The thinkers of Ancient Greece not only posed the most complex economic questions, but also gave their answers to them. They introduced the term “economy” and its derivative “economy”. Economy was understood as a science with the help of which one can enrich one’s economy. They also put forward the idea of division of labor, suggested that equality between goods is based on something in common that makes them comparable, and for the first time made a distinction between simple commodity circulation and the circulation of money as capital. The economic discoveries of the thinkers of Ancient Greece contributed to the further development of economic science.
Main article: Economic thought of the Middle Ages
Mercantilism
The essence of mercantilism came down to wealth, primarily to gold, with which one could buy everything, since the money of that time was precious metals.
Physiocracy
Physical economy, physiocracy - an economic school, one of the scientific approaches to the study and organization of economics, the subject of study of which is economic processes measured in physical (natural) quantities and methods of controlling the exchange of matter-energy-momentum-information in human economic activity, subject to the requirements of laws physics.
Classical economic theory
Institutionalism
The concept of institutionalism includes two aspects: “institutions” - norms, customs of behavior in society, and “institutions” - consolidation of norms and customs in the form of laws, organizations, institutions.
The meaning of the institutional approach is not to be limited to the analysis of economic categories and processes in their pure form, but to include institutions in the analysis and take into account non-economic factors.
Mainstream
The set of main currents of modern economic thought in the West is called mainstream (English) Russian.
The strongest scientific movement at the moment [ ] in the world is neoclassical. Last 10 years [ ] were marked by the flourishing of new institutionalism, but the final victory of this school in the “battle for minds” has not yet occurred. Also now they have their active followers of Keynes’s ideas, which are taking shape in the form of a new school - new Keynesianism.
There was competition between schools, but many schools that existed at the same time did not compete with each other, as they studied various aspects of economics.
Research of economic doctrines
According to the greatest historian of economic thought Joseph Schumpeter, the first publications devoted to the study of the history of economic concepts were the articles of the French physiocrat Pierre Dupont de Nemours in the journal Ephemerides in 1767 and 1768. Also, a serious analysis of early economic views was carried out by the founder of modern economic theory, Adam Smith, in his 1776 treatise “An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.” The Scottish scientist in this work examines the main concepts of that time - mercantilism and physiocracy.
In the 18th century, along with the development of economic theory, works devoted to the study of already established economic doctrines appeared. Thus, in 1824−1825, reviews of the economic views of J. R. McCulloch, a follower of D. Ricardo, appeared. In 1829, the French economist Jean-Baptiste Say dedicated the 6th volume of his “Complete Course of Practical Political Economy” to the history of science. In 1837, “History of Political Economy in Europe” by the French economist Jerome Blanqui was published. In 1845, another work by J. R. McCulloch, “Political Economic Literature,” was published. Also, an analysis of economic views can be found in the 1848 book of the German economist Bruno Hildebrand “Political Economy of the Present and the Future” and the publications of his compatriot Wilhelm Roscher. In 1850-1868, several articles were published devoted to a review of the economic doctrines of the Italian scientist Francesco Ferrara. In 1858, the Russian economist I.V. Vernadsky published “Essay on the History of Political Economy.” In 1871, the German philosopher Eugen Dühring published “Critique of the History of National Economy and Socialism,” and in 1888, the book “History of Political Economy” by the Irish economist J. C. Ingram was published.
In the 19th century, economic theory appeared in the form of separate courses at university law faculties, then special economic faculties appeared, and a circle of professional economists was formed. Thus, in 1805, the English economist Thomas Malthus became a professor of modern history and political economy at the College of the British East India Company; in 1818, the position of professor of moral philosophy and political economy appeared at Columbia University in New York; in 1819, the French scientist Jean-Baptiste Say took the chair of industrial economics at the Paris Conservatoire of Arts and Crafts. Political economy began to be taught as a special subject in 1825 at Oxford, in 1828 at University College London, and in 1832 at the University of Dublin.
