E-Book Overview
The ABCs of Political Economy is an accessible introduction to modern political economy. While informed by the work of Marx, Keynes, Veblen, Kalecki and other great political economists, Robin Hahnel teaches the reader the essential tools necessary to understand economic issues today from a modern perspective, searching for ways to replace the economics of competition and greed with the economics of equitable co-operation. The ABCs of Political Economy empowers people who are dissatisfied with today's economies but are often intimidated by conventional economic analysis. No previous economics background is assumed, and everything is explained in verbal form in eight core chapters. Examining the nature of today's economic market, issues of economic justice, macroeconomics and globalization, Robin Hahnel provides an ideal introduction to key economic ideas, offering a critical perspective on our present system and outlining clear alternatives for the future.
E-Book Content
Contents List of Illustrations Preface Acknowledgements x xi xv 1 Economics and Liberating Theory People and Society The Human Center The Laws of Evolution Reconsidered Natural, Species, and Derived Needs and Potentials Human Consciousness Human Sociability Human Character Structures The Relation of Consciousness to Activity The Possibility of Detrimental Character Structures The Institutional Boundary Why Must There Be Social Institutions? Complementary Holism Four Spheres of Social Life Relations Between Center, Boundary and Spheres Social Stability and Social Change Agents of History 1 1 2 2 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 13 13 15 16 17 2 What Should We Demand from Our Economy? Economic Justice Increasing Inequality of Wealth and Income Different Conceptions of Economic Justice Conservative Maxim 1 Liberal Maxim 2 Radical Maxim 3 Efficiency The Pareto Principle The Efficiency Crite