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{{Short description|English journalist and writer (1826–1877)}}
'''Walter Bagehot''' ([[February 3]], [[1826]] – [[March 24]], [[1877]]), pronounced “Badge-utt” [http://www.economist.com/help/DisplayHelp.cfm?folder=663377], was a [[19th century|nineteenth century]] [[United Kingdom|British]] writer.
{{for|the asteroid|2901 Bagehot}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2014}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Walter Bagehot
| image = Walter Bagehot NPG cropped.jpg
| image_size = 225px
| caption = Portrait by Norman Hirst,<br /> after an unknown artist
| birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1826|2|3}}
| birth_place = [[Langport]], Somerset, England
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|1877|3|24|1826|2|3}}
| death_place = Langport, Somerset, England
| party = [[Liberal Party (UK)|Liberal]]<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Selinger |first1=William |last2=Conti |first2=Greg |title=Reappraising Walter Bagehot's Liberalism: Discussion, Public Opinion, and the Meaning of Parliamentary Government |journal=History of European Ideas |date=2015 |volume=41 |issue=2 |page=264|doi=10.1080/01916599.2014.926105 |s2cid=144027865 }}</ref>
| nationality = British
| alma_mater = University College London
| occupation = {{flatlist|
* Businessman
* essayist
* journalist
}}
| spouse = {{marriage|Elizabeth (Eliza) Wilson|1858}}
| signature = File:Walter Bagehot signature.png
}}
'''Walter Bagehot''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|b|æ|dʒ|ə|t}} {{respell|BAJ|ət}}; 3 February 1826&nbsp;– 24 March 1877) was an English journalist, businessman, and essayist, who wrote extensively about government, economics, literature and race. He is known for co-founding the ''[[National Review (1855)|National Review]]'' in 1855, and for his works ''[[The English Constitution]]'' and ''[[Lombard Street: A Description of the Money Market]]'' (1873).


==Life==
He was born in [[Langport]], [[Somerset]], [[England]]. He attended [[University College London]], where he earned a [[master's degree]] in [[1848]]. He entered the [[bank]]ing profession, but gained notice as an early editor of ''[[The Economist]]'' [[news magazine]], which had been founded by his father-in-law. After taking over in [[1861]], he expanded the publication's reporting on the [[United States]] and on politics, and is considered to have increased its influence among policymakers.
Bagehot was born in [[Langport]], [[Somerset]], [[England]], on 3 February 1826. His father, Thomas Watson Bagehot, was managing director and vice-chairman of [[Stuckey's Bank]]. He attended [[University College London]] (UCL), where he studied mathematics and, in 1848, earned a master's degree in moral philosophy.<ref>[[Richard Holt Hutton|Hutton, Richard Holt]] (1915). [https://archive.org/stream/worksandlifewal00barrgoog#page/n6/mode/2up "Memoirs."] In: ''The Works and Life of Walter Bagehot,'' Vol. 1. London: Longmans, Green, and Co., pp. 1–54.</ref> Bagehot was [[Call to the Bar|called to the bar]] by [[Lincoln's Inn]], but preferred to join his father in 1852 in his family's shipping and banking business.


In 1858, Bagehot married Elizabeth (Eliza) Wilson (1832–1921), whose father, [[James Wilson (UK politician)|James Wilson]], was the founder and owner of ''[[The Economist]]''. The couple were happily married until Bagehot's untimely death at age 51, but had no children.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Roberts|first1=David H.|title=Walter Bagehot: A Brief Biography|url=http://www.victorianweb.org/authors/bagehot/bio.html|website=The Victorian Web|access-date=10 April 2016}}</ref> A collection of their love-letters was published in 1933.<ref>{{cite web|title=Women's Studies Subject Guide: Eliza Wilson|url=http://www.hull.ac.uk/arc/collection/womensstudies/wilson.html|website=University Archives|publisher=The University of Hull|access-date=10 April 2016}}</ref>
In [[1867]], he wrote a book called ''The English Constitution'' which explored the [[constitution]] of the [[United Kingdom]], specifically the functioning of [[Parliament of the United Kingdom|Parliament]] and the [[British monarchy]] and the contrasts between British and [[Federal Government of the United States|American government]].


