Maurice Herbert Dobb

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Maurice Herbert Dobb (24 July 1900 – 17 August 1976) was a highly influential British Marxist economist and economic historian. He was a Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge, and a prominent figure in British intellectual life for much of the 20th century. Dobb is best known for his analyses of economic development, the transition from feudalism to capitalism, the economics of socialism, and his interpretations of classical and Marxian political economy. Despite being a committed Communist Party member in a predominantly non-Marxist academic environment, he gained considerable respect for his scholarship and intellectual rigor.

Early Life and Education
Academic Career
Marxist Economics and Political Commitment
Major Economic and Historical Contributions
4.1. Studies in the Development of Capitalism
4.1.1. The Dobb-Sweezy Debate (Transition Debate)
4.2. Economics of Socialism and Planning
4.3. Theories of Value and Distribution
4.4. Economic Development and Underdevelopment
4.5. History of Economic Thought
Influence and Legacy
Criticisms
List of Major Works
See Also

Maurice Dobb was born in London, the son of Walter Herbert Dobb and Elsie Annie Moir. He was raised in a suburban middle-class family. He was educated at Charterhouse School, a prominent public school. In 1919, he went up to Pembroke College, Cambridge, initially to read history, but soon switched to economics. At Cambridge, he was taught by leading economists such as John Maynard Keynes and Arthur Cecil Pigou. He obtained a first-class honours degree in economics in 1922.

After Cambridge, Dobb undertook postgraduate research at the London School of Economics (LSE) under Edwin Cannan, receiving his Ph.D. in 1924 for a dissertation that formed the basis of his first book, Capitalist Enterprise and Social Progress. It was during this period that his Marxist convictions solidified.

Despite his openly Marxist views, which were unconventional in British academia at the time, Dobb secured an academic career at the University of Cambridge:

He began as a lecturer in the Faculty of Economics and Politics in 1924.
He became a Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1948, a significant achievement for a Marxist scholar. This provided him with greater academic security and influence.
He was appointed University Reader in Economics in 1959.
He retired in 1967.

Dobb was a respected teacher and supervisor, influencing several generations of students, including Amartya Sen and Eric Hobsbawm. He was known for his meticulous scholarship, intellectual honesty, and willingness to engage in debate with economists from different theoretical perspectives.

Dobb joined the Communist Party of Great Britain in 1920 (or 1922, sources vary slightly) and remained a committed member throughout his life, even during periods of intense Cold War anti-communism and internal crises within the international communist movement (such as the Hungarian Uprising of 1956, which led many intellectuals to leave the Party).

His Marxism was not dogmatic but was characterized by a deep engagement with Marx's texts and an attempt to apply Marxist categories of analysis to contemporary economic problems and historical processes.
He was a leading figure in the Communist Party Historians Group, which included other prominent Marxist historians like Christopher Hill, Rodney Hilton, and E. P. Thompson.
His political commitment informed his scholarly work, but he strove for academic rigor and objectivity in his research.

Dobb made significant contributions across several areas of economics and economic history.

His most famous and influential work is "Studies in the Development of Capitalism" (1946). This book offered a Marxist interpretation of the economic history of Europe, focusing on the decline of feudalism and the rise of capitalism.

Internal Contradictions vs. External Trade: Dobb argued that the decline of feudalism was primarily due to its internal contradictions – the inefficiency of the feudal mode of production and the growing exploitation of the peasantry by the feudal ruling class, leading to class struggle and peasant flight – rather than primarily due to the external impact of long-distance trade and the rise of towns, as argued by some historians like Henri Pirenne.
4.1.1. The Dobb-Sweezy Debate (Transition Debate): This book sparked a major international debate among Marxist historians and economists, known as the "Transition Debate," concerning the causes of the transition from feudalism to capitalism. Key participants included Paul Sweezy (who emphasized the role of trade), Rodney Hilton, Christopher Hill, Kohachiro Takahashi, and others. This debate, published in Science & Society and later as a collection, became a classic in Marxist historiography and significantly advanced the understanding of historical materialism.

Dobb wrote extensively on the economics of socialism and central planning, particularly in the context of the Soviet Union and Eastern European socialist economies.

