The Political Economy of Empire

This article reconsiders the political economy of Empire cultivated by a sequence of authors from Quesnay, Smith, and their immediate followers, including Say and Ricardo, at one end of the spectrum to Stuart Mill and Paul Leroy-Beaulieu at the other. The article questions the applicability of the anti-colonial label to Quesnay and Smith. It closes with some unresolved questions about Leroy-Beaulieu’s use of the British literature to justify French colonial expansion and capital export.