Tawney, Richard Henry (1880–1962)

Richard Henry Tawney was born in Calcutta, India, and died in London. Educated at Balliol College, Oxford, he held academic appointments at Glasgow, Oxford, and the London School of Economics. He was a founder of the Workers Education Association, an educational venture providing university-level courses for workers that eventually became an extension college within Oxford.

A prominent socialist, Tawney was a prolific writer with numerous books, pamphlets, and newspaper articles to his name. As a member of the British Labour Party, he served on major public commissions and committees that addressed policy issues in labor and education. Trips to China in the early 1930s and the United States in 1941–1942 brought him into contact with laborers in a very social context and resulted in articles and a book comparing their situation with that of English workers.

Tawney was a major figure in the development of the field of economic history and social history. He maintained that the historical endeavor must move beyond simple narrative accounts to an integrative examination of the complex web of social forces surrounding the economic system. Searching for the historical foundations of the English economy, he studied the 16th-century conflict between large landholders and small farmers over the issue of enclosure (Agrarian Problem in the Sixteenth Century). In the process, he discovered the important role of the English Church, which laid the groundwork for his subsequent historical examination of the relationship of economics and religion (Religion and the Rise of Capitalism). While acknowledging Max Weber's insights into the Protestant work ethic, Tawney disputed his conclusion that the foundations of capitalism can be traced solely to the internal, spiritual aspects of early English Puritans.

Tawney's intellectual search focused on two major issues: why rich and poor continue to coexist in a capitalist system and how to organize a new society built on economic and political equality. His critical analysis of industrial capitalism (Acquisitive Society) revealed what he understood to be its devastating impact on society. He argued that the dual focus of capitalists on profit and wealth unhinges the economic system from its primary purpose, to contribute to society's growth and welfare. He concluded that capitalism uncouples property rights from social purpose, diminishes the role of the industrialist as a member of a profession, and taints the working class by infecting it with a desire to acquire wealth.

Carefully weaving a path between Marxist advocates and opponents, Tawney accepted a modified market system as appropriate for the emerging new society. He advocated governmental intervention to channel the behavior of industrialists, protect workers, and eliminate poverty. He envisioned a classless society built on full equality in relationships in a community built on human fellowship (Equality). As a democratic socialist, he also advocated the dispersion of political and economic power to individuals to ensure the embodiment of the principle of equality.