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Economics Programs M.I.T. Undergraduate

M.I.T. Economics department committee (re-)organization. 1976-78

During my second year in graduate school at M.I.T. (1975-76), the economics department professors were engaged in a discussion about reforming the administration of their department. At the time I was completely unaware of this discussion that had been provoked by the following memorandum written by then Department Head, Professor E. Cary Brown, based on his experience with the growing overload of administrative chores and responsibilities in a department with the scale of that attained by M.I.T.’s economics department.

Brown’s memo to the faculty is followed by a transcription of a copy of the letter Brown wrote to Robert Solow, who as an administrative reorganization committee member, must have been asked for some further testimony. The entire committee’s (Peter A. Diamond, Stanley Fischer, Jerry Hausman, Paul Joskow, Robert M. Solow) report was completed two months after Brown’s memo. In the same departmental file from the M.I.T. archives, one finds a copy of the actual assignment of administrative responsibilities for the academic year 1977/78.

Many, if not most, of the administrative tasks had been allocated and faithfully executed before this “reorganization”. I know that Evsey Domar had long been covering the placement of new Ph.D.’s and also proudly serving as the departmental representative for library-related affairs. I sense reading these documents that the truly neglected child all along was the undergraduate program for which some arm-twisting was required to achieve equitable burden-sharing among the faculty. But perhaps there were other specific items that had been sore points too. Maybe Brown simply wanted an explicit organization chart to forestall “whataboutism” from the mouths of relatively uncooperative colleagues. But like I wrote above, this was a discussion that was invisible to me (appropriately so) at the time.

Cf. The committee assignments in the Harvard economics department during the 1972-73 academic year. 

__________________________

MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 02139

March 12, 1976

Economics Department Faculty

Dear [blank]

For some time I have become increasingly dismayed at the increase in the administrative burden in the Department, and now find the present job as Head to be a nearly impossible one. If the job is to be made tolerable, it must have substantial additional faculty support in some form to cut it down to a scope manageable either by me or a successor.

There are two basic ways that this can be achieved: (1) by spreading the administrative activities and responsibilities more widely among the faculty; or (2) placing these tasks on essentially an associate departmental head, whose precise title could take various forms Executive Officer, Academic Officer (e.g., Tony French in Physics), or Associate Head. I personally would favor the Associate Head route, but regard it as an open question subject to further discussion and consideration, and to Administration approval. This new structure should be treated as an experiment, to last no longer than until the next Head is chosen, and to be reconsidered at that time.

My own thinking about the administrative tasks of the Department separates them into four major areas: undergraduate programs, graduate programs, research programs, and personnel and budgeting. While these can be headed by an administrator or by faculty, it seems to me that the first two programs should have formal faculty control regardless of the form the administrative reorganization takes. The graduate program nearly has that form now and largely runs itself, with the exception of a few odds and ends that now lie outside the responsibility of the graduate registration officers. The undergraduate program is a long way from this structure and will require a good deal of imagination, initiative and effort to resuscitate the Undergraduate Economics Association and provide more guidance and support for majors. The research programs (student and faculty) focus more or less clearly under the Committee on Economic Research. Personnel and budgeting are an administrative responsibility. They have involved increasing amounts of time as budgets have tightened, space has tightened, and the search for new faculty has expanded.

The administrative structure is an important matter to the Department. Because it involves departmental administration and the role of the Department Head, it concerns the Administration through Dean Hanham. He has asked me to appoint the following committee to consider these questions of reorganization and to make recommendations: Bob Solow, Peter Diamond, Stan Fischer, Paul Joskow, and Jerry Hausman. Please give your views to members of the committee as soon as you can.

Sincerely,
[signed “Cary”]
E. Cary Brown, Head

ECB/sc

__________________________

Brown to Solow

March 16, 1976

Professor Robert Solow
E52-383

Dear Bob:

I shrink from making organization charts, but the following diagram is intended to give some idea of the orders of magnitude of faculty involvement in departmental chores.

Chairman, Committee on Undergraduate Studies

  1. Faculty counselors (we have agreed with the UEA to keep members to 10 or less, and let faculty build up expertise by staying adviser for freshman, sophomore, junior, or senior year).

—10 faculty: 2 for each class. 4 for seniors

  1. Faculty adviser for humanities concentration in economics (advises and signs up students); also considers the eligibility of economics subjects, what we consider concentration, etc.
  2. Closely related to (2) is possible membership on the so-called Humanities Committee that approves and reviews the whole Humanities, Arts, and Social Science requirement and program. (We have no one on this year but as the largest concentration will surely need to have a presence.)
  3. Approval of transfer of credits from other schools to M.I.T.
  4. Advising with Undergraduate Economic Association in matters academic, professional, social.
  5. Undergraduate placement, while an Institute responsibility, could be supervised and assisted by a faculty member who would keep up to date on summer placement, interning possibilities, salaries. The experience our students have applying to graduate schools, actual jobs offered and taken.
  6. Design of curriculum, cooperative program, etc.
  7. Various activities, such as providing information to undergraduates in their choice of major (Midway in fall, seminar in spring), Open House activities, Alumni activities, etc.
  8. Relations with other Departments at undergraduate level, such as subject offerings, subject content, etc.
  9. Supervision and staffing of undergraduate subjects with multiple sections — 14.001, 14.002, 14.03, 14.04, 14.06, 14.30, 14.31.
  10. Catalog copy.

Chairman, Committee on Graduate Studies

  1. Graduate Registration Officers, so far one each for first two years, and one for thesis writers. Has been suggested that we have an additional adviser for foreign students and minority and women?
  2. Admissions Committee has, in the past, had three members.
  3. Placement, both summer and permanent.
  4. Supervision of core subjects.
  5. Ph.D. and M.S. requirements, program, size.
  6. Financial aid — coordinating various GRO; Admissions Committee, and Budget limitations.
  7. Graduate School Policy Committee meetings.
  8. Annual revision of brochure.
  9. Graduate Economics Association, Black Graduate Economics Association.
  10. Catalog copy.
  11. Various activities — professional and social that are not contained within a particular class.

Chairman, Committee on Economic Research (I faculty)

  1. Organized list of faculty projects requiring research assistants and the supply of them (both graduate and undergraduate). Assignment of R.A.’s.
  2. Assistance in research proposals.
  3. Inventory of internships and off-campus research.
  4. Supervision of unscheduled subjects, such as UROP, Undergraduate Seminar, and thesis.
  5. Supervision of M.I.T. Working Paper Series.
  6. Allocation of computer funds, developing rules, developing alternative sources.