Among the Russian works on the history of economic doctrines of the 19th and early 20th centuries, “Essay on the History of Political Economy” of 1883 by I. I. Ivanyukova, “History of Political Economy” of 1892 by A. I. Chuprov, “History of Political Economy” of 1900 by L. V. stand out. Fedorovich and “History of Political Economy. Philosophical, historical and theoretical beginnings of the economy of the 19th century.” 1909 by A. N. Miklashevsky. As part of the book “Economic Essays”, the Russian scientist V.K. Dmitriev analyzes the main provisions of the theory of labor value and rent of D. Ricardo, the concept of distribution of J. von Thunen, the competition model of O. Cournot and the main provisions of marginalism using mathematical methods. A valuable contribution to the study of the history of economic theories of ancient China was made by V. M. Stein, who translated and studied the economic chapters of the ancient Chinese monument “Guanzi”.
The great English economist Alfred Marshall also made his contribution to this area of economic knowledge, who included an appendix entitled “Development of Economic Science” in his 1891 treatise “Principles of Economic Science”. "History of the Theories of Production and Distribution in English Political Economy from 1776 to 1848." English economist E. Kennan, published in 1893, contains an interpretation of the ideas of D. Ricardo,
Introduction
2. The formation of economics as a science in the teachings of mercantilism, physiocratism, and English classical political economy
3. Development of economic theory in the 20th century
Conclusion
List of used literature
Introduction
The history of mankind is the history of economics. Therefore, when we study the history of economics, we study the history of human labor.
The economy of a state is to a certain extent connected with the economic thinking and mentality of the inhabitants of this state. Economic views arose in ancient times. The human mind gradually became aware of the processes and patterns of economic life and learned their causes. From primitive views to truly scientific theories - this is the difficult path to understanding the essence of economic processes, phenomena, and trends. At the same time, one theory, one school replaced another, various concepts came into conflict, introducing, as a rule, some rational grains into the general well of economic wisdom. The process of cognition is not completed even now, so one can consider oneself a conscious subject of economic activity only after becoming acquainted, at least in general terms, with the main directions of economic theories, both past and present.
The use of the principle of historicism in economic research opens up wide opportunities for a comparative analysis of economic thought and economic development of various countries and peoples at different stages of their development. The formation of economic thought coincides with the formation of human society. Therefore, in order to understand economic science, you need to know not only the laws and principles of economics in the period of your time, but also where, from what time and under what circumstances the main milestones of all the laws of this science originated. Probably, before turning to a specific study of economics, you need to get at least a general idea of the main development of economic thought.
The relevance of the topic of the course work is that philosophers and economists lived in different periods of time and in different countries, which was the consequences of the differences in their views and solutions to certain problems.
As is already known, the development of economic science occurred as people encountered certain economic problems and tried to solve them. Also relevant are the problems that have faced economic thought for thousands of years. Thus, the most archaic and at the same time the most modern problem of economic science is the problem of exchange, the problem of commodity-money relations. The history of the development of economic science is also the history of the development of exchange relations, social division of labor, and market relations in general. All these problems are inextricably linked, moreover, one becomes a condition for the development of the other, the development of one means the development of others.
The second most difficult problem that has faced economic thought for thousands of years is the production of surplus product. When a person could not feed himself alone, he had no family or property. That is why people in ancient times lived in communities. They hunted together, produced simple products together, and consumed them together. Even the women were common; children were also raised together. As soon as a person’s skill and skill increased, and most importantly, the means of labor developed so much that one person could produce more than he himself consumed, he had a wife, children, a house - property. And most importantly, a surplus of product appeared, which became the subject and object of people’s struggle. The social system has changed. The primitive community turned into slavery. Essentially, the change from one socio-economic formation to another meant a change in the forms of production and distribution of surplus product.
Where does income come from, how does the wealth of a person and a country grow - these are questions that have been a stumbling block for economists at all times. With the development of productive forces, naturally, economic thought also developed. It was formed into economic views, and those, in turn, developed over the last 200-250 years into economic doctrines. Holistic economic teachings until the 18th century. there were not and could not be, since they could only arise as a result of understanding the general problems of the national economy, when national markets began to form and emerge. When the people and the state felt themselves as a single whole in economic, national and cultural terms.
