Michael, I also love the Dutch Republic. They are where John Locke got many of his ideas from, as they embraced Enlightenment principles before they were even written down. Religious tolerance was the critical piece: "let's stop killing each other over rival interpretations of God and focus on making money." And it worked!
Your comments about Malthus are funny. You have to have some pity for Malthus and Ricardo, slaving away on theories to describe a subsistence agrarian economy that was already disappearing faster than they could write. (Unfortunately that hasn't stopped people from trying to apply them still. Is Paul Ehrlich still around?)
It is my own pet theory that the Enlightenment was a quest to systematize the actual workings of the Commercial societies that preceded it (particularly the Dutch Republic)
So the Enlightenment was a result of material progress, not a cause of it (though they probably helped it along).
Not in writing, but Locke got himself on the wrong end of a royal dispute in England and decamped to Holland for most of the 1680's. Essay Concerning Human Understanding came out in 1689, I think. I've always taught the connection based purely on the timing. It's just too coincidental.
It seems plausible. Living in a foreign country for 6 years cannot help but affect a person's thinking, particularly someone as curious as Locke.
And I think much of the Scottish Enlightenment, particularly Adam Smith, was an attempt to understand the dramatic changes going on in Lowland Scotland at the time.
Michael, I also love the Dutch Republic. They are where John Locke got many of his ideas from, as they embraced Enlightenment principles before they were even written down. Religious tolerance was the critical piece: "let's stop killing each other over rival interpretations of God and focus on making money." And it worked!
Your comments about Malthus are funny. You have to have some pity for Malthus and Ricardo, slaving away on theories to describe a subsistence agrarian economy that was already disappearing faster than they could write. (Unfortunately that hasn't stopped people from trying to apply them still. Is Paul Ehrlich still around?)
I totally agree.
It is my own pet theory that the Enlightenment was a quest to systematize the actual workings of the Commercial societies that preceded it (particularly the Dutch Republic)
So the Enlightenment was a result of material progress, not a cause of it (though they probably helped it along).
https://frompovertytoprogress.substack.com/p/did-the-enlightenment-cause-modern-cf3
I am curious, do you know of any sources that back up the claim that John Locke was heavily influenced by the Dutch Republic?
And, yes, I cannot blame Malthus and Ricardo for not seeing the future, but I can blame modern-day Malthusians who refuse to examine the past.
Not in writing, but Locke got himself on the wrong end of a royal dispute in England and decamped to Holland for most of the 1680's. Essay Concerning Human Understanding came out in 1689, I think. I've always taught the connection based purely on the timing. It's just too coincidental.
It seems plausible. Living in a foreign country for 6 years cannot help but affect a person's thinking, particularly someone as curious as Locke.
And I think much of the Scottish Enlightenment, particularly Adam Smith, was an attempt to understand the dramatic changes going on in Lowland Scotland at the time.
Thank you! I really enjoyed this article!