Adam Smith that is, the author of this new book is Duncan Foley, and the fallacy is the idea of the invisible hand of the marketplace turning greed into the public good. Imagine a neo-Marxist introduction to the classical economists, written at a popular level, with plenty of Marx plus bits of commentary on Hayek and Veblen. Overall the book puzzled me; it hovers on the verge of making definite claims but draws back each time. I’d rather have a good slugfest with clearly staked out positions. This is an attempt to be the next Robert Heilbroner. It is not my cup of tea, but some of you will want to buy it here. Here is my earlier post on what remains valid from the economics of Karl Marx.
From Herr Cowen:
1. Capitalist systems, especially before reaching contemporary times, can produce less autonomy than small scale production. Standards of living do rise from industrialization. But I look at many of my rural Mexican friends. They could earn somewhat higher wages in factories, but they prefer to paint ceramics at home. It is more fun and they control their time to a large degree. At some point industrialization can undercut the cultures and networks of suppliers that makes such a choice possible. Marx directs our attention to a certain indivisibility of systems.
Herr Cowen,
Can you think of any examples were the powerbrokers in ’old-style markets’ and/or other interest groups have colluded to topple their governments in an effort to preserve their traditional way of life? Have globalized/industrialized states ever colluded in producing such an outcome (for short-term gain) despite the expectation that they would support the internationalization and modernization of all markets?
You should ask Tyrone if he could do a review of the book.
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