Manchester school

Manchester school or liberalism manchestérien or philosophy of Manchester is an expression used at the beginning of the twentieth century by Elie Halévy and A.V. Dicey following Ferdinand Lassalle to indicate a liberalism let make (This point of view was disputed by Grampp). The Manchester school indicates also a group of men with whom have it owes the abolition of the Corn laws and the adoption of free trade by Great Britain after 1846.

Elie Halévy and “liberalism manchestérien”

Elie Halévy opposes the “philosophy of Westminter” “which it also calls “philosophical radicalism” of some of the disciples of Bentham favorable to political reforms, administrative and social such as Edwin Chadwick, George Grote, Southwood Smith, Francis Place etc… with the philosophy of Manchester which develops twenty years after the death of Bentham on a simplified utilitarian basis. This hostile school with any species of payment and law rests on what it calls the spontaneous identification of the interests . Among holding of the Manchester school or the philosophy of Manchester , it quotes Richard Cobden and Herbert Spencer even if, in his case, there is no bond with Benthamisme. In fact Halévy seems to want here to distinguish philosophical radicalism from the current of thought very marked by let make which will dominate liberalism at the end of the 19th century. However one can wonder with Grampp up to which point it is founded to assimilate the Manchester school and leave-make it.

The Manchester school seen by William Grampp

According to William Grampp, it there forever have strictly speaking “Manchester school”. The term even comes from one of their adversary, Benjamin Disraeli, and was used only after the abrogation of the Corns Laws . On the other hand, Richard Cobden and John Bright (1811-1889) had create the National Anticorn Law League (1838 -1846) to make repeal the laws on corn and plead in favor of the Libre-échange. The movement itself was very diverse without real body of doctrines and was not in favor leave-making it.

Stakes of the suppression of Corn Laws

See also: Corn laws

The laws on corn had been founded to ensure a good supply corn and to stabilize its price. From 1660 to 1765, the production of corn in Great Britain had been surplus, which was not any more the case thereafter. Since, the laws aimed to guarantee a price of relatively high corn in Great Britain thanks to a restriction of the imports.

In its Principes of the political economy and tax , David Ricardo had advanced into 1817 that the elevated level of the prices of corn caused to reduce the profits of the contractors, insofar as the wages of industry were indexed on the price of the subsistence. The customs protection thus had like effect only to modify the division of the national wealth in discredit of the contractors and to the profit of the ground rent.

The landowners feared for their revenue in the event of suppression of the law. The industrialists being based on the doctrines of the wages of David Ricardo thought as for them that abrogation would make it possible to lower the wages and to reinforce their competitiveness. Others saw in free trade a means of facing the rise to power of Germany.

Lastly, some thought that would lead at the same time a redistribution of the incomes and political powers which would imply a reorganization of the Parliament and an extension of the number of voters (the vote was then censitaire). They is indeed what occurred, partly thanks to Bright.

Various groups constitutive of the Manchester school

Grampp distinguishes five great groups

  • the business men who hoped for either an increase in the demand of textile, or of the costs of wage weaker, or the stop of the extension of the factories abroad, or three

  • the humanistic business men who wanted to improve the fate of the workmen
  • the pacifist ones as Richard Cobden who thought that the trade limited the war risk. This group was opposed to the colonization and the concept of Empire.
  • members of the philosophical radicalism of London. However, between Manchester and London except for Francis Places, the things were never simple. For Grampp, the radicals of London more considered and were carried to the political operations than the men of Manchester at the same time closer to realities and less concerned of compromise.
  • radicals of the middle-class. For W. Grampp they were the motive fluid: “without them, the principle of the free trade would have remained the intellectual property of the economists, and would never have become something about which would have spoken the men in the streets”. On their premises, the free trade goes hand in hand with a parliamentary vast program of reform, disarmament and international arbitration of the conflicts, promotion of popular education, abolition of the capital punishment, equal rights etc

Cobden and Bright after 1846

See also: Richard Cobden, John Bright (politician)

In 1852 R. Cobden and J. Bright made countryside against an attempt at restoration of the laws on corn. In 1854, the Navigation Act the last great restriction on free trade was repealed. But the pacifism of Cobden rather quickly places it in opposition with the majority opinion, in particular at the time of the Crimean War. Despite everything, he plays a big role while negotiating with French Michel Chevalier in 1860 the Treaty Cobden-Knight which liberalized the trade between France and the United Kingdom.

John Bright as for him wanted to increase the political power of the middle-classes and of the ouvrierset was very severe towards the English leading class. Its opposition to monarchy been worth to him the anger of the Reine Victoria which was opposed in 1859 so that it takes part in the government of Lord Palmerston.

For W. Grampp, free trade let make does not come from them but from Spencer. He recalls that Cunning which obtained in 1880 the Cobden Price, wrote: “the truth of the free trade is darkened by the error of leave-making”

Internal bonds

Random links:Season NFL 1941 | Caption (cartoon) | Cortil-Wodon | Kravlji C | The Catbirds Stick | Lac_angle