JOHN STUART MILL

?FL? John Stuart Mill (1806-1873) was one of the profound thinkers and philosophers of the nineteenth century. He wrote extensively on a variety of subjects, and made important contributions to the body of literature concerning economic theory and analysis. Mill is considered to be one of the great classical economists to be produced by the Industrial Revolution.

John Stuart Mill owed his early education, and perhaps much of his motivation, to his father, James Mill. The elder Mill was an intellectual in his own right, and was his son's schoolmaster during the boy's early years. He instructed his son in the art of scientific analysis and theoretical writing by giving him a series of daily lectures and requiring the boy to turn in a written account of the subject the following day. John Stuart had to rewrite his papers, over and over, until he achieved a degree of clarity and precision that was acceptable to his father.

By the age of thirteen, John Stuart Mill was receiving an extensive education in the fields of logic and political economy. His father presented him with topics and literature, but would not share his own comments and explanations until after his son had struggled with the complexity of the issues. This approach caused John Stuart to discover answers for himself. In his autobography, John Stuart Mill wrote that his father's methods "not only gave me an accurate knowledge of these two great

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of an absence of competition. Mill pointed out that some occupa-tions (such as a jeweler, doctor, or lawyer) are relatively highly paid because of the degree of "trust" given to the practitioners. Other occupations (involving skilled crafts) are also highly paid because they require special instruction and a long time to learn. Thus, a "reward" is paid for certain qualities and skills which are not widely distributed among the population. However, the reward is often excessive and inequitable argued Mill:?FN1John Stuart Mill, ?MDUL?Principles of Political Economy?MDNM?, Reprint (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1968) p. 385. ??LS1? "The superiority of reward is not here the con- sequence of competition, but of its absence; not a compensation for disadvantages inherent in the employment, but an extra advantage; a kind of monopoly price; the effect... of what has been termed a natural monopoly."?LS2? Mill maintained that Adam Smith and other economists paid too little attention to this situation. Under Smith's analysis, the higher wages paid for skilled employment could be explained on the basis of the requirements for special training and the apprentice laws, and the small differences
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