ABSTRACT
It is curious to note the difference between people's own and foreign estimates as to their intellectual achievements. Thus histories of political science written by Europeans pay scant attention to any of their political theorists. The intellectual revolution brought about by Bentham, the Mills, and their followers in England naturally made its impression on American thought. Willard Phillips, takes a dynamic view, emphasizing economic progress. He insists that capital and industry are not stationary or of fixed amount. He, too, denies the existence of "no rent" land and denies that rent arises from the necessity to cultivate inferior soil. The reaction, taking form in the historical school, was led by a group of young men who had studied in Germany. In the last quarter of the 19th Century students generally went abroad for graduate studies, especially to Germany. The strongest objections to the classical view voiced in America were those of Thorstein Veblen.
