Occasional Discourse on the Negro Question
"Occasional Discourse on the Negro Question" is an essay by the Scottish essayist, historian and philosopher Thomas Carlyle. It was first published anonymously in Fraser's Magazine for Town and Country of London in December 1849,[1] and was revised and reprinted in 1853 as a pamphlet entitled "Occasional Discourse on the Nigger Question".[2] The essay was the spark of a debate between Carlyle and John Stuart Mill.[3] It was in this essay that Carlyle first introduced the phrase "the dismal science" to characterize the field of economics.[4]
Author
Debate with John Stuart Mill[edit]
John Stuart Mill's reply, in the next issue of Fraser's Magazine, under the title, "The Negro question" was also published anonymously.[5] Mill criticised Carlyle's view of human nature, the poor, and the existing power structure's complicity in societal wealthy inequality. He argued that any supposedly self-defeating actions are explained by class oppression.[6]