Popular Political Economy

About this Collection

The following works were written to explain economic ideas to a popular audience. They span a time frame from the late 1820s, when the expansion of the franchise in Britain required an electorate better informed on economic matters, to the present. The title for this Topic comes from one of the earliest practitioners, the ex-British naval officer Thomas Hodgskin, who delivered a series of 4 lectures in 1827 entitled Popular Political Economy at the London Mechanics Institution (a working class organization which was formed to further the education of its members).

Key People

Titles & Essays

The Anti-capitalistic Mentality

Ludwig von Mises (author)

In The Anti-capitalistic Mentality, Ludwig von Mises explains the causes of the irrational fear and hatred many intellectuals and others feel for capitalism. Written during the heyday of twentieth-century socialism, this work…

Armonias Economicas

Frédéric Bastiat (author)

A Spanish translation of Bastiat’s best known work on “economic harmonies” in which he explains in simple terms how the free market operates to everybody’s benefit.

The Best of Bastiat

Frédéric Bastiat (author)

The Best of Bastiat (BOB) is a collection of some of the best material in Liberty Fund’s 6 volume edition of The Collected Works of Frédéric Bastiat (2011-). They are chapter length extracts and have been edited as pamphlets for…

The Best of Bastiat 3.1: Petition of the Manufacturers of Candles

Frédéric Bastiat (author)

The Best of Bastiat (BOB) is a collection of some of the best material in Liberty Fund’s 6 volume edition of The Collected Works of Frédéric Bastiat (2011-). They are chapter length extracts and have been edited as pamphlets for…

The Best of Bastiat 3.2: The Broken Window

Frédéric Bastiat (author)

The Best of Bastiat (BOB) is a collection of some of the best material in Liberty Fund’s 6 volume edition of The Collected Works of Frédéric Bastiat (2011-). They are chapter length extracts and have been edited as pamphlets for…

BOLL 14: Paul Heyne, “Economics Is a Way of Thinking” (1995)

Paul Heyne (author)

This essay is by the American economist Paul Heyne who explains in a mere 5 pages how to think like an economist. Anyone can learn to think like an…

Can Capitalism Survive?

Benjamin A. Rogge (author)

The nineteen essays in this volume explore the philosophy of freedom, the nature of economics, the business system, labor markets, money and inflation, the problems of cities, education, and what must be done to ensure the survival…

The Collected Works of Arthur Seldon, vol. 1 - The Virtues of Capitalism

Arthur Seldon (author)

The Virtues of Capitalism, lays the foundation of Seldon’s views and theories of capitalism and its alternatives. The first part, Corrigible Capitalism; Incorrigible Socialism, was first published in 1980. It explains why, Seldon…

Conversations on Political Economy

Jane Haldimand Marcet (author)

One of Marcet’s earlier efforts at popularizing free market economic ideas for ordinary working people. It first appeared in 1816, was enlarged an reprinted in 1827, going through 6 editions (giving some indication of its…

Economic Harmonies (FEE ed.)

Frédéric Bastiat (author)

This is the translation by the Foundation for Economic Education of Bastiat’s longest and best known work Economic Harmonies. A new translation of this work by Liberty Fund is in progress. See the Summary of the Bastiat Project for…

Economic Sophisms (FEE ed.)

Frédéric Bastiat (author)

The Foundation for Economic Education’s translation of Bastiat’s series of short essays in which he tries to correct common misunderstandings about the free market.

Essays (Glamorgan Pamphlets)

Jane Haldimand Marcet (author)

These economic fairy tales and parables published by Jane Marcet in the 1830s charm with their light-hearted wit. IMarcet illustrates such topics as the economics of wages and income distribution. The John Hopkins series reprinted…

The Fortune Encyclopedia of Economics

David R. Henderson (editor)

The Fortune Encyclopedia of Economics was published in 1993. It went online in 2003 as The Concise Encyclopedia of Economics. It contains articles by leading economists on basic concepts of economics, economic systems and schools, as…

Frédéric Bastiat

Frédéric Bastiat (contributor)

This is a collection of key extracts by, and essays and study guides about Frédéric Bastiat (1801-1850).

See also the following works:

Anthology: The Best of Bastiat Timelines:The Life and Works of Frédéric Bastiat (1801-1850)

Free Trade: America’s Opportunity

Leland B. Yeager (author)

A brief and succinct defense of free trade.

