richard cobden 3 June 1804 2 April 1865 British manufacturer Radical Liberal statesman Anti-Corn Law League
Richard Cobden (3 June 1804 – 2 April 1865) was a British manufacturer and Radical and Liberal statesman, associated with John Bright in the formation of the Anti-Corn Law League as well as with the Cobden-Chevalier Treaty. Cobden, and what is was called "Cobdenism" and later identified with laissez-faire, was subjected to much criticism from the school of English economists who advocated protectionism, on the ideas of Alexander Hamilton and Friedrich List. However, during much of what remained of the nineteenth century, his success with the free-trade movement was unchallenged, and protectionism came to be heterodox. The tariff reform movement in England started by Joseph Chamberlain brought new opponents of Manchesterism, and the whole subject once more became controversial. The years of reconstruction following World War II saw a renewed fashion for government intervention in international trade but, starting in the 1980s, Margaret Thatcher in the UK and Ronald Reagan in the led a revival of laissez-faire that, as of 2006, dominates economic thinking. Cobden left a deep mark on English history. Though he was not a "scientific economist," many of his ideas and prophecies were valid. He considered that it was "natural" for Britain to manufacture for the world and exchange for agricultural products of other countries. Modern economists call this comparative advantage. He advocated the repeal of the Corn Laws, which not only made food cheaper, but helped develop industry and benefit labour. He correctly saw that other countries would be unable to compete with England in manufacture in the foreseeable future. "We advocate," he said, "nothing but what is agreeable to the highest behests of Christianity—to buy in the cheapest market, and sell in the dearest." After the repeal of the Corn Laws, British manufacturing did see significant productivity rises, while British agriculture ultimately went into decline due to import competition. He perceived that t
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