Book contents
- Commerce and Manners in Edmund Burke’s Political Economy
- Commerce and Manners in Edmund Burke’s Political Economy
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- Part I Biography
- 1 Biography and Burke’s Authority as a Political Economist
- Part II Market Economies
- Part III The British Constitution and Economical Reform
- Part IV Foreign Trade
- Part V India
- Part VI The French Revolution
- Conclusion
- Bibliography
- Index
1 - Biography and Burke’s Authority as a Political Economist
from Part I - Biography
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 24 April 2020
- Commerce and Manners in Edmund Burke’s Political Economy
- Commerce and Manners in Edmund Burke’s Political Economy
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- Part I Biography
- 1 Biography and Burke’s Authority as a Political Economist
- Part II Market Economies
- Part III The British Constitution and Economical Reform
- Part IV Foreign Trade
- Part V India
- Part VI The French Revolution
- Conclusion
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
Chapter 1 gives the historical context for Burke’s commentary on political economy. I first provide a sketch of Burke’s biography, with particular stress on the events and activities in his life that related to questions of commerce, property, and markets. For instance, I discuss Burke’s early interest in political economy as a member of his college debating club; and I explain how his activities as a farmer on his landed estate informed his views on the British agricultural economy. This chapter also marshals evidence showing that Burke earned a strong reputation in public and private life as an authoritative thinker on commercial policy, indicating that we should study his economic thought with heightened seriousness.
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- Information
- Commerce and Manners in Edmund Burke's Political Economy , pp. 19 - 34Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2020