Personnel and Budgeting (Administrative Officer and a large chunk of my time)

  1. Personnel
    1. Nonfaculty is supervised by the Administrative Officer.
    2. Faculty Personnel

(1) Employment — new Ph.D.’s and senior faculty
(2) Review and promotion
(3) Assignments, leaves, research

    1. Postdoctoral personnel
  2. Space allocations, revisions.
  3. Budget Proposals
  4. a. Proposals
    b. Implementation

Telephone
Xerox & Ditto
Supplies
Equipment

There may be other matters that I am leaving out – routine meetings average probably a day a week, and things like that. Consultations with faculty, students, and other Departments, would probably add a couple more days.

If there are questions, I’ll oblige, of course.

Sincerely,
E. Cary Brown, Head

ECB/sc

__________________________

MEMORANDUM

May 10, 1976

TO:       Department Faculty
FROM: Committee on Reorganization (PAD, SF, JH, PJ, RMS) [Peter A. Diamond, Stanley Fischer, Jerry Hausman, Paul Joskow, Robert M. Solow]

SUBJECT:         Reorganization

ECB’s [E. Cary Brown] letter of March 12, which created this committee, starts from the premise that the administrative burden on the Department Head has become essentially impossible. This seems clearly to be the case. It has happened because the department has increased in size and complexity without any corresponding adaptation of its administrative arrangements. Every new function has fallen into the Head’s lap. (Top that, anyone.) Apart from the sheer burden of work thus created, another problem is the difficulty of communications, because that is also time-consuming.

After some palaver and negotiation, we have a reorganizational package to suggest. It rests on two conditions; since it is something of an interconnected web, it will probably unravel if the two conditions can not be met. (1) Since the only way to correct an excessively centralized structure is to decentralize it, we propose to diffuse administrative responsibility more widely through the department; there will be at least one serious administrative post for everyone, or perhaps two minor posts instead, but everyone will have to participate. (2) The administrative load attached to the undergraduate program has increased with the size of the enrollment and the improvement of the curriculum; no one wants to manage an inadequately staffed program. We propose, therefore, that the normal teaching load for everyone in the department be agreed to be half graduate and half undergraduate teaching. This definition should be extended to everyone on the departmental budget: joint appointees, visiting professors, etc. As soon as there are a couple of exceptions to this understanding, there will be more. Then the management of the undergraduate program will break down, and it will revert or default to the Department Head, and that is what we are trying to stave off.

The particular organization we have in mind is as follows.

  1. The central functions (budgeting, space, leaves, relations with the MIT hierarchy, etc.) will be in the hands of the Department Head and an Associate Head namely PAD [Peter A. Diamond]). In addition, one of them (probably ECB [E. Cary Brown]) will be an ex officio member of the Committee on Undergraduate Studies to be proposed below, and the other will be an ex officio member of the Committee on Graduate Studies. The precise division of labor is obviously a matter of taste; for the moment, ECB [E. Cary Brown] will probably do most of the relations with the MIT structure and PAD [Peter A. Diamond] will concentrate on intra-departmental matters.
  2. There will be a Director of Undergraduate Studies (PT [Peter Temin]), who will be chairman of a Committee on Undergraduate Studies (with 2 or 3 additional members, possibly RD [Rudiger Dornbusch], PJ [Paul Joskow] and one other). This committee will be responsible for revisions of the undergraduate curriculum adding and subtracting subjects, staffing them, degree requirements, etc. In recent discussions with the Undergraduate Economics Association, the proposal has merged that there should be a larger number of Undergraduate Advisors (i.e., registration officers) than there is now, with each taking care of at most 10 students. That suggests we would need about 8 such advisors. The members of the Committee might serve as advisors, plus others. Merely serving as registration officer for 10 undergraduates is by itself not an onerous job.
  3. There seems to be no need for change in the organization of graduate studies in the department. We suggest that there be a Director of Graduate Studies (RSE [Richard S. Eckaus]) and a Committee on Graduate Studies which would, as now, consist of the other two Graduate Registration Officers. Things are going very well now with REH [Robert E. Hall] handling the first-year students. MJP [Michael J. Piore] the second-year students and RSE [Richard S. Eckaus] the thesis-writers. REH [Robert E. Hall] is prepared to take on the task or devising a scheme to keep track of post-generals students, and see that they find themselves a reasonable thesis topic in a reasonable amount of time. The scheme may need another person to look after it.
  4. We suggest the creation of Committee on Staffing whose functions would include looking after the hiring of assistant professors, the dovetailing of visiting professors with faculty leaves, and the rationing of visiting scholars. The picture we have is that the members of committee would do the interviewing and preliminary screening of new Ph.D.’s at the annual meetings, and decide which of them to invite to come and give seminars. At that stage and thereafter, the whole department faculty would be in on the act, and final decisions would be made, as they are now, in a department meeting. The main time-consumer for this committee would be the correspondence in connection with hiring. Since that would fall on the Chairman, that post would be a major one. For the other members of the committee, the burden would be relatively light. We suggest REH [Robert E. Hall] as chairman, plus perhaps 3 others.
  5. There seems to be no reason to change the way the Admissions Committee now functions.
  6. We see no need for major change in the Placement process. Our only suggestion are (a) perhaps to provide EDD [Evsey D. Domar] with another person to share the load, and (b) to have a pre-season department meeting, analogous to the post-generals meeting, at which each graduate student entering the market could be discussed by the full facuIty, and information and ideas collected.
  7. There are other details. RLB [Robert L. Bishop] is functioning as advisor to MIT undergraduates thinking about economics as part of their Humanities requirement, and we are happy to preserve that human capital. MAA [Morris A. Adelman] who has been our representative to CGSP is to begin a term on the CEP, which should count as a major administrative burden. We need his successor on CGSP.

One last point: we hope that each committee chairman will promptly send a written notice of each substantive decision to the Head and Associate Head for distribution to the department faculty, so that communications are well looked after. That plus rational expectations should do the trick.

Source: MIT Archives. MIT Department of Economics Records. Box 2, Folder “Department Organization”.