===Journalism===
==Observations in comparative government==
In 1855, Bagehot founded the ''[[National Review (1855)|National Review]]'' with his friend [[Richard Holt Hutton]].<ref>[https://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=9428981 ''Walter Bagehot'' by St. Norman John-Stevas The British Council/National Book League/Longmans, Greene & Co.] London. (1963)</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Lnazy2B3SQAC&pg=PA50 |title=Victorian Print Media: A Reader |archive-url=https://archive.org/details/victorianprintme00plun |archive-date=July 23, 2013 |url-access=limited |author=Andrew King, John Plunkett |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-19-927037-8 |page=https://archive.org/details/victorianprintme00plun/page/n66 50 |quote=''National Review'' (1855–64) one of the most prestigious quarterlies of mid-century |publisher=Oxford University Press}}</ref> In 1861, he became editor-in-chief of ''[[The Economist]]''. In the 16 years he served as its editor, Bagehot expanded the reporting of politics by ''The Economist'', and increased its influence among policy-makers. He was widely accepted by the British establishment and was elected to the [[Athenaeum Club, London|Athenaeum]] in 1875.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Walter Bagehot Key dates - A brief chronology of his life, family, work and legacy |url=https://langportheritage.org.uk/walter-bagehot/key-dates |access-date=12 September 2022 |work=Langport Heritage Society|date=6 January 2021 }}</ref>
While Bagehot's references to parliament have dated, his observations on the monarchy are seen as central to the understanding of the principles of [[constitutional monarchy]]. He defined the rights and role of a monarch vis-à-vis a [[government]] as three-fold:


He considered himself a "conservative Liberal or 'between size in politics.'"<ref>Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. (20 Mar. 2024). "[https://www.britannica.com/money/Walter-Bagehot Walter Bagehot.]" Encyclopedia Britannica. Accessed 11 September 2024.</ref>
* The right to be consulted;
* The right to advise;
* The right to warn.


===Works===
Generations of British [[monarch]]s and heirs apparent and presumptive have studied Bagehot's analysis.
[[File:Walter Bagehot, The English Constitution (1st ed, 1867, title page).jpg|thumb|left|200px|Title page of the first edition of Bagehot's ''[[The English Constitution]]'', 1867.<ref name="English Constitution">{{citation|author=Walter Bagehot|title=The English Constitution|edition=1st|location=London|publisher=[[Chapman & Hall]]|year=1867|oclc=60724184|title-link=:File:Walter Bagehot, The English Constitution (1st ed, 1867).pdf}}.</ref>]]
{{Conservatism UK|Intellectuals}}


In 1867, Bagehot wrote ''[[The English Constitution]]'',<ref name="English Constitution"/> a book that explores the nature of the [[constitution of the United Kingdom]], specifically its [[United Kingdom|Parliament]] and [[United Kingdom|monarchy]]. It appeared at the same time that Parliament enacted the [[Reform Act of 1867]], requiring Bagehot to write an extended introduction to the second edition which appeared in 1872.
He also divided the constitution into two components: the ''Dignified'' (that part which is symbolic) and the ''Efficient'' (the way things actually work and get done).


Bagehot also wrote ''[[Physics and Politics]]'' (1872),<ref>{{cite web |url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=njp.32101019642824;view=2up;seq=528;size=150 |title=Physics and Politics. No. I. The Pre-Economic Age. |last=Bagehot |first=Walter |date=November 1867 |website=Hathi Trust |publisher=Fortnightly Review |access-date=17 July 2018 |quote= This three-part article was published over the course of three years in the Fortnightly Review: the first section was published in November, 1867; the second section in April, 1868; and the third in July, 1869.}}</ref> in which he examines how civilisations sustain themselves, arguing that, in their earliest phase, civilisations are very much in opposition to the values of modern liberalism, insofar as they are sustained by conformism and military success but, once they are secured, it is possible for them to mature into systems which allow for greater diversity and freedom.
Walter Bagehot also praised what we now refer to as a "[[parliamentary government|parliamentary system]]" (which he termed "cabinet government"). At the same time, he mocked the American system for numerous flaws and absurdities he perceived, and its comparative lack of flexibility and accountability. In his words, "a parliamentary system educates the public, while a [[presidential system]] corrupts it."


His viewpoint was based on his distinction between the qualities of an "accomplished man" and those of a "rude man", which he considered to be the result of iterative inheritances by which the "nervous organisation" of the individual became increasingly refined down through the generations.<ref name="Black Deficit">{{cite web |last1=Shilliam |first1=Robbie |title=How Black Deficit Entered the British Academy |url=https://robbieshilliam.files.wordpress.com/2017/06/how-black-deficit-entered-the-british-academy.pdf |website=robbieshilliam.wordpress.com |publisher=Robbie Shilliam |access-date=28 June 2019}}</ref> He regarded that distinction as a moral achievement whereby, through the actions of the will, the "accomplished" elite was able to morally differentiate themselves from "rude men" by a "hereditary drill". He equally applied such reasoning to develop a form of [[Pseudoscience|pseudoscientific]] [[scientific racism|racism]], whereby those of [[mixed race]] lacked any "inherited creed" or "fixed traditional sentiments" upon which, he considered, human nature depended.
He praised Parliament as a place of "real" debate, considering debates in the [[United States Congress]] to be "prologues without a play." (19) Bagehot said the difference in the substance of debate was due to debate in Parliament having the potential to turn out a government, while "debates" in the Congress have no such potential import:


