Magnitudes in Badiouʼs Objective Phenomenology and Economic Consumer Choice

The young Marx once remarked that political economy finds itself in an estranged form and is therefore in desperate need of a critical reconstruction of its object [Gegenstand]. He proposed a complete deconstruction of economic objectivity and its categories, hoping to recover the true species-life of man. In the article, we assert that contemporary economic theory remains confined by this estrangement, despite managing to ‘revolutionize’ itself out of the grip of classical political economy. The subjectivist-marginalist reliance on ‘measurable’ consumer preferences not only solidified the discipline’s estrangement, but also wrested away any remaining basic principles of economics through neoclassical reconceptualization. A break with estrangement would require novel critical economic thinking that would do away with the discontinuity between classical and neoclassical (contemporary) economics. It would therefore need a rich enough framework to scrutinize its principal categories. We argue that Alain Badiou’s objective phenomenology possesses a complementary synchronic structure able to conform to basic economic tenets, allowing for a comparative and synthetic approach. This would then be the basis for a new model of economic theorizing. We conclude the article with Marx’s value form, seeing it as a possible central category of a newly proposed economic framework.

Process as an innovation

The aim of the chapter is to present key essential aspects of innovation and their species diversity. Basic definition formulations are considered. The emphasis is on business process innovation. One case study of company from Bulgaria that has implemented business process innovations is described, as well as the results of the innovation changes. With the help of various cognitive, analytical, inductive-deductive, case and simulation methods, students achieve the acquisition of new knowledge by combining theoretical statements, including familiarity with some international standards, and practical skills based on the principle of learning by doing. The topic draws students’ attention to the need for a comprehensive examination of the issues of innovative change and the formation of economic thinking, oriented towards the implementation of business solutions for sustainable prosperity based on innovative development.

No green deal without a nature-based economy

A green deal cannot be left to economics and engineering. It requires social innovations and new economic thinking that enable people to make a decent living based on ecological practices.

Demarcating Boundaries: Against the “Humanitarian Embrace”

Recent years have seen recurrent calls for bridging the “gap” between the worlds of policy-makers, practitioners, and academic scholars concerned with forced migration and humanitarian aid. This has resulted in growing partnerships between international organisations, governments, businesses, foundations, and universities with the aim of harnessing market economic thinking to create new practice-oriented knowledge rather than out-of-touch theories. This intervention responds critically to these developments and questions the seemingly common-sense logic behind attempts to forge ever closer collaborations across institutional lines. Rather than benefitting displaced communities, bridging divides has often served as a way of consolidating the hegemony of humanitarian actors and inadvertently delegitimized more critical scholarship. Scholars in refugee and forced migration studies have hereby been engulfed in a tightening “humanitarian embrace”. This paper argues that in order to fulfil a scholarly commitment to social justice, anti-violence and pro-asylum politics, it is time to again demarcate the boundaries between the practices and institutions that reproduce humanitarian power and their critics.

FOREIGN EXPERIENCE IN IMPROVING THE FINANCIAL LITERACY OF THE SOCIETY

The global upheavals of recent years have had a serious impact on the personal well-being of citizens. It becomes important for a person to effectively manage the family budget, which requires increasing the level of knowledge about finance, economics, investments, etc. The purpose of the report is to study foreign experience and Kazakhstan's experience in improving financial literacy. Practice shows that the formation of financial literacy, instilling culture and reasonable, rational behavior is necessary for society and the economy as a whole. It is possible to achieve such results by changing a person's consciousness. The younger generation has a huge potential in this regard. Currently, only some aspects of economic thinking are addressed in the works of teachers. The methodology of the article is based on the study of the works of foreign authors on the problems of the impact of crises of various etymologies and origins on the change in financial literacy, including certain elements: levels, factors, policy, structure. The result of the study was to identify the features of financial literacy systems in different countries. The analysis showed that financial literacy is considered a well-developed element in the general model of economic consciousness formation. However, at the present stage, the problem of financial literacy and economic awareness is not given due attention in countries, including developed ones. The article was prepared within the framework of the project of grant financing of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan "transformation of the economic consciousness of society in the conditions of the pathology of the economy (on the example of the Republic of Kazakhstan)" (IRN AR09259332).

Rediscovering Use Value

This chapter rediscovers use value as an essential category for understanding commodification and capitalism more generally. The distinction between use value and exchange value goes back to ancient Greek philosophy and it played an important role in classical political economy. However, with the invention of marginal utility in the late nineteenth century, use value moved from the center to the fringes of economic thinking. Even where it survived, such as in Marxist scholarship, there was considerable disagreement about the role of use value in a critical political economy. The chapter, furthermore, explores the value of nature and by doing so unveils the shortcomings of the concept of marginal utility. One problem is that marginal utility denies the existence of collective value. Following Polanyi, the chapter argues that products not only have individual value, but also have a social and ecological utility. And social and ecological utility can differ considerably from individual valuation.

Economic Thinking of Arab Muslim Writers During the Nineteenth Century

A unique contribution of the book is its depiction of economic thought through the lenses of many personalities representing varied sections of the society. So, by gathering these personalities of statesmen to literati, Islahi tries to present an encompassing spectrum of the economic thought produced in the 19th century with an exclusive look to the Arab world. Moreover, Islahi puts an effort to contextualize the views of these personalities with references to the political and economic conditions surrounding them.

The origins of money and its role in modernity

Money is a human creation arising from organic, technological, and symbolic resources. The complexity of its operations makes it difficult to comprehend. The origins of money can be dated with some accuracy, but the social and symbolic processes that led to this world-changing invention are poorly understood. One of the most persistent misunderstandings that adversely affects modern economic thinking is that money emerged from barter. As will be discussed, the origins of money have more fundamental symbolic, social, and political foundations in statecraft, warfare, religion, and gift-giving. Moreover, money develops among beings capable of considerable flexibility in combining or “blending” ideas from diverse, sometimes incommensurate, domains of knowledge and experience, and specifically among a species for whom institutions—socially constructed habits of thought and action—are ontologically criterial. This chapter aims to provide a foundation for thinking about money as an institutional semiotic system. Topics covered include money and barter; sovereign money; money and gift-giving; money and violence; the money/language analogy; and international monetary exchanges.