Pure Versus Eclectic Utilitarianism: The Writings of Bastiat and Mill
Author(s)
Hunt, E. K.
Abstract
In the early nineteenth century, conservatives had to confront the growing challenge posed by the rise of socialist ideas and the expanding influence of the labor theory of value. As this article explains, the leading utilitarians of the day offered two different responses, leading to two distinct schools of economic thought. One response, by Frederick Bastiat, was to defend the utilitarian foundation of laissez-faire capitalism, and to deny the need for an alternative theory of value. The other response, by John Stuart Mill, was to integrate the labor theory of value with an eclectic, reformist utilitarianism. Bastiat’s route established a foundation for the later Austrian and Chicago schools, while Mill’s alternative paved the way for Marshallian neoclassical economics.
