Cobdenism is an economic ideology (and the associated popular movement) which perceives international free trade and a non-interventionist foreign policy as the key requirements for prosperity and world peace.[1] It is named after the British statesman and economist Richard Cobden and had its heyday of political influence in the British Empire during the mid-19th century, amidst and after the endeavour to abolish the Corn Laws.
Based on Adam Smith's assertion that full employment and economic growth require access to foreign markets, Cobden perceived the expansion of foreign trade as the main means of increasing global prosperity and emphasized the importance of the international division of labour for economic progress. Akin to his ideal of Britain as an industrial society of small cooperating property owners, he believed in an international order of small, independent nations attaining shared prosperity through international trade. As Cobden saw Britain's involvement in empire as an unwelcome distraction of domestic investment into its industrial capacity, his writings became influential in anti-imperialist circles, being picked up by e.g. John A. Hobson.[2] Moreover, it influenced the economic thinking of John Maynard Keynes, who was a staunch adherent of Richard Cobden's theories prior to the First World War, after which he abandoned Cobdenism in favor of "insular capitalism".[3]
Rarely used today and already in decline by the end of the 19th century,[4] Cobdenism was revived by some academics during the 1980s to support the liberalization of the British economy.[5]
^Palen, M.-W. (2015). ”Free-Trade Ideology and Transatlantic Abolitionism: A Historiography”. Journal of the History of Economic Thought, 37(2), pp. 291–304.
^Cain, P.J. & J.A. Jobson (1978). “Cobdenism, and the Radical Theory of Economic Imperialism, 1898–1914”. The Economic History Review, 31(4), pp. 565–584.
^Daunton, M. (2007). ”Britain and Globalisation since 1850: II. The Rise of Insular Capitalism, 1914–1939”. Transactions of the Royal Historical Society, 17, pp. 1–33.
^Young, J.P. (1898). “The Decay of Cobdenism in England”. The North American Review, 166(497), pp. 418–428.
^Castorina, C. (1985). “Cobdenism for the 1980s”. Economic Affairs, 5(2), pp. 58–60.
(1898). “The Decay of Cobdenism in England”. The North American Review, 166(497), pp. 418–428. Castorina, C. (1985). “Cobdenism for the 1980s”. Economic...
Ontario New Zealand Cobden, New Zealand United States Cobden, Illinois Cobden, Minnesota Cobden Bridge, Southampton, England Cobdenism, an economic theory...
than to say that Cobdenism was dead: "Cobdenism was never more alive throughout the world than it was to-day.... To-day the ideas of Cobden were in revolt...
The Cobden Club was a society and publishing imprint, based in London, run along the lines of a gentlemen's club of the Victorian era, but without permanent...
defined Cobdenism. Jane Cobden was born on 28 April 1851 in Westbourne Terrace, London. She was the third daughter and fourth child of Richard Cobden, who...
Joe Cobden (born October 7, 1978 in Halifax, Nova Scotia) is a Canadian actor and filmmaker. He started performing at age 10 as a street vaudevillian,...
Audrey "Bobby" Cobden (April 15, 1923 – March 29, 2016) was a South African activist. The daughter of Sydney Dodson and Olive Hiles, she was born Audrey...
The Cobden Centre is a British economics think tank founded by Member of Parliament Steve Baker and entrepreneur Toby Baxendale. It was developed by and...
Monument. Cobden was born in Chichester on 13 April 1794, the son of a builder Thomas Cobden and Mary Camp. Cobden had many siblings, as Thomas Cobden was a...
Jack Cobden (born 26 March 1989) is an England-born Romanian rugby union player. His regular position is winger. He started his career at Leicester Tigers...
The Cobden Football Netball Club, nicknamed the Bombers, is an Australian rules football and netball club based in the town of Cobden, Victoria. The club...
Donald Gordon Cobden (11 August 1914 – 11 August 1940) was a New Zealand All Black rugby player, No 430 in 1937. He was a wing. He played for Canterbury...
and the American Civil War (1861–1865).[citation needed] Proponents of Cobdenism claim that by removing tariffs and creating international free trade,...
Sayer Cobden (20 November 1845 – 5 January 1909) was an English cricketer. He played four matches for Gloucestershire in 1872. His brother, Frank Cobden, also...
Frank Carroll Cobden (14 October 1849 – 7 December 1932) was an English cricketer who played for Cambridge University and the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC)...
Beth Cobden (born 3 February 1993) is an England netball international. She was a member of the England teams that won gold medals at the 2017 Fast5 Netball...
Edward Cobden (1684 – 2 April 1764) was a British divine, poet, and Archdeacon of London, from 1742 to 1764. Cobden was the son of William Cobden of Haslemere...