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"Adopting a view of utilitarian ethics in which motivation in the public interest takes on greater weight than is generally appreciated, this book explores the extent to which the philosophy of Immanuel Kant is consistent with this nuanced version of utilitarianism. Kant's requirement that full ethical merit needs an agent to act purely 'from duty' to forward 'the universal end of happiness' rather than from a personal inclination to achieve that end clearly distinguishes his position from the version of utilitarian ethics adopted here. But this book also argues that Kant's approval of a secondary category of conduct - conduct 'in conformity with' duty - entailing other-regarding or 'sympathetic' motivation to advance general happiness, differs from the utilitarian position only in its meriting a qualified degree of ethical credit. After comparing Kant's position with those of eighteenth-century utilitarian writers from Locke to Bentham, the book evaluates reactions to Kant by J.S. Mill and Karl Marx and proposes Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592) as a 'precursor' for maintaining a 'Kantian' doctrine of conduct 'from duty' and for other shared features. In terms of public policy, the work demonstrates Kant's justification of poor relief and reduced inequality, his proposal for a state education plan, and his opposition to paternalism. This book provides essential reading for academic specialists and students concerned with the interface of political economy and ethics, as well as the history of economic thought, political economy, history of ethics, history of political thought and intellectual history. Samuel Hollander is University Professor Emeritus at the University of Toronto, Canada, and an Officer in the Order of Canada"--

"Adopting a view of utilitarian ethics in which motivation in the public interest takes on greater weight than is generally appreciated, this book explores the extent to which the philosophy of Immanuel Kant is consistent with this nuanced version of utilitarianism. Kant's requirement that full ethical merit needs an agent to act purely 'from duty' to forward 'the universal end of happiness' rather than from a personal inclination to achieve that end clearly distinguishes his position from the version of utilitarian ethics adopted here. But this book also argues that Kant's approval of a secondary category of conduct - conduct 'in conformity with' duty - entailing other-regarding or 'sympathetic' motivation to advance general happiness, differs from the utilitarian position only in its meriting a qualified degree of ethical credit. After comparing Kant's position with those of eighteenth-century utilitarian writers from Locke to Bentham, the book evaluates reactions to Kant by J.S. Mill and Karl Marx and proposes Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592) as a 'precursor' for maintaining a 'Kantian' doctrine of conduct 'from duty' and for other shared features. In terms of public policy, the work demonstrates Kant's justification of poor relief and reduced inequality, his proposal for a state education plan, and his opposition to paternalism. This book provides essential reading for academic specialists and students concerned with the interface of political economy and ethics, as well as the history of economic thought, political economy, history of ethics, history of political thought and intellectual history. Samuel Hollander is University Professor Emeritus at the University of Toronto, Canada, and an Officer in the Order of Canada"--

John Locke, utilitarian ethics and the moral sense -- Lord Shaftesbury, utilitarian ethics and the moral sense -- Two Shaftesbury critics: Bernard Mandeville and John Brown -- Francis Hutcheson and the Hutcheson-Locke relation -- David Hume, utilitarian ethics, the moral sense and distributive justice -- C.A. Helvétius and David Hartley: utilitarian ethics and the moral sense -- Utilitarian ethics in the theory of moral sentiments -- Utilitarian ethics and distributive justice in the wealth of nations -- Bentham, utilitarian ethics and distributive justice -- Bentham in relation to Locke and the eighteenth-century literature -- Malthus and the utilitarians -- Malthus, distributive justice and the equality issue -- Mill, distributive justice and reform -- Mill, ethical progress and personal liberty -- Mill and the moral sense: the return to Bentham (and Hutcheson).

Samuel Hollander's interpretation of Ricardo has attracted apoplectic responses from both Right and Left. This volume collects together the material needed to evaluate these responses. His basic position - that Ricardo stands in a continuous analytical line leading from Adam Smith to Alfred Marshall - is seen to antagonise both those who argue for a 'marginal revolution' and a sharp divide between classical and neo-classical economics, and those who want to champion Ricardo as a forerunner of Sraffa

Presents an account and technical assessment of Marx's economic analysis in Capital, with particular reference to the transformation and the surplus-value doctrine, the reproduction schemes, the falling real-wage and profit rates, and the trade cycle. The focus is on criticisms that Marx himself might have been expected to face in his day and age. In addition, it offers a chronological study of the evolution of that analysis from the early 1840s through three 'drafts': documents of the late 1840s, the Grundrisse of 1857-1858, and the Economic Manuscripts of 1861-1863. It also provides three studies in application, focusing on Marx's 'evolutionary' orientation in his evaluation of the transition to communism and his rejection of 'egalitarianism' under both capitalist and communist regimes; his evolving perspective on the role of the industrial 'entrepreneur'; and his evolving appreciation of the prospects for welfare reform within capitalism

chapter The classical canon -- chapter the inverse profit-wage relation -- chapter the stationary state -- chapter Introduction -- Real income and its measurement -- chapter John Stuart Mill's conciliatory position -- An overview -- chapter The impression of systemic discord.

This book explores the perceived paradigmatic conflict within British classical economics between the so called 'Ricardo School' and the contemporary French Economics of Jean-Baptiste Say. Samuel Hollander provides the reader with extensive evidence, utilizing all editions of Say's main texts and his lesser-known writings in order to demonstrate his adherence to much of Ricardian theory. This intriguing book focuses on selected doctorinal issues and surrounding debates, and will interest all serious historians of economic thought, finding a place on the bookshelves of many economists across the world.