The purpose of the course work is to consider all periods of life in the formation and development of economic theory as a science, in particular: its origins in ancient society, the Middle Ages; the formation of mercantilists, physiocrats, classics of political economy in the teachings; and its development in modern society. In order to understand specifically what is new about each economic thought, you need to trace and draw conclusions by studying the views of all academic economists, which will be shown in the course work.
1. The origin of economic knowledge in ancient society
To date, only those issues of economic thinking of antiquity that were reflected in written sources have been studied. Therefore, the beginning of the presentation of the history of economic thought coincides with the emergence of the first civilizations - Ancient Asia, Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome.
The features of eastern slavery, which originated in the 4th millennium BC, include: the existence of a rural community along with the private property of slave owners; enslavement of the broad masses of the population by the state in whose hands the irrigation system is in charge; the spread of debt slavery.
One of the largest ancient eastern slave states was Babylonia. The Code of Laws of King Hammurabi (1792 - 1750 BC) protects the economic basis of the slave system - private property. An attempt on her life is punishable by death. Slaves are considered the property of slave owners.
Along with the recognition of private property rights, the code of laws provided legal protection for the identity of direct producers. Thus, the sale and alienation of land plots of royal soldiers and other categories of subjects for debts was prohibited; usury was limited; Debt slavery was defined as three years, regardless of the amount of debt. The Code of Hammurabi represents one of the first attempts to govern a country through a system of legal norms.
The main currents of economic thought in Ancient China (Confucianism, Legalism, Taoism) took shape in the 6th - 3rd centuries. BC. The founder of Confucianism was Kong Tzu. In order to stabilize the social system of China, he proposed a program for the moral improvement of man, which included: respect for elders and superiors, showing respect to sons, friendship with brothers, regulation of patriarchal relations. He viewed the state as a large family, and the ruler as the “father of the people.”
Confucius distinguished between collective property and private ownership and gave preference to the latter. The class division of society, in his opinion, is established by God and nature. But since the source of wealth is labor, he urged the people to work more but consume less.
Mencius and Xunzi were also representatives of Confucianism. Mencius believed that heaven ordered the common people to feed the ruling class. Based on this, he put forward a kind of agrarian project, according to which communal lands were divided into nine equal shares. The ninth plot (public field) was to be cultivated by peasants together, and the harvest was to be placed at the disposal of state officials.
Confucian ideologists had opponents - legalists, who advocated governing the country through laws rather than rituals. They were the initiators of reforms aimed at undermining patriarchal-communal relations.
The most important monument of ancient India is the Arthashastra, the composition of which is attributed to Kautilya. He views slavery as the lot of the lower class; the cost of things is determined by the number of days of work, and the reward is determined by the results of labor; profit is included in the price of the product as other costs.
In its classical form, slavery, known as ancient slavery, existed in ancient Greece and ancient Rome from the first millennium BC. and reached its peak in the 5th century. BC. Unlike the eastern one, the formation of ancient slavery occurred at a higher level of development. That is why this process took place there almost simultaneously with the development of commodity-money relations.
The beginnings of the economic thought of Ancient Greece are found in Homer's poems "Iliad" and "Odyssey", which reflected the concept of subsistence farming.
In the 7th - 6th centuries. BC. slavery became widespread, private property finally supplanted tribal property, trade and usury developed rapidly. The reformers of this period were Solon and Peisistratus. The most important point of Solon's reforms was the prohibition of debt slavery; it became the lot of only foreigners.
During the heyday of slavery, economic policy was focused on the development of trade in the money economy. In the context of the crisis of slavery, it becomes more reactionary, as it focuses on the defense of natural economy and aristocratic forms of state structure. Xenophon, Plato and Aristotle become its exponents.
