Writing Labor History Today: A Critical Note on The Case of the Roman Empire

2018 ◽  
Vol 73 (1) ◽  
pp. 157-178
Author(s):  
Christel Freu
Keyword(s):  
Roman Empire ◽  
Free Market ◽  
Labor History ◽  
Free Market Economy ◽  
Roman World ◽  
Critical Note ◽  
Theoretical Assumptions ◽  
History Of ◽  
Hired Labor ◽  
High Degree

Three recently published books raise the question of labor in the Roman Empire. The present article aims to investigate the sources privileged by historians, the scale of observation on which their analysis is situated, and the theoretical assumptions that guide them. These reflections show that there are multiple ways of writing labor history, currently divided into different subfields which do not always communicate with one another. Thanks to new readings of ancient literature and epigraphy, and the contribution of papyri and archaeology, the traditional history of work and trades has been widely renewed. An important line of questioning examines the reasons for the high degree of trade specialization in the Roman Empire, as well as the existence of a true division of labor. Archaeology helps us understand the technologies and processes of production, making it possible to establish a typology of the socioprofessional identities, from employers to employees, that existed in the shops and workshops of the Roman world. A quite different approach investigates the organization of labor from a macroeconomic perspective, seeing it as a force mobilized by employers: comparisons between the productivity of slaves and that of free workers have been replaced by analyses of the transaction costs of free hired labor versus servile manpower. Finally, debate continues between historians who consider that the labor market of the Roman Empire was limited by clientelist networks and servile labor, and those who describe a free-market economy where labor had become a commodity.

The Avant-Garde of System-Cybernetic Governmentality

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eglė Rindzevičiūtė
Keyword(s):  
Market Economy ◽  
Systems Approach ◽  
Free Market ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
Free Market Economy ◽  
The West ◽  
Avant Garde ◽  
History Of ◽  
Soviet Russia ◽  
Complex Question

This epilogue addresses the complex question of the link between system-cybernetic governmentality and the neoliberal transformation of post-Soviet Russia. Although the system-cybernetic governmentality and economic neoliberalism did not share institutional origins, they were linked during the post-Soviet transformation as a result of historical momentum: the members of the Soviet systems approach community were best positioned to conduct the transfer of the models of the market economy from the West at a time when neoliberal ideas on the free market economy were gaining popularity. However, this should not mean that the pre-1980 history of system-cybernetic governmentality should be tainted as neoliberal; rather, this reveals the extent to which scientific governance can be appropriated by different economic and political regimes. If anything, the pre-1980 history of system-cybernetic governmentality is a history of a rather liberal governmental technology, underscoring the conditions of autonomy, self-regulation, and government at a distance.

Infection in the Pregnant Patient

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vanessa Vasquez
Keyword(s):  
Social History ◽  
Preterm Labor ◽  
Labor History ◽  
Pregnant Patient ◽  
Vaginal Fluid ◽  
Uterine Contractility ◽  
Transmitted Infection ◽  
Sexually Transmitted ◽  
History Of ◽  
High Degree

Infections in pregnancy can result in significant complications for both the mother and fetus and can increase the risk of preterm labor. Fever in a pregnant woman also raises concern for its associated risk of preterm birth due to the release of prostaglandins and cytokines that stimulate uterine contractility. Infection can be passed to the neonate hematogenously or ascend from the genital tract. Treatment during pregnancy creates problems, as many antimicrobials cross the placenta and may have a teratogenic risk. Prophylaxis, vaccination, a high degree of suspicion, and early intervention can help improve morbidity and mortality. The pregnant patient should be asked important questions that include history of uterine tenderness and leakage of vaginal fluid, exposure to or symptoms of sexually transmitted infection, previous preterm labor, history of pregnancy complications, and a thorough social history.

Lead pollution and the Roman economy

2020 ◽  
Vol 33 ◽  
pp. 354-364
Author(s):  
Damian Pavlyshyn ◽  
Iain Johnstone ◽  
Richard Saller
Keyword(s):  
Roman Empire ◽  
Economic History ◽  
Roman Economy ◽  
Roman World ◽  
Greco Roman ◽  
Institutional Frameworks ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Industrial Societies ◽  
Somatic Energy

More than a decade ago, the Oxford Roman Economy Project (OXREP)1 and the Cambridge economic history of the Greco-Roman world put the question of the performance of the Roman economy at the center of historical debate, prompting a flood of books and articles attempting to assess the degree of growth in the economy.2 The issue is of sufficient importance that it has figured in the narratives of economists analyzing the impact of institutional frameworks on the potential for growth.3 As the debate has continued, there has been some convergence: most historians would agree that there was some Smithian growth as evidenced by urbanization and trade, while acknowledging that production remained predominantly agricultural and based primarily on somatic energy (i.e., human and animal).4 This is, of course, a very broad framework that does not differentiate the Roman empire from other complex pre-industrial societies. The challenge is to refine the analysis in order to put content into the broad description of “modest though significant growth”5 and to offer a deeper understanding of the dynamics of the economy.

