LORD LAUDERDALE AND HIS ‘INQUIRY’
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9485.1956.tb00811.x |
| Date | 01 June 1956 |
| Author | A. V. COLE |
| Published date | 01 June 1956 |
LORD LAUDERDALE AND
HIS
‘
INQUIRY
’
I
THIS
article is in the nature of an appeal for recognition of
a
Scotsman
who was both a considerable economist and a remarkable character.
He embodied in his career not only the characteristic Scottish attributes
of industry and intelligence but also the equally characteristic Scottish
tendencies towards eccentricity, irascibility, illogicality and courageous
action.
In
an age of economists
in
hard collars and dark suits, busily
pursuing Elysium with
portfolios
of papers and great skill in
qualifica-
tion, Lauderdale shines, even at this distance, with refreshing directness.
Yet he has gained scant attention until recently. Prior to Professor
Fetter’s article in the
American Economic Review
of
1945,
and the
consequent encomium by Professor Hansen in his
Business Cycles and
National Income,
Lauderdale was lucky to be called merely eccentric.
The
Dictionary
of
National Biography
refers to
him
as one
‘
who wrote
much on economic subjects
’.
Professor Gray makes him a target
of
his wit
(a
wit which Lauderdale would have enjoyed)
:
‘
These critics
(including Lauderdale) are however rather to be regarded as interesting
and curious, if not indeed eccentric.” Another observer noted that he
was
‘
a violent tempered, shrewd, eccentric man
with
a fluent tongue,
a broad Scottish accent and a taste for political economy’. Philo
Scotus classed him as
‘
a most conspicuous and ardent supporter of
citizenship and republicanism
’.’
More modern critics tend to be less
severe. Professor Fetter refers to Lauderdale’s
‘
intellectual vigour,
originality and acuteness
’.3
The result of these conflicting views is to leave some doubt in the
mind of the reader. The traditional impression of a dilettante peer
with the leisure
to
indulge a penchant for intellectual discussion and
acrimonious debate becomes blurred and unsatisfactory. Paradox
demands investigation, and the paradox of Lauderdale seems especially
to invite interest even if it resists simple explanation.
James Maitland, who became, through the death of his elder
brother, 8th Earl of Lauderdale, grew up in the same way as most
of his aristocratic Lowland contemporaries. His position granted
him ease, but encouraged him in intellectual pursuits, and at least
two aspects of his education were to have far-reaching results for his
Sir
Alexander Gray.
Development
of
Economic Doctrine
(1942).
p.
192.
Philo
Scotus,
Re‘miniscences
of
a
Scottish Gentlemot
(1861).
F. A. Fetter, Lauderdale’s Oversaving Theory
,
American Economic
Review,
Vul.
XXXV,
1945.
115
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