Description

John Millar of Glasgow (1735-1801) was a Scottish philosopher and historian. He studied at Glasgow, where he became one of the most important followers of the founder of economics science, Adam Smith. In 1761 Millar became professor of civil law at Glasgow, and soon his lectures gained him nationwide fame. In his Origin of the Distinction of Ranks, published in 1778, he advanced the view that all social relations, even relations between the genders, are determined by the economic system. Such a view became later known as the economic determinism. His Historical View of the English Government (1803) was one of the most important contemporary histories of England, representing a milestone in the development of historiography. Amongst his other works are Letters of Crito (1796) and Letters of Sidney (1796).