Aristotle and the political economy of the polis

1979 ◽  
Vol 99 ◽  
pp. 57-73 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott Meikle
Keyword(s):  
Political Economy ◽  
Economic Analysis ◽  
Market Economy ◽  
Fourth Century ◽  
Economic Thought ◽  
The Political ◽  
Process Of Change ◽  
Historical Process ◽  
Substantial Body ◽  
Moral Condemnation

Athens in the fourth century was undergoing a process of social and economic change of which a major component was the development of elements of market economy. The question to be addressed here is: what response does that historical process meet with in the work of Aristotle? I shall contend that Aristotle has a substantial body of thought, analytical in nature and intent, which is directed specifically to the analysis of that process. M. I. Finley has drawn quite the contrary conclusion, and in addition to developing my own account of Aristotle's thought 1 shall have to examine the shortcomings of Finley's. Finley takes the view that although Aristotle was aware of the process of change he simply ignored it, and that there is no trace of any analytical concern with it to be found in those sections of the Aristotelian corpus which it has been usual to regard as containing Aristotle's ‘economic’ thought, namely, NE v 5, and Pol i 8–10. Finley sees in Aristotle nothing more than moral condemnation of certain practices such as kapelike which he regarded as damaging to the koinonia of the polis.It sometimes happens that what one finds in an author depends on one's possession or lack of the equipment necessary to recognise what is there and to identify it for what it is. Finley is looking at Aristotle in order to determine the presence or absence of what he terms ‘economic analysis’.

Essays of a “comparatively progressive” economist (On the 150th birth anniversary of Vladimir Geleznoff)

2019 ◽  
pp. 135-145
Author(s):  
Viktor A. Popov
Keyword(s):  
Economic Theory ◽  
Political Economy ◽  
Economic Thought ◽  
History Of Economic Thought ◽  
The Political ◽  
Russian History ◽  
Working Ability ◽  
Intellectual Inquiry ◽  
History Of

Deep comprehension of the advanced economic theory, the talent of lecturer enforced by the outstanding working ability forwarded Vladimir Geleznoff scarcely at the end of his thirties to prepare the publication of “The essays of the political economy” (1898). The subsequent publishing success (8 editions in Russia, the 1918­-year edition in Germany) sufficiently demonstrates that Geleznoff well succeded in meeting the intellectual inquiry of the cross­road epoch of the Russian history and by that taking the worthful place in the history of economic thought in Russia. Being an acknowledged historian of science V. Geleznoff was the first and up to now one of the few to demonstrate the worldwide community of economists the theoretically saturated view of Russian economic thought in its most fruitful period (end of XIX — first quarter of XX century).

The Culture of Contentment

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Kenneth Galbraith
Keyword(s):  
Political Economy ◽  
Eastern Europe ◽  
New Deal ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Economic Advantage ◽  
Economic Life ◽  
The Political ◽  
Process Of Change ◽  
The Many

This book examines what it calls the political economy of contentment. It argues that the fortunate and the favored do not contemplate and respond to their own longer-run well-being. Rather, they respond to immediate comfort and contentment. In the so-called capitalist countries, the controlling contentment and resulting belief is now that of the many, not just of the few. It operates under the guise of democracy, albeit a democracy not of all citizens but of those who, in defense of their social and economic advantage, actually go to the polls. This chapter discusses how economic life undergoes a constant process of change, and, in consequence, the same action or event occurring at different times can lead to very different results. It considers some examples throughout history, such as the economic ideas of the Physiocrats in France, the fall of communism in Eastern Europe, and Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal.

