The Economic Basis of Politics

by Charles A. Beard

Economic interpretations of history are irrevocably identified with the name of Charles A. Beard. This is mainly due to his early book An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution of the United States (1913). Yet, in Beard's later work, The Economic Basis of Politics (1922), he articulates the main principles of his method and argues for its applicability to understanding of current events. In this brief survey of Western political philosophy and contemporary constitutional arrangements, Beard concludes that it is well established doctrine that "there is a vital relation between the forms of state and the distribution of property, revolutions in the state being usually the results of contests over property." In advancing this axiom, Beard responds to charges that he was a "Marxist" by constructing an interpretation of Western political philosophy and history that draws a firm distinction between his economic interpretation of history and Marx's historical materialism. Beard traces the origins of his own method to the works of Aristotle, Machiavelli, Harrington, Locke, and Montesquieu. This view of political theory and political theorists stands in sharp contrast to the view prevailing among many contemporary political philosophers, who insist that political theory must somehow transcend history and rise above ordinary politics to count as theory. Beard's observations on the nature and tradition of Western political philosophy provide an entrue into New World political thought, which many academic political philosophers have long regarded as something less than "political theory." In contrast, Beard regards the development and application of the method of economic interpretation to be the greatest contribution of American political thought to the tradition of Western political theory. In his surveys of thinkers such as Madison, Webster, and Calhoun, Beard links American political thought to the Western tradition of economic interpretation, which undergirds both "liberalism" and "republicanism." The present-day relevance of this important volume will be evident to all social scientists.

Genres: Politics

118 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2002

About the author

American historian and educator Charles Austin Beard explored the aspects in works, such as An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution in 1913; self-interests of formulators based the document in his view, which profoundly affected the study.

Mary Ritter Beard shared economic view of history of Charles Austin Beard, her husband, and they collaborated on first volume in 1927 of The Rise of American Civilization , which characterized northern capitalists, who perpetrated the Civil War as the "second American Revolution" over southern plantation owners for gain.

shared her husband Charles's economic view of history and collaborated with him on The Rise of American Civilization (first volume 1927), in which they characterized the Civil War as the "second American Revolution," perpetrated by Northern capitalists over Southern plantation owners for economic gain


Charles Austin Beard with Frederick Jackson Turner most influenced of the first half of the 20th century. He published hundreds of monographs and textbooks in political science. He included a radical re-evaluation and thought of more than philosophical principles that motivated the Founding Fathers of the United States. Charles Austin Beard with Mary Ritter Beard, his wife, wrote the wide-ranging and bestselling The Rise of American Civilization , most influential major book, in 1927.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles...

Reviews

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book. Right off the bat, two paragraphs in, I was already a fan of Beard. This is a really good little compilation, but it is only a compilation based on lectures and smaller articles, with lots of compiler’s notes & some edits. It seems that as soon as Beard begins to get to the meat of something, the article is over, however I will be getting more in-depth stuff from this guy. His ideas on the economic basis of the constitution are thrilling!