Marx's critique of “eternal” political economy: how Mill is alien to Marx's attacks

Philippe Gillig ()

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Abstract: 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, contrary to what Marx alleged, these two economists have a great deal more in common on this topic than is frequently realised. 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".

Keywords: Karl Marx; John Stuart Mill; Critic of political economy; Natural laws; Socialism (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
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Published in European Journal of the History of Economic Thought, 2016, 23 (3), pp.378 - 399. ⟨10.1080/09672567.2014.916732⟩

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-01743574

DOI: 10.1080/09672567.2014.916732

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