Abstract
Henry Sidgwick's work in economics has largely been regarded as an expositor of J. S. Mill. This dissertation shows that this conception of Sidgwick's economic writings is erroneous - that he went far beyond simply examining and elucidating Mill. He began from basically Millian concepts, but he took the Berithamitic utilitarianism of Mill and thoroughly examined it as relevant economic philosophy. His examination led to an explanation of the logical foundations for the emerging concept of government - the new concept of laissez-faire. Sidgwick's work, however, came historically at an inopportune time - a time that was not conducive to his immediate acceptance as an original economic thinker. Alfred Marshall's monumental work on the analytics of perfect competition emphasized the very things which Sidgwick had relegated to a minor position in the study of economics. Sidgwick's main aim was to stress the way in which economic analysis was related to solutions of everyday problems which required a solution not found in the workings of the free market. Hence, Marshall's dominance of this period caused the true measure of Sidgwick's work to be underrated. Sidgwick's work did not remain obscured for long. A. C. Pigou, Marshall's successor, attempted to apply Marshallian analytics to Sidgwick's philosophical basis for government intervention. Pigou received acclaim for providing the foundations for this branch of economics, the economics of welfare considerations, but it was Sidgwick who supplied the core of the foundation. As further evidence of this, Sidgwick's work repeatedly resurfaces in modern welfare theory..
O'Donnell, Margaret Ganucheau (1976). Henry Sidgwick : externalities and the emergence of the new concept of laissez-faire. Texas A&M University. Texas A&M University. Libraries. Available electronically from
https : / /hdl .handle .net /1969 .1 /DISSERTATIONS -613559.