In works like Russian Economic Development since the Revolution (1928, later revised as Soviet Economic Development Since 1917) and On Economic Theory and Socialism (1955), he analyzed the challenges and achievements of planned economies.
He engaged with the socialist calculation debate, arguing that rational economic planning was possible and could be more efficient and equitable than capitalist market economies in certain respects, particularly for achieving rapid industrialization and full employment.
He explored issues of investment criteria, price formation, and incentives in socialist economies. While generally supportive of Soviet-style planning, he was not uncritical and acknowledged some of its problems.

Dobb made important contributions to the interpretation and development of classical and Marxian theories of value and distribution.

He defended Marx's labor theory of value against its critics, emphasizing its role as a tool for understanding exploitation and the underlying dynamics of capitalism, rather than merely as a theory of relative prices.
He engaged with the "transformation problem" (the problem of transforming labor values into prices of production in Marx's theory).
His work Political Economy and Capitalism (1937) provided a critical survey of economic doctrines from a Marxist perspective.

Drawing on his historical studies and his analysis of socialist planning, Dobb also contributed to the emerging field of development economics.

He emphasized the structural obstacles to development in underdeveloped countries, often rooted in their historical experience of colonialism and their integration into the global capitalist system.
He argued that state-led investment and planning could play a crucial role in overcoming these obstacles and fostering industrialization, drawing parallels with the Soviet experience. His book An Essay on Economic Growth and Planning (1960) explored these themes.

Dobb was a knowledgeable historian of economic thought. His Theories of Value and Distribution since Adam Smith: Ideology and Economic Theory (1973) is a major work that critically examines the development of economic theory from the classical economists to the neoclassical and Keynesian schools, from a Marxist standpoint. He argued that economic theories are not neutral, objective constructs but are often shaped by the ideological perspectives and class interests prevalent in different historical periods.

Maurice Dobb was one of the most important Marxist economists of the 20th century, particularly in the English-speaking world.
His Studies in the Development of Capitalism remains a classic of economic history and a foundational text for understanding the transition from feudalism to capitalism. The "Transition Debate" it sparked is still studied today.
He played a key role in introducing and interpreting Marxist economic thought to generations of students and scholars in Britain and beyond.
His work on socialist planning and economic development influenced debates in those fields, particularly in developing countries considering alternative development paths.
Despite his political affiliations, he maintained a reputation for serious scholarship and intellectual integrity, earning the respect of many non-Marxist colleagues.
He demonstrated that it was possible to be a committed Marxist and a respected academic within the mainstream university system.

Dobb's work, particularly his analyses of Soviet-style economies, was criticized by some for being overly sympathetic to the Soviet Union and for downplaying the authoritarian aspects and economic inefficiencies of its system.
His adherence to the labor theory of value was challenged by mainstream neoclassical economists.
Some historians disagreed with his "internal contradiction" thesis for the decline of feudalism, placing more emphasis on external factors like trade.

Capitalist Enterprise and Social Progress (1925)
Russian Economic Development since the Revolution (1928, assisted by H. C. Stevens; revised and expanded as Soviet Economic Development Since 1917, 1948, with further editions)
Wages (1928, revised 1938, 1946, 1956)
Political Economy and Capitalism: Some Essays in Economic Tradition (1937, revised 1940)
"Studies in the Development of Capitalism" (1946, revised 1963) – His most famous work.
Soviet Planning and Labour in Peace and War (1942)
Marx as an Economist (1943, pamphlet)
On Economic Theory and Socialism: Collected Papers (1955)
An Essay on Economic Growth and Planning (1960)
Papers on Capitalism, Development and Planning (1967)
Welfare Economics and the Economics of Socialism: Towards a Commonsense Critique (1969)
"Theories of Value and Distribution since Adam Smith: Ideology and Economic Theory" (1973)
Socialist Planning: Some Problems (1975, posthumously published selected lectures)

Marxist economics
Economic history
Transition from feudalism to capitalism (Transition Debate)
Socialist economics
Planned economy
Communist Party Historians Group
Paul Sweezy
Rodney Hilton
Eric Hobsbawm
Amartya Sen

Maurice Herbert Dobb (24 July 1900 – 17 August 1976) was a highly influential British Marxist economist and economic historian. He was a Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge, and a prominent figure in British intellectual life for much of the 20th century. Dobb is best known for his analyses of economic development, the transition from feudalism to capitalism, the economics of socialism, and his interpretations of classical and Marxian political economy. Despite being a committed Communist Party member in a predominantly non-Marxist academic environment, he gained considerable respect for his scholarship and intellectual rigor.