__________________________

DEPARTMENTAL ADMINISTRATIVE RESPONSIBILITIES:
ECONOMICS DEPARTMENT 1977-78
  1. UNDERGRADUATE COMMITTEE
Chairman: Peter Temin
Members: Cary Brown Senior Faculty Counsellor, Ex Officio
Jerry Rothenberg Senior Faculty Counsellor
Peter Temin Senior Faculty Counsellor
Rudiger Dornbusch Junior Faculty Counsellor
Jeffrey Harris Junior Faculty Counsellor
Jagdish Bhagwati Sophomore Faculty Counsellor (Fall)
Henry Farber Sophomore Faculty Counsellor (Spring)

Summer Jobs: Jeffrey Harris
Humanities Adviser: Robert Bishop
Transfer of Credits: Cary Brown

  1. GRADUATE COMMITTEE
Chairman: Richard Eckaus Thesis, Graduate Registration Officer
Members: Paul Joskow/Mike Piore Second Year Graduate Registration Officer
Marty Weitzman First Year Graduate Registration Officer
Jerome Rothenberg CGSP Representative
Stan Fischer, Ex Officio

Admissions Committee:

Chairman: Robert Bishop
Members: Frank Fisher and Lance Taylor

Placement: Evsey Domar
Harvard-MIT Theory Seminar: Eric Maskin
Theory Workshop: Kevin Roberts

  1. OTHER DEPARTMENTAL ACTIVITIES

Staffing Committee: Chairman: Rudiger Dornbusch

(For New Ass’t Profs.) Members:

Paul Joskow
Jerry Hausman
Stan Fischer, Ex Officio
(Added for Temporary Visitors: Robert Solow)

Independent Activity Period: Jeffrey Harris/Marilyn Simon
Unstructured Subjects Committee: Peter Temin, Undergraduate; Richard Eckaus, Graduate
Computer Allocation: Richard Eckaus

ADDENDUM: INSTITUTE COMMITTEES

CEP: Morris Adelman
Associate Chairman of the Faculty: Michael Piore
Visual Arts: Jerry Rothenberg
Library System, Chairman: Evsey Domar

Image Source:  For this portrait of members of the M.I.T. economics department in 1975 see the Economics in the Rear-view Mirror post that provides identifications.

Categories
Economics Programs M.I.T. Regulations

MIT. Revising Economics Ph.D. General Examinations. E.C.Brown, 1975

 

What makes this memo from E. Cary Brown particularly useful is that it provides us with a list of the graduate economics fields along with the participating faculty members as of 1975. Also the major revision proposed was to have a system of two major fields (satisfied with general examinations) and two minor fields (satisfied by course work). Interesting to note that graduate student input was clearly integrated into the revision procedure.

________________________

Memo from Chairman E. Cary Brown
on a Revision of General Exams, 1975

April 28, 1975

To: Economics Department Faculty and Graduate Students
From: E. C. Brown
Re: Revision of General Examinations

While it has been left that a Committee would be appointed to review the procedures of the general examination (see minutes of the Department Meeting of April 23, 1975), further informal discussion has moved toward a proposed concept of these examinations that I am submitting for consideration and agreement.

  1. There seems reasonable satisfaction about the structure of the present examinations, subject to clarification of the final 2 field examinations and their relationship to the 2 field write-offs.
  2. It is proposed that the 2 fields satisfied by passing the “general” examinations be designated major The examination will be offered in a field, will cover the field in a general way, and will be separated from course examinations. Minor fields will be satisfied by course work. A somewhat lower standard will be imposed in minor fields than in major fields. The “generals” examination, therefore, would apply to the fields of the candidate’s expected expertise, and emphasis would be on a broad coverage of the field.
  3. Each field should, therefore, describe its general requirements for the field as a major one, and list the subjects that may reasonably be offered as a write-off to satisfy the field as a minor one. There should also be some details on the requirements when fields are closely linked (e.g., the proposal for the transportation field and its relationship to urban economics).
  4. Assuming this proposal to be agreeable, the question of term papers still needs settling.

I propose, therefore, the following procedures:

  1. Would each of you give Sue Steenburg a list of your graduate subjects for this academic year, with an indication of whether or not a term paper was required and, if so, the percentage of final grade it represented.
  2. Would faculty in each field submit a list of subjects that may be used to satisfy major and minor requirements in their field as it would ultimately appear in the brochure. The fields to be covered are as follows, the faculty in the field are listed, and the responsible member underlined.
Advanced Economic Theory Bishop, Diamond, Solow, Fisher, Samuelson, Varian, Hausman, Weitzman
Comparative Economic Systems Domar, Weitzman
Economic Development Eckaus, Bhagwati, Taylor
Economic History Kindleberger, Temin, Domar
Finance Merton
Fiscal Economics Diamond, Friedlaender, Rothenberg, Brown
Human Resources and Income Distribution Thurow, Piore
Industrial Organization Adelman, Joskow
International Economics Kindleberger, Bhagwati
Labor Economics Piore, Myers, Siegel
Monetary Economics Fischer, Modigliani
Operations Research Little, Shapiro
Russian Economics Domar, Weitzman
Statistics and Econometrics Hall, Hausman, Fisher, Kuh
Transportation Friedlaender, Wheaton
Urban Economics Rothenberg, Wheaton

If there are any difficulties with these suggestions, let me know right away. If we can proceed along these lines, it appears to be simply a clarification of our recent past and a substantial timesaver. The reports can be looked at this summer by a student-faculty group, with responsibility for faculty on me and for students on Dick Anderson.

Source:  M.I.T. Archives. Department of Economics Records, Box 2, Folder “Grad Curriculum”.

Image with identifications: Economics Faculty group portrait, 1976.

Categories
Economists Exam Questions M.I.T. Suggested Reading Syllabus

M.I.T. Advanced Economic Theory. Uncertainty and Capital Theory. Readings and Exam. Solow, 1965

 

Topics in advanced economic theory in 1965 was taught at M.I.T. by Robert Solow. The topics discussed were uncertainty and capital theory. This post provides information that was found stored in three different folders in Robert Solow’s papers at the Economists’ Papers Archive at Duke University. Together in one place we now have the reading lists for the topics, the final exam questions and even the class list. For the little it is worth knowing, Robert Hall of Stanford and William Nordhaus of Yale were awarded A’s in the course. I certainly hope that their scientific reputations will not be affected by that revelation.

____________________

Spring 1965

14.192 Advanced Economic Theory
I. Economics of Uncertainty

K. Arrow, “Alternative Approaches…,” Econometrica, October 1951.
D. Bernoulli, “Exposition of a New Theory…,” Econometrica, January 1954.
M. Friedman and L. J. Savage, “Utility Analysis…,” JPE, August, 1948, also in Readings in Price Theory.
H. Markowitz, “The Utility of Wealth,” JPE, April, 1952.
I. Herstein and J. Milnor, “An Axiomatic Approach…,” Econometrica, April, 1953.
J. Pratt, “Risk Aversion…,” Econometrica, January-April 1964.
H. Latané, “Criteria for Choice Among Risky Ventures,” JPE, April, 1959.
J. Tobin, “Liquidity Preference…,” Rev. of Econ. Stud., February, 1958.
K. Arrow, “The Role of Securities…,” Rev. of Econ. Stud., April, 1964.
J. Hirschleifer, “Efficient Allocation…,” AER, May, 1964, 77-96 (including relevant discussion)
K. Arrow, “Uncertainty and the Economics of Medical Care,” AER, December, 1963.

