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Visible Hands: The Earl Of Lauderdale's Political Economy In The History Of Economic Thought, Michael Alvis

Pomona Senior Theses

This thesis examines the political economy of James Maitland, 8th Earl of Lauderdale (1759-1839), a Scottish peer. Using Lauderdale's notes on Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations, his 1804 book An Inquiry into the Nature and Origins of Public Wealth, and his debate with Henry Brougham in the Edinburgh Review, the thesis argues that Lauderdale pushed the field of political economy in a direction more focused on public welfare and anticipated problems that would later be tackled by the marginal utility theorists of the late 19th century.