Department of Economics & Finance
SYLLABUS
Marxian
Economics Submitted Spring 2011
Economics
3360 Prof.
DEPARTMENT
Economics & Finance
COURSE
NAME
Marxian Economics
COURSE
NUMBER
Economics 3360
COURSE
DESCRIPTION
Karl
Marx (1818–83) was a penetrating and original economic theorist who both built
upon and criticized the analytical framework of the classical economists. This
course presents a survey of Marxian economics with a focus on how Marx’s work
can shed light on problems with which modern economists continue to grapple. A
theme running through the course is that Marx’s economic analysis is rooted in
the classical political economy tradition of Adam Smith and David Ricardo, and
that this tradition constitutes a potentially fruitful alternative to orthodox
supply and demand theory as a way of understanding the development and
functioning of capitalism. The course will begin with a discussion of Marx’s
methodological outlook, including historical materialism and the associated idea
that the evolution of the mode of production shapes the ideological, cultural,
scientific and institutional characteristics of a society. The course will then
explore the connections between Marx’s work and later theoretical developments.
Marx’s economics provides a useful entry point for discussion of a wide range
of issues, including: the theory of value and distribution; growth theory; the
causes of economic crises; capital theory; input-output economics; the
socialist calculation debates; and labor-management relations. In covering
these issues, the course will introduce students to analytical traditions that receive
insufficient attention in the standard economics curriculum, particularly
Post-Keynesian economics and the work of Piero Sraffa. The various criticisms
that have been put forth against Marxian economics will also be presented and
assessed.
PREREQUISITES
Eco 1301 & Eco 1302; Eco 3341 is
recommended
CREDIT
3 credits
TEXTS
B. Fine & A. Saad-Filho: Marx’s Capital, fifth edition (Pluto
Press, 2010).
M.
C. Howard & J. King: The
Political Economy of Marx, second edition (New York University
Press, 1988).
P. M. Sweezy: The Theory of Capitalist Development
(Monthly Review Press, 1942)
ADDITIONAL
RECOMMENDED WORKS
F. Wheen: Karl Marx: A Life
(Norton, 2000).
F. Wheen: Marx’s Das
Kapital: A Biography (Grove Press, 2006).
J. Eatwell, M. Milgate & P. Newman (Eds): Marxian Economics (Norton, 1987).
I.
M. Blaug: A Methodological Appraisal of Marxian
Economics (North-Holland, 1980).
J. A. Schumpeter: Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy
(Harper & Row, 1942).
GRADING
SCHEDULE
Midterm examination: 30%
Final examination: 30%
Research paper: 30%
Class participation: 10%
USEFUL
WEBSITES
Left Business Observer: www.leftbusinessobserver.com/
NSSR History of Economic Thought Website: http://homepage.newschool.edu/~het/
Marxists Internet Archive: http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/
Financial Times: http://www.ft.com/
COURSE
OUTLINE
Topic 1. Introduction: Classical Political Economy
Sweezy: Introduction
Howard & King: chapter 5 & 6.
S. Tsuru: “On Reproduction Schemes,” Appendix to
Sweezy, Theory of Capitalist Development.
E. Mandel: “Karl Marx,” in: Eatwell, Milgate & Newman, Marxian Economics.
A. Smith: The Wealth of Nations (1776), Bk I,
chs 1 & 7 [http://geolib.com/smith.adam/ woncont.html].
P. Garegnani: “Value
and Distribution in the Classical Economists and Marx,”
P. Sraffa: Production of Commodities by Means of
Commodities (Cambridge University Press, 1960), Preface & chapters
1−3.
Topic 2 (Weeks 3−4). Marx’s Method of Analysis
Sweezy: chapter
I.
Howard & King: chapters
1−3.
Fine & Saad-Filho: chapter
1.
Marx: Contribution to a Critique of Political
Economy, Preface [http://www.marxists.org/
archive/marx/works/download/Marx_Contribution_to_the_Critique_of_Political_Economy.pdf].
R. L. Heilbroner: Marxism: For and Against, chapters 2
& 3.
E. Heimann: “What
Marx Means Today,” Social Research,
Vol. 4 (1937), pp. 33−51.
Schumpeter: Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy,
Prologue and chapters I & II.
Topic 3 (Weeks 5−7). The Labor Theory of Value
Sweezy: chapters
II−IV, VII
Howard & King:
chapters 4, 7, 8, 10
Fine & Saad-Filho:
chapters 2−4, 10.
A. Shaikh:
“Exploitation,” in: Eatwell, Milgate
& Newman, Marxian Economics.