Source:  Duke University. David M. Rubenstein Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Economists’ Papers Archives. Robert M. Solow papers, Box 68, Folder “Reading Lists”.

____________________

Spring 1965

14.192 Advanced Economic Theory
Reading List on Capital Theory

I. Fisher: Theory of Interest, passim.
K. Wicksell: Lectures on Political Economy, Vol. I, Part II and Appendix on Akerman.
O. Lange: “the Place of Interest…”, Rev. of Econ. Studies, 1935-1936.
L. Metzler: “Rate of Interest and…”, JPE 1950, “Corrections”, JPE 1951.
P. Samuelson: “Some Aspects of the Pure Theory…”, QJE 1937
___________: “Rate of Interest under Ideal Conditions”, QJE 1939.
T. Koopmans: Three Essays on the State of Economics, pp. 105-126.
R. Radner: Notes on the Theory of Economic Planning.
E. Malinvaud: “The Analogy between…”, Rev. of Econ. Studies, 1961.
R. Solow: “Substitution and Fixed Proportions…”, Rev. of Econ. Studies, June 1962
________:  Capital Theory and the Rate of Return, Chapters 1, 2.
E. Phelps: “Substitution, Fixed Proportions,….”, International Economic Review, September 1963.
K. Arrow: “…Learning by Doing”, Rev. of Econ. Studies, June 1962.
R. Findlay: “The Robinsonian Model…”, Economica, February 1963 and “Comments” by Robinson and Findlay, Economica, November 1963.

Source:  Duke University. David M. Rubenstein Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Economists’ Papers Archives. Robert M. Solow papers, Box 67, Folder “14.192 Capital Theory”.

____________________

Final Examination
14.192 Advanced Economic Theory
Spring 1965

  1. Suppose Caius, a Petersburg merchant, has purchased commodities in Amsterdam which he could sell for 10,000 rubles if he had them in Petersburg. He therefore orders them to be shipped by sea, but is in doubt whether to insure them. He is well aware that at this time of year, of 100 ships which sail from Amsterdam to Petersburg, 5 are usually lost. How much wealth must Caius possess apart from the goods under consideration in order that it be sensible for him to abstain from insuring the shipment at a price of 800 rubles? And what fortune should be possessed by the man who offers to provide this insurance in order for him to be rational in doing so? Work out for an arbitrary utility function and specialize to the logarithmic case.
  2. In a perfectly competitive economy, it requires c (X) many years of labor, and nothing else, to build a machine which requires X men to operate it and has a capacity of one unit of output a year. The wage in terms of output is w and is expected to be constant forever. The market rate of interest is r, also constant. For given w, find the competitive equilibrium values of x and r. How does x change with w?
  3. By investing one unit of labor now (at real wage w) you can start a yoghurt-process. T units of time later, by investing one more unit of labor you can collect f (T) units yoghurt and start another identical yoghurt-process. There is a competitive capital market. You intend this yoghurt business to go on forever at the scale of one process. Discuss the determination of the best T, and implications for r and w.
  4. An investor with wealth W must divide it between holding cash, M, and holding one-year bonds in value B, paying interest at rate r. The return of principal is sure but the interest rate is random. Interest income is subject to a proportional tax at rate t. If the investor is a Bernoullian expected-utility maximizer and a risk-averter, how will his holding of bonds respond to a change in the tax rate? Explain the economics of your answer.

Source:  Duke University. David M. Rubenstein Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Economists’ Papers Archives. Robert M. Solow papers, Box 68, Folder “Examinations and Quizzes”.

____________________

From the Final Grade Sheet

Second Term 1964-65
Subject number: 14.192
Subject name: Economics Seminar
Staff member in charge: [signed] R. M. Solow

Graduate students of economics who were awarded grades
[There were 5 A’s and 7 B’s]:

Bing, Peter C.
Bischoff, Charles W.
Blackburn, Anthony J.
Carter, D. Nicholas G.
Hall, Robert E.
Havens, John J. Jr.
Kamiya, Denzo [Emeritus Professor,Keio Univ.]
Kheir El Dine, H. Miss
Mazur, Michael P.
Moskowitz, Warren E.
Nordhaus, William D.
Schulson, Louis J.

Source:  Duke University. David M. Rubenstein Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Economists’ Papers Archives. Robert M. Solow papers, Box 68, Folder “Examinations and Quizzes”.

____________________

(Preliminary) Class List

14.192 ADVANCED ECONOMIC THEORY
W 1:00-3:00
Professor Robert M. Solow

Bing, Peter C.
Bischoff, Charles W.
Blackburn, Anthony J.
Carter, D. Nicholas G.
Chacholiades, Miltiades  LISTENER
DeMenil, George F. DROPPED APRIL 13, 1965
Hall, Robert E.
Havens, John J. Jr.
Kamiya, Denzo
Kheir El Dine, H.
Mazur, Michael P.
Moskowitz, Warren E.
Schulson, Louis J.
Suva, Felipe
Wales, Terrence J. LISTENER
Cohen, Malcolm S. LISTENER
Stiglitz, Joseph
La Malfa, Giorgio LISTENER

Note:  William Nordhaus who received a grade in the course was not included in this preliminary class list. Felipe Suva and Joseph Stiglitz appear on this list but were not included in the gradesheet.

Source:  Duke University. David M. Rubenstein Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Economists’ Papers Archives. Robert M. Solow papers, Box 68, Folder “Reading Lists”.

Image Source:  Robert Merton Solow at the M.I.T. Museum website.

Categories
Exam Questions Oxford

Oxford. Exams for Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE), 1931

During the winter of 1931-32 Wesley Clair Mitchell of Columbia University taught as Eastman Professor at Balliol College, Oxford. In Mitchell’s papers in the Columbia University archives is a complete collection of the examinations for the Honour School of Philosophy, Politics, and Economics from Trinity term 1931 provided him by his  Oxford colleague Robert Hall. I have even transcribed the French/German/Italian texts for the “Unseen translation paper” (at least two of the three languages). Would be interested to know how a Google translation would have scored. I am following the ordering of the exams found in the Mitchell papers, reflecting Hall’s grouping of the examinations  (III, IV, VIII, IX required political economy topics; VII choice of one of three further topics in political economy; I, II, X, V, VI all the non-political-economy topics)

 

  1. HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY
  2. BRITISH CONSTITUTIONAL AND POLITICAL HISTORY
  3. POLITICAL ECONOMY
  4. POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC ORGANIZATION
  5. PRESCRIBED BOOKS: POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY
  6. UNSEEN TRANSLATION PAPER
  7. FURTHER SUBJECT IN POLITICAL ECONOMY

ADVANCED ECONOMIC THEORY
CURRENCY AND CREDIT
LABOUR MOVEMENTS SINCE 1815

 

  1. BRITISH SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC HISTORY
  2. PRESCRIBED BOOKS: POLITICAL ECONOMY
  3. MORAL AND POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY

_____________________

“By 1930, however, the total number of PPE candidates had risen to 102, thus necessitating an additional examiner in economics. In 1931, the total number of candidates increased by one-third again, to 132. …Between 1931 and 1939, there were always two Oxford-based economists on the Committee [of examiners]. In 1931, Hall joined Hargreaves, and they both also served as examiners in 1932. “

Source:   W. Young and F. Lee, Oxford Economics and Oxford Economists, p. 82

______________________

Cover letter from Robert Hall to Wesley Clair Mitchell

Trinity College,
Oxford.

