ABSTRACT
Economic thought, circa 1890, on the American side of the Atlantic Ocean was different in a number of ways from what developed in England and on the Continent. The seemingly boundless supply of resources in an economy that was on the verge of full-blown industrial revolution seemed to promise everlasting prosperity for the nation and for hard-working, thrifty individuals. This philosophical perspective is consistent with what is sometimes called clerical economics. Clerical economics maintained that there is a divine link between ethical behavior and favorable economic outcomes; capitalism is the natural system for guiding production, exchange, and distribution activities to achieve optimal results. Interference with the free operation of market forces is not only inefficient, it is immoral in the sense that it interferes with natural law. The virtue of hard work promotes production and saving without which there will be poverty for at least some members of society. In America, clerical economics was thus the counterpart of Victorian moralizing in England.