F. Vianello: “Labour
Theory of Value,” in: Eatwell,
Milgate & Newman, Marxian Economics.
D. Foley: Adam’s Fallacy
(Princeton University Press, 2006), chapter 3.
Marx: Capital, Vol. I, chapters 4−9 [http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/download/
pdf/Capital-Volume-I.pdf]; Vol. III, chapters 1−3, 8−10 [http://www.marxists.org/archive/
marx/works/download/pdf/Capital-Volume-III.pdf].
E.
Von Böhm-Bawerk: Karl Marx and the
Close of His System (1898), chapters 1−4 [available on-line at http://homepage.newschool.edu/~het/;
click on Alphabetical List].
I.
Steedman: “The Irrelevance of Marxian Values,” in: G. A. Caravale
(Ed.) Marx and Modern Economic Analysis,
Vol. I (Elgar, 1991).
M. Blaug: A Methodological Appraisal of Marxian
Economics (North-Holland, 1980).
Topic 4 (Weeks 8−9). Economic Reproduction
and Accumulation
Sweezy: chapters
V & VI.
Howard & King:
chapters 11 & 12.
Fine & Saad-Filho:
chapters 5 & 6.
H.
D. Kurz & N. Salvadori: “Classical Roots of
Input-Output Analysis: A Short Account of its Long Prehistory,” Economic Systems Research, Vol. 12
(2000), pp.153−179.
Marx: Capital, Vol. I, chapters 23 & 24 [http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/download/
pdf/Capital-Volume-I.pdf]; Vol. II, chapters 18−21 [http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/
works/download/pdf/Capital-Volume-II.pdf].
A.
Lowe: “A Structural Model of Production,” Social Research, Vol. 19 (1952), pp. 135−176.
Schumpeter: Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy,
chapter III.
Topic 5 (Weeks 10−12). Marxian
Theories of Crisis
Sweezy: chapters
VIII−XII.
Howard & King:
chapter 13.
Fine & Saad-Filho:
chapters 5 & 6.
Marx: Capital, Vol. II, chapters 1−4 [http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/download/
pdf/Capital-Volume-II.pdf].
C. Sardoni: “Marx and Keynes on Effective Demand and
Unemployment,” History of Political
Economy, Vol. 18 (1986), pp. 419−441.
A. Shaikh: “An Introduction to the
History of Crisis Theories”, in: US
Capitalism in Crisis (New York: URPE, 1978) [http://gesd.free.fr/shaikh78.pdf].
Fine & Saad-Filho: chapters 12 & 15.
D. Henwood: Wall Street (Verso, 1997), chapter 7 [available online at
the LBO website: www.leftbusinessobserver.com/].
A. Glyn: “Contradictions
of Capitalism,” in: Eatwell, Milgate & Newman, Marxian Economics.
M.
Kalecki: “Political Aspects of Full Employment,” Political Quarterly, Vol. 14 (1943), pp.
322−330 [http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/2010/kalecki220510.html].
S.
Sordi & A. Vercelli: “Genesis and Foundations of the
Multiplier: Marx, Kalecki and Keynes” (DEPFID Working Paper,
Topic 6 (Week 13). The Labor Process
Howard
& King: chapter 7.
Marx: Capital, Vol. I, chapters 14 & 15 [http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/download/
pdf/Capital-Volume-I.pdf].
W.
Lazonick: “Labor Process,” in: Eatwell, Milgate & Newman, Marxian Economics.
S.
Marglin: “What Do Bosses Do?,” Review of Radical Political Economics, Vol. 6 (1974), pp. 60−112.
R.
Heilbroner: “Men at Work,”
D.
Gordon: “Bosses of Different Stripes: A Cross-National
Perspective on Monitoring and Supervision,” American
Economic Review, Papers & Proceedings, Vol. 84 (1994), pp. 375−379.
Topic 7 (Week 14). The
Socialist Calculation Debate
Fine & Saad-Filho: chapter 14.
A. Cottrell & W.
Cockshott: “Calculation,
Complexity and Planning: The Socialist Calculation Debate Once Again,” Review of Political Economy, Vol. 5
(1993), pp. 73−112.
D. Levy & S. Peart: “The Socialist
Calculation Debate,” New Palgrave
Dictionary of Economics, [http://www.dictionaryofeconomics.com/article?id=pde2008_S000535].
O. Lange: “On the Economic Theory
of Socialism,” Review of Economic Studies,
Vol. 4 (1936−37), pp. 53–71, 123–142.
F. A. Hayek: “The Use of Knowledge in Society,” American Economic Review, Vol. 35 (1945),
pp. 519–530.
Schumpeter: Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy,
chapters XV−XIX.