13.XI.31

Dear Mitchell,

Here are the papers set last year. I have divided them into three groups which will explain them: everyone takes ten papers of which seven are common to all.

I have seen practically everyone about the matter we discussed on Monday and they all feel that the course you suggested should be followed. Hargreaves has written to MacGregor inviting him to come next Tuesday.

If you have not already been invited to the Political Economy Club dinner on Saturday the 21st would you come with me? Harrod is speaking on the balance of trade between gold-standard countries.

Yours very sincerely,

Robert Hall

______________________

SECOND PUBLIC EXAMINATION
Honour School of Philosophy, Politics, and Economics

III
POLITICAL ECONOMY

  1. ‘To show that both under-population and over-population are possible is not the same thing as showing that either of these things exists now or has ever existed.’ Consider this statement.
  2. What importance do you attach to the distinction between long and short periods in an analysis of cost of production?
  3. What do you understand by the principle of charging ‘what the traffic will bear’? How far is it applicable outside the sphere of transport charges?
  4. Can the phenomenon of a rate of interest be adequately explained as the result of a preference for present over future income?
  5. ‘It is an illusion to suppose that the general level of wages can be appreciably and permanently raised by Trade Union action except in so far as it increases the efficiency of the workers, or incidentally stimulates the efficiency of the employers.’ Examine this assertion.
  6. What costs does the presence of risk and uncertainty entail? How is the burden of these costs actually borne and distributed?
  7. ‘Any formula which may be used to demonstrate that rent is a surplus may equally well be used to demonstrate that wages and interest are surpluses.’ Discuss this view.
  8. Is the aggregate volume of employment likely to be diminished by the introduction of new mechanical processes?
  9. What are the necessary conditions for the maintenance and effective operation of an international gold standard? Are these conditions realized to-day?
  10. What are the advantages and disadvantages of a policy of State control of foreign investment?
  11. What effects may different forms of protective tariffs be expected to produce upon the distribution of income within a community?
  12. In what different senses my the term ‘taxable capacity’ be used? How far is it possible to attach a precise meaning to the term in any of these uses?

[T.T. 1931.]

SECOND PUBLIC EXAMINATION
Honour School of Philosophy, Politics, and Economics

IV
POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC ORGANIZATION

[Questions should be attempted from each section]
A

  1. Discuss the view that to rely, for the preservation of peace, on the use of military and economic sanctions by the League of Nations, is to defeat the purpose of the League.
  2. Examine the effect of the separation of executive and legislative powers on American politics.
  3. ‘In spite of outward appearances the multi-party system of Germany and France provides more stable, more efficient, and more representative government than the English system.’ Discuss this statement.
  4. Discuss the merits of direct and indirect election as a means of choosing a second chamber.
  5. ‘No branch of government more immediately and more deeply affects the lives of ordinary citizens than the currency and banking policy of the State, and yet there is no branch of government which is less suitable for popular control.’ Do you see any solution to this difficulty?
  6. Discuss the view that substantial economies ought to be effected in this country by reducing the number of government servants.

B

  1. How far do you consider that control by the workers engaged in an industry is compatible with industrial efficiency.
  2. Discuss the effects of the increased burden of fixed interest charges caused by the recent fall in prices.
  3. ‘In view of the disparity between wholesale and retail prices, marketing rather than production is the most suitable sphere for state control.’ Examine this statement.
  4. Is the future development of British industry more likely to come from a revival of the exporting industries or from the expansion of new types of production?
  5. Discuss the view that expenditure on social services is a better investment for the community than the increase of private savings.
  6. Is the Stock Exchange necessary for the direction of capital into industry?

[T.T. 1931.]

SECOND PUBLIC EXAMINATION
Honour School of Philosophy, Politics, and Economics

VIII
BRITISH SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC HISTORY

  1. ‘The agrarian Revolution took place earlier, and without its results the industrial Revolution would have been impossible’ (Brentano). Consider this judgment.
  2. Describe the changes which occurred in the localization of industries between 1760 and 1830.
  3. Did the British fiscal system during the first half of the nineteenth century seriously restrict industrial development?
  4. Examine the distribution and the effect of immigration into Great Britain.
  5. Describe and account for the changes in Trade Union policy between 1825 and 1870.
  6. ‘A more miserable history can hardly be found than that of the attempts of the Bank to keep a reserve and to manage a foreign drain between the year 1819 and the year 1857.’ Was Bagehot’s criticism of the policy of the Bank of England justified?
  7. What measures were taken to improve the living conditions of the working classes in the period 1836-90?
  8. ‘High farming the best substitute for Protection.’ How far were the methods and organization of British agriculture successfully adapted to the situation following upon the repeal of the Corn Laws?
  9. ‘The basis of taxation is extremely narrow (Goschen). To what extent was this true of the tax system in the period 1860-90?
  10. What changes did the University of Oxford undergo in the nineteenth century?
  11. What attempts has Parliament made to secure effective control over the development of mechanical transport?
  12. What part has the principle of the workhouse test played in the administration of the English poor law?

[T.T. 1931]

SECOND PUBLIC EXAMINATION
Honour School of Philosophy, Politics, and Economics

IX
PRESCRIBED BOOKS: POLITICAL ECONOMY

  1. ‘Every improvement in the circumstances of the society tends either directly or indirectly to raise the real rent of land.’ Discuss the manner in which Adam Smith reaches this conclusion.
  2. ‘The number of productive labourers can never be much increased but in consequence of an increase of capital.’ Does Adam Smith give a coherent account of the nature of capital?
  3. Can a clear account of the causes and effects of inflation be derived from Adam Smith and Ricardo?
  4. Compare the theories of Adam Smith and Ricardo on the mechanism of foreign trade.
  5. What is the importance of normal costs of production in Ricardo’s system?
  6. Can Ricardo’s views on the incidence of taxation be reconciled with modern theories on the subject?
  7. Is it fair to say that false hypotheses about the laws of population vitiate the accounts given by Ricardo and Marx of the relations between the profits of capital and the wages of labour?
  8. In what sense, if any, can commodities be said to contain ‘congealed labour-time’?
  9. ‘The starting-point of the development that gave rise to the wage labourer as well as to the capitalist was the servitude of the labourer.’ Discuss this statement.
  10. Discuss the views of the three writers on the place of competition in economic life.

