Abstract
The legacy is a mixed ethos combined with a mixed economy. The Webbs were individualists as well as collectivists. They believed in both freedom from and freedom to, in both the market and the plan. They were fact-gatherers but also moral philosophers. They were committed to democracy and public opinion but also to expert leadership and a manipulative nudge. They predicted that the future would go red. At the same time they had learned from history that evolution is susceptible to surprise, uncertainty and false turnings. The legacy of the Webbs is the caution accompanied by the confidence. Their rush to compromise is at once both the greatest selling-point and the greatest shortcoming of their contribution to the social sciences.
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Reisman, D. (2022). The Legacy. In: Sidney and Beatrice Webb . Great Thinkers in Economics. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-10008-6_14
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-10008-6_14
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