He attempted to provide empirical support for his views by citing [[John Lubbock, 1st Baron Avebury|John Lubbock]] and [[Edward Tylor]] although, in their writings on [[human evolution]], neither of them accepted arguments for innate hereditary differences, as opposed to cultural inheritance. Tylor, in particular, rejected Bagehot's view of the centrality of physical heredity, or that the modern "savage" mind had become "tattooed over with monstrous images" by which base instincts had been preserved in crevices, as opposed to accomplished European man, for whom such instincts had been smoothed away through the inherited will to exercise reason.<ref name="Black Deficit"/>
:in comparison with the debates of any other assembly, it is true the debates by the English Parliament are most instructive. The debates on the American Congress have little teaching efficacy; it is the characteristic vice of presidential government to deprive them of that efficacy; in that government a debate in the legislature has little effect, for it cannot turn out the executive." (151)


In ''[[Lombard Street: A Description of the Money Market]]'' (1873) Bagehot seeks to explain the world of finance and banking.<ref>"Bagehot and International Lending". by Professor M. Lipton. ''The Financial Times'' (London, England), Tuesday, June 12, 1984; p. 17; edition 29,344.</ref> His observations on finance are often cited by [[central bank]]ers, in particular in the period after the [[2007–2008 financial crisis]]. More specifically, there was particular popularity "[[Lombard Street: A Description of the Money Market#Lender of last resort|Bagehot's Dictum]]" that in times of crisis of the financial system, central banks should lend freely to solvent [[depository institutions]], yet only against sound [[Collateral (finance)|collateral]] and at [[interest rates]] high enough to dissuade those borrowers that are not genuinely in need.<ref>Paul Tucker, Deputy Governor, Financial Stability, Bank of England, [http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/publications/speeches/2009/speech390.pdf "The Repertoire of Official Sector Interventions in the Financial System: Last Resort Lending, Market-Making, and Capital"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120220193000/http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/publications/speeches/2009/speech390.pdf |date=20 February 2012 }}, Bank of Japan 2009 International Conference, 27–28 May 2009, p. 5</ref>
Bagehot also criticized the fixed nature of a presidential term and the presidential election process itself. "Under a presidential constitution the preliminary caucuses that choose the president need not care as to the ultimate fitness of the man they choose. They are solely concerned with his attractiveness as a candidate." (58) He declared that the only reason America succeeded as a free country was that the American people had a "genius for politics."


===Legacy===
:The English Constitution, in a word, is framed on the principle of choosing a single sovereign authority, and making it good: the American, upon the principle of having many sovereign authorities, and hoping that the multitude may atone for their inferiority. The Americans now extol their institutions, and so defraud themselves of their due praise. But if they had not a genius for politics; if they had not a moderation of action singularly curious where superficial speech is so violent; if they had not a regard for law, such as no great people have yet evinced, and infinitely surpassing ours, the multiplicity of authorities in the American Constitution would long ago have brought it to a bad end. (202)
[[File:Bagehot - Lombard Street, 1873 - 5747415.tif|thumb|200px|''Lombard Street'', 1873.]]
Bagehot never fully recovered from a bout of [[pneumonia]] he suffered in 1867, and he died in 1877 from complications of what was said to be a cold.<ref>Roger Kimball, [http://www.newcriterion.com/articles.cfm/bagehot-kimball-2990 "The Greatest Victorian"], ''The New Criterion'' October 1998.</ref> Collections of Bagehot's literary, political, and economic essays were published after his death. Their subjects ranged from [[William Shakespeare|Shakespeare]] and [[Benjamin Disraeli|Disraeli]] to the price of silver. Every year, the British [[Political Studies Association]] awards the Walter Bagehot Prize for the best dissertation in the field of government and [[public administration]].


Bagehot's collected works were issued in a set of 15 volumes, published by ''The Economist'' between 1965 and 1986, and edited by [[Norman St. John-Stevas]].
Bagehot's influence over ''The Economist'' is reflected by the fact the opinion column in the newspaper for British issues continues to bear his name. Bagehot also influenced [[Woodrow Wilson]], who wrote "Congressional Government" under the influence of the English Constitution.


Minor planet [[2901 Bagehot]], discovered by [[Luboš Kohoutek]], is named in his honor.<ref>{{cite book|title=(2901) Bagehot In: Dictionary of Minor Planet Names |pages = 238|publisher=Springer |date=2003 |isbn=978-3-540-29925-7 |doi=10.1007/978-3-540-29925-7_2902|chapter = (2901) Bagehot}}</ref>
==Quotations==


