Unity in the Social Thought of Adolph Lowe: A Review of "Essays in Political Economics: Public Control in a Democratic Society"

Abstract . From the economist Adolph Lowe's voluminous-writings, Allen Oakleyh has selected eight essays which present the gist of Lowe's thought. It unifies his structural analyses and his instrumental analyses into the system Lowe calls “Political Economics.” This pre-orders desired ends or effects and then determines or applies goal-adequate means to achieve these ends. Lowe's Essays in Political Economics sketches the economic paradigm by which he expands the evolutionary way of thinking from the subject —economic behavior— to the object, the socioeconomic world. He argues that instability is fundamental, basic and inherent in contemporary industrial capitalism as it has evolved physically, technologically and socially and stability can be restored by an approach which reverses the continuum to end-means. He holds that if the world evolves, and it does, so must the goal-adequate methods and instrumentalities to deal with it.     

Franz Oppenheimer's (1864–1943) Social Economic Approach to Health

The idea of scholarly synthesis was central to the founders of the American Journal of Economics and Sociology. Franz Oppenheimer (1864–1943) in fact impersonated the idea of scholarly synthesis. Being the son of a Reformist rabbi—these religious roots provided the impulse for his work—he started out as a physician in the industrial suburbs of Berlin; his diagnosis was that he faced social and not medical disease, which consequently brought him to the study of economics. But unlike many mainstream economists today, he insisted on the necessary cooperation between economists and sociologists, ideally in one person. His chair in Frankfurt, showing his own handwriting, was denominated for economic theory and sociology. In this article, I show his contributions with respect to economic aspects of health. These are not well known. Part of the reason is that the field of health economics as it is taught now is very narrow. Therefore, Oppenheimer's health economic contributions tend to be overlooked.     

Indigenous Cosmogony and Andean Architecture in El Alto,Bolivia

This essay applies Bourdieu's analysis of the formation of the ‘scholastic habitus’ in medieval times—elaborated in his 1967 afterword to his French translation of Erwin Panofsky's Gothic Architecture and Scholasticism—to the correspondence between indigenous mental categories and architectural innovation in the Bolivian ‘rebel city’ of El Alto. The principle of homology between mental categories and building layout (rooted in a shared habitus) can be used to interpret one of the most spectacular features of Bolivia's ‘emerging architectures’, known as chalets. The term chalet designates a hybrid structure consisting of a colorful and ornate penthouse and multi‐story dwelling erected on building rooftops. The chalets are architectural forms embedded within an economy of symbolic goods characterized by a ‘dual truth’: they are at once material and symbolic; they perform economic functions while seeking public visibility. The conspicuous lifestyle advertised by the construction of chalets can be understood by reference to the rising social power of the indigenous elites (cholos) dominating the thriving ‘ethnic economy’ of the city. The fraternities of El Alto emerge as the structural equivalent of the scholastic institution that Bourdieu associated with Gothic architecture: they are the site of production of a specific habitus, shared by native urban categories defined by similar residential locations, economic activities and forms of collective organization.     

Nature in Economic Theories: Hans Immler Traces Recognition of the Environment—and Its Neglect—in Various Classics

Abstract . Labor and capital are usually considered as the primary factors of production, the costs of which are of utmost importance. In contrast, nature (including all natural resources), as the essential third factor, is disregarded. She is generally assumed to be always available, self-regenerating, and to be exploited without long-term costs. In other words, she is more or less viewed as a constant. Hans Immler's new treatise represents an important contribution in that he emphasizes the role and function of the natural environment, and its neglect, in the formulation of theories of value and their long-term consequences on contemporary economic theories and on the person and society. This essay traces Immler's evaluation with extensive quotations—especially with regard to Physiocracy and the classical economists— of nature's role and function, or their neglect, in the formulation of theories of value through the writings of Aristotle, St. Thomas Aquinas, William Petty, John Locke, Adam Smith, David Ricardo, Karl Marx, and others—all dealt with in Part 1 of his book—and Francois Quesnay and the Physiocrats—the topic of Part 2.     

