ABSTRACT
Political economy is the science of using economic knowledge to shape social outcomes. It found a considerably more congenial environment in the United States and the United Kingdom in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries than it does now in the first decade of the twenty-first century. Universities were historically seen as having a responsibility to serve the needs of society as part of their mission of disseminating knowledge.1 Political economy was more widely incorporated into the educational process in American universities than in the United Kingdom, and was typically included in the final year’s course designated as “moral philosophy” as part of the liberal arts curriculum. This was less the case in the United Kingdom, where the scientific study of political economy was held in relatively low repute. It was not even part of the qualifying examinations which civil servants were required to pass.2 From the 1890s onwards, the British university system was more committed to serving the interests of the business community than to train future civil servants to address the economic aspects of social problems. This perception of the proper role of economics as a discipline, and of universities in teaching it, is very
evident in the preface of Marshall’s Industry and Trade (1919) and in his paper “Social Possibilities of Economic Chivalry” (1925). Prospective civil servants, principally those intending to serve in India, studied political economy in their preparatory programs. Yet, the men who held chairs of political economy at Cambridge, London’s University College, and Oxford had little interest in scholarly research relating to the role of the State in regulating business activities to achieve social outcomes. This contrasts starkly with the German university system and its French and American counterparts.