''The Economist'' carries a weekly current affairs commentary entitled "Bagehot", which is named in his honour and is described as "an analysis of British life and politics, in the tradition of Walter Bagehot".<ref>{{cite news |title=Adrian Wooldridge |newspaper=[[The Economist]] |url=https://mediadirectory.economist.com/people/mr-adrian-wooldridge/| access-date=19 June 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | title=What can Britain today learn from Walter Bagehot? | newspaper=The Economist | date=3 January 2020 | url=https://www.economist.com/podcasts/2020/01/03/what-can-britain-today-learn-from-walter-bagehot | access-date=19 June 2021}}</ref>
"Under a cabinet constitution at a sudden emergency this people can choose a ruler for the occasion. It is quite possible and even likely that he would not be ruler before the occasion. The great qualities, the imperious will, the rapid energy, the eager nature fit for a great crisis are not required &mdash; are impediments &mdash; in common times. A [[Robert Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool|Lord Liverpool]] is better in everyday politics than a [[William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham|Chatham]] &mdash; a [[Louis Philippe]] far better than a [[Napoleon Bonaparte|Napoleon]]. By the structure of the world we want, at the sudden occurrence of a grave tempest, to change the helmsman &mdash; to replace the pilot of the calm by the pilot of the storm."
{{as of|January 2022}}, the column has been written by Duncan Robinson, political editor of the publication.


==Major publications==
"I do not consider the exclusion of the working classes from effectual representation a defect in THIS aspect of our Parliamentary representation. The working classes contribute almost nothing to our corporate public opinion, and therefore, the fact of their want of influence in Parliament does not impair the coincidence of Parliament with public opinion.&#8221; (from The English Constitution, 1867)
* (1848). [http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=nyp.33433115443990;view=1up;seq=472 "Principles of Political Economy,"] ''The Prospective Review'', Vol. 4, No. 16, pp.&nbsp;460–502.
* (1858). ''Estimates of Some Englishmen and Scotchmen''.
* (1867; second edition, 1872). ''[[The English Constitution]]''. ([https://archive.org/details/worksofwalterbag04bageiala/page/n7 online])
* (1872). ''Physics and Politics'' ([https://archive.org/details/workslifeofwalte08bage/page/n11 online]).
* (1873). ''[[Lombard Street: A Description of the Money Market]]''. ([https://archive.org/details/workslifeofwalte06bage/page/n9 online])
* (1875). [http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015016712740;view=1up;seq=585 "A New Standard of Value,"] ''The Economist'', Vol. 33, No. 1682, pp.&nbsp;1361–63.
* (1877). ''Some Articles on the Depreciation of Silver and on Topics Connected with It''.
* (1879). ''Literary Studies''.
** [https://archive.org/details/literarystudiesb01bage/page/n8 Vol I]
** [https://archive.org/details/literarystudiesb03bage/page/n5 Vol III]
* (1880). ''Economic Studies''.
* (1881). ''Biographical Studies''.
* (1885). ''The Postulates of English Political Economy''.
* (1889). ''The Works of Walter Bagehot''.
* (1933). ''The Love Letters of Walter Bagehot and Eliza Wilson'' (with his spouse).


==References==
"But under a presidential government you can do nothing of the kind. The American government calls itself a government of the supreme people; but at a quick crisis, the time when a sovereign power is most needed, you cannot find the supreme people. You have got a congress elected for one fixed period, going out perhaps by fixed installments, which cannot be accelerated or retarded - you have a president chosen for a fixed period, and immovable during that period: . . there is no elastic element... you have bespoken your government in advance, and whether it is what you want or not, by law you must keep it..."
{{Reflist}}


===Bibliography===
"the [[executive]] is crippled by not getting the law it needs, and the [[legislature]] is spoiled by having to act without responsibility: the executive becomes unfit for its name, since it cannot execute what it decides on; the legislature is demoralized by liberty, by taking decisions of others [and not itself] will suffer the effects."
* Barrington, Emilie Isabel Wilson (1914). [https://archive.org/stream/lifeofwalterbage00barruoft#page/n7/mode/2up ''Life of Walter Bagehot'']. London: Longmans, Green and Co.
* Buchan, Alastair (1960). ''The Spare Chancellor: The Life of Walter Bagehot''. East Lansing: Michigan State University Press.
* Grant, James (2019). ''Bagehot: The Life and Times of the Greatest Victorian''. New York: W. W. Norton & Company.
* Orel, Harold (1984). ''Victorian Literary Critics''. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
* Sisson C.H. (1972). ''The Case of Walter Bagehot''. London: Faber and Faber Ltd.
* [[Norman St John-Stevas|Stevas, Norman]] (1959). ''Walter Bagehot a Study of His Life and Thought''. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
* Sullivan, Harry R. (1975). ''Walter Bagehot''. Boston: Twayne Publishers.
* {{Cite SBDEL|wstitle=Bagehot, Walter |short=x}}
* {{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Bagehot, Walter |short=x}}


