Hobson (1858-1940) was an English economist influenced by liberal thinkers, such as John Stuart Mill and Herbert Spencer.

In his classic study, Imperialism: A Study, first published in 1902, he attempts to explain the rise of new imperialism in the 1870s and 1880s when Great Britain, together with the other European powers, engaged in a scramble for colonies. This move was different from the previous British pattern where it exercised power through free trade and political control.