Robert J. Bigg
Lavington's Cat
Uncertain thoughts on the history of economic thought:
we have been seduced by the maths, not convinced by the poets.
we have been seduced by the maths, not convinced by the poets.
Price had first sought election to the Drummond Chair of Political Economy at Oxford in 1862, but had lost out narrowly to Thorold Rogers who then held the post from 1863 to 1868. When Rogers let it be known in 1867 that he would seek re-election, Price also stood and an election was scheduled for 6 February 1868. The campaign rapidly became highly politicised. A conservative anti-Rogers faction actively solicited votes for Price whilst also distributing press and other accounts of Roger’s more radical political views. Price emerged the winner by 620 votes to 193.
Despite this dramatic start, it was notable that during his lifetime there was no known contender for the chair even when the appointment system was changed to a Board of Electors after 1881. He was to be re-elected 3 times in 1873, 1878, and 1883. Nonetheless, there remained those who felt that he could not continue being returned to the position, particularly as he grew older. Notable among these was Benjamin Jowett, the Master of Balliol. Following Price's death in 1888 Rogers regained the chair.
From 1870 Oxford started to publish a regular University Gazette of official proceedings, examination results, professorial lecture and other notices. By the early 1880s this includes a wider lecture list for each term. It thus becomes much easier to to trace the timeline of the courses being given, beyond the content reproduced in Price’s published collections.
| Year | Term | Bonamy Price Lectures | Other Lectures |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1870 | Hilary | Capital; Wages; Trade Unions1 | |
| Easter & Trinity | Taxation | ||
| Michaelmas | Money | ||
| 1871 | Hilary | Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations Book I | |
| Easter & Trinity | Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations Book II | ||
| Michaelmas | The Questions raised between Capital, Labour, and Socialism | ||
| 1872 | Hilary | Rent, Free Trade, and Taxation | |
| Easter & Trinity | Money, including Aristotle’s doctrine of Money | ||
| Michaelmas | Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations Book I | ||
| 1873 | Hilary | none - re-election | |
| Easter & Trinity | Capital, Labour, Land | ||
| Michaelmas | Mill’s Political Economy Book I | ||
| 1874 | Hilary | Continuation of Mill, Book II chapter 11 - Wages | |
| Easter & Trinity | Money2 | ||
| Michaelmas | |||
| 1875 | Hilary | Review of general questions such as Capital, Exchange, Value, &c | |
| Easter & Trinity | Currency and Banking | ||
| Michaelmas | Land and Trade Unions | ||
| 1876 | Hilary | Trade Unions and their doctrines - Employers and Workmen Act - Wages and Wage Fund - Value | |
| Easter & Trinity | none | ||
| Michaelmas | Economical Fallacies of Mr Mill | ||
| 1877 | Hilary | Money and Free Trade | |
| Easter & Trinity | Banking (a short course to complete that of last term) | ||
| Michaelmas | Capital and Labour | ||
| 1878 | Hilary | none - re-election | |
| Easter & Trinity | Exchange and Free Trade, in connection with Adam Smith | ||
| Michaelmas | The first lecture on Value, the remainder on Land | ||
| 1879 | Hilary | Discussion of the Questions set in Political Economy in the Pass School, Group B ... | |
| Easter & Trinity | none | ||
| Michaelmas | The Questions set in Group B in May | ||
| 1880 | Hilary | The Questions set in Group B in Michaelmas Term 1879 | |
| Easter & Trinity | none | ||
| Michaelmas | Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations Books I and II | ||
| 1881 | Hilary | Free Trade, the increasing resistance it encounters in the world, American Themes, and Reciprocity | |
| Easter & Trinity | none | ||
| Michaelmas | Land4 | ||
| 1882 | Hilary | Free Trade, Fair Trade, Reciprocity and Retaliation | |
| Easter & Trinity | none | ||
| Michaelmas | A summary of several chief subjects of inquiry in Political Economy | ||
| 1883 | Hilary | none | |
| Easter & Trinity | none | W.A.B. Coolidge - Political Economy, with illustrations from English History | |
| Michaelmas | Capital, Wages, and the Nationalization of Land5 | A. Marshall - Production, Value, &c - Foreign Trade, &c |
|
| 1884 | Hilary | Money, Bimetallism, What is a Bank? | A. Marshall - Wages, Profit, &c - Adam Smith, Ricardo, &c |
| Easter & Trinity | none | A. Marshall - Economic Progress. Functions of Government - Adam Smith and Ricardo (continued) |
|
| Michaelmas | Summary of Political Economy. Part I | A. Marshall - Political Economy, Production, Rent, &c - Economic Theory |
|
| 1885 | Hilary | Money, Banking, Socialism, Wages | |
| Easter & Trinity | none | J.N. Keynes - Method of Political Economy and Theory of Taxation W.A.B. Coolidge - Political Economy |
|
| Michaelmas | Attacks on Political Economy. What is it and what it is not, Political Economy. Wages. The Condition and Progress of the Working Classes | W.J. Ashley - Political Economy | |
| 1886 | Hilary | Free Trade and Fair Trade, Exchange | W.J. Ashley - Mill’s Political Economy W.A. Spooner - Questions on Political Economy |
| Easter & Trinity | none | W.J. Ashley & W.A. Spooner as above C.R.L. Fletcher - Elementary Political Economy |
|
| Michaelmas | Money; why indispensible; its modes of action: Monometallism and Bimetallism: The Currency of England | W.J. Ashley - Economic History and Theory (Mediaeval England) P.F. Willert - Political Economy. Rent, Capital and Wages |
|
| 1887 | Hilary | Free Trade and Fair Trade | W.J. Ashley- Economic History and Theory (Modern England) W.A. Spooner - Political Economy L.R. Phelps - Political Economy (Mill) P.F. Willert - Political Economy |
| Easter & Trinity | none | W.A. Spooner -Questions on Political Economy L.R. Phelps - Four Lectures on Mill P.F. Willert - Political Economy J.E.T. Rogers - Economical Interpretation of History in England |
|
| Michaelmas | A General Course in Political Economy: Part I6 | W.J. Ashley - Development of Economic Theory P.F. Willert & J.E.T. Rogers as above |
Source: Oxford University Gazette
First published online July 2023