History of Economic Thought

Isaac Ilyich Rubin

Description

This is an important and unparalleled work which situated Marx's economic theory in relation to the economic theories that predate him - from mercantilism to John Stuart Mill. First published in 1929, the book dates from the fertile period of Marxist economic theory that produced the works of Preobrazhensky, Kondratiev and Bukharin. However as a review of pre-Marxist economics it stands out from the many books which dwell only on the contemporary industrialisation debates.



This is a selective reading of economic thought, offering analysis of those elements in past economics that accord with the areas of interest to Marxism. Each section gives a brief analysis of a specific school of thought, with particular attention to the social and ideological climate within which it evolved. The book differs from orthodox accounts in not merely mentioning historical background but using it as a central explanation of the evolution of economic theories.



As a counterpoint to Rubin, Catherine Colliot-Thelene has written a daring essay which locates a crucial flaw in the logical structure of Marx's Capital.
1. Mercantilism and its decline

2. The Physiocrats

3. Adam Smith

4. David Ricardo

5. The Decline of the Classical School

6. A Brief Review of the Course

Afterword by Catherine Colliot-Thelene

Sujets

• Economic history
• Science

Informations

• Publié par: Pluto Press
• Date de parution: 01 janvier 1987
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781783716340
• Langue: English

Extrait

И. И. Р У Б И Н

ИСТОРИЯ ЭКОНОМИЧЕСКОЙ МЫСЛИ

ИЗДАНИЕ ТРЕТЬЕ СО ВТОРОГО ДОПОЛНЕННОГО



ГОСУДАРСТВЕННОЕ ИЗДАТЕЛЬСТВО
МОСКВА       1 9 2 9       ЛЕНИНГРАД
A History of Economic Thought
by
Isaac Ilych Rubin
Translated and edited by Donald Filtzer
Afterword
by
Catherine Colliot-Thélène
First published as Istoriya ekonomicheskoi
mysli (Gosizdat RSFSR). This translation
taken, with the permission of the New York
Public Library, from a copy of the second
printing of the second, revised Russian edition
(1929) in that library’s possession.
This edition first published in 1979
Second impression 1989
Translation by Don Filtzer
© Pluto Press 1989
345 Archway Road
London N6 5AA
Afterword by Catherine Colliot-Thélène
World rights in all languages
© Pluto Press 1989
The Frontispiece is taken from the
New York Public Library photocopy of the
1929 Russian edition of Rubin’s book.
ISBN 9780745303017
ISBN 0745303013
ISBN 9781783716340 ePub
ISBN 9781783716357 Mobi
Printed and bound by Antony Rowe Ltd, Eastbourne
CONTENTS
Author’s Preface to the Second Edition
Part One Mercantilism and its Decline
Chapter One
The Age of Merchant Capital
Chapter Two
Merchant Capital and Mercantilist Policy in England in the 16th and 17th Centuries
Chapter Three
The General Features of Mercantilist Literature
Chapter Four
The Early English Mercantilists
Chapter Five
Mercantilist Doctrine at its Height: Thomas Mun
Chapter Six
The Reaction against Mercantilism: Dudley North
Chapter Seven
The Evolution of the Theory of Value: William Petty
Chapter Eight
The Evolution of the Theory of Money: David Hume
Part Two The Physiocrats
Chapter Nine
The Economic Situation in Mid-Eighteenth-Century France
Chapter Ten
The History of the Physiocratic School
Chapter Eleven
The Social Philosophy of the Physiocrats
Chapter Twelve
Large-scale and Small-scale Agriculture
Chapter Thirteen
Social Glasses
Chapter Fourteen
The Net Product
Chapter Fifteen
Quesnay’s Tableau Economique
Chapter Sixteen
Economic Policy
Chapter Seventeen
The Theoretical Legacy of the Physiocrats
Part Three Adam Smith
Chapter Eighteen
Industrial Capitalism in England during the Mid-Eighteenth-Century
Chapter Nineteen
Adam Smith, the Man
Chapter Twenty
Smith’s Social Philosophy
Chapter Twenty-One
The Division of Labour
Chapter Twenty-Two
The Theory of Value
Chapter Twenty-Three
The Theory of Distribution
Chapter Twenty-Four
The Theory of Capital and Productive Labour
Part Four David Ricardo
Chapter Twenty-Five
The Industrial Revolution in England
Chapter Twenty-Six
Ricardo’s Biography
Chapter Twenty-Seven
The Philosophical and Methodological Bases of Ricardo’s Theory
Chapter Twenty-Eight
The Theory of Value
1.     Labour Value
2.     Capital and Surplus Value
3.     Prices of Production
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Ground Rent
Chapter Thirty
Wages and Profit
Part Five The Decline of the Classical School
Chapter Thirty-One
Malthus and the Law of Population
Chapter Thirty-Two
The Beginning of Vulgar Economy—Say
Chapter Thirty-Three
The Debates Surrounding the Ricardian Theory of Value
Chapter Thirty-Four
The Wages Fund
Chapter Thirty-Five
The Theory of Abstinence—Senior
Chapter Thirty-Six
Harmony of Interests—Cary and Bastiat
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Sismondi as a critic of Capitalism
Chapter Thirty-Eight
The Utopian Socialists
Chapter Thirty-Nine
The Twilight of the Classical School—John Stuart Mill
Part Six Conclusion: A Brief Review of the Course
Chapter Forty
Brief Review of the Course
Afterword By Catherine Colliot-Thélène
Name Index
 