The Spatial Pattern of Residential Mobility in Guangzhou,China

In urban China, residential mobility behaviors have changed fundamentally in recent decades. While research has been undertaken on the trends and causes of residential relocation for different population groups, less attention has been paid to micro‐level processes of residential change, yet the latter underscore urban dynamics. This study addresses this through a survey conducted in Guangzhou in late 2012, which analyzes the spatial flows of residential shifts within and between three distance zones—inner core, inner suburbs and outer suburbs—to reveal complex mobility trends. In particular, hukou or household registration status, socio‐economic status, the nature and rank of employment, and tenure were found to have varied effects on the probability of inward and outward shifts. More specifically, while outward shifts in recent years mainly involved local hukou holders, families with higher education levels, a higher socio‐economic status or those working for government departments and public institutions were found to be more likely to settle in high‐rise commodity housing in the inner core. The majority of non‐hukou migrants, by contrast, moved within the same street or between adjacent streets within the same suburban area, while age, socio‐economic status and homeownership were found to increase an individual's chance of an inward shift.     

Louis Post as a Carpetbagger in South Carolina: Reconstruction as a Forerunner of the Progressive Movement

Abstract . Did the reforming zeal of the Carpetbaggers have much influence upon men who would later be involved in the Progressive movement? The experience of Louis F. Post, who served as a Carpet-bagging stenographer in South Carolina and who later became editor of the Chicago Public and Assistant Secretary of Labor in the Woodrow Wilson administrations, seems to indicate a continuity of interest not only in reform, but in racial equality. Post's unpublished autobiography, his article on his Carpetbagging experience which appeared in the Journal of Negro History and newspaper dispatches he wrote for the Hackettown Gazette in 1871 and 1872 provide the major pieces of evidence that the Carpetbaggers’ experience—often written off as job grabbing by political hacks eager to capitalize on the defeat of the South in the Civil War—was a wellspring of the Progressive movement in America.     

John A. Hobson: Economic Heretic

Abstract . John A. Hobson was a self-styled economic heretic who developed and original and remarkably comprehensive system of economic and social thought. This system is based on certain distinctively Hobsonian concepts and theories. Hobson's economic heresies were based on his theory of distribution in which he rejected orthodox marginal productivity theory and developed a theory of economic surplus the distribution of which is determined by economic power. This underlay his theory of under-consumption which in turn was used to explain and analyze economic and social issues such as unemployment, the business cycle, the labor movement, imperialism and taxation. Hobson was also critical of the whole methodology of economic science on the grounds that it abstracted from human welfare in its widest sense. He argued that proper values should be introduced into the study of economic activity so that it could assist in the attainment of the best conditions of human life, both social and individual.     

A Test of U. S. National Economic Policy in the Post-World War II Period

Abstract . This inquiry is an effort to evaluate the macroeconomic performance of the United States economy in the period after the close of World War II in terms of the macroeconomic goals to which national economic policy supposedly had been directed. That is, whether policy achieved full employment, price stability or an adequate rate of growth. Insofar as key indicators can be used as a basis for judgment—and there is, as yet, no scientific basis for measuring how far that reliance can be chanced—it would appear that policy was least successful in attaining full employment with price stability, or full employment, or price stability. In certain infrequent periods, growth seems to have occurred. But was its rate “adequate?” And did it result from policy? Analysis by key indicators may not tell us much, if anything; but it helps to delineate an approach toward policy-monitoring researchers need to cultivate.     

Uncertainty and the Economy of Exclusion: Insights from Post‐Keynesian Institutionalism

Critics of Pope Francis’s Evangelii gaudium argue that recent economic growth and reductions in inequality are evidence that his notion of the “economy of exclusion” is misguided. However, Francis alludes to another type of exclusion—increased uncertainty generated by technological change that affects citizens even in developed nations. Drawing from Post‐Keynesian institutionalist theory, this article argues that this condition is common in capitalism, and that grassroots reforms are needed to ensure shared prosperity.     

India's Evolving Economic Model:

Abstract Over the course of the past 50 years, India has developed as a stable economy. Economic policies of the Indian government have guided and shaped India into a mixed economy. Political stability has been a significant factor in this process. The United States and European economic and political systems had a significant impact on evolution of India's economic model. Financial and economic reforms since 1991 have accelerated the pace of change toward an open market economy both in its internal operations and in its linkages with the global markets. India's economic future is now promising as it moves forward on its unique path of economic policy.     

