Ibn Khaldun’s Fourteenth Century Views on Bureaucracy

1987 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 179-199
Author(s):  
Bogdan Mieczkowsici
Keyword(s):  
Economic Analysis ◽  
Fourteenth Century ◽  
Max Weber ◽  
Adam Smith ◽  
Economic Thought ◽  
Ibn Khaldun ◽  
Bureaucratic Organization ◽  
Economic Progress ◽  
Mode Of Operation ◽  
Wealth Of Nations

IntroductionAdam Smith observed in his Wealth of Nations in 1776 that kings-or inmy terminology the early bureaucratic leaders - existed already in “that rudestate of society which precedes the extension of commerce and the improvementof manufactures” (Smith 1976: 907). Max Weber considered bureaucracya necessary precondition for the development of society (Mieczkowski 1984:105-06; Zinam 1984: 77-78) providing the element of functional organizationand purpose. However, since power corrupts, it comes as no surprise thateven the early bureaucratic leaders developed some dysfunctional traits, thatcorruption all too frequently became the prevalent mode of operation, andthat the benign functional bureaucratic organizations, or ”borgs,” became inmany cases transformed into “dysborgs,” or the dysfunctional bureaucraticorganizations. An analysis of dysborgs and of some of their implications isoffered in Mieczkowski and Zinam, Bureaucracy, Ideology, Technology: Qualityof Life East and West (1984), and the terminology that is used in the presentessay to interpret historical views, with their original concepts, will befrom the Mieczkowski and Zinam book.Because the rudimentary bureaucratic organization developed early, someastute observers found already in remote times that bureaucracy is not alwaysbenign. It was, therefore, with great interest that I discovered one such observerwho had been neglected by Western historians of economic thought, exceptfor a footnote and a bare small-print mention in Joseph Schumpeter‘s Historyof Economic Analysis (1954: 136, 788), a footnote in Colin Clark’s Conditionsof Economic Progress (1957: 6), and a footnote in Barry Gordon’sEconomic Analysis Before Adam Smith (1957: 121). The writer in questionwas an Arab historian and philosopher, Ibn Khaldun (1332-1406), who coveredmany topics of interest to economists, and who in some respects was headof the founder of the science of economics, Adam Smith. Such occasional ...

The Early History of Financial Economics, 1478–1776. By Geoffrey Poitras. Cheltenham and Northampton: Edward Elgar, 2000. Pp. x, 522.

2002 ◽  
Vol 62 (1) ◽  
pp. 268-269
Author(s):  
Larry Neal
Keyword(s):  
Economic History ◽  
Financial Analysis ◽  
Adam Smith ◽  
Economic Thought ◽  
Financial History ◽  
X 522 ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Wealth Of Nations ◽  
Simon Fraser University

Economic historians usually have to explain to their economist colleagues the difference between economic history, which focuses on facts, and history of economic thought, which focuses on ideas. Our colleagues in finance departments, typically fascinated by episodes in financial history treated by economic historians, are bound to be disappointed in the lack of attention given to the development of ideas in finance by historians of economic thought. Geoffrey Poitras, a professor of finance at Simon Fraser University, makes a valiant effort to remedy these oversights in his collection of vignettes that highlight the sophistication of financial instruments and analysts of financial markets well before the time of Adam Smith. Starting in 1478 with the publication of the Treviso Arithmetic, a typical textbook of commercial arithmetic for Italian merchants, and ending with brief snippets from the Wealth of Nations, Poitras treats the reader to a fascinating potpourri of excerpts from various manuals, brief biographies of pioneers in financial analysis, and historical discursions on foreign-exchange and stock markets.

scholarly journals What’s the problem, Mr. Smith? Shedding more light (than Heat) on Adam Smith’s view of man *

2018 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-28
Author(s):  
Emmanoel de Oliveira Boff
Keyword(s):  
Adam Smith ◽  
Economic Thought ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Moral Sentiments ◽  
Impartial Spectator ◽  
Self Interest ◽  
Cast Doubt ◽  
Wealth Of Nations ◽  
Theory Of Moral Sentiments

Abstract Why has the “Adam Smith Problem” recently been discussed in the literature? Although most historians of economic thought regard the problem solved, these discussions cast doubt on this apparent solution. This article suggests that the “Adam Smith Problem” may originate from the concept of the human being developed by Smith in the “Theory of Moral Sentiments”: in this book, human beings can be understood as composed of an empirical and a (quasi) transcendental side, in the form of the impartial spectator. It is argued that it is the tension between these two parts which creates supposed inconsistencies between aspects of the “Theory of Moral Sentiments” and the “Wealth of Nations” like, for example, the role of sympathy and self-interest in each of these books.

