J.A. Hobson
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John Atkinson Hobson (6 July 1858 – 1 April 1940) was an English economist and social scientist. Hobson is best known for his writing on
imperialism Imperialism is the state policy, practice, or advocacy of extending power and dominion, especially by direct territorial acquisition or by gaining political and economic control of other areas, often through employing hard power (economic and ...
, which influenced Vladimir Lenin, and his theory of underconsumption. His principal and earliest contribution to economics was the theory of underconsumption, a scathing criticism of Say's law and classical economics' emphasis on thrift. However, this discredited Hobson among the professional economics community from which he was ultimately excluded. Other early work critiqued the classical theory of rent and anticipated the Neoclassical "marginal productivity" theory of distribution. After covering the Second Boer War as a correspondent for '' The Manchester Guardian'', he condemned British involvement in the war and characterised it as acting under the influence of mine owners. In a series of books, he explored the associations between imperialism and international conflict and asserted that imperial expansion is driven by a search for new markets and investment opportunities overseas. Commentaries on Hobson have noted the presence of
antisemitic Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...
language and themes in his work, especially in his writing on the Boer War. Later, he argued that maldistribution of income resulted, through oversaving and underconsumption, in unemployment and that the remedy was in eradicating the "surplus" by the redistribution of income by taxation and the nationalization of monopolies. He opposed the First World War and advocated the formation of a world political body to prevent wars. Following the war, he became a reformist socialist.


Life


Early life

Hobson was born in Derby, the son of William Hobson, "a rather prosperous newspaper proprietor", and Josephine Atkinson. He was the brother of the mathematician Ernest William Hobson. He studied at Derby School and
Lincoln College, Oxford Lincoln College (formally, The College of the Blessed Mary and All Saints, Lincoln) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford, situated on Turl Street in central Oxford. Lincoln was founded in 1427 by Richard Fleming, the ...
and, after his graduation, taught classics and English literature at schools in Faversham and
Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...
.


Early career

When Hobson relocated to London in 1887, England was in the midst of a major economic depression. While classical economics was at a loss to explain the vicious business cycles, London had many societies that proposed alternatives. While living in London, Hobson was exposed to the Social Democrats and
H.M. Hyndman Henry Mayers Hyndman (; 7 March 1842 – 20 November 1921) was an English writer, politician and socialist. Originally a conservative, he was converted to socialism by Karl Marx's ''Communist Manifesto'' and launched Britain's first left-wing ...
,
Christian Socialists Christian socialism is a religious and political philosophy that blends Christianity and socialism, endorsing left-wing politics and socialist economics on the basis of the Bible and the teachings of Jesus. Many Christian socialists believe capi ...
, and Henry George's Single-tax system. He befriended several of the prominent
Fabians The Fabian Society is a British socialist organisation whose purpose is to advance the principles of social democracy and democratic socialism via gradualist and reformist effort in democracies, rather than by revolutionary overthrow. The Fab ...
who would found the London School of Economics, some of whom he had known at Oxford. However, none of these groups proved persuasive enough for Hobson; rather it was his collaboration with a friend, the businessman and mountain climber
Albert F. Mummery Albert Frederick Mummery (10 September 1855, Dover, Kent, England – 24 August 1895, Nanga Parbat), was an English mountaineer and author. Although most notable for his many and varied first ascents put up in the Alps, Mummery, along with ...
, that would produce Hobson's contribution to economics: the theory of underconsumption. First described by Mummery and Hobson in the book ''Physiology of Industry'' (1889), underconsumption was a scathing criticism of Say's law and
classical economics Classical economics, classical political economy, or Smithian economics is a school of thought in political economy that flourished, primarily in Britain, in the late 18th and early-to-mid 19th century. Its main thinkers are held to be Adam Smith ...
' emphasis on thrift. The forwardness of the book's conclusions discredited Hobson among the professional economics community. Ultimately he was excluded from the academic community. During the very late 19th century, his works included ''Problems of Poverty'' (1891), ''Evolution of Modern Capitalism ''(1894), ''Problem of the Unemployed'' (1896) and ''John Ruskin: Social Reformer'' (1898). They developed Hobson's critique of the classical theory of rent and his proposed generalization anticipated the Neoclassical " marginal productivity" theory of
distribution Distribution may refer to: Mathematics *Distribution (mathematics), generalized functions used to formulate solutions of partial differential equations * Probability distribution, the probability of a particular value or value range of a vari ...
.


