scholarly journals A 2x2=4 hobbyhorse: Mark Blaug on rational and historical reconstructions

2014 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 64 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harro Maas
Keyword(s):  
World War I ◽  
Second World War ◽  
Economic Thought ◽  
Historical Reconstruction ◽  
World War ◽  
History Of Economics ◽  
History Of ◽  
Magnum Opus ◽  
Second World ◽  
Do So

Over time, Mark Blaug became increasingly sceptical of the merits of the approach to the history of economics that we find in his magnum opus, Economic theory in retrospect, first published in 1962, and increasingly leaned to favour 'historical' over 'rational' reconstructions. In this essay, I discuss Blaug's shifting historiographical position, and the changing terms of historiographical debate. I do so against the background of Blaug's personal life history and the increasingly beleaguered position the history of economic thought found itself in after the Second World War. I argue that Blaug never resolved the tensions between historical and rational reconstructions, partly because he never fleshed out a viable notion of historical reconstruction. I trace Blaug's difficulty in doing so to his firm conviction that the history of economics should speak to economists, a conviction clearly present in his 2001 essay: "No history of ideas, please, we're economists".

Economic Systems of Muslims in History

2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 6-49
Author(s):  
Murat Çizakça
Keyword(s):  
Second World War ◽  
Economic Thought ◽  
Islamic Finance ◽  
Economic Systems ◽  
World War ◽  
Historical Evidence ◽  
Islamic World ◽  
History Of ◽  
Islamic Economic ◽  
Second World

Abstract During its long history, the Islamic world experienced three different economic systems. The original Islamic economy introduced by the Qurʾān and other classical sources of Islam, was a form of sui generis, commercial, pre-industrial and ethical capitalism. Evidence for this will be presented from the classical sources of Islam as well as from the history of Islamic economic thought. In later centuries it is possible to observe a transition from this unique capitalism towards more centralised structures, which reached its zenith with the Ottoman proto quasi-socialism. Most recently, after the Second World War, newly independent Muslims re-invented Islamic finance. Although an almost three trillion USD industry, so far this has been basically an imitation of conventional finance. Whether a truly modern and Islamic capitalism or another system will emerge from this, remains to be seen. Ample historical evidence across the Islamic world from West Africa to Indonesia is provided.

Economist Nikolai Voznesensky and his contributions to USSR victory in the second world war

2017 ◽  
pp. 485-505
Author(s):  
Ivan Pajovic
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
World Economy ◽  
Second World War ◽  
Economic Thought ◽  
National Defense ◽  
World War ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Economic Expert ◽  
History Of ◽  
Second World

The paper is a retrospective presentation of the work of Nikolai Alekseevich Voznesensky - an economist, scientist and economic activist who was notable for his work on the law of value, market and profit in socialism. This work examines the significance of its impact on the economy of the Soviet Union before and especially during the Second World War. The paper presents the quantifiers of the development of the Soviet Union before the war, and data that are significant for the course of the war and the Soviet victory. Voznesensky as an economic expert and a state official was a key figure in the evacuation of the Soviet economy and its reestablishment for the purpose of national defense and the final victory over the German aggressors. His great merit for the final victory of the Soviet Union is undeniable, perhaps even crucial. Although undoubtedly meritorious, he underwent repression and was executed under unclear circumstances circumstances. Although he was a Marxist economist with socialist views of economic activity, Voznesensky is unjustly neglected figure in the history of the world economy and economic thought.

Turning Aliens into Socialists

2010 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 75-93
Author(s):  
Jessica Moberg
Keyword(s):  
Outer Space ◽  
The United States ◽  
Second World War ◽  
World War ◽  
History Of ◽  
Swedish History ◽  
Second World ◽  
The Universe ◽  
Highly Evolved

Immediately after the Second World War Sweden was struck by a wave of sightings of strange flying objects. In some cases these mass sightings resulted in panic, particularly after authorities failed to identify them. Decades later, these phenomena were interpreted by two members of the Swedish UFO movement, Erland Sandqvist and Gösta Rehn, as alien spaceships, or UFOs. Rehn argued that ‘[t]here is nothing so dramatic in the Swedish history of UFOs as this invasion of alien fly-things’ (Rehn 1969: 50). In this article the interpretation of such sightings proposed by these authors, namely that we are visited by extraterrestrials from outer space, is approached from the perspective of myth theory. According to this mythical theme, not only are we are not alone in the universe, but also the history of humankind has been shaped by encounters with more highly-evolved alien beings. In their modern day form, these kinds of ideas about aliens and UFOs originated in the United States. The reasoning of Sandqvist and Rehn exemplifies the localization process that took place as members of the Swedish UFO movement began to produce their own narratives about aliens and UFOs. The question I will address is: in what ways do these stories change in new contexts? Texts produced by the Swedish UFO movement are analyzed as a case study of this process.