Democratie en modernisatie : noodzaak of keuze ?

Res Publica ◽  
1989 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 565-591
Author(s):  
Liesbet Hooghe
Keyword(s):  
Positive Relationship ◽  
Free Market ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Empirical Literature ◽  
Free Market Economy ◽  
Political Regimes ◽  
Final Destination ◽  
Western Model ◽  
History Of ◽  
Theoretical Evidence

The classical "western" model of modernization assumes that economie development in the end will lead to a more uniform world of political democracies in free market economies. However, this western model turns out to be too deterministic for non-western countries.A selective review of the theoretical and empirical literature on the question learns that the western model runs into problems because it does not make a clear distinction between preconditions for political democratization and demands posed by modernization. Empirical studies show, contrary to the western model logic, that there is no direct positive relationship between economie growth and political democratization. Cultural and structural thresholds may inhibit democratization : an intolerant culture, absence of a free market economy, external influences, a history of constantly wavering political regimes. As concerns the demands posed by modernization, modern political regimes tend to develop common characteristics, one of them being the design ofmore participatory structures and procedures. But there is no theoretical evidence whatsoever of the western model being the final destination for all modernizing societies.

Freedom of Contract on Crossroads: The Struggle over the Concept of Contract Liberty in 20th Century Poland

2020 ◽  
Vol 66 (1) ◽  
pp. 34-53
Author(s):  
Mateusz Grochowski
Keyword(s):  
Intellectual History ◽  
20Th Century ◽  
Free Market ◽  
Civil Law ◽  
Contract Law ◽  
Free Market Economy ◽  
Freedom Of Contract ◽  
Political Dynamics ◽  
Precise Understanding ◽  
History Of

The text delves into the origins and theoretic premises of the concept of freedom of contract that developed in Poland throughout the 20th century. It attempts to provide a more precise understanding of the economic and political dynamics that led to creation of the quite strong laissez faire perception of contract liberty, which still seems to underpin most of the Polish discourses about contract law. In so doing, the article seeks to analyze two crucial dynamics that seem to be determinative for the current shape of freedom of contract in Poland: the direct translation of the inter-war model of contract liberty into the current civil law, as well as the rapidity and profoundness of the transformation from the centrally-steered to free market economy in the 1990s. This view on intellectual history of contract liberty is, in turn, applied to analyze frictions in transposition of EU contract law, which occur conspicuously in the Polish realities.

Capitalist Coalitions, the State, and Neoliberal Economic Restructuring: Chile, 1973–88

1993 ◽  
Vol 45 (4) ◽  
pp. 526-559 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eduardo Silva
Keyword(s):  
Market Economy ◽  
Free Market ◽  
Economic Change ◽  
Import Substitution ◽  
Economic Restructuring ◽  
The State ◽  
Free Market Economy ◽  
Relative State ◽  
Power Resources ◽  
High Degree

This article argues that a high degree of relative state autonomy and ideology, while necessary, was not sufficient to explain fully the change from import-substitution industrialization to an open, free-market economy in Chile. A comparison across three distinct policy periods in authoritarian Chile reveals that shifting coalitions of businessmen and landowners, with varying power resources, also played an important part in the outcome. This approach does not seek to vitiate other interpretations of economic change in Chile and elsewhere. The question is not so much which factor is most important, but how and when the different factors matter.

scholarly journals Karl Christ i Rzym nieprzemijający…

2015 ◽  
pp. 261-279
Author(s):  
Leszek Mrozewicz
Keyword(s):  
Roman Empire ◽  
Structural Evolution ◽  
European History ◽  
Similar Process ◽  
Ancient Rome ◽  
European Continent ◽  
The Past ◽  
Roman World ◽  
European Culture ◽  
History Of

