Hobson, John

John Atkinson Hobson was an English writer, economist, and social critic, born on July 6, 1858, into a middle-class family, as the son of a prosperous newspaper owner. He studied classics at Oxford and then became a school teacher and extension lecturer in English and economics, in which he was self-taught. His heretical views on economics prevented him from securing a university teaching position, so he worked as a freelance writer, authoring over 50 books and numerous articles on economics, sociology, ethics, international relations and politics, and religion. Initially a “new liberal,” attempting to synthesize liberalism and democratic socialism, he later became closer to the Labor Party, influencing its economic policies.

Hobson is best known for a number of major contributions to economics. In a book ...