Pioneering economist John R. Commons mentioned "human resource" in his 1893 book The Distribution of Wealth but did not elaborate. The expression was used during the 1910s to 1930s to promote the idea that human beings are of worth (as in human dignity); by the early 1950s, it meant people as a means to an end (for employers).E McGaughey, "A Human is not a Resource" (2018) Centre for Business Research, University of Cambridge Working Paper 497 Among scholars the first use of the phrase in that sense was in a 1958 report by economist E. Wight Bakke.
pioneering economist john r commons mentioned "human resource" in his 1893 book the distribution of wealth but did not elaborate the expression was used during the 1910s to 1930s to promote the idea that human beings are of worth (as in human dignity); by the early 1950s it meant people as a means to an end (for employers)e mcgaughey "a human is not a resource" (2018) centre for business research university of cambridge working paper 497 among scholars the first use of the phrase in that sense was in a 1958 report by economist e wight bakke