The Political Economy Club is the world's oldest economics association founded by

James Mill James Mill (born James Milne; 6 April 1773 – 23 June 1836) was a Scottish historian, economist, political theorist, and philosopher. He is counted among the founders of the Ricardian school of economics. He also wrote ''The History of Brit ...

and a circle of friends in 1821 in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, for the purpose of coming to an agreement on the fundamental principles of

political economy Political economy is the study of how Macroeconomics, economic systems (e.g. Marketplace, markets and Economy, national economies) and Politics, political systems (e.g. law, Institution, institutions, government) are linked. Widely studied ph ...

David Ricardo David Ricardo (18 April 1772 – 11 September 1823) was a British Political economy, political economist. He was one of the most influential of the Classical economics, classical economists along with Thomas Robert Malthus, Thomas Malthus, Ad ...

Thomas Malthus Thomas Robert Malthus (; 13/14 February 1766 – 29 December 1834) was an English cleric, scholar and influential economist in the fields of political economy and demography. In his 1798 book '' An Essay on the Principle of Population'', Mal ...

(the only one holding an academic post at the time), and Robert Torrens were among the original luminaries. In the early 19th century there were no academic societies or professional associations for

economists An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this field there are ...

. The Political Economy Club was a way to establish a scientific community, test ideas, and provide peer review for their work. Despite its closed nature (limited to 30 members as proposed by James Mill), the Political Economy Club was a domineering influence in 19th C. economics. But its exclusivity prevented it from becoming a wider association for economists. That role was filled by Section F of the BAAS (founded1832), the Statistical Society of London (f.1834), the Cobden Club (f.1866) and finally the British Economic Association (f.1890).

History

The club was founded in 1821 and supported

free trade Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. It can also be understood as the free market idea applied to international trade. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold econo ...

. On 18 April 1821, Swinton Holand held the first meeting at his house. A second larger meeting was held at

Freemasons' Tavern The Freemasons' Tavern was established in 1775 at 61-65 Great Queen Street in the West End of London. It served as a meeting place for a variety of notable organisations from the 18th century until it was demolished in 1909 to make way for the ...

, London on 30 April. The club now meets on a monthly basis in

Brooks's Brooks's is a gentlemen's club in St James's Street, London. It is one of the oldest and most exclusive gentlemen's clubs in the world. History In January 1762, a private society was established at 50 Pall Mall by Messrs. Boothby and James ...

to hear papers presented by members of the club and a discussion over dinner.

Discussions

The participants soon found substantial difficulties in formulating and reaching agreement on their fundamental propositions. Ricardo felt that none of their views was safe from criticism. Reflecting on their theoretical discussions in 1823, Ricardo privately expressed his famous opinion about the "non-existence of any measure of absolute value."

Members

Notable members include:

, Colonel Thomas Moody, Kt., Robert Torrens,

Thomas Tooke Thomas Tooke (; 28 February 177426 February 1858) was an English economist known for writing on money and economic statistics. After Tooke's death the Statistical Society endowed the Tooke Chair of economics at King's College London, and a Tooke ...

John Stuart Mill John Stuart Mill (20 May 1806 – 7 May 1873) was an English philosopher, political economist, Member of Parliament (MP) and civil servant. One of the most influential thinkers in the history of classical liberalism, he contributed widely to ...

John Ramsey McCulloch John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

Nassau Senior Nassau William Senior (; 26 September 1790 – 4 June 1864), was an English lawyer known as an economist. He was also a government adviser over several decades on economic and social policy on which he wrote extensively. Early life He was born ...

John Elliott Cairnes John Elliott Cairnes (26 December 1823 – 8 July 1875) was an Republic of Ireland, Irish-born political economist. He has been described as the "last of the classical economists". Biography John Cairnes was born at Castlebellingham, County L ...

, Henry Fawcett,

William Newmarch William Newmarch (28 January 182023 March 1882) was an English banker, economist and statistician. Life Born at Thirsk, Yorkshire, Newmarch went to school in York; as a young man, he held posts as a clerk there. A clerk for a stamp distributor, ...

Samuel Jones-Loyd, 1st Baron Overstone Samuel Jones-Loyd, 1st Baron Overstone (25 September 1796 – 17 November 1883) was a British banker and politician. Background and education Loyd was the only son of the Rev. Lewis Loyd and Sarah, daughter of John Jones, a Manchester banker. H ...

Jane Marcet Jane Marcet (née Haldimand) (1 January 1769 – 28 June 1858) was an English salonnière of Swiss origin, and an innovative writer of popular, explanatory science books. She also broke ground with ''Conversations on Political Economy'' (1816 ...

, George Warde Norman,

William Blake William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of the poetry and visual art of the Romantic Age. ...

Walter Coulson Walter Coulson (1795 – 1860) was an English newspaper editor, barrister, writer and associate of Jeremy Bentham. He served as Parliamentary reporter on the ''Morning Chronicle'' and was the editor of the evening paper ''The Traveller''. Life ...

, George Pryme, George R. Porter, William T. Thornton,

Walter Bagehot Walter Bagehot ( ; 3 February 1826 – 24 March 1877) was an English journalist, businessman, and essayist, who wrote extensively about government, economics, literature and race. He is known for co-founding the ''National Review'' in 1855 ...

, and

Jean-Baptiste Say Jean-Baptiste Say (; 5 January 1767 – 15 November 1832) was a liberal French economist and businessman who argued in favor of competition, free trade and lifting restraints on business. He is best known for Say's law—also known as the law of ...

