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Mill’S Fourth Fundamental Proposition On Capital: A Paradox Explained, Steven Kates

Steven Kates

John Stuart Mill’s Fourth Proposition on Capital, first stated in 1848, had become an enigma well before the nineteenth century had come to an end. Described in 1876 as “the best test of a sound economist” and never challenged in Mill’s own lifetime, it is now a statement that not only fails to find others in agreement but fails even to find an internally consistent interpretation that would make clear why Mill found it of such fundamental importance. Yet the fourth proposition should be easily understood as a continuation and extension of the General Glut debate. Economists led by Malthus …