Political Economy Club

The Political Economy Club was founded by James Mill and a circle of friends in 1821 in London, for the purpose of coming to an agreement on the fundamental principles of political economy. David Ricardo, James Mill, Thomas Malthus (the only one holding an academic post at the time), and Robert Torrens were among the original luminaries.

In the early 19th century there were no academic societies or professional associations for economists. The Political Economy Club was a way to establish a scientific community, test ideas, and provide peer review for their work.

The club was founded in 1821 and supported free trade. On 18 April 1821, Swinton Holand held the first meeting at his house. A second larger meeting was held at Freemasons' Tavern, London on the 30th April.

Currently members of the society are David Willetts, Peter Jay, Charles Dumas, Adam Ridley, Diana Choyleva, Tim Congdon and Gabriel Stein. The Club now meets on a monthly basis in Brooks's to hear papers presented by members of the club and a discussion over dinner.

The participants soon found substantial difficulties in formulating and reaching agreement on their fundamental propositions. Ricardo felt that none of their views was safe from criticism. Reflecting on their theoretical discussions in 1823, Ricardo privately expressed his famous opinion about the "non-existence of any measure of absolute value."

David Ricardo, Thomas Malthus, James Mill, Robert Torrens, Thomas Tooke, John Stuart Mill, John Ramsey McCulloch, Nassau Senior, John Elliott Cairnes, Henry Fawcett, William Newmarch, Samuel Jones-Loyd, 1st Baron Overstone, Jane Marcet,George Warde Norman, William Blake, and Jean-Baptiste Say.

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