Marx critique of political economy in the light of J.S. Mill's work

What is it about?

Marx deplored political economy’s claims to establish “eternal” or “natural” laws. This paper seeks to defend John Stuart Mill from his critique. It argues that Marx and Mill have a great deal more in common on this topic than is frequently realised and contrary to what Marx alleged. Both on the theoretical level and on the political one, Mill’s views about the relativity of capitalism seem very close to Marx’s. This paper also suggests that Marx may have ignored Mill’s insistence on the relativity of economic theories because it may have challenged his own “scientific socialism”.

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Why is it important?

Marx is known for his puzzling attitude towards Mill. First, he was relatively silent about him, despite the fact that Mill was a major intellectual figure of the nineteenth century. Second, where he did pass comment, Marx was also contemptuous. And third, he even displayed bad faith, misquoting some of Mill’s writings. This paper gives a rationale for that strange attitude: showing that Mill provided himself a critique both of natural laws and of capitalism, we argue that Marx' own critique became partly irrelevant, and that Marx saw in Mill a competitor in the field of ideas.

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