Thomas Edward Cliffe Leslie

Thomas Edward Cliffe Leslie
T. E. Cliffe Leslie
Born	21 June 1825 County Wexford
Died	27 January 1882(1882-01-27) (aged 55) Belfast
Nationality	Irish
Field	Political Economy
School or tradition	English historical school

Thomas Edward Cliffe Leslie (21 June 1825 – 27 January 1882) was an Irish jurist and economist. He was professor of jurisprudence and political economy in Queen's College, Belfast, noted for challenging the Wages-Fund doctrine and for addressing contemporary agrarian policy questions. A critic of Ricardian orthodoxy, he said that it had sidelined consumer behaviour and demand. He developed the idea of consumer sovereignty, but insisted that the analysis of demand should be based on historical and comparative institutional work.

T. E. Cliffe Leslie was born in the county of Wexford, the second son of the Rev. Edward Leslie, prebendary of Dromore, and rector of Annahilt, in the county of Down. His family was of Scottish descent, but had been connected with Ireland since the reign of Charles I. Amongst his ancestors were John Leslie (1571–1671), bishop first of Raphoe and afterwards of Clogher, and the bishop's son Charles Leslie.

Cliffe Leslie received his elementary education from his father, who resided in England, though holding church preferment and some landed property in Ireland. His father taught him Latin, Greek and Hebrew at an unusually early age. Afterwards, for a short time he was under the care of a clergyman at Clapham, and was then sent to King William's College, in the Isle of Man.