Life of Johnson: Economics

Johnson's economic beliefs are interesting. For instance, when Boswell asks, "Would it be for the advantage of a country that all its lands were sold at once?" Johnson responds, "So far as money produces good, it would be an advantage; for then that country would have as much money circulating in it as it is worth." On the one hand, he recognizes the value of a ready supply of capital, but on the other, he clearly believed in the land theory of value. Smith himself believed in the labor theory of value; the idea that value means nothing but the value assigned by men came much later.

Johnson later makes a statement that would please an economist of the Austrian school: defending a wealthy woman who made a show of her highly effective charity, he said "I have seen no beings who do as much good from benevolence, as she does, from whatever motive... To act from pure benevolence is not possible for finite beings. Human benevolence is mingled with vanity, interest, or some other motive." Of course they go farther; my economics professor would have put it, "Human benevolence is inseparable from vanity, interest, or some other motive." But he would have agreed with Johnson's conclusion: the effect is still good and deserves praise.

I am not sure what to make of this quotation: "As to mere wealth, that is to say, money, it is clear that one nation or one individual cannot increase its store but by making another poorer: but trade procures what is more valuable, the reciprocation of the peculiar advantages of different countries." It may mean that Johnson thought all economic growth was zero-sum, or that hard money, being inherently limited in supply, must move around rather than increase or decrease. That would imply deflation and inflation as real economic worth changed. I think he does mean that the sizes of economies are zero-sum, but his recognition of competitive advantage, which he sees increases real wealth independently of currency supply, makes it unclear.

Nearing page 800. Boswell is suddenly taking multiple pages per day; he says at the start that he wishes he met Johnson earlier, but would anyone have ever read the 15,000 page book that would have resulted?