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Marshall's View on the Core Purpose of Economics
In his 1890 publication, Principles of Economics, Alfred Marshall outlined what he considered the primary objective of the field. He contended that the 'chief and highest interest' of economics is to investigate whether the existence of a 'lower class' is a societal necessity. This inquiry delves into whether it is unavoidable that a large segment of the population must endure poverty and toil to facilitate a cultured and refined life for others, while being excluded from participating in that life themselves. Marshall believed that economics, through the application of factual analysis and inference, was the essential discipline for addressing this fundamental question about poverty and social hierarchy.
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Sociology
Social Science
Empirical Science
Science
Economics
Economy
Introduction to Microeconomics Course
CORE Econ
Ch.8 Supply and demand: Markets with many buyers and sellers - The Economy 2.0 Microeconomics @ CORE Econ
Related
Marshall's Model of Supply and Demand
Marginal Cost
Marginal Utility
Consumer Surplus
Producer Surplus
Marshall's Observation on Economies of Scale
Marshall's Disapproval of Homo Economicus
Marshall's Cautionary View on Mathematical Economics
Marshall's View on the Core Purpose of Economics
Portrait of Alfred Marshall
Learn After
Analyzing a Foundational View on the Purpose of Economics
Analyzing a Modern Economic Debate
An influential economist writing in 1890 defined the 'chief and highest interest' of the discipline as a specific moral and practical investigation. Which of the following questions best represents the core purpose of economics according to this foundational view?
A foundational view of economics, established in an influential 1890 text, posits that the discipline's primary goal is to accept the existence of poverty as a given and to develop models that optimize resource allocation within this fixed social structure.
Summarizing a Foundational Economic Goal
An influential 1890 text defined the core purpose of economics as a specific inquiry into poverty and social structure. Match each component of this viewpoint with its corresponding description.
According to a foundational view of economics articulated in 1890, the discipline's 'chief and highest interest' is not simply to describe markets, but to investigate whether the existence of a 'lower class'—enduring constant toil and poverty—is a societal ______ for the cultured life of others.
A government is debating a policy to significantly expand access to higher education and vocational training for individuals from low-income backgrounds. An economist, guided by the foundational principle articulated in an influential 1890 text—that economics' 'chief and highest interest' is to determine if the existence of a 'lower class' is a societal necessity—is tasked with analyzing this policy. Which of the following analytical questions best embodies this specific purpose of economics?
Evaluating a Foundational Economic Principle in a Modern Context
Evaluating Economic Development Strategies