Early Life and Education
Academic Career
Marxist Economics and Political Commitment
Major Economic and Historical Contributions
4.1. Studies in the Development of Capitalism
4.1.1. The Dobb-Sweezy Debate (Transition Debate)
4.2. Economics of Socialism and Planning
4.3. Theories of Value and Distribution
4.4. Economic Development and Underdevelopment
4.5. History of Economic Thought
Influence and Legacy
Criticisms
List of Major Works
See Also

Maurice Dobb was born in London, the son of Walter Herbert Dobb and Elsie Annie Moir. He was raised in a suburban middle-class family. He was educated at Charterhouse School, a prominent public school. In 1919, he went up to Pembroke College, Cambridge, initially to read history, but soon switched to economics. At Cambridge, he was taught by leading economists such as John Maynard Keynes and Arthur Cecil Pigou. He obtained a first-class honours degree in economics in 1922.

After Cambridge, Dobb undertook postgraduate research at the London School of Economics (LSE) under Edwin Cannan, receiving his Ph.D. in 1924 for a dissertation that formed the basis of his first book, Capitalist Enterprise and Social Progress. It was during this period that his Marxist convictions solidified.

Despite his openly Marxist views, which were unconventional in British academia at the time, Dobb secured an academic career at the University of Cambridge:

He began as a lecturer in the Faculty of Economics and Politics in 1924.
He became a Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1948, a significant achievement for a Marxist scholar. This provided him with greater academic security and influence.
He was appointed University Reader in Economics in 1959.
He retired in 1967.

Dobb was a respected teacher and supervisor, influencing several generations of students, including Amartya Sen and Eric Hobsbawm. He was known for his meticulous scholarship, intellectual honesty, and willingness to engage in debate with economists from different theoretical perspectives.

Dobb joined the Communist Party of Great Britain in 1920 (or 1922, sources vary slightly) and remained a committed member throughout his life, even during periods of intense Cold War anti-communism and internal crises within the international communist movement (such as the Hungarian Uprising of 1956, which led many intellectuals to leave the Party).

His Marxism was not dogmatic but was characterized by a deep engagement with Marx's texts and an attempt to apply Marxist categories of analysis to contemporary economic problems and historical processes.
He was a leading figure in the Communist Party Historians Group, which included other prominent Marxist historians like Christopher Hill, Rodney Hilton, and E. P. Thompson.
His political commitment informed his scholarly work, but he strove for academic rigor and objectivity in his research.

Dobb made significant contributions across several areas of economics and economic history.

His most famous and influential work is "Studies in the Development of Capitalism" (1946). This book offered a Marxist interpretation of the economic history of Europe, focusing on the decline of feudalism and the rise of capitalism.

Internal Contradictions vs. External Trade: Dobb argued that the decline of feudalism was primarily due to its internal contradictions – the inefficiency of the feudal mode of production and the growing exploitation of the peasantry by the feudal ruling class, leading to class struggle and peasant flight – rather than primarily due to the external impact of long-distance trade and the rise of towns, as argued by some historians like Henri Pirenne.
4.1.1. The Dobb-Sweezy Debate (Transition Debate): This book sparked a major international debate among Marxist historians and economists, known as the "Transition Debate," concerning the causes of the transition from feudalism to capitalism. Key participants included Paul Sweezy (who emphasized the role of trade), Rodney Hilton, Christopher Hill, Kohachiro Takahashi, and others. This debate, published in Science & Society and later as a collection, became a classic in Marxist historiography and significantly advanced the understanding of historical materialism.

Dobb wrote extensively on the economics of socialism and central planning, particularly in the context of the Soviet Union and Eastern European socialist economies.

