Reimagining the Oikos

We are currently living through a time in which the line dividing capital and state has dissolved behind repair, where free-market economics and rules of governance have become nothing more than a totality of bio-political control for capitalist and subjective fixes, and, where the distinctions between corporate hegemony, policy making, free-speech and mainstream media have become seemingly non-existent. This text attempts to act as a remedy to this by examining and analyzing some of the key tenets of what must be done in order to create a post-capitalist society, and move towards a reimagined oikos and oikonomia. It focuses largely on the necessity of moving away from subjectivity-centered thought, and towards a new form of materialist universality.

Main directions for increasing the competitiveness of small and medium businesses in Georgia

Development of SMEs is the basis for economic and political stability of the country. Economic growth, population welfare, investment attractiveness and unemployment reduction are unimaginable without the existence of competitive small and medium businesses. Satisfied with post-soviet mental and modern market economics, radical visions often lead to economic policy in the face of radical decisions that the government and business often use as partners, and sometimes even as parties. Accordingly, their coexistence is interesting and urgent, which often leads to discredited sclerosis and forms radical directions. In order to avoid disadvantages, we need to improve the measures taken in the field of competitiveness of small and medium business in Georgia by using the experience of modern developed countries, to carry out additional active measures.

Modern Financial Market Theory – A Critique Based on the Logic of Human Action

The modern financial market theory (MFMT) – based on the efficient market hypothesis, rational expectation theory, and modern portfolio theory – has become the standard approach in financial market economics. In this article, the MFMT will be critically ­reviewed using the logic of human action (or: praxeology) as an epistemological meta­theory. It will be shown that the MFMT exhibits (praxeo-)logical deficiencies so that it cannot provide investors with well-founded decision-making support in real-world financial markets.

Different Meanings of Proper Nutrition: The Sociopolitical Dynamics of the Relationship between Body and State in the 1970s and 2010s Poland

In this article, we comparatively analyze expert discourses and lay attitudes to healthy eating in socialist and contemporary Poland. The investigation makes apparent significant changes that have occurred in between these two periods. From legitimate and peremptory knowledge with an unchangeable and universal character, dietary guidance evolved into being much less authoritative in nature, facilitating various alternative ways of thinking and debate. The recipients of nutritional advice have also changed: from subordinated citizens and only passive objects of experts’ actions to the self-governing neoliberal subjects, which are active agents of their own choices and are individually responsible for their well-being. During socialist times, proper eating, in line with dietitian’s recommendations, was of secondary importance as Polish citizens were primarily motivated by the need to procure food of adequate quality and in sufficient quantity. Nowadays, under free-market economics and changing lifestyles, eating healthily is an issue of fundamental concern for many people. This analysis reveals that the production of nutritional knowledge is tightly related to sociopolitical contexts and that changing food attitudes are both influenced by post-socialist transformations as well as broader sociocultural processes.

Welfare and Punishment in a ‘Stark Utopia’ (1979–2015)

Polanyi (1957) described the notion of a self-regulating global system a “stark Utopia.” This chapter uses this as a starting point to examine the broad themes in the development of welfare and penal policy in a period dominated by free market economics Fukuyama (1992) presents the triumph of free market economics as an inevitable conclusion of trends in human history. It is also presented as the final stage development has ceased or is complete. Polanyi’s analysis is presented a counterpoint to this analysis. Polanyi asserts the primacy of politics. Thus, it is impossible to separate economic and political development. Prosperity of the post war period can thus be viewed as a direct result of the advances in politics and civil society that occurred in the period.

Buddha on Politics, Economics, and Statecraft

This chapter outlines doctrinal Buddhist political and economic theory including its notions about interstate relations, which are based on its unique understanding of the nature of reality. Some readers may be surprised to hear that there exists a theory of politics in Buddha’s teachings. But in fact, Buddha spoke extensively about politics, contrary to the assertion of Max Weber who famously asserted that Buddhism was “a specifically a-political and anti-political status religion.” Although the overriding goal of Buddha’s teachings is the liberation of individuals from pervasive suffering, Buddha considered politics as important, not so much for its intrinsic value, but because it created an external environment that can facilitate or impede an individual’s pursuit of happiness, defined as spiritual advancement and achievement of wisdom about the true nature of oneself and the world. Although best understood as an extension of his teachings on human liberation, Buddha was also an original social and a significant political philosopher. Buddha’s social teachings parallel modern democratic thought, mixed market economics, and cosmopolitan internationalism in the West. This chapter outlines Buddha’s political and economic theory, including his thoughts about statecraft and the possibilities for international order.