Nature in the History of Economic Thought: How Natural Resources Became an Economic Concept

287 Pages·2018·2.802 MB·English

by  Nathaniel Wolloch

7
1
0
2
y
r
a
u
n
a
J
0
1
0
1
:
6
0
t
a

]
o
g
e
i
D
n
a
S
a,
i
n
r
o
f
i
l
a
C

f
o
y
t
i
s
r
e
v
i
n
U
[
y
b
d
e
d
a
o
l
n
w
o
D
Nature in the History of
Economic Thought
7
1
0
2
y
r
a
u
n
a From antiquity to our own time those interested in political economy have with
J
0 almost no exceptions regarded the natural physical environment as a resource
1
0 meant for human use. Focusing on the period 1600–1850, and paying particular
1
: attention to major figures including Adam Smith, T.R. Malthus, David Ricardo
6
0 and J.S. Mill, this book provides a detailed overview of the intellectual history of
at the economic consideration of nature from antiquity to modern times. It shows

]
o how even someone like Mill, who was clearly influenced by romantic notions
g
e regarding the spiritual need for contact with pristine nature, ultimately regarded
i
D it as an economic resource. Building on existing scholarship, this study demon-
n strates how the rise of modern sensitivity to nature, from the late eighteenth cen-
a
S
tury in particular, was in fact a dialectical reaction to the growing distance of
ia, modern urban civilization from the natural environment. As such, the book offers
n
r an unprecedentedly detailed overview of the intellectual history of economic con-
o
if siderations of nature, whilst underlining how the history of this topic has been
l
a
C remarkably consistent.
f
o
y Nathaniel Wolloch is a Fellow at the Minerva Humanities Center, Tel Aviv
t
si University, specializing in European intellectual history. He is the author
r
e of Subjugated Animals: Animals and Anthropocentrism in Early Modern
v
ni European Culture (2006), and History and Nature in the Enlightenment: Praise
U
of the Mastery of Nature in Eighteenth-Century Historical Literature (2011).
[
y
b
d
e
d
a
o
l
n
w
o
D
7
1
0
2 This page intentionally left blank
y
r
a
u
n
a
J
0
1
0
1
:
6
0
t
a
]
o
g
e
i
D
n
a
S
a,
i
n
r
o
f
i
l
a
C
f
o
y
t
i
s
r
e
v
i
n
U
[
y
b
d
e
d
a
o
l
n
w
o
D
Nature in the History
of Economic Thought
How natural resources became
an economic concept
7
1
0
2
y
r
a
u
n Nathaniel Wolloch
a
J
0
1
0
1
:
6
0
t
a
]
o
g
e
i
D
n
a
S
a,
i
n
r
o
f
i
l
a
C
f
o
y
t
i
s
r
e
v
i
n
U
[
y
b
d
e
d
a
o
l
n
w
o
D
First published 2017
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
7 © 2017 Nathaniel Wolloch
1
0
2 The right of Nathaniel Wolloch to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in
y accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
r
a
u All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form
n
a or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
0 J photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in
1 writing from the publishers.
0
1 Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are
:
6 used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
0
t
a British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
] A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
o
g
ie Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
D
n Names: Wolloch, Nathaniel, author.
a
S Title: Nature in the history of economic thought: how natural resources
a, became an economic concept / Nathaniel Wolloch.
i Description: Abingdon, Oxon; New York, NY: Routledge, 2017. |
n
r Includes bibliographical references.
o Identifiers: LCCN 2016021683
f
li Subjects: LCSH: Economics—History. | Nature—Economic
a
C aspects—History. | Natural resources—History.
f Classification: LCC HB75 .W787 2017 | DDC 333.701—dc23
o LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016021683
y
t
si ISBN: 978-1-138-69149-0 (hbk)
er ISBN: 978-1-315-53481-7 (ebk)
v
i
n Typeset in Times
U
by codeMantra
[
y
b
d
e
d
a
o
l
n
w
o
D
7
1
0
2
y
r
a
u
n
a To my parents, Dina and Amatzia Wolloch
J
0
1
0
1
:
6
0
t
a
]
o
g
e
i
D
n
a
S
a,
i
n
r
o
f
i
l
a
C
f
o
y
t
i
s
r
e
v
i
n
U
[
y
b
d
e
d
a
o
l
n
w
o
D
7
1
0
2 This page intentionally left blank
y
r
a
u
n
a
J
0
1
0
1
:
6
0
t
a