The productive-unproductive puzzle in Adam Smith: what have we missed?

2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 163-182
Author(s):  
Nimai M. Mehta
Keyword(s):  
Durable Goods ◽  
Adam Smith ◽  
Measurement Scale ◽  
Household Welfare ◽  
Modern Theory ◽  
Durable Good ◽  
Capital Productivity ◽  
Economic Progress ◽  
Wealth Of Nations ◽  
Over Time

This paper returns to Adam Smith's much maligned distinction of productive versus unproductive labour to flesh out a dimension of capital productivity that has been missed by the modern theory of production and welfare. The puzzle lies in Smith's use of a binary measurement scale to suggest opposing productivity, and household welfare outcomes obtained with a durable versus non-durable good. A durable good generates a permanent fund of labour savings and service spillovers over time. This dimension of productivity exists separate from, and beyond, any marginal productivity attributed to capital or labour services within the neoclassical production function. And, it forms the basis of improvements in household welfare that Smith described in the Wealth of Nations – in terms of continual net increases in the consumption-production possibility frontier enjoyed by the household, as a result of service spillovers obtained with a durable good over time. In contrast, no such spillovers are obtained with a non-durable good. A preference-bias for non-durable goods, instead, proves to be welfare-reducing – by having households under-invest and/or fail in maintaining the accumulated stock of durable-goods-as-capital. Both lead to a loss of production-consumption possibilities available within the household economy. An exploration of Smith's concern with 'unproductive labour' brings back into focus the broad set of behavioural traits and ethical-legal restraints that underlie economic progress and have been missed by neoclassical theory.

National Security Policy as a Field for Economics Research

1960 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 434-452 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles J. Hitch
Keyword(s):  
Economic Analysis ◽  
National Security ◽  
Security Policy ◽  
Adam Smith ◽  
Allocation Of Resources ◽  
The Past ◽  
Past Generation ◽  
Wealth Of Nations ◽  
Second World ◽  
Economics Research

Problems of national security are in no sense novel for the application of economic analysis. Adam Smith, in a well-known passage in The Wealth of Nations, was concerned with the allocation of resources between “defense” and “opulence”—what we would call the problem of the size of the national security budget. There has been great interest among economists, especially during and following the First and Second World Wars, in problems of industrial mobilization during war, including the associated problems of economic stablization. In fact, to many economists during the past generation this set of mobilization problems constituted the economics of defense. Books were published with titles like Economics of Defense that dealt with little else.

Adam Smith on Economic Justice in the Labor Market

1995 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 228-246 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edd S. Noell
Keyword(s):  
Labor Market ◽  
Economic Analysis ◽  
Natural Law ◽  
Adam Smith ◽  
Economic Justice ◽  
Hugo Grotius ◽  
History Of ◽  
Wealth Of Nations ◽  
The Impact

One of the most significant statements in Joseph Schumpeter's discussion of Adam Smith in the History of Economic Analysis highlights the impact of scholastic thought upon Smith's economic analysis. Speaking of The Wealth of Nations, Schumpeter claimed that “the skeleton of Smith's analysis hails from the scholastics and natural-law philosophers” (Schumpeter 1954, p. 182). Though not the first to make this connection, Schumpeter's affirmation, alongside his treatment (ibid., part II, ch. 2) of the literature produced by these two groups, has been a stimulus to further exploration with respect to both the Protestant scholastics Hugo Grotius and Samuel Pufendorf and the medieval theologians (De Roover 1957; Bowley 1973). More recent studies which have followed in this vein have focused on the significance of the scholastic and natural law traditions for Smith's treatment of economic justice (Hont and Ignatieff 1983; Young and Gordon 1992).

