Searching for the Laws of Economics: Causality, Conservation and Ideology

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
David C. Dawson
Keyword(s):  
Supply And Demand ◽  
John Stuart Mill ◽  
Economic Thought ◽  
Isaac Newton ◽  
Relevant Variables ◽  
Modern Economic ◽  
American Society ◽  
Economic Thinking ◽  
Value Of Money ◽  
Thomas Schelling

This review is intended for scientists who may be curious about "laws" of economics. Herein, I search for laws governing value, including the value of money (inflation). I begin by searching out early scientists, e.g. Aristotle, Copernicus and Galileo, who contributed to theories of value; or who, like Isaac Newton and J. Willard Gibbs, inspired students of political economy and thereby profoundly influenced the evolution of economic thinking. From a period ranging from Aristotle to John Stuart Mill in the mid 19th century, I extract two candidates for "laws" of economics, one the well-known "Law of Supply and Demand (LSD)," and the other less well-known, "Fisher's Equation of Exchange" (FEE). LSD, in one form or another, has been central to the development of economic thought, but it has proven impossible to express LSD in any compact, deterministic form with causal implications. I propose, however, that, as suggested by Irving Fisher early in the 20th century and 100 years later by Nobelist, Thomas Schelling, that FEE is analogous to the First Law of Thermodynamics (FLT). I argue that both FEE and FLT can be viewed as "accounting identities," pertaining to energies in the case of FLT and money in the case of FEE. Both, however, suffer from a similar limitation; neither provides any information concerning causal relations among the relevant variables. I reflect upon impact of the absence of firm, fact-based, economic laws with causal implications on modern economic policy, allowing it to be dominated by ideologies damaging to American society.

ECONOMIC CONSCIOUSNESS AS A MECHANISM FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (12) ◽  
pp. 4-9
Author(s):  
Nadezhda Yu. Romanenko ◽  
Keyword(s):  
High Efficiency ◽  
Economic Thought ◽  
Entrepreneurial Activity ◽  
Dark Side ◽  
Professional Activity ◽  
Active Behavior ◽  
Spiritual Foundations ◽  
Modern Economic ◽  
Economic Consciousness ◽  
Economic Thinking

In modern realities, physical and mental activity come to the fore, allowing the entrepreneur to maximize the use of available resources, both his own and those presented by the environment. Only in the presence of these psychological characteristics, the leader is able to manifest an ontological essence that allows him to achieve high efficiency of the subordinate team. The article substantiates the need to understand that economic consciousness is not a substance di-vorced from the world and everything earthly. On the contrary, the principles of clarity, comprehensibility, and objectivity should be laid at the basis of economic thought in any of its manifestations. Professionalism in entrepreneurial activity must be based on universal standards. No one has canceled the originality and creativity of thinking, and it is they who become the basis of modern economic thinking. But completely ignoring the spiritual foundations, traditions or opposing their ac-tivities to them is fraught with transition (as Darth Vader said) “on the dark side of economic consciousness”. Separately, the author highlights such a concept as the ethics of an entrepreneur, determined by the norms and standards of a cultural society. The development of economic thinking of any person is impossible without practice. One theory or even simulators, simulators can not do. Consciousness and thinking are formed only through active behavior. By expanding the range of interests in professional activity, a person is forced to learn new things, be-comes richer not only in educational or economic terms, but also morally and socially. Through active actions, there is the development of intelligence, the formation of experience and wisdom, the knowledge of the laws of society and being.

scholarly journals Austrian and Neoclassical Economics: Any Gains From Trade?

1997 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 139-152 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sherwin Rosen
Keyword(s):  
Austrian Economic ◽  
Evolutionary Process ◽  
Economic Thought ◽  
Neoclassical Economics ◽  
Economic Activities ◽  
Incomplete Knowledge ◽  
Modern Economic ◽  
Economic Thinking ◽  
Survival Of The Fittest

The systems aspects of Austrian economic thought pertaining to the process of competition deserve a prominent place in modern economic thinking. The paper develops the differences between the Austrian view of competition as an evolutionary process, and the neoclassical emphasis on determining market equilibrium under known or given conditions. These bear importantly on the fundamental way we think about decentralization of economic activities among highly specialized agents with incomplete knowledge and information. The role of competition as a selection device that often encourages survival of the fittest and solves some types of agency problems is well worth thinking about.