In works like Russian Economic Development since the Revolution (1928, later revised as Soviet Economic Development Since 1917) and On Economic Theory and Socialism (1955), he analyzed the challenges and achievements of planned economies.
He engaged with the socialist calculation debate, arguing that rational economic planning was possible and could be more efficient and equitable than capitalist market economies in certain respects, particularly for achieving rapid industrialization and full employment.
He explored issues of investment criteria, price formation, and incentives in socialist economies. While generally supportive of Soviet-style planning, he was not uncritical and acknowledged some of its problems.

Dobb made important contributions to the interpretation and development of classical and Marxian theories of value and distribution.

He defended Marx's labor theory of value against its critics, emphasizing its role as a tool for understanding exploitation and the underlying dynamics of capitalism, rather than merely as a theory of relative prices.
He engaged with the "transformation problem" (the problem of transforming labor values into prices of production in Marx's theory).
His work Political Economy and Capitalism (1937) provided a critical survey of economic doctrines from a Marxist perspective.

Drawing on his historical studies and his analysis of socialist planning, Dobb also contributed to the emerging field of development economics.

He emphasized the structural obstacles to development in underdeveloped countries, often rooted in their historical experience of colonialism and their integration into the global capitalist system.
He argued that state-led investment and planning could play a crucial role in overcoming these obstacles and fostering industrialization, drawing parallels with the Soviet experience. His book An Essay on Economic Growth and Planning (1960) explored these themes.

Dobb was a knowledgeable historian of economic thought. His Theories of Value and Distribution since Adam Smith: Ideology and Economic Theory (1973) is a major work that critically examines the development of economic theory from the classical economists to the neoclassical and Keynesian schools, from a Marxist standpoint. He argued that economic theories are not neutral, objective constructs but are often shaped by the ideological perspectives and class interests prevalent in different historical periods.

Maurice Dobb was one of the most important Marxist economists of the 20th century, particularly in the English-speaking world.
His Studies in the Development of Capitalism remains a classic of economic history and a foundational text for understanding the transition from feudalism to capitalism. The "Transition Debate" it sparked is still studied today.
He played a key role in introducing and interpreting Marxist economic thought to generations of students and scholars in Britain and beyond.
His work on socialist planning and economic development influenced debates in those fields, particularly in developing countries considering alternative development paths.
Despite his political affiliations, he maintained a reputation for serious scholarship and intellectual integrity, earning the respect of many non-Marxist colleagues.
He demonstrated that it was possible to be a committed Marxist and a respected academic within the mainstream university system.

Dobb's work, particularly his analyses of Soviet-style economies, was criticized by some for being overly sympathetic to the Soviet Union and for downplaying the authoritarian aspects and economic inefficiencies of its system.
His adherence to the labor theory of value was challenged by mainstream neoclassical economists.
Some historians disagreed with his "internal contradiction" thesis for the decline of feudalism, placing more emphasis on external factors like trade.

Capitalist Enterprise and Social Progress (1925)
Russian Economic Development since the Revolution (1928, assisted by H. C. Stevens; revised and expanded as Soviet Economic Development Since 1917, 1948, with further editions)
Wages (1928, revised 1938, 1946, 1956)
Political Economy and Capitalism: Some Essays in Economic Tradition (1937, revised 1940)
"Studies in the Development of Capitalism" (1946, revised 1963) – His most famous work.
Soviet Planning and Labour in Peace and War (1942)
Marx as an Economist (1943, pamphlet)
On Economic Theory and Socialism: Collected Papers (1955)
An Essay on Economic Growth and Planning (1960)
Papers on Capitalism, Development and Planning (1967)
Welfare Economics and the Economics of Socialism: Towards a Commonsense Critique (1969)
"Theories of Value and Distribution since Adam Smith: Ideology and Economic Theory" (1973)
Socialist Planning: Some Problems (1975, posthumously published selected lectures)

Marxist economics
Economic history
Transition from feudalism to capitalism (Transition Debate)
Socialist economics
Planned economy
Communist Party Historians Group
Paul Sweezy
Rodney Hilton
Eric Hobsbawm
Amartya Sen

Maurice Herbert Dobb (24 July 1900 – 17 August 1976) was a highly influential British Marxist economist and economic historian. He was a Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge, and a prominent figure in British intellectual life for much of the 20th century. Dobb is best known for his analyses of economic development, the transition from feudalism to capitalism, the economics of socialism, and his interpretations of classical and Marxian political economy. Despite being a committed Communist Party member in a predominantly non-Marxist academic environment, he gained considerable respect for his scholarship and intellectual rigor.