Karl Christ belonged to the most eminent German historians of the ancient Rome of the latter half of the 20th century. He was particularly interested in the Roman Empire and its place in the European history. This was vividly reflected in his “Geschichte der römischen Kaiserzeit”, which had as many as six editions in Germany. The book conveys the conviction that the history of the Roman Empire constitutes a fundament of contemporary Europe, regardless of the assessment it received over the centuries, which was often very negative. Karl Christ believed that in our times, Roman Empire acquires a new meaning in view of the unification of Europe. Naturally enough, this engenders the question whether a similar process had taken place in the past, whether there is a model of unity and if so, whether it has a chance of being successful. It turns out that the Roman Empire, despite its weaknesses and drawbacks, can be the only point of reference, regardless of the ways in which Europe is “unified”. The observation is also applied in a broader perspective which extends beyond Europe. This is associated with the ongoing globalisation, which in its turn provokes questions about a similar phenomenon in the past, and almost automatically evokes the example of the Roman Empire. Therefore Christ decided to provide the reader with a comprehensive compendium of knowledge of the Roman Empire in a structural-dialectic approach, so as to facilitate the understanding of persistence of the ancient realm and its impact on European history, at the same time enabling one to arrive at its spiritual and cultural roots. Christ wished to acquaint the contemporary inhabitant of our continent with the dialectics of development of the Roman world, its structural evolution, internal social and cultural diffusion and finally the development of culture in all its manifestations. The historian believed that only in this fashion, i.e. not only through history of persons and events, based on sensational elements, can one appreciate the place of the Roman Empire in the developmental sequence of the European continent and its significance for the contemporary cultural shape of Europe. This is also reflected in Christ’s studies on the history of historiography, or the image of the history of ancient Rome and the specificity of the Roman Empire that had been created by various authors over the centuries. This is also where he undertook the effort to evaluate the positions assumed by German historians in the Nazi times and during the Communist era, in the German Democratic Republic. Nonetheless, the studies of history of historiography were only a means to an end, which was to promote the awareness of the importance of the Roman world, or Mediterranean civilisation as a whole, for the contemporary European culture as well as highlight its persisting influence. In Christ’s opinion, it is that “dialogue of a historian with history” which demonstrates to the fullest extent the dialectic bond between antiquity and the present day.słowa klucze

scholarly journals Pirate Television Stations in the Years 1990-1994

2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 36-44
Author(s):  
Rafał Kurowski
Keyword(s):  
Market Economy ◽  
Political Change ◽  
Free Market ◽  
Electronic Media ◽  
Free Market Economy ◽  
Huge Impact ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Creation

Abstract The history of pirate, illegal television stations in Poland is presented here against the broader background of systemic transformations (both political and legal). According to the author of the article, it was an inevitable phenomenon, closely linked to the creation of the foundations of a democratic, lawful state with free-market economy. They were a factor which enforced acceleration of political change, legislative works and affected the change of the programming offer. Although pirate television stations were a short-lived phenomenon, they had huge impact on the later development of electronic media in Poland.

The History of Historiography in the Merovingian Period

2020 ◽  
pp. 461-488
Author(s):  
Helmut Reimitz
Keyword(s):  
Roman Empire ◽  
Historical Inquiry ◽  
Historical Knowledge ◽  
Reading And Writing ◽  
Roman World ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Characteristic Features ◽  
Historical Writings

The writing of history played an important part in Merovingian society, a fact that is well documented in the Merovingian authors’ writing and rewriting of history. The different histories and versions of history also show that Merovingian culture was not a culture in decline after the end of the western Roman Empire. A closer look demonstrates that the transformation of historical knowledge and culture demanded a higher degree of sophistication, expertise, and originality than modern scholars have been willing to allow for the authors of Merovingian histories. The extant historical works from the Merovingian period testify to the historical sophistication and education of their authors. They also show that their authors were well aware of a variety of histories, historical interpretations, models, and genres. This chapter suggests that we might understand the work of these historians better if we take their generic choices more seriously than we usually do. They all worked with the preconception of a genre to define the subject of their historical inquiry while attempting to transform the expectations and patterns of reading and writing history in a post-Roman world. Such an approach might also help us to understand the diversity of generic choices and forms of historical writings in the Merovingian period as one of the characteristic features of a Merovingian historiography.

Germanies, Britains, and the Roman World

2019 ◽  
pp. 569-585
Author(s):  
Ian Haynes
Keyword(s):  
Roman Empire ◽  
Roman Britain ◽  
Roman World ◽  
Present Volume ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Rich ◽  
British Perspective ◽  
Roman Germany ◽  
Different Parts

This chapter offers a British perspective on the rich array of contributions by German scholars that make up the present volume. The stories told of Roman Germany and Roman Britain are entwined both in their detail and in the manner of their telling. A mass of data attests to the movement of objects, people, and ideas between these areas. It is argued that comparative archaeological studies of different parts of the Roman Empire are necessary in order to illuminate the entangled history of that empire. Analogy is a powerful weapon at the heart of most archaeological analyses, but our dependence upon it seldom receives the consideration it demands. Moreover, the importance of Roman Britain to the archaeology of the Roman Empire is out of all proportion to Britannia’s importance in the Roman World.

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