Boer War and imperialism

Soon after this period Hobson was recruited by the editor of the newspaper ''The Manchester Guardian'' to be their South African correspondent. During his coverage of the Second Boer War, Hobson began to form the idea that
imperialism Imperialism is the state policy, practice, or advocacy of extending power and dominion, especially by direct territorial acquisition or by gaining political and economic control of other areas, often through employing hard power (economic and ...
was the direct result of the expanding forces of modern capitalism. He believed the mine owners, led by
Cecil Rhodes Cecil John Rhodes (5 July 1853 – 26 March 1902) was a British mining magnate and politician in southern Africa who served as Prime Minister of the Cape Colony from 1890 to 1896. An ardent believer in British imperialism, Rhodes and his Br ...
, wanted control of the
Transvaal Transvaal is a historical geographic term associated with land north of (''i.e.'', beyond) the Vaal River in South Africa. A number of states and administrative divisions have carried the name Transvaal. * South African Republic (1856–1902; af, ...
. Accordingly, he believed they manipulated the British into fighting the Boers so that they could maximize their profits from mining. His return to England was marked by his strong condemnation of the conflict. His publications during the next few years demonstrated an exploration of the associations between imperialism and international conflict. These works included ''War in South Africa'' (1900) and ''Psychology of Jingoism'' (1901). In what is arguably his magnum opus, ''
Imperialism Imperialism is the state policy, practice, or advocacy of extending power and dominion, especially by direct territorial acquisition or by gaining political and economic control of other areas, often through employing hard power (economic and ...
'' (1902), he espoused the opinion that imperial expansion is driven by a search for new markets and investment opportunities overseas. ''Imperialism'' gained Hobson an international reputation, and influenced such notable thinkers as Vladimir Lenin and Leon Trotsky, and
Hannah Arendt Hannah Arendt (, , ; 14 October 1906 – 4 December 1975) was a political philosopher, author, and Holocaust survivor. She is widely considered to be one of the most influential political theorists of the 20th century. Arendt was born ...
's '' The Origins of Totalitarianism'' (1951). In a 1902 ''Political Science Quarterly'' article, Hobson challenged numerous moral justifications for imperialism, including the notion that "less efficient" races benefitted from subordination to "more efficient" races. Hobson wrote for several other journals before writing his next major work, ''The Industrial System'' (1909). In this tract he argued that maldistribution of income resulted, through oversaving and underconsumption, in unemployment and that the remedy was in eradicating the "surplus" by the
redistribution of income Redistribution of income and wealth is the transfer of income and wealth (including physical property) from some individuals to others through a social mechanism such as taxation, welfare, public services, land reform, monetary policies, confis ...
by taxation and the nationalization of monopolies.


First World War and later career

Hobson's opposition to the First World War caused him to join the Union of Democratic Control. His advocacy for the formation of a world political body to prevent wars can be found in his piece ''Towards International Government'' (1914). However, he became staunchly opposed to the League of Nations. In 1919, Hobson joined the Independent Labour Party. This was soon followed by writings for socialist publications such as the ''New Leader'', the ''Socialist Review'' and the '' New Statesman''. During this period it became clear that Hobson favoured capitalist reformation over communist revolution. He was critical of the Labour Government elected in 1929. Hobson's autobiography ''Confessions of an Economic Heretic'' was published in 1938.