==External link==
==Further reading==
{{Refbegin|30em}}
*[http://www.gutenberg.net/catalog/world/authrec?fk_authors=1461 eTexts] of Bagehot's works, at [[Project Gutenberg]]
* Barrington, Emilie Isabel Wilson (1933). ''The Love-letters of Walter Bagehot and Eliza Wilson.'' London: Faber & Faber
* [[Arthur Anthony Baumann|Baumann, Arthur Anthony]] (1916). [https://archive.org/stream/personspoliticso00baumuoft#page/120/mode/2up "Walter Bagehot."] In: ''Persons & Politics of the Transition.'' London: Macmillan & Co., pp.&nbsp;121–50
* [[Augustine Birrell|Birrell, Augustine]] (1922). [https://archive.org/stream/collectedessaysa02birruoft#page/212/mode/2up "Walter Bagehot."] In: ''The Collected Essays and Addresses of the Rt. Hon. Augustine Birrell'', Vol. 2. London: J.M. Dent & Sons, pp.&nbsp;213–35
* Briggs, Asa, “Trollope, Bagehot, and the English Constitution,” in Briggs, ''Victorian People'' (1955) pp.&nbsp;87–115. [https://archive.org/details/victorianpeoplea000327mbp/page/n9/mode/2up online]
* Brogan, Hugh (1977). "America and Walter Bagehot," ''Journal of American Studies,'' Vol. 11, No. 3, pp.&nbsp;335–56
* [[Crane Brinton|Brinton, Crane]] (1962). "Walter Bagehot." In: ''English Plolitical Thought in the 19th Century.'' New York: Harper Torchbooks
* Buchan, Alastair. "Walter Bagehot." ''History Today'' (Nov 1954) 4#11 pp 764–770
* Clinton, David (2003). "'Dash and Doubt': Walter Bagehot and International Restraint," ''The Review of Politics,'' Vol. 65, No. 1, pp.&nbsp;89–109
* [[John William Cousin|Cousin, John William]] (1910). [https://archive.org/stream/shortbiographica00cousuoft#page/n7/mode/2up ''A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature'']. London: J.M. Dent & Sons, p.&nbsp;20
* Easton, David (1949). "Walter Bagehot and Liberal Realism," ''The American Political Science Review,'' Vol. 43, No. 1, pp.&nbsp;17–37
* Edwards, Ruth Dudley (1993). ''The Pursuit of Reason:'' The Economist ''1843–1993''. London: Hamish Hamilton
* [[M. E. Grant Duff|Grant Duff, M.E.]] (1903). [https://archive.org/stream/outpastsomebiog02duffgoog#page/n12/mode/2up "Walter Bagehot: His Life and Works, 1826–1877."] In: ''Out of the Past.'' London: John Murray, pp.&nbsp;1–34
* Halsted, John B. (1958). "Walter Bagehot on Toleration," ''Journal of the History of Ideas,'' Vol. 19, No. 1, pp.&nbsp;119–28
* Hanley, Brian (2004). "'The Greatest Victorian' in the New Century: The Enduring Relevance of Walter Bagehot's Commentary on Literature, Scholarship, and Public Life", ''Papers on Language and Literature,'' Vol. 40, No. 2, pp.&nbsp;167–98
* Irvine, William (1939). ''Walter Bagehot.'' London: Longmans, Green and Co.
* Kolbe, F.C. (1908). "Walter Bagehot: An Appreciation," ''The Irish Monthly,'' Vol. 36, No. 419, pp.&nbsp;282–87
* [[John Lanchester|Lanchester, John]], "The Invention of Money: How the heresies of two bankers became the basis of our modern economy", ''[[The New Yorker]]'', 5 & 12 August 2019, pp.&nbsp;28–31.
* Morgan, Forrest (1995). ''Collected Works of Walter Bagehot''. Routledge
* Ostlund, Leonard A. (1956). "Walter Bagehot—Pioneer Social Psychology Theorist," ''Social Science,'' Vol. 31, No. 2, pp.&nbsp;107–11
* Spring, David (1976). "Walter Bagehot and Deference," ''The American Historical Review,'' Vol. 81, No. 3, pp.&nbsp;524–31
* [[Leslie Stephen|Stephen, Leslie]] (1907). [https://archive.org/stream/studiesofbiogr03step#page/144/mode/2up "Walter Bagehot."] In: ''Studies of a Biographer,'' Vol. 3. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, pp.&nbsp;144–74
* Stevas, Norman, ed. (1986). ''The Collected Works of Walter Bagehot: Volumes 1–15''. New York: Oxford University Press
* Westwater, S.A.M. (1977). "Walter Bagehot: A Reassessment," ''The Antioch Review,'' Vol. 35, No. 1, pp.&nbsp;39–49
* [[Woodrow Wilson|Wilson, Woodrow]] (1895). [http://ebooks.library.cornell.edu/cgi/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=atla;cc=atla;rgn=full%20text;idno=atla0076-5;didno=atla0076-5;view=image;seq=674;node=atla0076-5%3A11;page=root;size=100 "A Literary Politician,"] ''The Atlantic Monthly,'' Vol. 76, No. 457, pp.&nbsp;668–80
* Wilson, Woodrow (1898). [http://ebooks.library.cornell.edu/cgi/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=atla;cc=atla;rgn=full%20text;idno=atla0082-4;didno=atla0082-4;view=image;seq=533;node=atla0082-4%3A9;page=root;size=100 "A Wit and a Seer,"] ''The Atlantic Monthly,'' Vol. 82, No. 492, pp.&nbsp;527–40
{{Refend}}


