Hostname: page-component-77c89778f8-vsgnj Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-17T14:40:08.494Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

ON SIMON NELSON PATTEN’S PROGRESSIVISM: A NOTE

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 October 2021

Luca Fiorito  and
Massimiliano Vatiero
Luca Fiorito*
Affiliation:
Luca Fiorito: University of Palermo
Massimiliano Vatiero
Affiliation:
Massimiliano Vatiero: University of Trento and Università della Svizzera italiana.
*
Address for correspondence: luca.fiorito.1967@gmail.com.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This article is an attempt to offer an assessment of the main coordinates of Simon Nelson Patten’s views on democracy and biological determinism. This will allow us to better delineate the differences—as well as the affinities—between Patten and the core of progressives discussed by Thomas C. Leonard in a series of path-breaking contributions, culminating in his Illiberal Reformers: Race, Eugenics, and American Economics in the Progressive Era. It is our contention that even within the persisting intricacies, ambiguities, and contradictions of Patten’s expository style, it is possible to trace a shift in some aspects of his ideas—a gradual evolution that makes his peculiar brand of progressivism different from that of his most “illiberal” counterparts.

Type
Articles
Information
Journal of the History of Economic Thought , Volume 43 , Issue 4 , December 2021 , pp. 526 - 547
Copyright
© The History of Economics Society, 2021

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

We wish to thank David Levy, Malcolm Rutherford, Thomas C. Leonard, and two unknown referees for their helpful comments on an earlier draft of this paper. The usual disclaimers apply.

