Progress and Reform

This study re-examines the economic thought of John R. Commons (1862-1945). Commons was a leading Progressive Era American economist based primarily at the University of Wisconsin. He was active in the La Follette administration in Wisconsin and drafted that State's Civil Service law (which became the basis of Federal law), created the Industrial Commission law, and the Public Utility Act -- the cornerstones of progressive era legislation. In addition he is commonly regarded as a founder of the American "Institutional" school of economic thought. Toward this end this work attempts to first, organize Commons' economic system into a workable framework, second, reconcile Commons' value conception with those of other founding authors in the original institutional tradition, and third, to show the linkages between Commons' thought and the research agenda of the newer institutional school.