==External links==
[[Category:1826 births|Bagehot, Walter]]
{{Commons category}}
[[Category:1877 deaths|Bagehot, Walter]]
{{wikisource author}}
[[Category:Political scientists|Bagehot, Walter]]
{{wikiquote}}
* {{Gutenberg author | id=1461}}
* {{Internet Archive author |sname=Walter Bagehot}}
* [http://catalog.hathitrust.org/Search/Home?lookfor=%22Bagehot,%20Walter,%201826-1877.%22&type=author&inst= Works by Walter Bagehot] at [[Hathi Trust]]
* [http://socserv.mcmaster.ca/econ/ugcm/3ll3/bagehot/index.html Walter Bagehot]: at [http://socserv.mcmaster.ca/econ/ugcm/3ll3/ McMaster University Archive for the History of Economic Thought].
* {{Librivox author |id=9365}}


{{English historical school economists}}
[[de:Walter Bagehot]]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bagehot, Walter}}
[[Category:English political scientists]]
[[Category:English constitutionalists]]
[[Category:Alumni of University College London]]
[[Category:Members of Lincoln's Inn]]
[[Category:The Economist editors]]
[[Category:English essayists]]
[[Category:People from Langport]]
[[Category:1826 births]]
[[Category:1877 deaths]]
[[Category:English historical school of economics]]
[[Category:Proponents of scientific racism]]

Latest revision as of 09:43, 3 December 2024

For the asteroid, see 2901 Bagehot.

Walter Bagehot
Portrait by Norman Hirst,
after an unknown artist
Born(1826-02-03)3 February 1826
Langport, Somerset, England
Died24 March 1877(1877-03-24) (aged 51)
Langport, Somerset, England
NationalityBritish
Alma materUniversity College London
Occupations
  • Businessman
  • essayist
  • journalist
Political partyLiberal[1]
Spouse
Elizabeth (Eliza) Wilson
​
​
(m. 1858)​
Signature

Walter Bagehot (/ˈbædʒət/ BAJ-ət; 3 February 1826 – 24 March 1877) was an English journalist, businessman, and essayist, who wrote extensively about government, economics, literature and race. He is known for co-founding the National Review in 1855, and for his works The English Constitution and Lombard Street: A Description of the Money Market (1873).

Life

[edit]

Bagehot was born in Langport, Somerset, England, on 3 February 1826. His father, Thomas Watson Bagehot, was managing director and vice-chairman of Stuckey's Bank. He attended University College London (UCL), where he studied mathematics and, in 1848, earned a master's degree in moral philosophy.[2] Bagehot was called to the bar by Lincoln's Inn, but preferred to join his father in 1852 in his family's shipping and banking business.

In 1858, Bagehot married Elizabeth (Eliza) Wilson (1832–1921), whose father, James Wilson, was the founder and owner of The Economist. The couple were happily married until Bagehot's untimely death at age 51, but had no children.[3] A collection of their love-letters was published in 1933.[4]

Journalism

[edit]

In 1855, Bagehot founded the National Review with his friend Richard Holt Hutton.[5][6] In 1861, he became editor-in-chief of The Economist. In the 16 years he served as its editor, Bagehot expanded the reporting of politics by The Economist, and increased its influence among policy-makers. He was widely accepted by the British establishment and was elected to the Athenaeum in 1875.[7]

He considered himself a "conservative Liberal or 'between size in politics.'"[8]

Works

[edit]
Title page of the first edition of Bagehot's The English Constitution, 1867.[9]
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In 1867, Bagehot wrote The English Constitution,[9] a book that explores the nature of the constitution of the United Kingdom, specifically its Parliament and monarchy. It appeared at the same time that Parliament enacted the Reform Act of 1867, requiring Bagehot to write an extended introduction to the second edition which appeared in 1872.

Bagehot also wrote Physics and Politics (1872),[10] in which he examines how civilisations sustain themselves, arguing that, in their earliest phase, civilisations are very much in opposition to the values of modern liberalism, insofar as they are sustained by conformism and military success but, once they are secured, it is possible for them to mature into systems which allow for greater diversity and freedom.

His viewpoint was based on his distinction between the qualities of an "accomplished man" and those of a "rude man", which he considered to be the result of iterative inheritances by which the "nervous organisation" of the individual became increasingly refined down through the generations.[11] He regarded that distinction as a moral achievement whereby, through the actions of the will, the "accomplished" elite was able to morally differentiate themselves from "rude men" by a "hereditary drill". He equally applied such reasoning to develop a form of pseudoscientific racism, whereby those of mixed race lacked any "inherited creed" or "fixed traditional sentiments" upon which, he considered, human nature depended.