Fugitive Essays: Selected Writings of Frank Chodorov

Frank Chodorov (author)

A collection of Chodorov’s essays selected from The Freeman and Human Events and other publications.

“I, Pencil: My Family Tree” as told to Leonard E. Read, Dec. 1958

Leonard E. Read (author)

A charming story which explains how something as apparently simple as a pencil is in fact the product of a very complex economic process based upon the division of labor, international trade, and comparative advantage.

Illustrations of Political Economy 9 vols.

Harriet Martineau (author)

Martineau writes short “tales” to show ordinary readers how the free market operates.

Illustrations of Political Economy, vol. 1

Harriet Martineau (author)

The first volume of 9 in which Martineau writes short “tales” to show ordinary readers how the free market operates.

Illustrations of Political Economy, vol. 2

Harriet Martineau (author)

Vol. 2 of 9 in which Martineau writes short “tales” to show ordinary readers how the free market operates. This volume contains her well known tale “Demerara” about slave labour.

Illustrations of Political Economy, vol. 3

Harriet Martineau (author)

Vol. 3 of 9 in which Martineau writes short “tales” to show ordinary readers how the free market operates.

Illustrations of Political Economy, vol. 4

Harriet Martineau (author)

Vol. 4 of 9 in which Martineau writes short “tales” to show ordinary readers how the free market operates.

Illustrations of Political Economy, vol. 5

Harriet Martineau (author)

Vol. 5 of 9 in which Martineau writes short “tales” to show ordinary readers how the free market operates.

Illustrations of Political Economy, vol. 6

Harriet Martineau (author)

Vol. 6 of 9 in which Martineau writes short “tales” to show ordinary readers how the free market operates.

Illustrations of Political Economy, vol. 7

Harriet Martineau (author)

Vol. 7 of 9 in which Martineau writes short “tales” to show ordinary readers how the free market operates.

Illustrations of Political Economy, vol. 8

Harriet Martineau (author)

Vol. 8 of 9 in which Martineau writes short “tales” to show ordinary readers how the free market operates.

Illustrations of Political Economy, vol. 9

Harriet Martineau (author)

Vol. 9 of 9 in which Martineau writes short “tales” to show ordinary readers how the free market operates.

Illustrations of Taxation (1-5)

Harriet Martineau (author)

Martineau continues her popularization of economic ideas which began with the Illustrations of Political Economy in this series of “Tales” addressed to the working class.

John Hopkins’s Notions on Political Economy

Jane Haldimand Marcet (author)

Marcet was self-taught in many fields and became a successful popularizer of several demanding fields (such as chemistry and economics) in spite of being discriminated against as a women. This book is one of her works of popularizing…

Popular Political Economy. Four lectures delivered at the London Mechanics Institution

Thomas Hodgskin (author)

Thomas Hodgskin, an officer in the British Navy who later worked for The Economist, was one of the earliest popularizers of economics for audiences of non-economists. He gave lectures on free trade, the corn laws, and labor to “…

Selected Essays on Political Economy (FEE ed.)

Frédéric Bastiat (author)

The Foundation for Economic Education translated some of Bastiat’s most famous pamphlets, written as part of his opposition to the growth of socialism in France in the 1840s. The volume contains “What is Seen and What is Not Seen”, “…

Self Help; with Illustrations of Character and Conduct

Samuel Smiles (author)

An early Victorian self-help book that combines Victorian morality with sound free market ideas into moral tales showing the benefits of thrift, hard work, education, perseverance, and a sound character. Smiles drew upon the personal…

Taxation and Work: A Series of Treatises on the Tariff and the Currency

Edward Atkinson (author)

Atkinson applies the free trade ideas of Bastiat and Cobden to the American situation. He criticizes the tradition of Hamilton, debunks the idea that protection improves the economic condition of ordinary workers, argues that free…

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Quotes

Property Rights

Louis Wolowski and Pierre Émile Levasseur argue that Property is “the fruit of human liberty” and that Violence and Conquest have done much to disturb this natural order (1884)

Louis Wolowski

The State

Spooner on the difference between a government and a highwayman (1870)

Lysander Spooner

Religion & Toleration

William Leggett argues that Thanksgiving Day is no business of the government (1836)

William Leggett

Property Rights

Wolowski on property as a sacred right which is an emanation from man’s very being (1863)

Louis Wolowski