ABCs of the Revolution

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 278-291
Author(s):  
Egor A. Yesyunin
Keyword(s):  
Civil War ◽  
Second World War ◽  
World War ◽  
Special Significance ◽  
Development History ◽  
The People ◽  
Red Army ◽  
History Of ◽  
Second World ◽  
The Revolution

The article is devoted to the satirical agitation ABCs that appeared during the Civil War, which have never previously been identified by researchers as a separate type of agitation art. The ABCs, which used to have the narrow purpose of teaching children to read and write before, became a form of agitation art in the hands of artists and writers. This was facilitated by the fact that ABCs, in contrast to primers, are less loaded with educational material and, accordingly, they have more space for illustrations. The article presents the development history of the agitation ABCs, focusing in detail on four of them: V.V. Mayakovsky’s “Soviet ABC”, D.S. Moor’s “Red Army Soldier’s ABC”, A.I. Strakhov’s “ABC of the Revolution”, and M.M. Cheremnykh’s “Anti-Religious ABC”. There is also briefly considered “Our ABC”: the “TASS Posters” created by various artists during the Second World War. The article highlights the special significance of V.V. Mayakovsky’s first agitation ABC, which later became a reference point for many artists. The authors of the first satirical ABCs of the Civil War period consciously used the traditional form of popular prints, as well as ditties and sayings, in order to create images close to the people. The article focuses on the iconographic connections between the ABCs and posters in the works of D.S. Moor and M.M. Cheremnykh, who transferred their solutions from the posters to the ABCs.

B'nai B'rith on the European continent after World War Two

1992 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 101-126
Author(s):  
Hans Levy
Keyword(s):  
Second World War ◽  
The State ◽  
Jewish Organization ◽  
World War Two ◽  
World War ◽  
European Continent ◽  
History Of ◽  
State Of Israel ◽  
Second World

The focus of this paper is on the oldest international Jewish organization founded in 1843, B’nai B’rith. The paper presents a chronicle of B’nai B’rith in Continental Europe after the Second World War and the history of the organization in Scandinavia. In the 1970's the Order of B'nai B'rith became B'nai B'rith international. B'nai B'rith worked for Jewish unity and was supportive of the state of Israel.

The Nonviolent Struggle for Indian Freedom, 1905-19

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Hardiman
Keyword(s):  
English Language ◽  
Second World War ◽  
World War ◽  
Passive Resistance ◽  
Civil Resistance ◽  
Political Concept ◽  
History Of ◽  
Second World ◽  
Moral Stance

Much of the recent surge in writing about the practice of nonviolent forms of resistance has focused on movements that occurred after the end of the Second World War, many of which have been extremely successful. Although the fact that such a method of civil resistance was developed in its modern form by Indians is acknowledged in this writing, there has not until now been an authoritative history of the role of Indians in the evolution of the phenomenon.The book argues that while nonviolence is associated above all with the towering figure of Mahatma Gandhi, 'passive resistance' was already being practiced as a form of civil protest by nationalists in British-ruled India, though there was no principled commitment to nonviolence as such. The emphasis was on efficacy, rather than the ethics of such protest. It was Gandhi, first in South Africa and then in India, who evolved a technique that he called 'satyagraha'. He envisaged this as primarily a moral stance, though it had a highly practical impact. From 1915 onwards, he sought to root his practice in terms of the concept of ahimsa, a Sanskrit term that he translated as ‘nonviolence’. His endeavors saw 'nonviolence' forged as both a new word in the English language, and as a new political concept. This book conveys in vivid detail exactly what such nonviolence entailed, and the formidable difficulties that the pioneers of such resistance encountered in the years 1905-19.

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