Varieties of Escape: 1, Economist and Soldier

In 1910 economics was a relatively new subject at Cambridge — the first examinations for Part II of the Economics Tripos were held as recently as 1906. It is therefore unsurprising that not a few of Robertson’s future colleagues should have started out in more conventional fields of study: Alfred Marshall and Maynard Keynes in mathematics, Gerald Shove and Austin Robinson in classics and Arthur Pigou in history. Nor are likely reasons behind this migration hard to find, for the new subject of economics could be seen as a particularly attractive venture for the young. Not only did it possess the lustre of novelty but it could also be related to real world events and problems. For idealistic members of the Cambridge School founded by Alfred Marshall who were bent on social improvement, it promised to provide the instrument whereby social melioration could be achieved.