Keynes' Investments

Abstract . It is well known that in The General Theory, Keynes is very critical of the stock exchange market, an institution, he says, that “cannot be claimed as one of the outstanding triumphs of laissez-faire capitalism.” At the same time much of his income was derived from speculation in commodities, stocks and foreign exchange. Some questions raised by Keynes’ way of making a living are addressed. When did his market activities begin? Did he, as some detractors allege, take advantage of insider information? What principles of behavior did he follow in his buying and selling? What was his attitude toward his way of making a living? And, above all do the views expressed in The General Theory reflect the influence of Keynes’ market experience? It is suggested that there is, in fact, a close relation between Keynes’ financial experiences and some of his distinctive economic theories. His experiences, interpreted in the light of his Apostolic-Moorean beliefs, caused the deeply critical attiiude toward the whole financial system that one finds in The General Theory's chapter 12.     

Henry George and the Contemporary Debate over Industrial Protectionism

Abstract . The central question of Henry George's 1886 book. Protection or Free Trade, commemorated now after a century, was: do protectionist policies help or hinder the working man Have George's concerns in 1886 since become outdated or anachronistic? If not, what are some historic trends toward protectionism since that time? Some of the formal arguments for and against protectionism are examined. George contended that protectionism threatens labor unions and reduces workers’wages. An apparent counterexample is provided by the International Ladies’Garment Workers’Union, which now actively lobbies for protectionist legislation. Its arguments have merit when protectionism is viewed instrumentally, but one must recognize that there are substantive objections to protectionism as a comprehensive national policy. George linked protectionism to paternalism; his theory of economic value as well as his model of the rational economic man are derived from basic democratic principles which stand at sharp odds with the implicit paternalism of tariff policies.     

Henry George's Thought in Relation to Modern Economics

Abstract . Henry George's influence on economic thought has been neglected although his readers included Clark, Marshall, Hobson, Commons, Lerner and Böhm-Bawerk and his ideas provoked thought and discussion, Clark made clear that George stimulated him to develop his marginal productivity theory. But the 19th century American theorist affected or touched upon the neoclassical concept of capital, the theory of externality, the neoclassical versus the classical concept of monopoly; the entitlements approach to distributive justice; the burden of debt and other transfer incomes and capital formation and the theory of expectations. George's influence is wider than generally recognized. The last of the classical economists, he wrote in high Victorian prose about some very modern problems.     

George on Free Trade, At Home and Abroad: The American Economist and Social Philosopher Envisioned a World Unhindered in Production and Exchange

Abstract . Henry George's theories on international trade are little known though he is respected as an advocate of free trade. He went along with the free traders of his time in three-fourths of his classic, Protection or Free Trade. But he went far beyond the others in the last fourth of his book. “True” free trade, he argued, in the debate over protection that engaged some of the best minds in England and America, applied to domestic production as well as production for export. Hindrances to trade, like most tariffs, taxes, subsidies or other government policies, make products more expensive for the working people, worsen their situation by increasing economic rent to resource owners at the expense of labor and capital, and misallocate resources, maximining inefficiency and cost. The principle of free trade leads to Justice and equal rights, he held, seeking to advance his vision of a free society. Short run and long run solutions to protectionism are presented.     

Max Weber's Authority Models and the Theory of X-Inefficiency: The Economic Sociologist's Analysis Adds More Structure to Leibenstein's Critique of Rationality

Abstract . Harvey leibenstein's theory of X-efficiency holds that behavioral considerations, such as motivation of workers or the quality of managerial decisions, are the major restraints on the productivity of modern organizations. It envisions economic behaviors which are not fully rational; that is, behaviors which fall far short of the maximization postulate so central to neo-classical microeconomics. The theory is significant for it, contrary to the prevailing view, seeks to explain suboptimality primarily as a function of factors internal to the Jirm rather than those that are objectively external, such as the market structure in which the firm finds itself. The X-efficiency framework is enhanced by the application of several salient concepts in the economic thought of Max Weber. He, in contrast to most of his contemporaries, engaged in economic analysis, but he never accepted the maximization postulate. He considered such formal economic rationality to be a very rare, almost an exceptional case of economic behavior the norm was something substantially less rational. Weber therefore categorized economic activity by its degree of rationality and linked such activity to types of authority exercised in its pursuit.     