[T. T. 1931]

_________________________________

Note by Hall:

“One of these 3. The best people do the first: the worst the last. (Economists only)”

SECOND PUBLIC EXAMINATION
Honour School of Philosophy, Politics, and Economics

VII
FURTHER SUBJECT IN POLITICAL ECONOMY
ADVANCED ECONOMIC THEORY

  1. ‘But if quantitative analysis can give us empirically valid demand curves…shall we not have a better theory of demand than qualitative analysis can supply?’ Discuss this view of economic method.
  2. Consider the problem of the attribution of portions of the product to units of productive factors.
  3. In what circumstances can it be said that a price is indeterminate?
  4. Consider the relation between enterprise and saving.
  5. Is it possible to construct a tax system on the principle of equal sacrifice?
  6. Discuss the problem of weighting in connexion with the construction of some type of index number.
  7. Consider the difficulties of economic forecasting.
  8. Give an account of the principal formulae connecting money and prices, with reference to the availability of statistical evidence.
  9. Can trade depressions be attributed either to under-consumption or to under-investment?
  10. How would you expect the price system of a Socialist economy to differ from that of a competitive one?

[T.T. 1931]

SECOND PUBLIC EXAMINATION
Honour School of Philosophy, Politics, and Economics

VII
FURTHER SUBJECT IN POLITICAL ECONOMY
CURRENCY AND CREDIT

  1. ‘The equations of the Quantity Theory of Money are truisms which tell us nothing in themselves.’ Discuss this view.
  2. Can the purchasing power of money be satisfactorily expressed in terms of a ‘general level of prices’?
  3. What types of legal regulation prevail to-day with regard to the cash reserves of central banks? To what extent may these regulations be regarded as obsolete?
  4. What grounds are there for assuming that the world’s annual supplies of gold are likely to prove inadequate to future monetary requirements?
  5. How far can the control of credit be effectively secured through the purchase and sale of securities by a central bank?
  6. Describe the chief features of British monetary policy between 1914 and 1925.
  7. ‘Booms and slumps are simply the expression of the results of an oscillation of the terms of credit about their equilibrium position.’ Consider this statement.
  8. How would you proceed to measure the purchasing power parity between two currencies?
  9. How far does experience indicate the practicability of a discrimination on the part of bankers between the different purposes to which credit may be applied?
  10. What are the main considerations which should govern the policy of a super-national bank?
  11. Give an account of the operation of the Indian Gold Exchange Standard between 1898 and 1914.
  12. ‘Banks can only lend what the public has entrusted to them.’ Examine this view.

[T. T. 1931]

SECOND PUBLIC EXAMINATION
Honour School of Philosophy, Politics, and Economics

VII
FURTHER SUBJECT IN POLITICAL ECONOMY
LABOUR MOVEMENTS SINCE 1815

  1. What were the principles of Owenism, and what attempts were made to apply them?
  2. Describe and account for the attitude of the Chartists towards the movement for the repeal of the Corn Laws.
  3. ‘The creation of a normal working day is the product of a protracted civil war, more or less dissembled, between the capitalist class and the working class’ (Marx). Does the history of factory legislation support this view?
  4. What changes in the legal status of Trade Unions were effected by the legislation of the years 1868-76?
  5. To what extent were trade unionists influenced by the wage theories of orthodox political economists during the latter half of the nineteenth century?
  6. To what influences was the emergence of the New Unionism of 1889-90 due?
  7. What have been the causes of the success of the Consumers’ Co-operative Movement in Great Britain?
  8. Examine and compare the various educational experiments which have been associated with working-class movements in Great Britain.
  9. ‘Of real Syndicalism there is in England probably none.’ How far was this statement true of the period 1906-14?
  10. What attempts have been made to deal with the special problems connected with casual labour?
  11. Discuss the attitude of the British Labour leaders to the Second and Third Internationals.

[T.T. 1931]

_________________________________

Note by Hall:

“These are the non-economic papers taken—a paper in Kant can be substituted for No. V. (Prescribed Books) but this is the usual one.”

SECOND PUBLIC EXAMINATION
Honour School of Philosophy, Politics, and Economics

I
HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY

  1. Explain and criticize Descartes’ view of the method of mathematics.
  2. Does either Spinoza or Leibniz give a coherent account of the apparent multiplicity of objects in the world?
  3. What reasons led Leibniz to his conception of the monad?
  4. Is Locke’s account of the origination of ideas satisfactory?
  5. Give an account of Berkeley’s theory of perception.
  6. Examine the grounds for the distinction between primary and secondary qualities.
  7. Discuss Hume’s criticism of the notion of the self.
  8. What is meant by apperception?
  9. On what grounds can a distinction be drawn between understanding and reason?
  10. ‘Its religious character is an essential feature of English Idealism, and the guiding principle of its development.’ Discuss this statement in regard to any one British Idealist.
  11. Examine any modern account of the nature and origin of belief.
  12. Is any satisfactory account known to you of the place of evil in the world?
  13. Explain, and estimate the success of, the attempt of any one philosopher to refute materialism.
  14. What is the function of philosophy according to any one modern philosopher?
  15. Discuss the account given by any one modern philosopher of the relation between the human mind and its body.

[T.T. 1931]

SECOND PUBLIC EXAMINATION
Honour School of Philosophy, Politics, and Economics

II
BRITISH CONSTITUTIONAL AND POLITICAL HISTORY

[Candidates are expected to answer questions from both sections of the paper.]

A

  1. To what extent were Parliamentary elections in the boroughs under the control of the Crown and of private individuals at the beginning of the reign of George III?
  2. What different ideas in political thought are represented in the careers of Burke and Fox?
  3. Discuss the problems raised by cases involving the privileges of the House of Commons between 1760 and 1860.
  4. ‘The Commons were right in accusing him; the Lords were right in acquitting him.’ Discuss this verdict on the impeachment of Warren Hastings.
  5. Discuss the view that Britain has never been in greater danger than at the time of the Treaty of Tilsit.
  6. How far does the history of England between 1822 and 1830 prove that good government without representative government is not enough?
  7. What problems were left unsolved by the Union with Ireland in 1801?
  8. What truth is there in the view that the Whig governments in the decade after the Reform Bill proved themselves to be as incompetent in financial questions as they were competent in political questions?
  9. Compare the extent of the personal influence of the monarch under George III and under Queen Victoria.