Early Life and Education
Academic Career
Marxist Economics and Political Commitment
Major Economic and Historical Contributions
4.1. Studies in the Development of Capitalism
4.1.1. The Dobb-Sweezy Debate (Transition Debate)
4.2. Economics of Socialism and Planning
4.3. Theories of Value and Distribution
4.4. Economic Development and Underdevelopment
4.5. History of Economic Thought
Influence and Legacy
Criticisms
List of Major Works
See Also

Maurice Dobb was born in London, the son of Walter Herbert Dobb and Elsie Annie Moir. He was raised in a suburban middle-class family. He was educated at Charterhouse School, a prominent public school. In 1919, he went up to Pembroke College, Cambridge, initially to read history, but soon switched to economics. At Cambridge, he was taught by leading economists such as John Maynard Keynes and Arthur Cecil Pigou. He obtained a first-class honours degree in economics in 1922.

After Cambridge, Dobb undertook postgraduate research at the London School of Economics (LSE) under Edwin Cannan, receiving his Ph.D. in 1924 for a dissertation that formed the basis of his first book, Capitalist Enterprise and Social Progress. It was during this period that his Marxist convictions solidified.

Despite his openly Marxist views, which were unconventional in British academia at the time, Dobb secured an academic career at the University of Cambridge:

He began as a lecturer in the Faculty of Economics and Politics in 1924.
He became a Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1948, a significant achievement for a Marxist scholar. This provided him with greater academic security and influence.
He was appointed University Reader in Economics in 1959.
He retired in 1967.

Dobb was a respected teacher and supervisor, influencing several generations of students, including Amartya Sen and Eric Hobsbawm. He was known for his meticulous scholarship, intellectual honesty, and willingness to engage in debate with economists from different theoretical perspectives.

Dobb joined the Communist Party of Great Britain in 1920 (or 1922, sources vary slightly) and remained a committed member throughout his life, even during periods of intense Cold War anti-communism and internal crises within the international communist movement (such as the Hungarian Uprising of 1956, which led many intellectuals to leave the Party).

His Marxism was not dogmatic but was characterized by a deep engagement with Marx's texts and an attempt to apply Marxist categories of analysis to contemporary economic problems and historical processes.
He was a leading figure in the Communist Party Historians Group, which included other prominent Marxist historians like Christopher Hill, Rodney Hilton, and E. P. Thompson.
His political commitment informed his scholarly work, but he strove for academic rigor and objectivity in his research.

Dobb made significant contributions across several areas of economics and economic history.

His most famous and influential work is "Studies in the Development of Capitalism" (1946). This book offered a Marxist interpretation of the economic history of Europe, focusing on the decline of feudalism and the rise of capitalism.

Internal Contradictions vs. External Trade: Dobb argued that the decline of feudalism was primarily due to its internal contradictions – the inefficiency of the feudal mode of production and the growing exploitation of the peasantry by the feudal ruling class, leading to class struggle and peasant flight – rather than primarily due to the external impact of long-distance trade and the rise of towns, as argued by some historians like Henri Pirenne.
4.1.1. The Dobb-Sweezy Debate (Transition Debate): This book sparked a major international debate among Marxist historians and economists, known as the "Transition Debate," concerning the causes of the transition from feudalism to capitalism. Key participants included Paul Sweezy (who emphasized the role of trade), Rodney Hilton, Christopher Hill, Kohachiro Takahashi, and others. This debate, published in Science & Society and later as a collection, became a classic in Marxist historiography and significantly advanced the understanding of historical materialism.

Dobb wrote extensively on the economics of socialism and central planning, particularly in the context of the Soviet Union and Eastern European socialist economies.

