William Forster Lloyd
Encyclopedia
William Forster Lloyd FRS (1795 – 2 June 1852) was a British writer on economics.
He was educated at Westminster School
and Christ Church, Oxford
, graduating BA in 1815 and MA in 1818.
He was Greek Reader in 1823, Mathematical lecturer and Drummond Professor of Political Economy (1832–1837) at Christ Church, Oxford (successor to Nassau Senior).
He published several of his lectures. In his Two Lectures on the Checks to Population (1833) he introduced the concept of the overuse of a common by its commoners (i.e. those with rights of use and access to it), which was later to be developed by the ecologist Garrett Hardin
and termed by Hardin "The Tragedy of the Commons". Lloyd observed that when a pastureland (a common) is available to all, cattle-owners have a short and long term interest in increasing the size of their herds. But, unchecked, the size of the herds on the common will sooner or later exceed its carrying capacity
. The common will be run down by overgrazing, though it might still be capable of recovering under better management (unlike, say, fisheries driven to extinction by this mechanism). As this was seen in several cases, the observation applies to all commons under such arrangements - thus, The Tragedy of the Commons (plural). The argument was used by Lloyd to dispute Adam Smith
's idea of the "invisible hand
". Some modern economists argue that the problem can be "solved" by assigning private property rights to the field.
In his Lectures on Population, Value, Poor Laws and Rent (1837) he introduced a concise and complete statement of the concept of diminishing marginal utility, and connected demand to value, but he presents neither derivation nor elaboration. Still this contribution places him clearly in the ranks of the Oxford-Dublin school of proto-Marginalists.
He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1834. He died at Prestwood
, Missenden, Buckinghamshire in 1852.
He was educated at Westminster School
Westminster School
The Royal College of St. Peter in Westminster, almost always known as Westminster School, is one of Britain's leading independent schools, with the highest Oxford and Cambridge acceptance rate of any secondary school or college in Britain...
and Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church or house of Christ, and thus sometimes known as The House), is one of the largest constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England...
, graduating BA in 1815 and MA in 1818.
He was Greek Reader in 1823, Mathematical lecturer and Drummond Professor of Political Economy (1832–1837) at Christ Church, Oxford (successor to Nassau Senior).
He published several of his lectures. In his Two Lectures on the Checks to Population (1833) he introduced the concept of the overuse of a common by its commoners (i.e. those with rights of use and access to it), which was later to be developed by the ecologist Garrett Hardin
Garrett Hardin
Garrett James Hardin was an American ecologist who warned of the dangers of overpopulation and whose concept of the tragedy of the commons brought attention to "the damage that innocent actions by individuals can inflict on the environment"...
and termed by Hardin "The Tragedy of the Commons". Lloyd observed that when a pastureland (a common) is available to all, cattle-owners have a short and long term interest in increasing the size of their herds. But, unchecked, the size of the herds on the common will sooner or later exceed its carrying capacity
Carrying capacity
The carrying capacity of a biological species in an environment is the maximum population size of the species that the environment can sustain indefinitely, given the food, habitat, water and other necessities available in the environment...
. The common will be run down by overgrazing, though it might still be capable of recovering under better management (unlike, say, fisheries driven to extinction by this mechanism). As this was seen in several cases, the observation applies to all commons under such arrangements - thus, The Tragedy of the Commons (plural). The argument was used by Lloyd to dispute Adam Smith
Adam Smith
Adam Smith was a Scottish social philosopher and a pioneer of political economy. One of the key figures of the Scottish Enlightenment, Smith is the author of The Theory of Moral Sentiments and An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations...
's idea of the "invisible hand
Invisible hand
In economics, invisible hand or invisible hand of the market is the term economists use to describe the self-regulating nature of the marketplace. This is a metaphor first coined by the economist Adam Smith...
". Some modern economists argue that the problem can be "solved" by assigning private property rights to the field.
In his Lectures on Population, Value, Poor Laws and Rent (1837) he introduced a concise and complete statement of the concept of diminishing marginal utility, and connected demand to value, but he presents neither derivation nor elaboration. Still this contribution places him clearly in the ranks of the Oxford-Dublin school of proto-Marginalists.
He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1834. He died at Prestwood
Prestwood
Prestwood is a village in Buckinghamshire, England. It is located in the Chiltern Hills, about a mile west of Great Missenden, four miles north of High Wycombe.-Early history and creation of parish:...
, Missenden, Buckinghamshire in 1852.
Major works of William F. Lloyd
- Lecture on the Notion of Value, as distinguished not only from utility, but also from value in exchange, 1833.
- Two Lectures on the Checks to Population, 1833.
- Four Lectures on Poor-Laws, 1835
- Two Lectures on the Justice of the Poor-Laws and One Lecture on Rent, 1837.
- Lectures on Population, Value, Poor Laws and Rent, 1837.