Jeremy BenthamJeremy Bentham (1748 –1832) was a British philosopher, economist, jurist, and social reformer. He is regarded as the founder of modern utilitarianism, which is the doctrine that actions are right if they are useful, or for the benefit of a majority. Bentham became a leading theorist in Anglo-American philosophy of law, and a political radical whose ideas influenced the development of welfarism. He advocated individual and economic freedom, the separation of church and state, freedom of expression, equal rights for women, the right to divorce, and the decriminalizing of homosexual acts. Though strongly in favor of the extension of individual legal rights, he opposed the idea of natural law and natural rights, calling them "nonsense upon stilts". Bentham was a major influence on nineteenth-century ideas about the rights and responsibilities of citizens and of government and their dependence on human emotions. The attitude that Romantic writers adopted toward the writing of Jeremy Bentham is understood to be represented by William Hazlitt’s resounding criticism in his Spirit of the Age. Bentham, he wrote, was a deluded system-builder, foolishly attempting to reduce the theory of human life to a sense of reason, and dull, plodding, technical calculation. But even Hazlitt was hardly decided in his opinions on his supposed adversary. Bentham’s thought, he also wrote, aimed at too much, extending itself to the farthest verge of the conceivable and possible. Hazlitt’s frequently hints that Bentham was far more than a plodding rationalist, I would argue, he encourages us to rethink the connection between Bentham and some of the great writers of his day who idolized the work of the imagination. Indeed, at the same time that Bentham showed his legislative schemes to be the work of political invention rather than merely empirical observation, many Romantic writers thought of their imaginative and poetic work in terms that had relevance for human utility. William Godwin, for instance, argued that Mary Wollstonecraft’s genius was devoted to schemes of usefulness, and projects of public interest; Percy Shelley, likewise, thought of the poet-legislator or poetical philosopher as one who devoted himself to imaginative and political schemes of durable utility. This Romantic ideal of the poetical philosopher was, surprisingly, much closer to Bentham’s ideal of the utilitarian legislator than many critics and historians have previously thought.
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Napoleon BonaparteRomantic’s in their bid to explore nature in its beauty were largely disconnected to economic ways of thinking as they sought to avoid the perceived ‘corrupt’ social conduct that involved economics and politics. Whilst Romantic’s themselves were distant from the economist lifestyle, a period of significant change and upheaval was before them. Emperor of the French, Napoleon Bonaparte whose reign served from 1804 through to 1815 is widely remembered for his legal reform which is now known as the ‘Napoleonic Code’ and is also iconic in the French Revolution. The Napoleonic Code influenced civil law jurisdictions worldwide and foresaw privileges in areas of birth and religion and also stated that government jobs must only be allocated to the most qualified of workers. Further, the Napoleonic Code separated into four key areas: persons, property, acquisition of property and civil procedures. It is this very code that remains a key foundation to the modern day European legal system.
In his first year of office, Napoleon addressed the disorganized economy of France and turned it around providing fair taxes, increased trade, a new commercial code and improved infrastructure. Napoleon offered stability in power and was publicized for signing treaties that bought about peace in France. By the end of his reign, Napoleon had conquered most of Europe and began to take advantage of his supremos, knowing that he could field more troops than his competitive military leaders. Napoleon among other successes is also remembered for his endless defeats in war. On par with the Napoleonic Code, this conjunction of wars was titled the ‘Napoleonic Wars’ in memory of Napoleon’s consistent hard work and determination. Overall, Napoleon had a profound impact on the economic and political ways of thinking during the Romantic era but did not necessarily coincide with Romantic poets or novelists, however would have shaped aspects of their writing presumably creating emotions of arrogance or dismay. References:
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Adam SmithAdam Smith (5 June 1723 – 17 July 1790) was a Scottish moral philosopher and a pioneer of political economy. One of the key figures of the Scottish Enlightenment, Adam Smith is best known for his classic work : The Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759),
In 1759, Smith published The Theory of Moral Sentiments. He continued making extensive revisions to the book, up until his death. Smith regarded this as his most superior work. In the work, Smith critically examines the moral thinking of his time, and suggests that conscience arises from social relationships.His goal in writing the work was to explain the source of mankind’s ability to form moral judgements, in spite of man’s natural inclinations towards self-interest. Smith proposes a theory of sympathy, in which the act of observing others makes people aware of themselves and the morality of their own behaviour. Smith suggested minimizing the role of government intervention and taxation in the free markets The idea that an “invisible hand” guides supply and demand are among the key ideas Smith’s writing is responsible for promoting. These ideas reflect the concept that each person, by looking out for him or herself, inadvertently helps to create the best outcome for all. "It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker, that we can expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest," Smith wrote. Smith’s writings are both an inquiry into the science of economics and a policy guide for realizing the wealth of nations. Smith believed that economic development was best fostered in an environment of free competition that operated in accordance with universal “natural laws.” Because Smith’s was the most systematic and comprehensive study of economics up until that time, his economic thinking became the basis for classical economics. And because more of his ideas have lasted than those of any other economist, some regard Adam Smith as the alpha and the omega of economic science. The Theory of Moral Sentiments had immense impact on Rousseau, the French Revolution, the Scottish school of emotionalist moral philosophy, all the English Romantics, and major Victorian thinkers. This work, which argued for the positive role of emotions in moral decision, lead to new conceptions of human nature, feelings, and politics. Its emphasis upon sympathy and imagination as fundamental to human nature also provided both the philosophical foundations and basic attitudes that characterize English romanticism
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Thomas CarlyleThomas Carlyle (1795-1881) was a Scottish writer and historian born in Dumfriedsshire. Carlyle was renowned for his unique brand of satire, his social commentary of Victorian life and his particularly dislikeable persona. In terms of the economy, Carlyle’s views were radical. It is a popular misconception that Carlyle coined the term “the dismal science” when describing economics as a response to the theories of economist Thomas Malthus. In fact, the term first appears in Carlyle’s essay “An Occasional Discourse on the Negro Science” (1849), in which Carlyle criticised the views of economist John Stewart Mills, who had suggested that black and white races are fundamentally the same, and that slavery is illegitimate. Carlyle fiercely opposed this position, asserting that black and white races are not even of the same species, and targeted economics as “reduc(ing) the duty of human governors.” However, Carlyle’s views on the political economy, namely as tied to the rise of democracy and modern capitalism, were preserved within the Romantic mindset. In the eighteenth century, Parliament affected a shift from an economy regulated by tariffs and governmental authority to one that opposed governmental regulation in favour of the interests of individual wealth, known as the lassiez faire economy. Within this economy, concepts such as minimum wage were seen as inhibiting production. Thus, the industrial economy was born, one in which exploitation and shockingly poor working conditions were seen as necessary in the rising middle class’ pursuit of wealth. Thomas Carlyle, along with other Romantics of the time such as William Blake, viciously opposed this new regime. Carlyle’s pamphlet, “Chartism” (1839), outlines a fierce attack upon the laissez faire theory. Carlyle's doctrines showed signs of socialism and utopian-idealism and he aligned strongly with the working class. The attacks by Carlyle on the political economy rallied the sentiments of the Romantics, who were greatly angered by the industrial mindset’s alienation of the working force. Thus, Thomas Carlyle’s writings impacted greatly upon the Romantic attitude towards the economy.
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