John Stuart Mill

by Mill, John Stuart; Nathanson, Stephen

• ISBN13: 9780872207134
• ISBN10: 0872207137
• Edition: Abridged
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-03-01
• Publisher: Hackett Pub Co Inc

Summary

Stephen Nathanson's clear-sighted abridgement of Principles of Political Economy, Mill's first major work in moral and political philosophy, provides a challenging, sometimes surprising account of Mill's views on many important topics: socialism, population, the status of women, the cultural bases of economic productivity, the causes and possible cures of poverty, the nature of property rights, taxation, and the legitimate functions of government. Nathanson cuts through the dated and less relevant sections of this large work and includes significant material omitted in other editions, making it possible to see the connections between the views Mills expressed in Principles of Political Economy and the ideas he defended in his later works, particularly On Liberty. Indeed, studying Principles of Political Economy, Nathanson argues in his general Introduction, can help to resolve the apparent contradiction between Mill's views in On Liberty and those in Utilitarianism, making it a key text for understanding Mill's philosophy as a whole.

Author Biography

Stephen Nathanson is Professor of Philosophy, Northeastern University

Table of Contents

Editor's Introduction	ix
Further Readings	xxxvii
A Note on the Text	xxxvii
Principles of Political Economy With Some of Their Applications to Social Philosophy Abridged Edition
John Stuart Mill
Prefaces	3	(3)
Preliminary Remarks	6	(13)
Book I Production
Of the Requisites of Production	19	(3)
Of Labour as an Agent of Production	22	(6)
Of Unproductive Labour	28	(4)
Of Capital	32	(2)
Of Circulating and Fixed Capital	34	(2)
On What Depends the Degree of Productiveness of Productive Agents	36	(10)
Of Co-operation, or the Combination of Labour	46	(9)
Of Production on a Large, and Production on a Small Scale	55	(10)
Of the Law of the Increase of Labour	65	(4)
Of the Law of the Increase of Capital	69	(6)
Of the Law of the Increase of Production from Land	75	(4)
Consequences of the Foregoing Laws	79	(6)
Book II: Distribution
Of Property	85	(13)
The Same Subject Continued	98	(14)
Of Competition and Custom	112	(2)
Of Slavery	114	(3)
Of Peasant Proprietors	117	(2)
Continuation of the Same Subject	119	(3)
Of Metayers	122	(3)
Of Cottiers	125	(4)
Means of Abolishing Cottier Tenancy	129	(3)
Of Wages	132	(9)
Of Popular Remedies for Low Wages	141	(5)
The Remedies for Low Wages Further Considered	146	(8)
Of the Differences in Wages in Different Employments	154	(9)
Of Profits	163	(6)
Book III: Exchange
Of Value	169	(3)
On International Trade	172	(5)
Book IV: Influence of the Progress of Society on Production and Distribution
General Characteristics of a Progressive State of Wealth	177	(3)
Influence of the Progress of Industry and Population on Values and Prices	180	(3)
Of the Tendency of Profits to a Minimum	183	(5)
Of the Stationary State	188	(4)
On the Probable Futurity of the Labouring Classes	192	(13)
Book V: On the Influence of Government
Of the Functions of Government in General	205	(6)
Of the General Principles of Taxation	211	(12)
Of Direct Taxes	223	(4)
Of Taxes on Commodities	227	(4)
Of Some Other Taxes	231	(4)
Comparison between Direct and Indirect Taxation	235	(7)
Of a National Debt	242	(5)
Of the Ordinary Functions of Government, Considered as to Their Economical Effects	247	(5)
The Same Subject Continued	252	(8)
Of Interferences of Government Grounded on Erroneous Theories	260	(17)
Of the Grounds and Limits of the Laisser-Faire or Non-Interference Principle	277	(28)
Index	305