History, Knowledge, and Sustainable Economic Development: The Contribution of John Stuart Mill’s Grand Stage Theory

The aim of this paper is to sketch out the idea for a grand theory in development studies as the necessary research field for fruitful historical interdisciplinary, arguing that Mill’s stage theory provides such a powerful theoretical framework able to contextualize, develop, and integrate the multiple, diverse, and middle-range contemporary strands in development studies. Second, an attempt is made to reconstitute Mill’s stages theory of economic development placing it at the center of his political economy. We claim that Mill’s theory of economic development implies that the dialectical relation between knowledge/innovation (human capital) and nature (natural capital) accelerates the course of economic change. In Mill’s analysis, the dialectical relation between knowledge and nature penetrates through culture, which is regarded by Mill as a structural element of each stage of economic development. By highlighting the importance of knowledge in the transition between different stages of economic development, and by proposing a reassessed interpretation of Mill’s stages theory of economic development, we propose that in Mill’s political economy both innovation and nature play a pivotal role in accessing sustainable economic development.