Commentary on Hobson


Critical appraisal

R. H. Tawney Richard Henry Tawney (30 November 1880 – 16 January 1962) was an English economic historian, social critic, ethical socialist,Noel W. Thompson. ''Political economy and the Labour Party: the economics of democratic socialism, 1884-2005''. 2nd e ...
wrote the following in ''
The Acquisitive Society ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...
'' (1920):
The greater part of modern property has been attenuated to a pecuniary lien or bond on the product of industry which carries with it a right to payment, but which is normally valued precisely because it relieves the owner from any obligation to perform a positive or constructive function. Such property may be called passive property, or property for acquisition, for exploitation, or for power.... It is questionable, however, whether economists shall call it "Property" at all, and not rather, as Mr. Hobson has suggested, "Improperty," since it is not identical with the rights which secure the owner the produce of his toil, but is opposite of them.
V.I. Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 19 ...
, in '' Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism'' (1916)—which was probably his most influential work on later Marxian scholarship—made use of Hobson's ''
Imperialism Imperialism is the state policy, practice, or advocacy of extending power and dominion, especially by direct territorial acquisition or by gaining political and economic control of other areas, often through employing hard power (economic and ...
'' extensively, remarking in the preface "I made use of the principal English work, ''Imperialism'', J. A. Hobson's book, with all the care that, in my opinion, that work deserves." In the work itself—despite disagreeing with Hobson's liberal politics—Lenin repeatedly cites Hobson's interpretation of imperialism approvingly; for example:
We see that Kautsky, while claiming that he continues to advocate Marxism, as a matter of fact takes a step backward compared with the social-liberal Hobson, who more correctly takes into account two "historically concrete" ... features of modern imperialism: (1) the competition between several imperialisms, and (2) the predominance of the financier over the merchant.
Historians
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and
Lewis H. Gann Lewis Henry Gann (1924–1997) was an American historian, political scientist and archivist. He was particularly known for his research in African history and specialized in the history of Central Africa in colonial era, writing a number of work ...
argue that Hobson had an enormous influence in the early 20th century among people all around the world:
Hobson's ideas were not entirely original; however his hatred of moneyed men and monopolies, his loathing of secret compacts and public bluster, fused all existing indictments of imperialism into one coherent system....His ideas influenced German nationalist opponents of the British Empire as well as French Anglophobes and Marxists; they colored the thoughts of American liberals and isolationist critics of colonialism. In days to come they were to contribute to American distrust of Western Europe and of the British Empire. Hobson helped make the British averse to the exercise of colonial rule; he provided indigenous nationalists in Asia and Africa with the ammunition to resist rule from Europe.
Later historians attacked Hobson and the
Marxist Marxism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a Materialism, materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand S ...
theories of imperialism he influenced. Notably, John Gallagher and Ronald Robinson in their 1953 article '' The Imperialism of Free Trade'' argued that Hobson placed too much emphasis on the role of formal empire and directly ruled colonial possessions, not taking into account the significance of trading power, political influence and informal imperialism. They also argued that the difference in British foreign policy that Hobson observed between the mid-19th-century indifference to empire that accompanied free market economics, and the later intense imperialism after 1870, was not real. Hobson believed "colonial primitive peoples" were inferior. In ''Imperialism'' he advocated their "gradual elimination" by an international organization: "A rational
stirpiculture The stirpiculture experiment at the Oneida Community was the first positive eugenics experiment in American history, resulting in the planned conception, birth and rearing of 58 children. The experiment lasted from 1869–1879. It was not c ...
in the wide social interest might, however, require a repression of the spread of degenerate or unprogressive races". Such a plan should be implemented, according to Hobson, following approval by an "international political organization".Imperialism and the Anti-Imperialist Mind
1989, Transaction Publishers,
Lewis Samuel Feuer Lewis Samuel Feuer (December 7, 1912 – November 24, 2002) was an American sociologist. Initially a committed Marxist, he became a neo-conservative. Life Feuer was born in Manhattan, grew up on the Lower East Side, and attended DeWitt Clinton ...
, page 150
While it can be said the 1902 work reflected the Social Darwinism trend of the time, Hobson left this section mainly unchanged when he published the third edition in 1938.


