スクロウプの自然権論とレッセ・フェール批判

Abstract: This study clarifies the main features of G. P. Scropeʼs political economy. What makes his work distinctive is his idea that the laissez-faire principle is justified only under certain conditions. On the one hand, Scropeʼs economics is firmly grounded in the “principle of freedom” （free competition or free markets）. On the other hand, based on the natural rights theory, he maintains that the principle of freedom rests only on the assumption that it is expedient for general interests. Whenever private property is seen as inconsistent with the welfare of society, ʻsociety is justified-nay, bound-to modify it.ʼ The Irish land question and the poverty resulting from it is where Scrope most clearly presents his criticism of laissez-faire. Not only does he propose introducing （and later, im-proving） poor laws in Ireland, but also suggests that the government should purchase tracts of privately-owned lands, improve them, and sell or lease them as small farms. According to Scrope, land ownership in Ireland is ʻcontrary to the interests and natural rights of the com-munity,ʼ and, the government should exercise its ʻstrict rightʼ to recover waste land. 　　However, Scrope never directs his criticism of laissez-faire towards the activities of cap-italists. For him, a capitalist mode of production is the key to civilisation and economic growth. He explicitly criticises Hodgskinʼs argument that labourers should own all their pro-duction. His abstinence theory justifies the rights of capitalists to earn profits, and his attack on currency policy takes the readersʼ attention away from the hostile relationship between capitalists and labourers. It is important to distinguish where his criticism of laissez-faire is applied and where it isnʼt. It is misleading to emphasise only one aspect of his argument as this is paramount to generalising his argument. JJEL classification numbers: B 12, B 31.