Marshall

Author: Lü Jing
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-07-01
Features: Alfred Marshall (1842–1924) was a renowned economist in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the founder and main representative of the Cambridge School (also known as the "Neoclassical School") in Western economics. He achieved accomplishments in the field of Western economics and propelled its development. From his birth on July 26, 1842, to his death on July 13, 1924, Marshall's 81-year life journey and intellectual development spanned five stages.
1.1 Accepting the Gospel of God
Marshall was born on July 26, 1842, in Crowthorne, a suburb of London, England. His great-grandfather, John Marshall, was a pastor who devoutly believed in religion; his great-grandmother, Mary Hotley, was the daughter of a pastor. His father, William Marshall, was a cashier at the Bank of England and a devout evangelical. His mother was Rebecca Oliver. Marshall spent his youth in a strong religious atmosphere. The person who influenced him most was his father—William Marshall. William Marshall had a strong personality, a conservative style, unwavering will, and an autocratic nature, exhibiting a patriarchal tendency in family life. "Even in his old age, he wrote a short essay titled 'The Rights of Men and the Duties of Women.'"① He was extremely strict with his son, hoping he would grow up to be a minister and serve God for life, living a prosperous life. When Marshall was very young, his father would read him stories from the Bible, and as he grew older, he often took him to various church activities. Marshall grew up in the sound of the gospel, and in his youth, he began to believe in religion and aspired to become a minister to spread God's gospel. Religion had a significant impact on Marshall's entire life, especially on his academic thought. Even at the age of 48, he still emphasized that religion was one of the two great forces shaping world history, stating that "the history of the world is shaped by the forces of religion and economics,"① and that people's religious motivations were stronger than their economic motivations.
When Marshall was nine years old, his father noticed his son's talent, and with the help of a bank director, Marshall attended Merton College. His father was both loving and strict with his son, often staying up late to help him with homework and studying Hebrew. Marshall developed a strong interest in mathematics and gradually demonstrated remarkable mathematical talent. In 1861, after graduating from high school, he received an Oxford University scholarship, but he rejected it and the opportunity to work in the church, defying his father's wish for him to become a pastor. That same year, at the age of 19, he received a scholarship to St. John's College, Cambridge.