. Later:

William Stanley Jevons William Stanley Jevons (; 1 September 183513 August 1882) was an English economist and logician. Irving Fisher described Jevons's book ''A General Mathematical Theory of Political Economy'' (1862) as the start of the mathematical method in ec ...

Thomas Edward Cliffe Leslie Thomas Edward Cliffe Leslie (21 June 182527 January 1882) was an Irish jurist and economist. He was professor of jurisprudence and political economy in Queen's College, Belfast, noted for challenging the Wages-Fund doctrine and for addressing ...

, Walter Coulson, Robert Mushet,

Henry Parnell Henry Brooke Parnell, 1st Baron Congleton PC (3 July 1776 – 8 June 1842), known as Sir Henry Parnell, Bt, from 1812 to 1841, was an Irish writer and Whig politician. He was a member of the Whig administrations headed by Lord Grey and Lord ...

, James Pennington, John Horsley Palmer, and

Thomas Perronet Thompson Thomas Perronet Thompson (1783–1869) was a British Parliamentarian, a governor of Sierra Leone and a radical reformer. He became prominent in 1830s and 1840s as a leading activist in the Anti-Corn Law League. He specialized in the grass-root ...

. Others were drawn from outside the ranks of economists, including G. G. de Larpent, George John Shaw-Lefevre, John Abel Smith,

Henry Warburton Henry Warburton (12 November 1784 – 16 September 1858) was an English merchant and politician, and also an enthusiastic amateur scientist. Elected as Member of Parliament for Bridport, Dorset, in the 1826 general election, he held the seat fo ...

Lord Althorp John Charles Spencer, 3rd Earl Spencer, (30 May 1782 – 1 October 1845), styled Viscount Althorp from 1783 to 1834, was a British statesman A statesman or stateswoman typically is a politician who has had a long and respected political care ...

, William Whitmore, W. B. Baring, Poulett Thomson, Sir Robert Wilmot-Horton, Lord Monteagle, Charles Hay Cameron,

James Deacon Hume James Deacon Hume (1774 – 1842) was an English official, an economic writer and advocate of free trade. Life The son of James Hume, a commissioner and afterwards secretary of the customs, he was born at Newington, Surrey, on 28 April 1774, and ...

George Grote George Grote (; 17 November 1794 – 18 June 1871) was an English political radical and classical historian. He is now best known for his major work, the voluminous ''History of Greece''. Early life George Grote was born at Clay Hill near B ...

, James Morrison,

Edwin Chadwick Sir Edwin Chadwick KCB (24 January 18006 July 1890) was an English social reformer who is noted for his leadership in reforming the Poor Laws in England and instituting major reforms in urban sanitation and public health. A disciple of Uti ...

Sir Robert Giffen Sir Robert Giffen (22 July 1837 – 12 April 1910) was a Scottish statistician and economist. Life Giffen was born at Strathaven, Lanarkshire. He entered a solicitor's office in Glasgow, and while in that city attended courses at the uni ...

Charles Buller Charles Buller (6 August 1806 – 29 November 1848) was a British barrister, politician and reformer. Background and education Born in Calcutta, British India, Buller was the son of Charles Buller (1774–1848), a member of a well-known Corn ...

, and Sir William Clay. Significant elections after 1840 include

Robert Lowe Robert Lowe, 1st Viscount Sherbrooke, GCB, PC (4 December 1811 – 27 July 1892), British statesman, was a pivotal conservative spokesman who helped shape British politics in the latter half of the 19th century. He held office under William E ...

, Sir G. C. Lewis,

Rowland Hill Sir Rowland Hill, KCB, FRS (3 December 1795 – 27 August 1879) was an English teacher, inventor and social reformer. He campaigned for a comprehensive reform of the postal system, based on the concept of Uniform Penny Post and his soluti ...

, Stafford Northcote, George J. Goschen,

William Ewart Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-conse ...

, and W. E. Forster.

Current members include

Honorary members ex officio: (limited to six from the following list)

The 19 founding members of the Political Economy Club (1821)

Bicentenary Essay Competition

To celebrate the PEC's bicentennial, an open international essay competition was announced in 2020 for the 2021 year. Candidates were asked to choose one of two titles. These were: # "How relevant are the ideas of Malthus and Ricardo respectively to today’s issues of climate change (is this an example of Malthusian limits?) and of limits to markets (is globalisation with free trade and free capital movements an unmixed blessing?)?" # "With UK real income per head up 15 times over the past 200 years and more evenly distributed, will this be repeated over the next 200 years? – and if not, why not?"

References

Publications

* J. R. McCulloch, ''Early English Tracts on Commerce.'' London: Political Economy Club (1856); Cambridge University Press, 1954. * Political Economy Club, ''Revised Report of the Proceedings at the Dinner of 31 May 1876, Held in Celebration of the Hundredth Year of the Publication of the “Wealth of Nations”'' London: Longmans, Green, Reader & Dyer (1876). * Political Economy Club : founded in London, 1821 : minutes of proceedings, 1899–1920, roll of members and questions discussed, 1821–1920 with documents bearing on the history of the club. Macmillan and Co., (1921) {{ History of economic thought Classical economics

Economic thought Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analyzes ...

Economic history of the United Kingdom Political economy 1821 establishments in the United Kingdom Think tanks based in the United Kingdom