B

  1. ‘But then you have been Prime Minister in a sense in which no other man has been it since Mr. Pitt’s time’ (Gladstone, 1846). Discuss this estimate of Peel as a Prime Minister.
  2. How far were any British interests served by the Crimean War?
  3. ‘The real struggle in nineteenth-century England was not between Conservatives and Liberals but between rationalists and romantics in politics.’ Discuss.
  4. Discuss the view that the pre-war system of rigidly organized parties really dates from 1868.
  5. Discuss the claims of Disraeli’s administration from 1874 to 1880 to be considered more truly democratic than the administration of Gladstone which precede it.
  6. How far is it true to say that the South African War was due to the alternation between a policy of authority and a policy of conciliation?
  7. Estimate the effect on the Conservative Party of the adhesion of Joseph Chamberlain.
  8. Discuss the chief conflicts between the Commons and the Lords between 1860 and 1911.
  9. ‘A party without a policy and without philosophy.’ How far do you agree with this dictum of The Times on the Liberal party in 1906?

[T. T. 1931.]

SECOND PUBLIC EXAMINATION
Honour School of Philosophy, Politics, and Economics

X
MORAL AND POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY

  1. Of what value is the distinction between means and ends in moral inquiry?
  2. Can I ever do what I do not want to do?
  3. Is determinism compatible with belief in real values?
  4. ‘To know all is to pardon all.’ Is this true?
  5. Criticize the view that the will is identical with practical reason.
  6. ‘I ought to do what I believe to be right, even though my belief may be false.’ Is this view tenable?
  7. Can adequate grounds be given for asserting either that it is always wrong or that it is nearly always wrong to lie?
  8. ‘Every one to count as one, and no one to count as more than one.’ Is this a moral axiom?
  9. What is meant by obedience?
  10. Is the state the guardian of morality?
  11. Does the doctrine of the General Will imply the existence of a Group Mind?
  12. On what principles should a man who owes allegiance to more than one association decide which he is to obey?
  13. On what grounds can democracy be defended?

[T. T.  1931.]

SECOND PUBLIC EXAMINATION
Honour School of Philosophy, Politics, and Economics

V
PRESCRIBED BOOKS: POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY

  1. Discuss the view that Burke’s advocacy of the claims of expediency rather than right in dealing with the American colonies was a shallow and temporizing approach to a fundamental problem of politics.
  2. ‘But nothing in progression can rest on its original plan.’ How far did Burke apply this doctrine consistently in his political thinking?
  3. How far was Durham’s recommendation of union for Canada influenced by economic considerations?
  4. ‘We have not succeeded in making education practical.’ Do you consider that this statement in the India Report uncovers the main cause of discontent, and at the same time points to the most important remedy?
  5. How far are Mill’s proposed limitations of universal suffrage consistent with his general political principles?
  6. Comment on the view that Mill’s observations on Second Chambers are more sensible than those of Esmein and more profound than those of Bryce.
  7. Examine Bryce’s view of the special defects and dangers in the political systems of Australia and New Zealand.
  8. Assuming that the presumption of argument is in favour of the accurate representations of opinion, in what situations would you hold Proportional Representation to be undesirable?
  9. To what extent does Bryce’s treatise on democracy suffer from the omission of the United Kingdom from the countries he presents for examination?
  10. ‘Ce qui constitue en droit une nation, c’est l’existence, dans cette société d’hommes, d’une autorité supérieure aux volontés individuelles.’ Is it necessary for the preservation of this authority to formulate a theory of sovereignty in such terms as Esmein uses?
  11. ‘Dicey’s vindication of the rule of law holds good with regard to personal liberty but not with regard to security of property.’ Discuss this view.
  12. How far would you agree with the statement that the conventions of a constitution may become more rigid than its laws?

[T. T. 1931.]

SECOND PUBLIC EXAMINATION
Honour School of Philosophy, Politics, and Economics

VI
UNSEEN TRANSLATION PAPER

[Candidates are required to complete at least ONE of the following passages from each of two languages]

Translate into English:—

(a) De ce chef, la question prend une ampleur angoissante. L’utilisation de l’aviation dans la vie contemporaine est déjà telle, les perspectives qu’ouvre son développement ultérieur certain sont si larges, les services qu’elle doit rendre s’annoncent comme si étendus, qu’on voit mal comment l’humanité pourrait y renoncer. L’aviation est entrée dans notre existence quotidienne, et la part qu’elle  prendra dans la vie internationale, spécialement dans la vie économique, ne peut que grandir: le monde des affaire n’abandonnerait pas volontiers les possibilités énormes que lui donne dès aujourd’hui l’aviation, les espérances plus grandes encore qu’elle lui fait concevoir pour demain. On en revient à la fable d’Ésope: l’aviation, comme la langue, est la meilleure et la pire des choses. Puissant facteur du développement des relations internationales dans tous les domaines, elle est en même temps—ou elle peut être, suivant les intentions de ceux qui l’emploient, — un puissant facteur de destruction internationale. N’est-ce pas, dira-t-on, la rançon de tout ce qui représente un progrès matériel? Les chemins de fer, l’automobile, ne participent-ils pas aussi à la fois du bien de du mal? Les transports par voie ferrée ou par camions routiers n’ont-ils pas joué un rôle considérable dans les opérations de la guerre mondiale? C’est vrai. Mais l’aviation représente un danger d’un ordre particulier.

(b) Mais les gens qui vivaient alors, qui étaient attachés au gouvernement républicain par tradition et par souvenir, qui se rappelaient les grandes choses qu’il avait faites, qui lui devaient leurs dignités, leur position et leur renommée, pouvaient-ils penser comme nous et prendre aussi facilement leur parti de sa chute? D’abord ce gouvernement existait. On était familiarisé avec ses défauts depuis si longtemps qu’on vivait avec eux. On en souffrait moins par l’habitude qu’on avait de les supporter. Au contraire on ne savait pas ce que serait ce pouvoir nouveau qui voulait remplacer la république. La royauté inspirait une répugnance instinctive aux Romains, surtout depuis qu’ils avaient conquis l’Orient. Ils avaient trouvé là, sous ce nom, le plus odieux des régimes, l’asservissement le plus complet au milieu de la civilisation la plus raffinée, tous les plaisirs du luxe et des arts, le plus bel épanouissement de l’intelligence avec la tyrannie la plus lourde et la plus basse, des princes accoutumés à se jouer de la fortune, de l’honneur, de la vie des hommes, sortes d’enfants gâtés cruels comme on n’en rencontre plus que dans les déserts de l’Afrique. Ce tableau n’était pas fait pour les séduire, et quelques inconvénients qu’eût la république, ils se demandaient s’il valait la peine de les échanger contre ceux que pouvait avoir la royauté.