He attempted to provide empirical support for his views by citing John Lubbock and Edward Tylor although, in their writings on human evolution, neither of them accepted arguments for innate hereditary differences, as opposed to cultural inheritance. Tylor, in particular, rejected Bagehot's view of the centrality of physical heredity, or that the modern "savage" mind had become "tattooed over with monstrous images" by which base instincts had been preserved in crevices, as opposed to accomplished European man, for whom such instincts had been smoothed away through the inherited will to exercise reason.[11]

In Lombard Street: A Description of the Money Market (1873) Bagehot seeks to explain the world of finance and banking.[12] His observations on finance are often cited by central bankers, in particular in the period after the 2007–2008 financial crisis. More specifically, there was particular popularity "Bagehot's Dictum" that in times of crisis of the financial system, central banks should lend freely to solvent depository institutions, yet only against sound collateral and at interest rates high enough to dissuade those borrowers that are not genuinely in need.[13]

Legacy

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Lombard Street, 1873.

Bagehot never fully recovered from a bout of pneumonia he suffered in 1867, and he died in 1877 from complications of what was said to be a cold.[14] Collections of Bagehot's literary, political, and economic essays were published after his death. Their subjects ranged from Shakespeare and Disraeli to the price of silver. Every year, the British Political Studies Association awards the Walter Bagehot Prize for the best dissertation in the field of government and public administration.

Bagehot's collected works were issued in a set of 15 volumes, published by The Economist between 1965 and 1986, and edited by Norman St. John-Stevas.

Minor planet 2901 Bagehot, discovered by Luboš Kohoutek, is named in his honor.[15]

The Economist carries a weekly current affairs commentary entitled "Bagehot", which is named in his honour and is described as "an analysis of British life and politics, in the tradition of Walter Bagehot".[16][17] As of January 2022, the column has been written by Duncan Robinson, political editor of the publication.

Major publications

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References

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  1. ^ Selinger, William; Conti, Greg (2015). "Reappraising Walter Bagehot's Liberalism: Discussion, Public Opinion, and the Meaning of Parliamentary Government". History of European Ideas. 41 (2): 264. doi:10.1080/01916599.2014.926105. S2CID 144027865.
  2. ^ Hutton, Richard Holt (1915). "Memoirs." In: The Works and Life of Walter Bagehot, Vol. 1. London: Longmans, Green, and Co., pp. 1–54.
  3. ^ Roberts, David H. "Walter Bagehot: A Brief Biography". The Victorian Web. Retrieved 10 April 2016.
  4. ^ "Women's Studies Subject Guide: Eliza Wilson". University Archives. The University of Hull. Retrieved 10 April 2016.
  5. ^ Walter Bagehot by St. Norman John-Stevas The British Council/National Book League/Longmans, Greene & Co. London. (1963)
  6. ^ Andrew King, John Plunkett (2005). Victorian Print Media: A Reader. Oxford University Press. p. https://archive.org/details/victorianprintme00plun/page/n66 50. ISBN 978-0-19-927037-8. Archived from the original on 23 July 2013. National Review (1855–64) one of the most prestigious quarterlies of mid-century
  7. ^ "Walter Bagehot Key dates - A brief chronology of his life, family, work and legacy". Langport Heritage Society. 6 January 2021. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
  8. ^ Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. (20 Mar. 2024). "Walter Bagehot." Encyclopedia Britannica. Accessed 11 September 2024.
  9. ^ a b Walter Bagehot (1867), The English Constitution (1st ed.), London: Chapman & Hall, OCLC 60724184.
  10. ^ Bagehot, Walter (November 1867). "Physics and Politics. No. I. The Pre-Economic Age". Hathi Trust. Fortnightly Review. Retrieved 17 July 2018. This three-part article was published over the course of three years in the Fortnightly Review: the first section was published in November, 1867; the second section in April, 1868; and the third in July, 1869.
  11. ^ a b Shilliam, Robbie. "How Black Deficit Entered the British Academy" (PDF). robbieshilliam.wordpress.com. Robbie Shilliam. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
  12. ^ "Bagehot and International Lending". by Professor M. Lipton. The Financial Times (London, England), Tuesday, June 12, 1984; p. 17; edition 29,344.
  13. ^ Paul Tucker, Deputy Governor, Financial Stability, Bank of England, "The Repertoire of Official Sector Interventions in the Financial System: Last Resort Lending, Market-Making, and Capital" Archived 20 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine, Bank of Japan 2009 International Conference, 27–28 May 2009, p. 5
  14. ^ Roger Kimball, "The Greatest Victorian", The New Criterion October 1998.
  15. ^ "(2901) Bagehot". (2901) Bagehot In: Dictionary of Minor Planet Names. Springer. 2003. p. 238. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-29925-7_2902. ISBN 978-3-540-29925-7.
  16. ^ "Adrian Wooldridge". The Economist. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
  17. ^ "What can Britain today learn from Walter Bagehot?". The Economist. 3 January 2020. Retrieved 19 June 2021.

