William Petty: biography of this philosopher and economist.

A summary of the life of William Petty, a very influential English thinker and economist.

William Petty was an English philosopher, physician, economist and statistician who made important contributions to his country, especially being among the first to relate demography, economics and public health.

Born into a rather humble family, a series of fortunate and fortuitous events made the son of a simple weaver become a rich and reputable scientist and landowner, in addition to receiving the title of sir.

He was an English parliamentarian and friend of Oliver Cromwell, leader of the republican Commonwealth of England. Below we will take a closer look at the life of this researcher and his contributions to the study of population and economics, through a biography of William Petty.

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Brief biography of William Petty

From humble origins to become an important English landowner. One could go so far as to say that William Petty's life goes from one extreme to another, from here to there, especiallyIt could be said that William Petty's life went from one extreme to the other, from here to there, especially considering that he lived through some rather turbulent times in his native England, halfway between absolute monarchy, the failed republic and the prosperous English monarchical constitutionalism.

His economic ideas have been fundamental for great figures such as Karl Marx or Adam Smith to expound their popular theories about capitalism, both for better and for worse. Marx came to see in William Petty such an important figure that he even affirmed that Petty was the founder of modern political economy.. Be that as it may, this 17th century figure was truly far ahead of his time, which is why he is so well known today.

Childhood and training

William Petty was born in the county of Ramsey, England, May 23, 1623.. He grew up in a very humble family, since his father was a weaver. He spent his early years studying at the Grammar School in his town and soon began to stand out for his intelligence and abilities.

But despite excelling in his studies, he could not avoid having to work as a child. His family was still in great need and any income that came into the home was welcome. So he enlisted as a cabin boy in the He enlisted as a cabin boy on a ship but was unlucky enough to be abandoned by his shipmates when he landed on the coast of France..

However, far from being intimidated, he saw his arrival in France as an opportunity and decided to write to the Jesuits at the University of Caen in Normandy. The letter, written in perfect Latin, attracted so much attention that the institution admitted him immediately. On his return to England he was able to study philosophy, geometry and astronomy at the prestigious Oxford University at the age of 17..

At the outbreak of the English Civil War, in which Kings Charles II and James II fought against Parliament and eventually a republic was formed under the rule of Oliver Cromwell, Petty fled to Holland. There he would have the opportunity to study medicine, a science that would serve him by applying it to his later studies in economics. When he finished his studies, he left for Paris, a cosmopolitan city where he would meet the philosopher Thomas Hobbes.

At the age of 24 he returned to London. Despite his youth, his intelligence and his studies earned him a place among the intelligentsia of his time.. From this he would become a professor at the prestigious Oxford, the same place where he had studied.

Friend of Cromwelll

The British invasion of Ireland would become a turning point in Petty's career. During this war he enlisted as a doctor in the army, and had the opportunity to interact with Oliver Cromwellwith whom he became a close friend. Thanks to this, after conquering the Emerald Isle, Cromwell commissioned Petty to draw up several topographical maps of the new properties of the Commonwealth of England.

Thus, from 1655 to 1658, Petty traveled around Ireland producing maps, maps of the new Commonwealth of England. traveled around Ireland producing maps, being rewarded with vast tracts of land by way of payment.. Thus, William Petty, whose childhood had been that of a poor weaver's son and abandoned in his youth in lands lost by the French hand of God, became a rich landowner. Rubbing shoulders with the figure of Cromwell earned him wide renown and property.

Last years

William Petty no longer had any economic problems and even became a member of the English Parliament, besides being one of the founders of the Royal Society. From that time on, he devoted himself to the he devoted himself to the complete study of different sciences, writing several books in which he expounded his theories.. He died in London on December 16, 1687, holding the title of Sir for a life of great contributions to his native England.