scholarly journals Kontribusi Para Ilmuwan Muslim Dalam Bidang Ilmu Akuntansi

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 218
Author(s):  
Warto Warto
Keyword(s):  
Economic Theory ◽  
18Th Century ◽  
Adam Smith ◽  
The West ◽  
State Budget ◽  
Ibn Khaldun ◽  
Qualitative Descriptive ◽  
Wealth Of Nations ◽  
Individual Scale ◽  
Descriptive Method

The blurring of history in the field of science often occurs. In the 18th century AD Adam Smith wrote an economic theory in the book "An Inquiry Into The Nature and Cause Of The Wealth of Nations" later known that economic theory was adopted from the work of phenomenal cleric Ibn Khaldun, written in his book 'al-Muqaddimah'. The same thing happened in Accounting which has obscured its history by the West. This study aims to explore the historical roots of the contribution of Muslim scientists in the field of Accounting. By using a qualitative descriptive method and historical approach, the results of the study show that Islamic Accounting was developed earlier by Muslims than conventional accounting. Islamic accounting emerged and developed since the time of the Prophet Muhammad around the year 610 AD. Whereas Conventional Accounting was introduced to Lucas Pacioli in 1494 AD. Basics of Sharia Accounting in general have been hinted at in the Koran surah al-Baqarah verse 282 and the sunnahs of the Prophet. The paragraph explains the function and importance of recording transactions, the basics, and their benefits, which are the essence of Accounting. Since the time of the Prophet Muhammad until the time of Khulafaur Rashidin, accounting laws have been applied either on an individual scale, syariah or company, waqf accounting, rights prohibiting the use of assets (hijr) and the state budget. In addition, in that era, the accounting profession was also known as "hafazhatul amwal" (financial supervisor).

scholarly journals SCHUMPETER’S ASSESSMENT OF ADAM SMITH AND THE WEALTH OF NATIONS: WHY HE GOT IT WRONG

2019 ◽  
Vol 41 (4) ◽  
pp. 531-551
Author(s):  
Andreas Ortmann ◽  
Benoît Walraevens ◽  
David Baranowski
Keyword(s):  
Economic Analysis ◽  
Adam Smith ◽  
Rhetorical Strategies ◽  
Rhetorical Structure ◽  
Ad Hominem ◽  
History Of ◽  
Wealth Of Nations ◽  
Political Character

In his widely read and cited History of Economic Analysis (Schumpeter 1954), Joseph Alois Schumpeter dismissed Adam Smith’s Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (Smith 1976a) in a blunt and often ad hominem manner. In fact, he even questioned Smith’s intellectual mettle. We argue that Schumpeter’s assessment might have resulted from his failure to appreciate the rhetorical structure of Smith’s masterpiece (and the highly political character of its Book V), a failure possibly due to Schumpeter’s not having access to student notes of Smith’s lectures on rhetoric that surfaced only after Schumpeter’s death. We argue that Schumpeter’s failure to appreciate the rhetorical structure of Smith’s masterpiece is a prominent example of the consequences of not taking into account Smith’s rhetorical strategies and principles when trying to understand the man and his oeuvre.

Mercantilism

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenneth A. Reinert
Keyword(s):  
Adam Smith ◽  
Precious Metals ◽  
Economic Thought ◽  
East India Company ◽  
Positive Development ◽  
Policy Position ◽  
Economic Nationalism ◽  
Western European ◽  
Wealth Of Nations ◽  
Zero Sum