Bibliography

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  • Barrington, Emilie Isabel Wilson (1914). Life of Walter Bagehot. London: Longmans, Green and Co.
  • Buchan, Alastair (1960). The Spare Chancellor: The Life of Walter Bagehot. East Lansing: Michigan State University Press.
  • Grant, James (2019). Bagehot: The Life and Times of the Greatest Victorian. New York: W. W. Norton & Company.
  • Orel, Harold (1984). Victorian Literary Critics. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
  • Sisson C.H. (1972). The Case of Walter Bagehot. London: Faber and Faber Ltd.
  • Stevas, Norman (1959). Walter Bagehot a Study of His Life and Thought. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
  • Sullivan, Harry R. (1975). Walter Bagehot. Boston: Twayne Publishers.
  •  "Bagehot, Walter", A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature, 1910 – via Wikisource
  • "Bagehot, Walter" . Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). 1911.

Further reading

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  • Barrington, Emilie Isabel Wilson (1933). The Love-letters of Walter Bagehot and Eliza Wilson. London: Faber & Faber
  • Baumann, Arthur Anthony (1916). "Walter Bagehot." In: Persons & Politics of the Transition. London: Macmillan & Co., pp. 121–50
  • Birrell, Augustine (1922). "Walter Bagehot." In: The Collected Essays and Addresses of the Rt. Hon. Augustine Birrell, Vol. 2. London: J.M. Dent & Sons, pp. 213–35
  • Briggs, Asa, “Trollope, Bagehot, and the English Constitution,” in Briggs, Victorian People (1955) pp. 87–115. online
  • Brogan, Hugh (1977). "America and Walter Bagehot," Journal of American Studies, Vol. 11, No. 3, pp. 335–56
  • Brinton, Crane (1962). "Walter Bagehot." In: English Plolitical Thought in the 19th Century. New York: Harper Torchbooks
  • Buchan, Alastair. "Walter Bagehot." History Today (Nov 1954) 4#11 pp 764–770
  • Clinton, David (2003). "'Dash and Doubt': Walter Bagehot and International Restraint," The Review of Politics, Vol. 65, No. 1, pp. 89–109
  • Cousin, John William (1910). A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature. London: J.M. Dent & Sons, p. 20
  • Easton, David (1949). "Walter Bagehot and Liberal Realism," The American Political Science Review, Vol. 43, No. 1, pp. 17–37
  • Edwards, Ruth Dudley (1993). The Pursuit of Reason: The Economist 1843–1993. London: Hamish Hamilton
  • Grant Duff, M.E. (1903). "Walter Bagehot: His Life and Works, 1826–1877." In: Out of the Past. London: John Murray, pp. 1–34
  • Halsted, John B. (1958). "Walter Bagehot on Toleration," Journal of the History of Ideas, Vol. 19, No. 1, pp. 119–28
  • Hanley, Brian (2004). "'The Greatest Victorian' in the New Century: The Enduring Relevance of Walter Bagehot's Commentary on Literature, Scholarship, and Public Life", Papers on Language and Literature, Vol. 40, No. 2, pp. 167–98
  • Irvine, William (1939). Walter Bagehot. London: Longmans, Green and Co.
  • Kolbe, F.C. (1908). "Walter Bagehot: An Appreciation," The Irish Monthly, Vol. 36, No. 419, pp. 282–87
  • Lanchester, John, "The Invention of Money: How the heresies of two bankers became the basis of our modern economy", The New Yorker, 5 & 12 August 2019, pp. 28–31.
  • Morgan, Forrest (1995). Collected Works of Walter Bagehot. Routledge
  • Ostlund, Leonard A. (1956). "Walter Bagehot—Pioneer Social Psychology Theorist," Social Science, Vol. 31, No. 2, pp. 107–11
  • Spring, David (1976). "Walter Bagehot and Deference," The American Historical Review, Vol. 81, No. 3, pp. 524–31
  • Stephen, Leslie (1907). "Walter Bagehot." In: Studies of a Biographer, Vol. 3. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, pp. 144–74
  • Stevas, Norman, ed. (1986). The Collected Works of Walter Bagehot: Volumes 1–15. New York: Oxford University Press
  • Westwater, S.A.M. (1977). "Walter Bagehot: A Reassessment," The Antioch Review, Vol. 35, No. 1, pp. 39–49
  • Wilson, Woodrow (1895). "A Literary Politician," The Atlantic Monthly, Vol. 76, No. 457, pp. 668–80
  • Wilson, Woodrow (1898). "A Wit and a Seer," The Atlantic Monthly, Vol. 82, No. 492, pp. 527–40
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