J. A. Hobson

John Atkinson Hobson (1858-1940), was an English teacher, economist and journalist. He studied at Derby School and Lincoln College, Oxford, and afterwards tought classics and English literature at schools in England. While living in London, Hobson produced his first major work on economics, the theory of underconsumption in the book 'Physiology of Industry'. Other works included 'Problems of Poverty,' 'Evolution of Modern Capitalism,' 'Problem of the Unemployed,' and 'John Ruskin: Social Reformer.' His prominence caused him to be recruited by the editor of the Manchester Guardian to be their South-African correspondent. In his magnum opus, 'Imperialism' (1902), he espoused the opinion that imperial expansion is driven by a search for new markets and investment opportunities overseas. 'Imperialism' gained Hobson an international reputation, and influenced such notable thinkers as Vladimir Lenin and Leon Trotsky.