Antisemitism

Hobson's early works were critical of the impact of Jewish immigration and Jewish financiers.New Liberalism, Old Prejudices: J. A. Hobson and the "Jewish Question"
John Allett Jewish Social Studies Vol. 49, No. 2 (Spring, 1987), pp. 99–114
Doctrines Of Development
M. P. Cowen, Routledge, page 259, quote:"Rampant anti-Semitism should be recognized, not least because it is John A. Hobson, one of the most rabid anti-Semites of the period, who is the inspiration, alongside Schumpeter and Veblen, for...
The Information Nexus: Global Capitalism from the Renaissance to the Present
Cambridge University Press, Steven G. Marks, page 10, quote: "And in England, the Social Democratic Federation newspaper Justice state that "the Jew financier" was the "personification of international capitalism" - an opinion repeated in the anti-Semitic diatribes of John A. Hobson, the socialist writer who wrote one of the earliest English books with "capitalism" in the title and helped to familiarize Britons with the concept"
In the 1890s he argued that large scale Jewish immigration from the Russian Partition to Western Europe harmed the interests of native workers and advocated limitations on immigration. Writing on the South African war in ''War in South Africa'' (1900), he linked the impetus towards war to "Jew Power" in South Africa and saw Johannesburg as a "New Jerusalem". Hobson wrote that " Jewish financiers", whom he saw as "parasites", manipulated the British government that danced to their "diabolical tune". According to history professor Norman Etherington, the section on financiers in ''Imperialism'' seems irrelevant to Hobson's economic discourse, and was probably included since Hobson truly believed it.Theories of Imperialism (Routledge Revivals): War, Conquest and Capital
Routledge, 1984, Norman Etherington, page 70
Hobson was innovative in tying between 1898 and 1902 the concept of modernity, empire, and Jews together; according to Hobson, the international financiers influenced the government partially through Jewish press ownership in South Africa and London.Feldman, David. "Jews and the British Empire c. 1900." History Workshop Journal. Vol. 63. No. 1. Oxford University Press, 2007.
/ref> Hobson's analysis was widely disseminated by those opposed to the war and received significant attention. Other contemporary anti-war writers also alleged a mainly Jewish "capitalist conspiracy" was taking place. Following Hobson's January 1900 article ''Capitalism and Imperialism in South Africa'', Labour leader Keir Hardie in February 1900 repeated the same message in paraphrased form accusing "half a dozen financial houses, many of them Jewish" of leading the UK to war. However, as the British working class tended to support the war in South Africa, Hobson's zeal in attacking "Jew Power" in South Africa and manipulation by a secret "racial confederacy" failed to attract popular support in Britain, though "anti-Alien" sentiments continued to be an issue. On the European continent, "the alleged "robbery committed by international Jewry" was invariably linked to continental antisemites (especially on the Right) with British imperialist piracy against the "plucky Boers" fighting for self-determination"."


Book-length works

*
The Physiology of Industry
' (written with
Albert F. Mummery Albert Frederick Mummery (10 September 1855, Dover, Kent, England – 24 August 1895, Nanga Parbat), was an English mountaineer and author. Although most notable for his many and varied first ascents put up in the Alps, Mummery, along with ...
) (1889). *
Problems of Poverty
' (1891). *
Evolution of Modern Capitalism
' (1894). *
Problem of the Unemployed
' (1896). *
John Ruskin: Social Reformer
' (1898). *
The Economics of Distribution
' (1900). *
The War in South Africa: Its Causes and Effects
' (1900). *
Capitalism and Imperialism in South Africa
' (1900) *
Psychology of Jingoism
' (1901). *
The Social Problem: Life and Work
' (1901). * ''
Imperialism Imperialism is the state policy, practice, or advocacy of extending power and dominion, especially by direct territorial acquisition or by gaining political and economic control of other areas, often through employing hard power (economic and ...
br> a Study''
(1902)Also available at Google Books
J.A. Hobson: ''Imperialism, A Study''
Cambridge University Press, 2011.
*
International Trade
' (1904). *
Canada Today
' (1906). * ''The Crisis of Liberalism'' (1909). *
The Industrial System
' (1909). * ''A Modern Outlook'' (1910). *
The Science of Wealth
' (1911). * ''An Economic Interpretation of Investment'' (1911). * ''Industrial Unrest'' (1912). * ''The German Panic'' (1913). * ''Gold, Prices and Wages'' (1913). *
Work and Wealth, A Human Valuation
' (1914). * ''Traffic in Treason, A Study in Political Parties'' (1914). *
Towards International Government
' (1915). * ''Western Civilization'' (1915). *
The New Protectionism
' (1916). * ''Labour and the Costs of War'' (1916). * ''Democracy after the War'' (1917). * ''Forced Labor'' (1917). *

