Bagehot lived an interesting life during the mid-19th
century. He was a banker and commentator on political affairs and wrote three
significant books; Lombard Street, Physics and Politics and The English
Constitution. These three range from banking to political philosophy to why
England is better than any other country due to its constitution. The funny
thing is if you ask anyone where they keep this constitution you will find not
a single answer. It is a cultural process developed since the Magna Carta, a
ways-and-means to govern, while retain the sovereign.
The book by Grant is a biographical study of this man, who
lived just a bit over 50 years and half of which was dedicated to his work. His
father in law headed the Economist which he took over upon the man's passing,
allowing him to have a platform to comment on a variety of things. Many
economists view him as an important figure, a predecessor to Keynes with a
focus on money and banking. He provided a set of insights to the banking
changes during this period which saw banks go from small depositories to growing
mega institutions.
The book is a somewhat chronological tale of the man and his
times. There is the back and forth between Bagehot and the events and in my
opinion it is a rather bumpy road to follow. There is a limited amount on the
understanding of banking and what changes he sought and why.
Bagehot wrote about other governments and he was a strong
admirer of the English system and for the United States he was initially a
supporter of the South and its attempts to set themselves on a different path.
He disliked Lincoln and the issue of slavery did not seem to affect him
greatly. He saw the US approach as chaotic, having a President separate from
the Legislature and having conflicting houses of the Legislature. One suspects
he would have been equally negative if he had seen a more mature Supreme Court.
His commentary is important because Woodrow Wilson adopted it as the basis for
his first book taking the position that England was better than the US.
The book has a great deal of detail but in my opinion is a
cumbersome read. Bagehot is a significant player in both his time and even now
and that does not seem to come through as well as it should.
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