Subject Index
 
Diagrams
Quesnay’s Description of the circulation of commodities and of money
Editor’s Preface
This English edition of Isaac Rubin’s A History of Economic Thought has been prepared from the New York Public Library’s copy of the 1929 reprinting of the second, revised Russian edition. As the reader will learn from Rubin’s Preface, the book is made up of a series of lectures and was used as a university text. The book must have been in fairly general use, because the reprint of the second edition ran to 5,000 copies. The lectures were intended to be used alongside two other texts, Marx’s Theories of Surplus Value and an anthology compiled by Rubin of extracts from pre-Classical and Classical political economy, Classics of Political Economy From the Seventeenth to the Mid-Nineteenth Century [ Klassiki politicheskoi ekonomii ot XVII do srediny XIX veka ] (Gosizdat RSFSR, 1926).
The design of Rubin’s book has presented certain difficulties in translating and editing an English edition. Because it was to be used together with the above-mentioned collection, A History of Economic Thought contains no references for any of its quotations. Thus we have had to go through the laborious task of tracking down the standard English editions of the works of the many philosphers and economists from whom Rubin quotes. In most cases this was relatively straightforward; in others, such as the Physiocrats or Sismondi, whose works are translated either only partially into English or not at all, we have on occasion had to be satisfied with re-translating Rubin’s own Russian rendering of the passages in question. The reader will see from the Editor’s notes that these represent only a very small minority of the quotations, and that most passages are from the English original (in the case of French authors, most quotes are either from the standard English translation or have been translated directly from the French).
In editing the work we have provided copious notes directing the reader to the original sources; very often we have also given quotations fuller than those provided by Rubin, so as to allow the reader to gain a better sense of the arguments of Petty, Smith, Ricardo, etc. We have also used the notes to guide the reader to other secondary sources that she or he might find useful and to explain historical and conceptual references that might be unclear in the main text.
As for the terminology used, we have in general followed this rule: where Rubin is paraphrasing a particular author we have tried to retain that author’s own usage, whereas when translating Rubin’s discussions of these texts we have opted for the terminology accepted in modern usage. There are certain exceptions, e.g., in the section on Adam Smith where we have replaced Smith’s term ‘commandable labour’ with the more modern ‘purchasable labour’. We have also followed the standard practice of not modernizing the spelling or syntax of the passages quoted.
In a small number of cases we have deleted certain sentences or phrases in which Rubin is recapitulating a doctrine that he has already discussed on several occasions. These repetitive summaries, e.g., of the Physiocrats’ views on productive labour or Smith’s theory of profit, whilst perhaps of value in maintaining the continuity of Rubin’s classroom lectures, are a genuine obstacle to someone trying to read the text straight through. In no case have we cut more than one or two sentences at a time, and the sum of these elisions amounts to no more than two or three printed pages: thus the reader need have no fear about whether she or he is receiving a genuine ‘original edition’.
Finally, I should like to acknowledge the assistance of the reference staff of the main library of the University of Glasgow and of the staff of the Sidney Jones Library, University of Liverpool, who gave me invaluable help in locating and using many of the original editions from which I had to take quotations. I should like also to thank Prof. D.P. O’Brien of the University of Durham and Prof. Andrew S. Skinner of the University of Glasgow for their help in tracking down certain highly elusive passages. Needless to say, all of these people are blameless for any remaining shortcomings in this volume.
Donald Filtzer Birmingham, England April 1979
Author’s Preface to the Second Edition *
The study of the history of economic thought holds immense historical and theoretical interest. As a science it is closely tied, on the one hand, to the history of economic development and the struggle between the classes and, on the other, to theoretical political economy.
From an historical point of view, economic doctrines and ideas can be seen to have been amongst the most important and influential forms of ideology. As with other forms of ideology, the evolution of economic ideas depends directly upon the evolution of economic forms and the class struggle. Economic ideas are not born in a vacuum. Often they arise directly out of the stir and strife of social conflicts, upon the battleground between different social classes. In these circumstances, economists have acted as arms-bearers for these classes, forging the ideological weapons needed to defend the interests of particular social groups—often not concerning themselves any longer with developing their own work and giving it greater theoretical foundation. This was the lot that befell the economists of the mercantilist period (16th and 17th centuries), who devoted countless topical pamphlets to the ardent defence of the interests of merchant capital. Yet even if we look at the Physiocrats and the economists of the Classical school, whose works conform far more to the demands of theoretical clarity and logical coherence, we have little difficulty in identifying the social and class forces behind the different currents of economic thought. Though it occurs less openly and with greater complexity, we still find that the requirements of economic policy exert a powerful impact upon the orientation of economic ideas. In the most abstract constructs of the Physiocrats or Ricardo—those that seem farthest removed from real life—we shall discover a reflection of contemporary economic conditions and an expression of the