Review of Economic Philosophy

Tag: Capitalism

  • Is capitalism an intrinsically violent system? A Benjaminian reading of the concept of primitive accumulation in Karl Marx, Rosa Luxemburg and David Harvey

    Abstract

    Marxist economic theory accounts for the relationship between capitalism and violence by using the concept of primitive accumulation. This article proposes to show how this concept was constructed and developed by analysing three stages: first its initial elaboration by Karl Marx (primitive accumulation as the prehistory of capital), then a first extension by Rosa Luxemburg (primitive accumulation as a current movement of geographical extension of the logic of capital from the centre to the periphery), and finally a second extension by David Harvey (primitive accumulation as a movement of “internal” recolonisation and “accumulation by dispossession”). The article proposes to articulate these three stages on the basis of the dialectic between law and violence as problematized by the philosopher Walter Benjamin (2018).

    Keywords

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  • The Impossible Recuperation of Ecological Criticism by Capitalism: The Hypothesis of the De-Fetishisation of Commodity

    Abstract

    This article aims to understand the persistence and the radicalization of ecological criticism in the public space despite the attempts by capitalism to reclaim environmental issues through the introduction of “green concepts” (sustainable development, CSR, etc.) into managerial discourse. We develop the reasons why ecological criticism seems to resist its recuperation and rely on the Marxian concept of “commodity fetishism” to present ecological criticism as a challenge to the foundations of our economic organization. This analysis allows us to understand the failure of green concepts and to shed light on the evolution of the relationship between capitalism and its criticism.

    Keywords

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  • Leibniz’s God and the Capitalist Entrepreneur

    Abstract

    The article aims to show the theoretical difficulties raised by Jon Elster’s interpretation of Leibniz. The analogy between the capitalist entrepreneur and Leibniz’s God, how attractive it may be, appears fragile if not superficial. The conclusion evokes the need to reintroduce the point of view of the “consumer” in order to define the optimum to be reached, by sketching a parallel between the general equilibrium theory and theodicy.

    Codes JEL: A12, B11, B15, B30, P10.

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  • The Transformations of Marx’s Thought on Colonization

    Abstract

    This article analyzes the evolutions of Marx’s positions on colonization. It first emphasizes the invariant of his reflections: the denunciation of colonial violence. We initially find an interpretation of colonization as a process of modernization, then as a dynamic of “destruction-regeneration,” linked to the “unification of the world.” The author identifies above all the successive inflections of Marx’s – resolutely critical – thought about colonial and national issues, the non-linear character of history, and the differentiation of social formations.

    Codes JEL: B14, B51, N10.

    [See the article on Cairn]

  • Leibniz’s God and the Capitalist Entrepreneur

    Abstract

    The article aims to show the theoretical difficulties raised by Jon Elster’s interpretation of Leibniz. The analogy between the capitalist entrepreneur and Leibniz’s God, how attractive it may be, appears fragile if not superficial. The conclusion evokes the need to reintroduce the point of view of the “consumer” in order to define the optimum to be reached, by sketching a parallel between the general equilibrium theory and theodicy.

    Table of Contents

    • 1. L’interprétation socio-économique de Jon Elster : présupposés et résultats
    • 2. Trois approches critiques : par la méthode, par l’économie et par la métaphysique
      1. 2.1. La méthode et l’usage du terme « économie »
      2. 2.2. Des objections tirées de l’économie et de la métaphysique

    Keywords

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    Codes JEL : A12, B11, B15, B30, P10

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  • The Transformations of Marx’s Thought on Colonization

    Abstract

    This article analyzes the evolutions of Marx’s positions on colonization. It first emphasizes the invariant of his reflections : the denunciation of colonial violence. We initially find an interpretation of colonization as a process of modernization, then as a dynamic of “destruction-regeneration,” linked to the “unification of the world.” The author identifies above all the successive inflections of Marx’s – resolutely critical – thought about colonial and national issues, the non-line

    Outline

    • Introduction
    • L’invariant de la réflexion : la dénonciation de la violence coloniale
    • Au point de départ, la modernisation et la civilisation
    • La colonisation comme dynamique de destruction-régénération
    • Le processus d’unification du monde, marche vers la révolution
    • Inflexion N° 1 : questions coloniale et nationale
    • Inflexion N° 2 : histoire non linéaire et bonds en avant
    • Inflexion N° 3 : différenciation des formations sociales
    • Seconde rupture ou rupture continue avec Hegel ?
    • Conclusion

    Keywords

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    Codes JEL : B14, B51, N10

    [Read the article in Cairn]

  • From Capital to Property : History and Justice in the Work of Thomas Piketty

    Abstract

    This article is devoted to Thomas Piketty’s latest book, Capital and Ideology (2019). We begin by placing the book within the argument developed by the author in his previous works, before pointing out a number of limitations. We first question Piketty’s way of thinking about capitalism, before coming to his theory of ideology. Finally, we will try to define the contours and limits of Piketty’s project of overcoming capitalism, ie. his vision of a just society, of a “participative socialism”, as it is presented in the last chapter of the book.

    Keywords

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  • The Idea of “Fictitious Commodities,” the Cornerstone of Karl Polanyi’s Institutionalism

    Abstract

    The notion of “fictitious commodities” is not simply a convenient heterodox slogan to criticize the radical limits of any trade system and the analytical limits of the dominant theory. It is rather the foundation of the institutional perspectives that underlie all Karl Polanyi’s sociohistoric analyses. This article explains and articulates both the theoretical level using the institutional approach to commodities and a philosophical level using a broad definition of the economy. There is, however, a limit to the notion of the institution, which connects both levels: it is not articulated practically such that the potential and critique of this construct may be weakened.

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  • Hayek in Japan: The reception of a neoliberal thought

    Abstract

    The modernization of Japan has been taking place since the last half of the nineteenth century: paradoxically enough, elements of Japan’s geography and culture may explain this evolution. Even though very few Japanese economists would call themselves “liberal,” Hayek’s writings had a large audience. The heir to the Austrian school of economic thought, who was pro-free trade and a supporter of individual liberties has been fully translated (twice in fact, see references of Complete Works, at the end of this essay) thus illustrating his influence in academia, public service, and politics (on economic policies). Hayek anchored his views in those of the early Marginalist Austrian founder Menger (1840-1921), whose archives are also to be found in Japan. The encounter of Austrian thought and the far-away land may create a stir. In order to understand the extraordinary impact that the thought of Friedrich Hayek had, philosophical and epistemological traits are examined in this paper, along with attempts to make sense of this striking occurrence.

    JEL classification: B25 – B31 – N15 – P16

    Keywords

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