Office, land and subjects in the history of the Manwere fekuo of Kumase: an essay in the political economy of the Asante state

1980 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 189-208 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. C. McCaskie
Keyword(s):  
Political Economy ◽  
General Consideration ◽  
West African ◽  
The Political ◽  
The West ◽  
Substantial Body ◽  
Material Basis ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Over Time

The fundamental reasoning underlying this paper is that, in seeking to advance our understanding of the material basis of political power in pre-colonial African polities, particular attention must be paid to the detailed reconstruction over time of the triumviral relationship between office, land and subjects. Acknowledgement is freely made of the fact that, for many (if not most) areas of Africa, this type of reconstruction is either exceptionally difficult or frankly impossible. This paper is concerned with the West African forest kingdom of Asante (Ghana) – a case evincing considerable institutional continuity and structural vigour, and one, moreover, sufficiently richly documented to permit the type and level of reconstruction posited. Specifically, and taking into account the substantial body of research already carried out on the general political history of Asante, this paper deals with patterns of authority over land and subjects as evidenced by the offices contained within the Manwere – one of the ten administrative/military fekuo of Kumase. The Manwere was created by Asantehene Kwaku Dua Panin (1834–67), and in seeking to account for the political imperatives underlying the foundation, the paper explores the context of the reign and the biography and career of the first Manwerehene, Kwasi Brantuo. Particular attention is paid throughout to the way in which the relationship between office, land and subjects within the Manwere was modified or otherwise altered by the nature of the political vicissitudes through which the Asante polity passed in the period between – broadly – the mid-nineteenth and mid-twentieth centuries. Underlying the paper, and supplying context to its conclusions, is a general consideration of the philosophy of the Asante ethic concerning such matters as wealth and accumulation, the nature of authority, and the conceptualization of citizenship.

scholarly journals The Political Economy of the Chinese Market Economy Status given by Argentina and Brazil

Revista CS ◽  
2014 ◽  
pp. 47-76 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francisco Urdinez
Keyword(s):  
Political Economy ◽  
World Trade Organization ◽  
Market Economy ◽  
World Trade ◽  
The Political ◽  
Chinese Government ◽  
Chinese Market ◽  
The World ◽  
Status Recognition

When China signed a Protocol of Accession to the World Trade Organization in December 2001, other country members were allowed to consider China as a Non-Market Economy until the end of 2016. Taking into account this restraint, the aim of this paper is to answer the following question: can the Market Economy Status Recognition (MES) be measured by a de-facto compliance? The variable used to measure the compliance is the number of antidumping investigations initiated by each country. Hence, the countries which recognize China as a market economy would have a fewer antidumping investigations than the countries that are still treating Beijing as a Non Market Economy, which is the key reason of why the Chinese Government has been campaigning vigorously since 2001 to gain a MES status by a larger number of its economic partners.

THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF INCLUSION: THE RISE AND FALL OF THE WORKHOUSE SYSTEM

2017 ◽  
Vol 39 (4) ◽  
pp. 453-481 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cosma Orsi
Keyword(s):  
Political Economy ◽  
David Hume ◽  
Adam Smith ◽  
Economic Thought ◽  
The Political ◽  
George Berkeley ◽  
Institutional Reforms ◽  
The Social ◽  
Policy Shift ◽  
The Rose

The aim of this article is to describe the rise and fall of the workhouse system in connection with the developments that took place in economic thought in the transition from mercantilism to the Classical tradition. By examining the economic debate about wages, efficiency, labor market, workers’ mobility, and unemployment, we discuss whether the social policy shift epitomized by institutional reforms like the Gilbert Act (1782), the Rose Act (1793), and the Speenhamland system (1795) was accompanied and eventually inspired by a change in the perception of major political economy issues. In doing so, we review the writings of Jacob Vanderlint (d. 1740), George Berkeley (1685–1753), Malachy Postlethwayt (1707?–1767), Josiah Tucker (1713–1799), David Hume (1711–1776), and Adam Smith (1723-1790), among others. Although a direct influence by these writers cannot be proven, the originality of the present work rests on the effort to put into perspective the arguments elaborated by economic thinkers and the proposals made by social reformers so as to identify possible connections between economic theorizing and social legislation.