Contributions to economics

One of the geniuses that William Petty had and for which he is known is the fact that he introduced the same methods and knowledge of medicine to the study of economics. He considered that each economic element must be seen as a whole, using more mathematical, statistical and statistical tools.He considered that each economic element should be seen as a whole, using more mathematical, statistical and scientific tools in general to solve the problems that frustrate national wealth. It is often said that he departed far from the mercantilism prevailing in his time. Among his contributions we have the following.

Theory of value

William Petty considered that all economic exchange was subject to rules that he considered natural, which any opposition is useless. He was of the opinion that, sooner or later, the prices of products will eventually return to their natural level.. According to Petty, the origin of value is in labor. He differentiated between two types of value for each product:

On the one hand we have the natural value, which refers to the internal value of each product, i.e., what the product costs to produce in itself. In order to calculate it, it is necessary to take into account the labor necessary to produce it and to calculate the productivity, taking into account two different measures: the land and the labor itself. In his own words, it could be said that labor is the father of wealth, and land is its mother.

The second value is political. It is the value of the market, which always depends on a multitude of factors, not as simple and easy to understand as the production and labor necessary to produce the product. These factors that make up the political value are alien to natural laws, depending on the subjectivity of the traders themselves, demand, supply and needs of the consumers themselves.

Taxes

Petty developed a theory to explain what kind of taxes and fees were appropriate in order to generate social wealth. According to his theory, each person should contribute according to the goods and profits earned.He understood that it was not fair to ask the richest to pay taxes that did not involve any effort, while those same amounts were abusive for the poorest classes. Despite this, he was aware that the majority did not want to pay and that they were trying to get out of their obligations.

Petty himself considered that taxes should not be excessive, too high to make the population tighten their belts and try to save, since this would harm national commerce. He considered that taxes would be beneficial to the extent that the proceeds were invested in national productsnot to feed the deep pockets of the elites and the wealthy classes.

Petty's Law

Petty's Law, later renamed Petty-Clark's Law thanks to the contributions of Colin Clark, is an economic law that proposes that as technical progress reduces transportation costs, the market for non-agricultural goods expands.. This means that the agricultural labor force has to readapt to non-agricultural activities, moving away from largely agricultural production societies to more diverse societies in which other economic activities are carried out.

As ways to transport agricultural products improve, less labor is required in the process. This leads to structural changes in society, as those who were involved in this process lose their jobs and are forced to seek work in the cities. This leads to a progressive abandonment of life in the countryside and a move to urban areas, where artisan work and industry prevail, in addition to the service sector.

With Clark's contributions it was concluded that one of the main ways in which economic progress manifests itself is in the continuous transfer of labor from the primary to the secondary sector and, subsequently, to the tertiary sector.. In other words, as one moves from the agricultural sector to the industrial sector and then to the service sector, in accordance with Petty and Clark's own ideas, one makes economic progress.

Demographics

Petty had a great passion for demography and often could not help but relate it to economics. It was he and statistician John Graunt who created the first mortality tables in the United Kingdom, considered the beginning of demography.considered the beginning of modern demography. He believed that people brought value to the economy and that population increase should be the basis for economic improvement. According to his thinking, the more people there are, the more labor there will be and the more wealth there will be.

Healthcare

Also related to his interest in increasing the population and combined with his medical training, William Petty considered it essential to improve healthcare. He believed it was necessary to create an English health system that would ensure the good health of its citizens, preventing them from contracting contagious diseases that would decimate the population and reduce the nation's economic productivity. decimating the population and reducing the economic productivity of the nation. This is why he proposed the creation of a Board of Health in London, in addition to creating a hospital in which the training of English physicians was expanded.

Bibliographical references:

• Petty, W. (1662) A Treatise of Taxes & Contributions (later editions: 1667, 1679, 1685, etc.).
• Petty, W. (1682) An Essay Concerning the Multiplication of Mankind.
• Aspromourgos, Tony (1988) "The life of William Petty in relation to his economics" in History of Political Economy 20: 337-356.
• Routh, Guy (1989) The Origin of Economic Ideas. London: Macmillan.