(c) Kants Vater war ein Mann von offenem, geradem Verstande, der Arbeitsamkeit und Ehrlichkeit als höchste Tugenden ansah, zu denen er auch seine Kinder erzog. Tieferen Einfluß auf den Sohn hatte die Mutter, die er schildert al seine Frau von großem natürlichen Verstand, einem edlen Herzen und einer echten, durchaus nicht schwärmerischen Religiosität. Sie ging oft mit dem Jungen ins Freie, machte ihn auf Gegenstände und Vorgänge in der Natur aufmerksam, lehrte ihn nützliche Kräuter kennen, erzählte ihm vom Bau des Himmels und pries ihm die Allmacht, Weisheit und Güte Gottes. Noch als Greis gestand Kant: ‚Ich werde meine Mutte [sic] nie vergessen; denn sie pflanzte und nährte den ersten Keim des Guten in mir, sie öffnete mein Herz den Eindrücken der Natur; sie weckte und erweiterte meine Begriffe, und ihre Lehren haben einen immerwährenden heilsamen Einfluß auf mein Leben gehabt.’ Er war auch der Meinung, seine Gesichtszüge und seine körperliche Konstitution, bis auf die eingebogene Brust, habe er von der Mutter geerbt. Tief hat er es stets bedauert, daß er sie bereits als Dreizehnjähriger verlor. Am Bette einer an typhösen Fieber enkrankten [sic] Freundin holte sie sich dieselbe Krankheit und starb in ihrem vierzigsten Lebensjahr bereits 1737. Fünf Jahre vorher war Kant als Achtjähriger in die beste Schule seiner Vaterstadt, das Collegium Fridericianum (ein heute noch bestehendes Gymnasium), aufgenommen worden.

(d) Es geht bei der Philosophie fast wie bei der Politik. Wenn hier auch nicht jeder des Aristoteles acht Bücher vom Staate, Spinozas Tractatus theologico-politicus oder Montesquieus ‘Geist der Gesetze’ liest, so halt er doch seine Zeitung, sucht sich die Geschehnisse zurecht zu legen und bekennt sich zu gewissen Prinzipien und Parteien. Ähnlich in der Philosophie. Gar manchen, der wenig von all den Systemen weiß, die, seit Thales die Welt aus dem Wasser entstehen ließ, aus den wogenden Gedanken hervorragender Geister auftauchten, haben doch die philosophischen Probleme nicht ganz unberührt gelassen. Auch ihn haben die großen Rätsel des Menschenlebens und Weltzusammenhangs beunruhigt gelassen. Auch ihn haben die großen Rätsel des Menschenlebens und Weltzusammenhangs beunruhigt und, nach der Lösung suchend, hat er sich Meinungen gebildet, die dann lange Zeit gehegt, vielleicht auch von anderen in seiner Umgebung geteilt, sich schließlich für ihn mit der ganzen Macht der Gewohnheit und des Gefühls umkleideten und wie etwas selbstverständlich Evidentes in seinem Kopfe festgesetzt haben. Was ist denn nun aber die Philosophie, für die sich so viele interessieren, wenn sie auch ihre Schwierigkeit und das Erfordernis sorgsamer Vorbereitung nicht immer genügend würdigen? Wir sprachen eben davon, wie auf diesem Gebiete fast jeder leichthin und kühnlich zu urteilen wage. Seltsam darum, wenigstens für den Augenblick, daß doch die scheinbar einfache und elementare Frage, was die Philosophie sei, die Leute gemeiniglich in eine nicht geringe Verlegenheit bringt. Wenden wir uns aber damit statt an die philosophischen Dilettanten an die Berufsphilosophen, so hat von diesen zwar gewiß jeder eine Antwort bereit, aber fast jeder eine andere.

(e) La ricchezza e la prosperità inglese aumentavano dunque in questo tempo, ma tendevano ancora ad un timido piede di casa, e trovando nell’agricoltura larghe possibilità di investimento, cercavano di ripiegarsi su di essa, come nell’impiego più sicuro, ed era questo un fenomeno che non solo riguardava l’aristocrazia campagnola e gli affittuari di terre, ma anche i borghesi manifatturieri di città che consideravano le loro industrie come un mezzo di far denaro, considerando l’agricoltura un mezzo per impiegarlo. Quindi il capitale inglese, rapidamente crescente, aveva la pacifica tendenza a ripiegarsi sui più sicuri impieghi terrieri o, tutt’ al più, sulle industrie cittadine largamente protette; certo nella sua gran massa, se si eccettuano gli avventurosi armatori di navi corsare come quelle di Drake o i monopolisti del commercio internazionale, mal volentieri si avventurava ad imprese marinare e si investiva in navi, anzi sentiva così poco la necessità economica di una florida marina mercantile che perfino rifiutava di contribuire alla creazione di una marina reale che lo proteggesse e alla difesa della costa e dei porti sui quali neppur mancavano le incursioni barbaresche e lasciava affittare agli olandesi per un misero canone la pesca sulle sue coste.

(f) Nasce da questo una disputa: ‘S’egli è meglio essere amato che temuto, o temuto che amato.’ Rispondesi, che si vorrebbe essere l’uno e l’altro; ma perché gli è difficile che gli stiano insieme, è molto più securo l’esser temuto che amato, quando s’abbi a mancare dell’un de’duoi. Perchè degli uomini si può dir questo generalmente, che sieno ingrati, volubili, simulatori, fuggitori de’pericoli, cupidi di guadagno: e mentre fai lor bene, sono tutti tuoi, ti offeriscono il sangue, la roba, la vita, ed i figli, come di sopra dissi, quando il bisogno è discosto; ma quando ti si appressa, si rivoltano. E quel principe che si è tutto fondato in su le parole loro, trovandosi nudo d’altri preparamenti, rovina: perchè l’amicizie che si acquistano con il prezzo, e non con grandezza e nobiltà d’animo, si meritano, ma le non s’hanno, ed a’tempi non si possono spendere. E gli uomini hanno men rispetto d’offendere uno che si facci amare, che uno che si facci temere: perché l’amore è tenuto da un vinculo d’obbligo, il quale, per esser gli uomini tristi, da ogni occasione di propria utilità è rotto; ma il timore è tenuto da una paura di pena, che non abbandona mai.

[T. T. 1931.]

Source:  Columbia University Libraries Manuscript Collections. Mitchell, W. C. Collection, Box 10, Folder “Hall Robert, 13 Nov 1931”.

Image Source:  Robert Lowell Hall  .