References

REFERENCES

American Economic Review . 1923. “Memorial to Former President Simon N. Patten.” American Economic Review 13 (1): 257–293.Google Scholar
Bateman, Bradley W. 2017. “Review of Illiberal Reformers: Race, Eugenics, and American Economics in the Progressive Era by Thomas C. Leonard.” History of Political Economy 49 (4): 717–721.10.1215/00182702-4296413CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Boyer, Paul S. 1978. Urban Masses and Moral Order in America, 1820–1920. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Bushee, Frederick A. 1903. “Ethnic Factors in the Population of Boston.” Publications of the American Economic Association 4 (2): 1–171.Google Scholar
Calkins, Gary N. 1903. “Review of Heredity and Social Progress by Simon N. Patten.” Political Science Quarterly 18 (3): 539–541.10.2307/2140351CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carver, Thomas N. 1911. “Review of The Social Basis of Religion by Simon N. Patten.” American Economic Review 1 (4): 790–794.Google Scholar
Carver, Thomas N. 1912. The Religion Worth Having. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.Google Scholar
Commons, John R. 1907. Races and Immigrants in America. New York: The Chautauqua Press.Google Scholar
Devine, Edward T. 1907. “The New Basis of Civilization: Patten.” Charities and the Commons 18 (May): 135–136.Google Scholar
Devine, Edward T. 1911. “Selection of Immigration.” Survey 25 (February 4): 715–716.Google Scholar
Dorfman, Joseph. 1949. The Economic Mind in American Civilization, 1865–1918. New York: Viking Press.Google Scholar
Ely, Richard T. 1923. “Recollections of the Life and Work of Professor Simon N. Patten.” American Economic Review 13 (1): 259–266.Google Scholar
Figart, Deborah M., Mutari, Ellen, and Power, Marilyn. 2002. Living Wages, Equal Wages: Gender and Labor Market Policies in the United States. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Fiorito, Luca, and Orsi, Cosma. 2017. “Survival Value and a Robust, Practical, Joyless Individualism: Thomas Nixon Carver, Social Justice, and Eugenics.” History of Political Economy 49 (3): 469–495.10.1215/00182702-4193045CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fox, Daniel M. 1967. The Discovery of Abundance: Simon N. Patten and the Transformation of Social Theory. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.Google Scholar
Franklin, Donna L. 1986. “Mary Richmond and Jane Addams: From Moral Certainty to Rational Inquiry in Social Work Practice.” Social Service Review 60 (4): 504–525.10.1086/644396CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gleason, Philip. 1980. “American Identity and Americanization.” In Thernstrom, Stephan, Orlov, Ann, and Handlin, Oscar, eds., Harvard Encyclopedia of American Ethnic Groups. Cambridge: Belknap Press, pp. 31–85.Google Scholar
Hofstadter, Richard. 1955. The Age of Reform: From Bryan to F.D.R. New York: Knopf.Google Scholar
Hollander, Jacob H. 1914. The Abolition of Poverty. New York: Houghton Mifflin.Google Scholar
Hunt, Emery K. 1970. “Simon Patten’s Contribution to Economics.” Journal of Economic Issues 4 (4): 38–55.10.1080/00213624.1970.11502951CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kellogg, Paul U. 1911. “An Immigration Labor Tariff.” Survey 25 (January): 529–531.Google Scholar
Kennedy, Angie C. 2008. “Eugenics, ‘Degenerate Girls,’ and Social Workers During the Progressive Era.” Affilia: Journal of Women and Social Work 23 (1): 22–37.10.1177/0886109907310473CrossRefGoogle Scholar
LaJeunesse, Robert M. 2010. “Simon Patten’s Contributions to the Institutionalist View of Abundance.” Journal of Economic Issues 44 (4): 1029–1044.10.2753/JEI0021-3624440409CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lee, Joseph. 1911. “The Restriction Recommendations.” Survey 25 (January): 524–526.Google Scholar
Leonard, Thomas C. 2003. “More Merciful and Not Less Effective: Eugenics and American Economics in the Progressive Era.” History of Political Economy 35 (4): 709–734.10.1215/00182702-35-4-687CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Leonard, Thomas C. 2005a. “Mistaking Eugenics for Social Darwinism: Why Eugenics Is Missing from the History of American Economics.” History of Political Economy 37 (Suppl.): 200–233.10.1215/00182702-37-Suppl_1-200CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Leonard, Thomas C. 2005b. “Retrospectives: Eugenics and Economics in the Progressive Era.” Journal of Economic Perspectives 19 (4): 207–224.10.1257/089533005775196642CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Leonard, Thomas C. 2009. “American Economic Reform in the Progressive Era: Its Foundational Beliefs and Their Relationship to Eugenics.” History of Political Economy 41 (1): 109–141.10.1215/00182702-2008-040CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Leonard, Thomas C. 2011. “Religion and Evolution in Progressive Era Political Economy: Adversaries or Allies?” History of Political Economy 43 (3): 429–469.10.1215/00182702-1346815CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Leonard, Thomas C. 2016. Illiberal Reformers: Race, Eugenics, and American Economics in the Progressive Era. Princeton: Princeton University Press.10.2307/j.ctvc77cqnCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Levy, David M., Peart, Sandra J., and Albert, Margaret. 2012. “Economic Liberals as Quasi-Public Intellectuals: The Democratic Dimension.” Research in the History of Economic Thought and Methodology 30B: 1–116.Google Scholar