The Role of Viticulture and Enology in the Development of Economic Thought: How Wine Contributed to Modern Economic Theory

2012 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 213-225
Author(s):  
Stephen Chaikind
Keyword(s):  
Karl Marx ◽  
Adam Smith ◽  
John Stuart Mill ◽  
Jel Classification ◽  
Economic Thought ◽  
History Of Economic Thought ◽  
History Of ◽  
Modern Economic ◽  
David Ricardo

AbstractThis paper introduces the role wine has played as a central factor in the history of economic thought. The focus is on an examination of documented sources that connect wine and its viticulture and enology with the evolution of economic concepts. Works by Adam Smith, David Ricardo, Karl Marx, John Stuart Mill, Léon Walras, Alfred Marshall, and others are examined, as well as wine economic ideas postulated by Greek and Roman thinkers. (JEL Classification: A1, B1, B3, N00)

scholarly journals HISTORICAL-ECONOMIC KNOWLEDGE AS THE BASIS OF THE THEORETICAL LEVEL OF ECONOMIC THINKING

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Aidar M. Tufetulov ◽  
Gulnara N. Hadiullina ◽  
Rival R. Shakirov ◽  
Andrey S. Zayats
Keyword(s):  
Economic Theory ◽  
Spiritual Development ◽  
Economic Thought ◽  
Economic Knowledge ◽  
Historical Trends ◽  
Separate Branch ◽  
Modern Economic ◽  
Economic Thinking ◽  
Xix Century ◽  
Market Relations

Economic theory as an independent science arose in the period of the formation of modern market relations. The economic thought history as a separate branch in the system of economic sciences took shape in the first half of the XIX century. The tradition of Russian economic thought at all stages of its development was attention to historical trends and factors of socio-economic development. The reason for this is in the specifics of Russia's socioeconomic and spiritual development. ХIХ century is characterized by the struggle of old and new trends in the economic system of Russia. In these conditions, representatives of various branches of economic thought appealed to the historical experience of the country and humanity in order to prove the truth of their position. The paper presents an analysis the historical process of emergence, development, struggle, and the changing of economic ideas. The main attention is paid to the analysis of the main directions of modern economic theory underlying the decision-making at macro and microeconomic levels. The content of the historical and economic knowledge functions: worldview, practical, axiological, factual and methodological, is defined. The necessity of studying the provisions of alternative economic schools is substantiated, what is considered as a prerequisite for the formation of general cultural and professional competencies of specialists in the field of economics

An early mainstream economist from Hungary: István Varga (1897–1962)

2003 ◽  
Vol 53 (2) ◽  
pp. 195-213 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Majoros
Keyword(s):  
Austrian Economic ◽  
National Income ◽  
Anglo Saxon ◽  
Turbulent Times ◽  
The Usa ◽  
New Ideas ◽  
Modern Economic ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Economic Thinking ◽  
Lasting Influence

The study introduces a Hungarian economic thinker, István Varga*, whose valuable activity has remained unexplored up to now. He became an economic thinker during the 1920s, in a country that had not long before become independent of Austria. The role played by Austria in the modern economic thinking of that time was a form of competition with the thought adhered to by the UK and the USA. Hungarian economists mainly interpreted and commented on German and Austrian theories, reasons for this being that, for example, the majority of Hungarian economists had studied at German and Austrian universities, while at Hungarian universities principally German and Austrian economic theories were taught. István Varga was familiar not only with contemporary German economics but with the new ideas of Anglo-Saxon economics as well — and he introduced these ideas into Hungarian economic thinking. He lived and worked in turbulent times, and historians have only been able to appreciate his activity in a limited manner. The work of this excellent economist has all but been forgotten, although he was of international stature. After a brief summary of Varga’s profile the study will demonstrate the lasting influence he has had in four areas — namely, business cycle research and national income estimations, the 1946 Hungarian stabilisation program, corporate profit, and consumption economics — and will go on to summarise his most important achievements.

Defetishizing Free Time: From Akrasia to Profanation

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 159-188
Keyword(s):  
Leisure Time ◽  
Free Time ◽  
Economic Organization ◽  
Acting Out ◽  
Basic Income ◽  
Giorgio Agamben ◽  
Dominant Position ◽  
The Gift ◽  
Modern Economic ◽  
Economic Thinking