Explaining the American Dream: Telling Chinese Academics What'Liberty and Justice For All'Means Taxes Even an Eager Audience

Abstract . For more than a generation, contemporary mainland Chinese have lived under first a military dictatorship and now a political party dictatorship. How to explain to an eager Chinese academic audience what the American dream of ‘liberty and justice for all’—realized only in part in some areas but approached progressively nearer in others—really means? The U.S. has predominantly a capitalist system but its people are committed to equality of opportunity. It tempers ‘rugged individualism’ by concern for the poor, the handicapped and the unfortunate. It has many serious economic, social and cultural problems but its citizens, drawn from most of the peoples of the world—not the special interest groups trying to benefit at the expense of others—are determined to solve them equitably and rationally. The trade and budget deficits are related to government instrumentalities.     

Henry George and the Classical Scientific Research Program: The Economics of Republican Millennialism

Abstract . Henry George's classicism was evident in his acceptance of “hard core” assumptions inherent in classical economic analysis, notably that rational self-interested behavior exercise in competitive markets maximized economic welfare. However, George's “stage theory,” the “Law of Human Progress,” led him to reject the classical nexus between social and economic welfare. The emergence of an exchange economy improved efficiency and economic welfare, but institutional changes lagged behind, particularly the redefinition of property rights. Consequently, economic growth based on land as a private rather than public good widened the gap between economic efficiency and social welfare. Hence George's paradox of poverty amidst progress. George resolved the equity efficiency conflict by treating land as a public good. Then, the sale of monopoly rights to land through the “single tax” on land rents captured the difference between the private and social costs of land use.     

Forensic Economics and the Wrongful Death of a Household Producer: Current Practices, Methodological Biases and Alternative Solutions of Losses

Abstract . A new frontier in forensic economics has emerged: expert testimony on the loss of earning capacity due to the wrongful death of a household producer not in the labor force. Forensic economics—the application of economic analysis by an expert witness—in this area is at an early stage of development. While several methods have been developed for estimating the value of household production, one method, in negligence cases, dominates in the courtroom: replacement cost. Reliance upon a single methodology seems unwise in light of the newness and complexity of research in the area of household production. There are promising alternative methods which could be used. Opportunity cost, family profile and value of service flows methodologies are good candidates. Potentially, the use of alternative methodologies could help provide a consistency check on the reasonableness of any one particular methodology. Presently, several constraints frustrate the task of refining the state of forensic economics in this area. However, progress can be made by, among other things, subjecting forensic economics in these cases to more thorough unbaised professional review such as is common in an older area, antitrust cases.     

Frank Knight on Preachers and Economic Policy: A 19th Century Liberal Anti Religionist, He Thought Religion Should Support the Status Quo

Abstract . A central feature of the work of American economist and social philosopher Frank H. Knight was his antagonism toward organized religion, particularly Christianity and especially Catholicism. Knight's antagonism towards the Church may be traced to his historical views on the Liberal Revolution and the opposition of the Church to critical inquiry and open discussion, and its support for despotic social institutions. Additionally, Knight's antagonism stemmed from his skepticism about the possibilities of effective social reforms based upon Christian moral principles. Knight found little in Christian teaching that would offer appropriate solutions—certainly not the “Gospel of Love” which he took as the core of Christian social teachings. Furthermore he was critical of the reform efforts of preachers because of their ignorance of the function of the free market and their propensity towards radical solutions. On the centennial of his birth, he is remembered as an ardent social critic and a liberal supporter of the status quo.

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Karol Wojtyła’s Katolicka Etyka Społeczna as Precursor and Hermeneutic Key to Pope John Paul II’s Economic Teaching

The highly anticipated publication of Karol Wojtyła’s Katolicka etyka społeczna (KES) in 2018 provides a novel and important basis for understanding the economic thinking of Pope John Paul II. The text is comprised of Wojtyła’s extensive lecture notes from the 1950s on the topic of Catholic social teaching and spans almost 500 pages. KES illustrates the future pope’s deep concern for economic justice as a young priest and his ambivalence towards capitalism, which persisted throughout his papacy. Given the size of KES, this article selectively focuses on Wojtyła’s treatment of topics of continuing relevance: the right of the Church to pronounce on economic matters; private property and the “social mortgage” on it; inequality, the just distribution of resources, and the “option for the poor”; the moral assessment of capitalism and Marxism; the dignity of labor and workers’ rights; and the role of conflict in promoting the common good. I contend that KES is consonant with the later papal teaching of John Paul II on economic justice and that it provides a hermeneutic key to understanding it. Furthermore, I argue that the “radicalism” of Karol Wojtyła on matters of economic justice in KES coheres with papal social teaching from Pope Paul VI through that of Pope Francis.