]
o
g
e
i
D
n
a
S
a,
i
n
r
o
f
i
l
a
C
f
o
y
t
i
s
r
e
v
i
n
U
[
y
b
d
e
d
a
o
l
n
w
o
D
Contents
7
1
0
2
y
r
a
u
n
a Preface ix
J
0 List of abbreviations xiii
1
0
1
:
6
0 PArT I
at Attitudes toward nature from antiquity to mercantilism 1
]
o
g
e 1 From antiquity to the Renaissance 3
i
D
n 2 Mercantilism and natural resources 14
a
S
a,
ni PArT II
r
o The Enlightenment roots of classical political economy 39
f
i
l
a
C
f 3 Pre-classical Enlightenment developments 41
o
y 4 The Physiocrats and the bread riots 54
t
i
s
er 5 From Adam Smith to classical political economy 71
v
i
n
U 6 John Stuart Mill and the idea of progress 110
[
y
b
d PArT III
e
d Managing the use of nature 125
a
o
l
n
w 7 Managing nature in the Enlightenment 127
o
D
8 Ricardo and Malthus on the utilization of nature 142
9 Jean-Baptiste Say and other contemporaries 158
10 John Stuart Mill’s attitude toward nature 181
viii Contents
Epilogue: From socialism to modernity 197
Notes 217
Bibliography 255
Index 269
7
1
0
2
y
r
a
u
n
a
J
0
1
0
1
:
6
0
t
a

]
o
g
e
i
D
n
a
S
a,
i
n
r
o
f
i
l
a
C
f
o
y
t
i
s
r
e
v
i
n
U
[
y
b
d
e
d
a
o
l
n
w
o
D
Preface
7
1
0
2
y
r
a
u
n
a Business news and news regarding the environment have both become a
J
0 ubiquitous part of our lives. Turning on our televisions, we have come to expect
1
0 news about global warming, or about environmental hazards and disasters. As for
1
: economic topics, these receive their very own broadcast networks and dominate
6
0 much of primetime newscasts. For most of human history, however, this was not
at the case. People have always been preoccupied with their material condition,
]
o and particularly in early societies were well-aware of their ineluctable and often
g
e dangerous dependence on their natural surroundings. Yet they had no substantive
i
D reflexive awareness of these issues, or at least have left us very little evidence of
n such interests. They were much more preoccupied with their immediate familial
a
S
and social relations, with their dependency on monarchs or other despotic rulers,
ia, with religious rites and of course with the harsh realities of daily life in the pre-
n
r industrial age. With material and cultural progress, however, they became increas-
o
if ingly interested in thinking about their existence, both individual and collective.
l
a
C Gradually, this led to the development of various intellectual and artistic achieve-
f ments. Among these was an increasing interest in what modern terminology
o
y would define as social and economic conditions. At the same time, philosophical
t
si and scientific advances led to increasing interest in the natural world and human
r
e beings’ mutual interaction with it. It was only a matter of time before these two
v
ni interests were combined, and people became interested in the place that nature
U
played in social and economic development.
[
y This book is concerned with how the discussion of this topic emerged and
b
d developed in the history of political-economic thought. I use the term “political
e
d economy” here in the sense in which it was used till the late nineteenth century,
a
o conceiving economics as integrated with broad social, political and cultural deve-
l
n lopments. At the outset it should be made clear not just what this book is about,
w
o but what it is not about. It is not about the history of economic thought in general,
D
let alone about economic history. It is not about concepts such as natural law or
natural rights, but strictly about nature as a physical resource. Yet it is also not
about environmental philosophy or environmental history strictly defined (though
perhaps it should be considered an integral part of the latter), nor about the history
of specific technologies of utilizing nature, nor about the history of specific types
or cases of natural-resource management. While these topics surface at times