Definitions in Political Economy. A New Edition, with a Preface, Notes, and Supplementary Remarks by John Cazenove.

MALTHUS (Thomas Robert).

Publication Date: 1853

About this Item

Second edition. Small 8vo. xii, 140 pp. Original brown cloth, printed paper label to front cover, yellow endpapers, edges untrimmed (bookseller's pencilled notes to verso of front flyleaf, a few isolated instances of spotting, contents otherwise generally unmarked; minor wear to tips of spine, corners gently bumped, small amount of marking to covers, notwithstanding an excellent copy). London, Simpkin and Marshall. A lovely copy of the rare second edition of Malthus's Definitions, edited and with a new preface, notes and additional remarks by John Cazenove (1788-1879), an intimate friend and protégé of Malthus, who described him as 'a very clever man, and good political economist.' Cazenove's writings are 'a worthwhile contribution to political economy in their own right, and an important part of the anti-Ricardian tradition' (New Palgrave). The Definitions was the 'only book-length work devoted solely to semantics to appear in the classical period' in which Malthus established four basic rules for defining and applying terms, demonstrating how these are 'followed or violated by economists, including Smith, Say, Ricardo, James Mill, McCulloch and Bailey. In the penultimate chapter, he offers definitions of 60 key terms in political economy; the final chapter offers a discussion of problems that arise upon application of the definitions' (Redman, Rise of Political Economy, pp. 302f). 'Definitions remains significant as an early contribution to the methodology of economics, and one which repays consideration in times of terminological confusion' (New Palgrave).

Seller Inventory # 251603

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Definitions in Political Economy. A New Edition, with a Preface, Notes, and Supplementary Remarks by John Cazenove.
• Publication Date: 1853
• Binding: Hardcover