ABSTRACT
John Ruskin’s approach to economic and social analysis is frequently described as both fragmentary and difficult to understand. The problem of Ruskin’s meaning is a complex one. Ruskin quickly came to be seen, especially with respect to his economics writing, as of great interest for the style of his works rather than for their analytical content. Ruskin’s target is ‘economic man’ and the notion that ‘an advantageous code of social action may be determined irrespective of the influence of social affection.’ Ruskin begins his analysis of ethical issues by setting up an alternative framework for thinking about the merchant. Ruskin initiates a dialogue by restating the objections of the political economist to his argument thus far: experience shows that political economy as a science of ‘getting rich’ is ‘practically effective’. Ruskin starts by challenging J. S. Mill’s distinction, common to the Classical School, between unproductive and productive labour.
