ is the total opposition of classical liberalism and all forms of militarism. An excellent short book about the development of the idea of “militarism,” with a guide to the massive literature, is V. R. Berghahn, _Militarism: The History of an International Debate 1861–1979_ (Cambridge University Press, 1984). A one-volume history of the various peace movements in American history, showing their continuity and interrelationships, is Charles DeBenedetti, _The Peace Reform in American History_ (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1984).