In works like Russian Economic Development since the Revolution (1928, later revised as Soviet Economic Development Since 1917) and On Economic Theory and Socialism (1955), he analyzed the challenges and achievements of planned economies.
He engaged with the socialist calculation debate, arguing that rational economic planning was possible and could be more efficient and equitable than capitalist market economies in certain respects, particularly for achieving rapid industrialization and full employment.
He explored issues of investment criteria, price formation, and incentives in socialist economies. While generally supportive of Soviet-style planning, he was not uncritical and acknowledged some of its problems.

Dobb made important contributions to the interpretation and development of classical and Marxian theories of value and distribution.

He defended Marx's labor theory of value against its critics, emphasizing its role as a tool for understanding exploitation and the underlying dynamics of capitalism, rather than merely as a theory of relative prices.
He engaged with the "transformation problem" (the problem of transforming labor values into prices of production in Marx's theory).
His work Political Economy and Capitalism (1937) provided a critical survey of economic doctrines from a Marxist perspective.

Drawing on his historical studies and his analysis of socialist planning, Dobb also contributed to the emerging field of development economics.

He emphasized the structural obstacles to development in underdeveloped countries, often rooted in their historical experience of colonialism and their integration into the global capitalist system.
He argued that state-led investment and planning could play a crucial role in overcoming these obstacles and fostering industrialization, drawing parallels with the Soviet experience. His book An Essay on Economic Growth and Planning (1960) explored these themes.

Dobb was a knowledgeable historian of economic thought. His Theories of Value and Distribution since Adam Smith: Ideology and Economic Theory (1973) is a major work that critically examines the development of economic theory from the classical economists to the neoclassical and Keynesian schools, from a Marxist standpoint. He argued that economic theories are not neutral, objective constructs but are often shaped by the ideological perspectives and class interests prevalent in different historical periods.

Maurice Dobb was one of the most important Marxist economists of the 20th century, particularly in the English-speaking world.
His Studies in the Development of Capitalism remains a classic of economic history and a foundational text for understanding the transition from feudalism to capitalism. The "Transition Debate" it sparked is still studied today.
He played a key role in introducing and interpreting Marxist economic thought to generations of students and scholars in Britain and beyond.
His work on socialist planning and economic development influenced debates in those fields, particularly in developing countries considering alternative development paths.
Despite his political affiliations, he maintained a reputation for serious scholarship and intellectual integrity, earning the respect of many non-Marxist colleagues.
He demonstrated that it was possible to be a committed Marxist and a respected academic within the mainstream university system.

Dobb's work, particularly his analyses of Soviet-style economies, was criticized by some for being overly sympathetic to the Soviet Union and for downplaying the authoritarian aspects and economic inefficiencies of its system.
His adherence to the labor theory of value was challenged by mainstream neoclassical economists.
Some historians disagreed with his "internal contradiction" thesis for the decline of feudalism, placing more emphasis on external factors like trade.

Capitalist Enterprise and Social Progress (1925)
Russian Economic Development since the Revolution (1928, assisted by H. C. Stevens; revised and expanded as Soviet Economic Development Since 1917, 1948, with further editions)
Wages (1928, revised 1938, 1946, 1956)
Political Economy and Capitalism: Some Essays in Economic Tradition (1937, revised 1940)
"Studies in the Development of Capitalism" (1946, revised 1963) – His most famous work.
Soviet Planning and Labour in Peace and War (1942)
Marx as an Economist (1943, pamphlet)
On Economic Theory and Socialism: Collected Papers (1955)
An Essay on Economic Growth and Planning (1960)
Papers on Capitalism, Development and Planning (1967)
Welfare Economics and the Economics of Socialism: Towards a Commonsense Critique (1969)
"Theories of Value and Distribution since Adam Smith: Ideology and Economic Theory" (1973)
Socialist Planning: Some Problems (1975, posthumously published selected lectures)

Marxist economics
Economic history
Transition from feudalism to capitalism (Transition Debate)
Socialist economics
Planned economy
Communist Party Historians Group
Paul Sweezy
Rodney Hilton
Eric Hobsbawm
Amartya Sen