Images of free time are used today to give the impression that alienation from work is being alleviated. As a result, exploitation of the workers who are constantly occupied with “self-realization” becomes even more effective. Free time becomes a fetish — a means of productively engaging people’s energy through various scenarios in which they are (supposedly) enjoying their leisure time pursuits. Is it even possible to undo the fetishization of free time? And if so, how else might we conceptualize it? In seeking an answer to these questions the author continues the discussion of akrasia launched by Michail Maiatsky in his article “Liberation from Work, Unconditional Income and Foolish Will” (Logos, 2015, 25[3]) in which Maiatsky expressed a well-founded fear that a contemporary “post-Nietzschean” person might respond to the “gift of unconditional freedom” with an irrational desire to test the boundaries of that boon and end up as Dostoyevsky said “living by his own foolish will.” A hypothesis to address that fear argues that the intentions behind such an “akratic rebellion” are inherently rooted in the fetishistic logic that dominates both current perceptions of free time and also the debate about providing a basic income. The akratic reaction is a form of phantasmatic acting out of the painful suspicion that efforts to reach liberation could turn into another form of bondage. The roots of this bind can be found in the historically embedded form of economic organization, which is based on a sense of dire emergency. We owe this understanding of the “economic dispositive” to the work of Giorgio Agamben, but it is already discernible in Xenophon. We can find an indication of its dominant position in modern economic thinking in Nikolay Sieber’s (1844–1888) criticism of the postulates of the “subjective school” of economics. Because the economy acquires a sacred aspect within this dispositive, akrasia may be compared with a sacrilegious trespass of its boundaries. However, Agamben proposes that challenging any form of the solemn ceremonies of capitalism’s priesthood in a way that is not merely imaginary must necessarily be a kind of profanation.

scholarly journals Geldtheorie und -politik in Preußen Mitte des 18. Jahrhunderts

2020 ◽  
Vol 61 (1) ◽  
pp. 217-257
Author(s):  
Jan Greitens
Keyword(s):  
18Th Century ◽  
Economic Thought ◽  
Monetary Theory ◽  
Clear Understanding ◽  
Monetary System ◽  
Monetary Approach ◽  
History Of ◽  
Early Modern Era ◽  
Value Of Money ◽  
Modern Era

AbstractIn the history of economic thought, monetary theories in the Germanspeaking world of the early modern era are considered backward compared to the approaches in other European countries. This backwardness can be illustrated by two authors from the mid-18th century who were not only contemporaries but also successively in the service of Frederick II (“the Great”) of Prussia. The first is Johann Philipp Graumann, one of the 'projectors' of the 18th century. As master of the mints in Prussia, he developed a coin project, where he tried to implement a new monetary standard to promote trade, generate seigniorage income and implement the Prussian coins as a kind of a reserve currency. In his writings, he developed a typical mercantilistic monetary theory with a clear understanding of the mechanism in the balance of payments. But even when he tried to include credit instruments, he did not take banks or broader financial markets into account. The second thinker is Johann Heinrich Gottlob Justi, who took the opposite position concerning the coin project as well as in his theory. He defended a strictly metalistic monetary approach where the value of money is only based on the metal's value. While Graumann rejected the English coin system, Justi recommended its laws for countries without their own mines, because the sovereign should not misuse his right of coinage. For him, the monetary system had tobe reliable and stable to serve trade and economic development.

The Law of Conservation of Matter and Energy in the History of Economic Thought

1990 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 96-102
Author(s):  
William S. Kern
Keyword(s):  
Significant Influence ◽  
Economic Thought ◽  
History Of Economic Thought ◽  
Newtonian Mechanics ◽  
Self Interest ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Law ◽  
Economic Thinking

The development of economic thinking has seldom taken place entirely independently of developments in other disciplines. There is a long history of interdisciplinary influences among economics, mathematics, physics, biology, and philosophy. Among the most influential of these other disciplines has been physics. Numerous authors have attributed significant influence upon economics to Newtonian mechanics (Taylor 1960, Georgescu-Roegen 1971). The strength of that influence is perhaps best illustrated by William Stanley Jevons's proclamation of his attempt to reconstruct economics as “the mechanics of utility and self interest.“ Frank Knight, having observed what Jevons and others had wrought, concluded that mechanics had become the “sister science” of economics (Knight 1976, p. 85).

scholarly journals Recapitulation of the relationship between economic thoughts and realities

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 123-135
Author(s):  
Hua Liang
Keyword(s):  
Economic History ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Economic Thought ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Economic Problems ◽  
Root Cause ◽  
New Ideas ◽  
Economic Thinking ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose It is rather common for China’s current academic circles to use western doctrines that originated in situ to explain China’s economic problems, a suspicion of scenario misplacement may thus arise. The root cause lies in the lack of reflection about the current relationship between economic thoughts and realities. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach Correctly understanding economic thoughts associated with the brand of “that era” and effectively deducing its characteristics is of great significance to finding new features of this era and constructing new ideas with the characteristics of “this era.” Findings This motif is exactly the keynote on which to base the study of economic history and economic thought. Originality/value In a period of major historical turning points, the economic realities on which the economic thinking about that era (the era of economists) relied was undergoing major changes, and re-emphasizing the ancient topic of the relationship between economic thoughts and economic realities became particularly urgent.

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