' (1917/1918). *
Taxation in the New State
' (1919). *
Richard Cobden: The International Man
' (1919). * ''The Obstacles to Economic Recovery in Europe'' (1920). *
The Morals of Economic Internationalism
' (1920) * ''The Economics of Restoration'' (1921). *
Problems of a New World
' (1921). *
Work and Wealth: a Human Valuation
' (1921) * ''Incentives in the New Industrial Order'' (1922). * ''The Economics of Unemployment'' (1922). * ''Notes on Law and Order'' (1926). * ''The Living Wage (with
H. N. Brailsford Henry Noel Brailsford (25 December 1873 – 23 March 1958) was the most prolific British left-wing journalist of the first half of the 20th century. A founding member of the Men's League for Women's Suffrage in 1907, he resigned from his job a ...
, A. Creech Jones, E.F. Wise)'' (1926). * ''The Conditions of Industrial Peace'' (1927). * ''Wealth and Life'' (1929). * ''Economics and Ethics'' (1929) * ''Rationalisation and Unemployment'' (1930). * ''God and Mammon'' (1931). * ''Poverty in Plenty'' (1931). * ''L.T. Hobhouse, His Life and Work'' (1931). * ''The Recording Angel'' (1932). * ''Saving and Spending: Why Production is Clogged'' (1932). * ''From Capitalism to Socialism'' (1932). * ''Rationalism and Humanism'' (1933). * ''Democracy and a Changing Civilization'' (1934). * ''Veblen'' (1936). * ''Property and Improperty'' (1937). * ''Le Sens de la responsibilité dans la vie sociale (with Herman Finer and Hanna Mentor)'' (1938). * ''Confessions of an Economic Heretic'' (1938).


See also

*
Theories of New Imperialism Imperialism is the state policy, practice, or advocacy of extending power and dominion, especially by direct territorial acquisition or by gaining political and economic control of other areas, often through employing hard power (economic and ...
for an account of Hobson's theories on imperialism.


References and sources

;References ;Sources * Simkin, John. "J. A. Hobson". * Allett, John "New Liberalism: The Political Economy of J. A. Hobson" * Claeys, Gregory. ''Imperial Sceptics. British Critics of Empire 1850-1920'' (2010) Cambridge University Press. Ch. 3. * ''Hobson, John Atkinson (1858–1940), social theorist and economist'' by Michael Freeden in Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (2004) * Donald Markwell, ''John Maynard Keynes and International Relations: Economic Paths to War and Peace'', Oxford University Press (2006). * Keynes, John Maynard,
The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money ''The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money'' is a book by English economist John Maynard Keynes published in February 1936. It caused a profound shift in economic thought, giving macroeconomics a central place in economic theory and ...
(1936) Macmillan & Co. * Hobson is also referred to in the song "Light Pollution" by popular American folk band Bright Eyes which opens with the lines "John A. Hobson was a good man, he used to lend me books and mic stands, he even got me a subscription to the socialist review."


External links

* *
http://www.spartacus-educational.com/TUhobson.htm


Key site for Hobson texts, including the full text of ''Imperialism''. * Excerpts from ''Imperialism''



(1902) {{DEFAULTSORT:Hobson, John A. 1858 births 1940 deaths Alumni of Lincoln College, Oxford People educated at Derby School English economists British anti-capitalists British socialists People from Derby Imperialism studies Antisemitism in the United Kingdom The Guardian journalists War correspondents of the Second Boer War English war correspondents