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The Dissemination of Marx in England: a Quantitative Assessment

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  • Filippo Pietrini

Abstract

This paper adopts the synthetic control method to empirically tests Willis thesis that †the major breakthrough" (Willis, 1977, p. 420) in the dissemination of Marx in England was the publication of the first volume of Capital in English in 1887. The specificities of late Victorian society and the fact that Marx wrote his theoretical works in German contributed to his anonymity in England up the 1880s-1890s. The liberal-radical roots of the left-wing intellectuals and of the working class movements together with the strong parlamentary tradition constituted a challenging environment for the spread of Marxism. After having downloaded data from Google Ngram, I run the SC model. Findings reveal that the 1886 is the breakthrough year for the quotations of Marx in England. Willis’s thesis on 1887 as the decisive year is thus slighlty anticipated by the quantitative result. Rather, two events that possibly revived Marx’s quotations were the publication of the first 10 chapters of ‘Capital’ in Hyndman’s newly bought and renamed “To-Day: Monthly Magazine of Scientific Socialism†and the Trafalgrar Riots (also known as West end riots or Pall Mall riots) of February 1886, an event that broadened the perception of socialist imminence to the average public.

Suggested Citation

  • Filippo Pietrini, 2025. "The Dissemination of Marx in England: a Quantitative Assessment," Working Papers - Economics wp2025_01.rdf, Universita' degli Studi di Firenze, Dipartimento di Scienze per l'Economia e l'Impresa.
  • Handle: RePEc:frz:wpaper:wp2025_01.rdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. David Gilchrist & Thomas Emery & Nuno Garoupa & Rok Spruk, 2023. "Synthetic Control Method: A tool for comparative case studies in economic history," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(2), pages 409-445, April.
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    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Marx Dissemination; Synthetic Control Method; Victorian zeitgeist; Modern socialism;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • B14 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - History of Economic Thought through 1925 - - - Socialist; Marxist
    • B24 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - History of Economic Thought since 1925 - - - Socialist; Marxist; Scraffian
    • B51 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - Current Heterodox Approaches - - - Socialist; Marxian; Sraffian
    • Z10 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - General

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