William Petty: Biography Of This Philosopher And Economist
William Petty was an English philosopher, doctor, economist and statistician who made important contributions to his country, especially being one of the first to relate demography, economics and public health.
Born into a fairly humble family, a series of coincidental and fortunate events made the son of a simple weaver become a rich and reputed land-owning scientist, in addition to receiving the title of sir.
He was an English parliamentarian and friend of Oliver Cromwell, leader of the republican Commonwealth of England. Below we will see in more depth the life of this researcher and his contributions to the study of population and the economy, through a biography of William Petty
From humble origins to becoming an important English landowner. One could go so far as to say that William Petty’s life goes from one extreme to another from here to there, especially taking into account that he lived through rather turbulent times in his native England, halfway between absolute monarchy, the failed republic and prosperous English monarchical constitutionalism.
His economic ideas have been fundamental for great figures such as Karl Marx or Adam Smith to expose their popular theories about capitalism, both for good and for bad. Marx came to see William Petty as such an important figure that he even claimed that Petty was the founder of modern political economy Be that as it may, this 17th century character was truly very advanced for his time, which is why he is so well known today.
Childhood and training
William Petty was born in Ramsey County, England, on May 23, 1623 He grew up in a very humble family, since his father was a weaver. He spent his first years studying at the Grammar School in his city and, soon, he began to stand out for his intelligence and abilities.
But despite excelling in his studies, he could not avoid having to work when he was very young. His family was still very needy and any salary that came into the home was welcome. So that He signed up as a cabin boy on a ship but had quite bad luck because when he docked on the coast of France his companions abandoned him
However, far from being intimidated, he saw his arrival in France as an opportunity and decided to write to the Jesuits at the University of Caen, in Normandy. The letter, written in perfect Latin, attracted so much attention that the institution immediately admitted him. Upon his return to England He was able to study philosophy, geometry and astronomy at the age of 17 at the prestigious Oxford
At the outbreak of the English Civil War, in which Kings Charles II and James II fought against Parliament and would eventually form a republic under Oliver Cromwell, Petty fled to Holland. There he would have the opportunity to study medicine, a science that would help him apply it to his later studies in economics. After finishing his studies he went to Paris, a cosmopolitan city where he would meet the philosopher Thomas Hobbes.
At the age of 24 he returned to London. Despite his youth, His intelligence and studies earned him a place among the intellectuals of his time From this he would become a professor at the prestigious Oxford, the same place where he had studied.
Cromwell’s Friend
The English invasion of Ireland would become a turning point in Petty’s career. during this war He enlisted as a doctor in the army, and had the opportunity to interact with Oliver Cromwell himself , with whom he established a very good friendship. Thanks to this, after conquering the Emerald Isle, Cromwell commissioned Petty to prepare several topographic maps of the new properties of the Commonwealth of England.
So from 1655 to 1658 Petty He traveled around Ireland producing maps, being rewarded with vast tracts of land in payment Thus, William Petty, whose childhood had been that of a poor weaver’s son and abandoned in his youth in French lands lost by the hand of God, became a rich landowner. Rubbing shoulders with the figure of Cromwell earned him wide renown and properties.
Last years
William Petty no longer had any financial problems and even became a member of the English Parliament, in addition to being one of the founders of the Royal Society. From then on He dedicated himself to the complete study of different sciences, writing several books in which he explained his theories He died in London on December 16, 1687, holding the title of Sir for a life of great contributions to his native England.
Contributions to the economy
One of the geniuses that William Petty had and for which he is known is the fact that he introduced the same methods and knowledge of medicine to the study of economics. He considered that each economic element must be seen as a whole , using more mathematical, statistical and scientific tools in general to solve the problems that frustrate national wealth. It is often believed that he deviated greatly from the mercantilism prevailing in his time. Among his contributions we have the following.
William Petty considered that all economic exchange was subject to rules that he considered natural, to which all opposition is useless. He believed that, sooner or later, product prices end up returning to their natural level According to Petty, the origin of value is in work. He differentiated between two types of values for each product:
On the one hand we have the natural value, which refers to the internal value of each product, that is, what the product costs to produce in itself. In order to calculate it, it is necessary to take into account the work necessary to produce it and calculate productivity, taking into account two different measures: the land and the work itself. In his own words, you could say that work is the father of wealth, and the land is its mother.
The second value is the political It is about the market value, which always depends on a multitude of factors, not as simple and easy to understand as production and the labor necessary to produce the product. These factors that make up the political value are foreign to natural laws, depending on the subjectivity of the merchants themselves, demand, supply and needs of the consumers themselves.
Taxes
Petty developed a theory to explain what types of taxes and fees were appropriate to generate social wealth. According to his theory, each person had to contribute according to the assets and profits earned , understanding that it was not fair to ask the richest for taxes that did not require any effort while those same amounts were abusive for the poorest classes. Despite this, he was aware that the majority did not want to pay and were trying to get out of their obligations.
Petty himself considered that taxes should not be excessive, too high that would make the population tighten their belts and try to save, since this would harm national commerce. He considered that taxes would be beneficial to the extent that the proceeds were invested in national products not to feed the deep pockets of the elites and wealthy classes.
Petty’s Law
Petty’s Law, later renamed Petty-Clark Law thanks to the contributions of Colin Clark, is an economic law that proposes that as technical progress reduces transportation costs the market for non-agricultural goods expands This means that the workforce dedicated to agriculture has to readapt and move on to non-agricultural activities, leaving behind largely agricultural production societies to more diverse societies, in which other economic activities are carried out.
As ways to transport agricultural products improve, less labor is required in the process. This causes structural changes in society, since those who were involved in this process lose their jobs and are forced to look for work in the cities. This means that life in the countryside is gradually abandoned and people end up in urban areas, where artisanal work and industry prevail, as well as the service sector.
With contributions from Clark It was concluded that one of the main ways in which economic progress is manifested is in the continuous transfer of work from the primary to the secondary and, subsequently, to the tertiary sector That is, as we move from the agricultural sector to the industrial sector and then to the services sector, according to the ideas of Petty and Clark themselves, economic progress progresses.
Demography
Petty had a great passion for demographics and often couldn’t help but relate it to economics. It was he along with the statistician John Graunt who created the first mortality tables in the United Kingdom , considered the beginning of modern demography. He believed that people brought value to the economy and that population growth should be the basis for economic improvement. According to his thinking, the more people there are, the more labor there will be and the more wealth there will be.
Health
Also related to his interest in increasing the population and combined with his training in medicine, William Petty considered that it was essential to improve healthcare. He believed it was necessary to create an English health system that would ensure the good health of citizens, preventing them from contracting contagious diseases that would decimate the population and reduce the economic productivity of the nation. This is why he proposed the creation of a Health Council in London, in addition to creating a hospital in which the training of English doctors was expanded.