Civilizational Significance of Political Economy

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 (4) ◽  
pp. 43-55
Author(s):  
Anatoliy Porokhovsky
Keyword(s):  
Political Economy ◽  
Market Economy ◽  
The Political ◽  
State University ◽  
Moscow State University

The article shows the political economy role on the different stages of market economy development. Special attention is paid to political economy at Moscow State University in connection with 210-years of the Department of Political Economy. 21-st centuries' challenges to political economy are opened as well.

scholarly journals SCHUMPETERIAN ‘GREAT GAP’ THESIS AND MEDIEVAL ISLAMIC ECONOMIC THOUGHT: INTERLINK BETWEEN GREEKS, MEDIEVAL ISLAMIC SCHOLARS AND EUROPEAN SCHOLASTICS

2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 25
Author(s):  
Ali Rama
Keyword(s):  
Economic Analysis ◽  
Key Words ◽  
Thomas Aquinas ◽  
Economic Thought ◽  
Substantial Body ◽  
Joseph Schumpeter ◽  
History Of ◽  
Magnum Opus ◽  
Islamic Economic ◽  
Islamic Golden Age

Abstract Joseph Schumpeter (1883-1950) in his magnum opus, History of Economic Analysis (1954) proposed a great gap thesis by saying that economic analysis begins only with the Greeks and was not reestablished until the rise of European Scholasticism in the hands of St Thomas Aquinas.In fact, this Schumpeterian great gap in economic thought coincides with the Islamic golden age, when various Muslim writers made substantial contributions in various fields of inquiry, including economic matters. A substantial body of contemporary economic is traceable to medieval Arab Scholastics such as Abu Yûsuf (731-798), Al Farabi (873-950), IbnuSina (980-1037), Al-Ghazalî (1058-1111), IbnuTaimiyah (1263-1328), and IbnuKhaldûm (1364-1442).There were interlinked between Greek intellectual legacy to Islamic medieval legacy and to Latin scholastic economics. The Arab scholarship itself stimulated by the Greeks and further developed in light of the Islamic Ethos, not only inspired Scholastic thought, but that much of that scholarship became incorporated in Scholastic writings.So this paper provides an academically objection to the Schumpeterian thesis by providing Islamic scholars’ contribution on economic thoughts. Additionally, the paper provides some issues on Islamization of contemporary economics. Key words: great gap, medieval Arab-Islamic scholastics, Islamization of Economics, Islamic worldview. Abstrak Joseph Schumpeter (1883-1950) dalam bukunya History of Economic Analysis (1954) memperkenalkan sebuah tesis ‘great gap’ dengan mengatakan bahwa analisis ekonomi hanya mulai dari Yunani dan tidak berkembang lagi sampai kemunculan ilmuan Skolastik Eropa di tangan St Thomas Aquinas. Namun kenyataannya, ‘great gap’ Schumpeter ini justru terjadi pada masak ejayaan Islam, yaitu ketigasejumlahsarjanadanilmuan Muslim memberikan kontribusi signifikan dalam berbagai jenis penemuan dan keilmuan termasuk dalam bidang ekonomi. Isi dari ilmu ekonomi kontemporer saat ini dapat dilacak kesamaannya dengan karya ilmuan Arab abad pertengahan seperti Abu Yûsuf (731-798), Al Farabi (873-950), Ibnu Sina (980-1037), Al-Ghazalî (1058-1111), Ibnu Taimiyah (1263-1328), dan Ibnu Khaldûm (1364-1442). Terdapat keterhubungan antara karya intelektual Yunani, ilmuan Muslim abad pertengahan dan Ilmuan skolastik. Ilmuan Arab sendiri ‘distimulasi’ oleh ilmuan Yunani yang selanjutnya dikembangkan sesuai dengan kerangka Islam dan banyak dari karya mereka memiliki kemiripan dengan tulisan Skolastik. Penelitian ini melakukan penolakan secara akademik atas tesis Shumpeter tentang ‘great gap’ dengan menunjukkan kontribusi ilmuan Muslim dalam pemikiran ekonomi. Penelitian ini juga membahas beberapa isu tentang Islamisasi ilmu ekonomi kontemporer.

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