Foundations of Political Economy - by Neal Wood (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

Conventional wisdom claims that the seventeenth century gave birth to the material and ideological forces that culminated in the Industrial Revolution and the rise of capitalism. Not true, according to Neal Wood, who argues that much earlier reformers--Dudley, Starkey, Brinklow, Latimer, Crowley, Becon, Lever, and Thomas Smith, as well as the better-known More and Fortescue--laid the groundwork by fashioning an economic conception of the state in response to social, economic and political conditions of England. Wood's innovative study of these early Tudor thinkers, who upheld the status quo yet condemned widespread poverty and suffering, will interest historians, political scientists, and social and political theorists.

From the Back Cover

Scholarly opinion generally holds that the seventeenth or even the eighteenth century gave birth to the science of political economy, often associated with the transition from "commercial" to "industrial" capitalism. Not so, claims Neal Wood, who traces the origins of political economy to the early Tudor period and the pioneering work of such sixteenth-century authors as Dudley, More, Starkey, Brinklow, Crowley, Latimer, Becon, Lever, and Thomas Smith. In an illuminating examination of the works of these perceptive writers, Wood shows how they laid the groundwork for such well-known political and economic theorists as Hobbes, Locke, and Petty. In response to the acute material and social conditions brought on in part by incipient capitalism, these Tudor figures urged government reform, linking politics to economics and thereby sowing the seeds that were brought to fruition by their later counterparts. Not only did these Tudor thinkers condemn widespread poverty and suffering, expressing a social concern that was unprecedented among the privileged of their day, they were also among first Europeans to base their analysis and protest on the available empirical evidence. Without opposing the status quo they were fashioning an economic conception of the state, perhaps their chief claim for being remembered. Neal Wood's attribution of the early foundations of political economy to the Tudor period breaks new ground. He focuses attention on a number of unjustly neglected social and political thinkers, thereby broadening the field of political economy. His work offers provocative reading for political scientists, historians, social and political theorists, historical sociologists, economichistorians, and anyone interested in intellectual or economic history.

Review Quotes

"A comprehensive analysis of the early Tudor literature of social/political criticism."--"Albion

About the Author

Neal Wood is Professor Emeritus of Political Science at York University, Toronto. His books include Cicero's Social and Political Thought (1988), John Locke and Agrarian Capitalism (1984), and The Politics of Locke's Philosophy (1983), all published by California.