The notion of “mercantilism” or the “mercantile system” as a formal idea was identified by Adam Smith in his The Wealth of Nations. Smith had in mind a set of writers (the mercantilists) who were active in the 16th and 17th centuries, primarily but not exclusively in England. As commonly stated, mercantilist thought supported a policy position that countries should attempt to achieve trade surpluses that result in an inflow of “precious metals” or gold. In some renderings, this inflow of gold was seen as supporting royal treasuries. Mercantilism was often expressed as a system of economic nationalism. As such, it also had elements of a “zero sum” approach to international economics relations, although whether this “zero sum” thinking extended into the domestic realm is a matter of some debate. In recent decades, interpretations of what exactly mercantilism stood for have diverged significantly. This is perhaps a positive development as it provides layers of nuance to what had become a simplification of what mercantilist writers really stated, as well as differences of opinion among these writers. The origins of mercantilism are wrapped up with another school of thought—that of “bullionism,” which focused directly on transactions in precious metals. These two schools of thought had a significant temporal overlap, although mercantilism eventually prevailed. Mercantilism also became wrapped up in European colonial activities, from the British East India Company, some of whose spokesmen were mercantilist writers, to Prince Leopold’s Belgian Congo disaster. For this reason, it is important to consider the impacts of mercantilism both within the Western European context and within Western European colonial systems. While in the end the mercantilist emphasis on the balance of trade and, more broadly, economic nationalism was incorrect, modern analysis of the school of thought has revealed that the mercantilist writers were indeed engaged in real economic analysis. Key concepts uncovered by mercantilist writers included balance of payments accounting, trade in services, monetary theory, aggregate employment, exchange rate determination, and others. These insights secure mercantilism a place in the history of economic thought.

scholarly journals Bisnis Dalam Peradaban Islam

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 155-170
Author(s):  
Sukma Mehilda
Keyword(s):  
Adam Smith ◽  
Economic Thought ◽  
Direct Result ◽  
Business Practices ◽  
Muslim Countries ◽  
Modern Capitalism ◽  
Maximum Effort ◽  
Wealth Of Nations ◽  
The Right ◽  
Islamic Civilization

The most felt failure of modernization which is a direct result of the era of globalization is in the economic field. Modern capitalism which although finally able to prove its superiority from socialism, in fact, has given birth to various problems, especially for third world countries (including Muslim countries) which tend to be objects rather than subject to capitalism. Associated with the failure of Western capitalism in these Muslim countries, the realization that the roots of capitalism are not from Islam, then arouse the desire to reconstruct economic systems that are considered "authentic" derived from Islam. Moreover, history shows that economic thought has also been carried out by Islamic scholars, even long before Adam Smith wrote his monumental book The Wealth of Nations. In a very general sense, it can be said that the capitalist world is already very familiar with the teachings of Islam and its leaders. These conditions get the legitimacy of the verses of the Qur'an in collecting assets from a maximum effort. With so many verses of the Koran that teach the right way of business and wrong business practices even regarding very small matters, basically the position of business and commerce in Islamic civilization is very important.

The Emergence of Capitalism in Early America

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher W. Calvo
Keyword(s):  
Free Trade ◽  
Adam Smith ◽  
Economic Thought ◽  
Early America ◽  
Primary Position ◽  
History Of Capitalism ◽  
Early American ◽  
History Of ◽  
Wealth Of Nations ◽  
American Political Economy

The first comprehensive examination of early American economic thought in over a generation, The Emergence of Capitalism in Early America challenges the traditional narrative that Americans were born committed to the principles of Adam Smith. Americans are shown to have developed a distinct brand of hybrid capitalism, suited to the nation’s unique political, intellectual, cultural, and economic histories. Given America’s primary position in the history of capitalism, its economists were well situated to comment on market phenomenon. Covering a broad range of the period’s economic literature and offering close analyses of the antebellum reception of Smith’s Wealth of Nations, this book rescues America’s first economists from historical neglect. In thematically organized chapters, the intellectual cultures of American protectionism and free trade are examined. Protectionism exercised enormous influence in the discourse, constituting what rightly has been called an ‘American political economy.’ Henry Carey is highlighted as the central thinker in protectionist thought, providing an economic blueprint for the nation’s future industrial and commercial supremacy. Sharp regional divisions existed among the nation’s strongest proponents of free-trade ideology, namely Calhoun, Wayland, McVickar, Vethake, Cardozo, and Cooper, as well as important theoretical distinctions with Smithian-inspired laissez-faire. In a separate chapter, American conservative economists—among others, Fitzhugh and Holmes—are positioned alongside antebellum socialists—Skidmore and Byllesby—illustrating the rather awkward ideological arrangements attendant to emergent capitalism. Finally, the tricky relationship Americans have held with financial institutions is explored. Beginning with Hamilton, this book analyzes the financial literature as Americans learned to live with arguably the most complex and misunderstood manifestation of capitalism—finance.

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