Meyerson, Martin, and Winegrad, Dilys P.. 1978. Gladly Learn and Gladly Teach: Franklin and His Heirs at the University of Pennsylvania, 1740–1976. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.Google Scholar
New York Times . 1904. “Professors Say Wives Should Earn Wages.” New York Times, April 11.Google Scholar
Patten, Simon N. 1885. The Premises of Political Economy. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott.Google Scholar
Patten, Simon N. 1889. The Consumption of Wealth. Series in Political Economy and Public Law, no. 4. Philadelphia: Publications of the University of Pennsylvania.Google Scholar
Patten, Simon N. 1892. The Theory of Dynamic Economics. Series in Political Economy and Public Law, no. 11. Philadelphia: Publications of the University of Pennsylvania.Google Scholar
Patten, Simon N. 1896. “The Theory of Social Forces.” Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 7 (10): 1–151.10.1177/000271629600800301CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Patten, Simon N. 1899. The Development of English Thought. New York: Macmillan.Google Scholar
Patten, Simon N. 1902. The Theory of Prosperity. New York: Macmillan.Google Scholar
Patten, Simon N. 1903. Heredity and Social Progress. New York: Macmillan.Google Scholar
Patten, Simon N. 1904. “Young Wives in Industry.” Independent 57 (December): 1244–1249.Google Scholar
Patten, Simon N. 1907. The New Basis of Civilization. New York: Macmillan.Google Scholar
Patten, Simon N. 1910. “The Crisis in American Home Life.” Independent 68 (February): 342–346.Google Scholar
Patten, Simon N. 1911a. The Social Basis of Religion. New York: Macmillan.Google Scholar
Patten, Simon N. 1911b. “The Laws of Environmental Influence.” Popular Science Monthly 79 (October): 396–402.Google Scholar
Patten, Simon N. 1911c. “Construction vs. Distribution.” Survey 24 (February 18): 866–867.Google Scholar
Patten, Simon N. 1912a. The Reconstruction of Economic Theory. Philadelphia: The American Academy of Political and Social Science.Google Scholar
Patten, Simon N. 1912b. “Theories of Progress.” American Economic Review 2 (1): 61–68.Google Scholar
Patten, Simon N. 1912c. “Types of Men.” Popular Science Monthly 80 (March): 273–279.Google Scholar
Patten, Simon N. 1912d. “Shall Woman Be Tool or Partner?” Twentieth Century Magazine 6 (July): 254–262.Google Scholar
Patten, Simon N. 1915. “Becoming Americans.” Open Court 29 (7): 385–393.Google Scholar
Patten, Simon N. 1916. Culture and War. New York: Huebsch.Google Scholar
Patten, Simon N. 1919. “Making National Debts National Blessings.” Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 82: 39–51.10.1177/000271621908200107CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Richmond, Mary E. 1903. Friendly Visiting Among the Poor. New York: Macmillan.Google Scholar
Richmond, Mary E. 1907. The Good Neighbor in the Modern City. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott Company.Google Scholar
Richmond, Mary E. 1917. Social Diagnosis. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.10.2307/3406141CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ross, Edward A. 1901. “The Causes of Race Superiority.” Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 18: 67–89.10.1177/000271620101800104CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schäfer, Axel R. 2000. American Progressives and German Social Reform, 1875–1920. Stuttgart: F. Steiner Verlag.Google Scholar
Schäfer, Axel R. 2004. “German Historicism, Progressive Social Thought, and the Interventionist State in the United States since the 1880s.” In Bevir, Mark and Trentmann, Frank, eds., Markets in Historical Context: Ideas and Politics in the Modern World. Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press, pp. 145–169.10.1017/CBO9780511496677.008CrossRefGoogle Scholar
The Times Dispatch Richmond. 1912. “$1,000 A Year Is the Race Suicide Line. Professor Simon N. Patten Finds that Americans Don’t Want Babies So Much as Automobiles When they Gain Prosperity.” The Times Dispatch Richmond, November 24.Google Scholar
Tugwell, Rexford G. 1923. “Notes on the Life and Work of Simon Nelson Patten.” Journal of Political Economy 31 (2): 153–208.Google Scholar
Tyson, Francis. 1923. “Dr. Patten’s Contribution to Economics.” American Economic Review 13 (1): 288–293.Google Scholar
United Stated Immigration Commission. 1911. Reports of the Immigration Commission. Abstracts of Reports of the Immigration Commission: With Conclusions and Recommendations and Views of the Minority. Volume 1. Washington: Government Printing Office.Google Scholar
Vincent, George E. 1907. “Review of The New Basis of Civilization by Simon N. Patten.” Political Science Quarterly (22) 4: 741–743.10.2307/2141001CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Woods, Frederick A. 1910. “Laws of Diminishing Environmental Influence.” Popular Science Monthly 76 (April): 313–336.Google Scholar
Zeidel, Robert F. 2004. Immigrants, Progressives and Exclusion Politics: The Dillingham Commission 1900–1927. DeKalb: Northern Illinois University Press.Google Scholar