Xenophon (430-354 BC) is considered by many to be the first economist, because the term “economics” belongs to him. He first introduced the concepts of division of labor and specialization. His ideal was a closed autarchic natural economy. In the treatise "Domostroy" he praised the virtues of agriculture and condemned crafts and trade; He considered slaves to be talking tools, was aware of their low productivity and recommended greater use of material incentives. The merit of Xenophon is that he considered economic activity as a process of creating useful things. In this regard, he went down in the history of economic thought as a scientist who was one of the first to understand the advantages of the division of labor and its connection with the size of the market.
Economic thought of the Ancient East
The economic thought of the Ancient East has a mainly religious form and is subordinated to the solution of social and political problems. In the economic works of that time, the problems of the economy as a whole did not become the subject of scientific analysis. At the same time, economic works contained recommendations for governing the state and monitoring the economic activities of citizens.
Economic thought of Antiquity
The economic thought of Antiquity was reflected mainly in the works of ancient Greek thinkers: Xenophon, Plato, Aristotle in the V-IV centuries. BC e., who for the first time subjected economic phenomena to scientific analysis and tried to identify the patterns of social development.
The thinkers of Ancient Greece not only posed the most complex economic questions, but also gave their answers to them. They introduced the term “economy” and its derivative “economy”. Economy was understood as a science with the help of which one can enrich one’s economy. They also put forward the idea of division of labor, suggested that equality between goods is based on something in common that makes them comparable, and for the first time made a distinction between simple commodity circulation and the circulation of money as capital. The economic discoveries of the thinkers of Ancient Greece contributed to the further development of economic science.
Economic thought of the Middle Ages
The economic thought of the Middle Ages was predominantly theological and canonical in nature. filled with religious and ethnic norms that justified the class-based nature of the organization of society and the concentration of political and economic power among the feudal lords. During this period, attitudes towards physical labor changed, making it respected.
Mercantilism
The essence of mercantilism came down to wealth, primarily to gold, with which one could buy everything, since the money of that time was precious metals.
Physiocracy
Physical economy, physiocracy - an economic school, one of the scientific approaches to the study and organization of economics, the subject of which are economic processes measured in physical (natural) quantities and methods of controlling the exchange of matter-energy-momentum-information in human economic activity, subject to the requirements of the laws of physics .
Classical economic theory
There was competition between schools, but also many schools that existed at the same time did not compete with each other. Since they were studying different aspects of economics, they could coexist peacefully at the same time.
Research of economic doctrines
According to the greatest historian of economic thought, Joseph Schumpeter, the first publications devoted to the study of the history of economic concepts were the articles of the French physiocrat Pierre Dupont de Nemours in the journal Ephemerides in 1767 and 1768. Also, a serious analysis of early economic views was carried out by the founder of modern economic theory, Adam Smith, in his 1776 treatise, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. The English scientist in this work examines the main concepts of that time - mercantilism and physiocracy.
In the 18th century, along with the development of economic theory, works devoted to the study of already established economic doctrines appeared. Thus, in 1824−1825, reviews of the economic views of J. R. McCulloch, a follower of D. Ricardo, appeared. In 1829, the French economist Jean-Baptiste Say dedicated the 6th volume of his “Complete Course of Practical Political Economy” to the history of science. In 1837, “History of Political Economy in Europe” by the French economist Jerome Blanqui was published. In 1845, another work by J. R. McCulloch, “Political Economic Literature,” was published. Also, an analysis of economic views can be found in the 1848 book of the German economist Bruno Hildebrandt “Political Economy of the Present and the Future” and the publications of his compatriot Wilhelm Roscher. In 1850-1868, several articles were published devoted to a review of the economic doctrines of the Italian scientist Francesco Ferrara. In 1858, the Russian economist I.V. Vernadsky published “Essay on the History of Political Economy.” In 1871, the German philosopher Eugen Dühring published “Critique of the History of National Economy and Socialism,” and in 1888, the book “History of Political Economy” by the Irish economist J. C. Ingram was published.
In the 19th century, economic theory appeared in the form of separate courses at university law faculties, then special economic faculties appeared, and a circle of professional economists was formed. Thus, in 1805, the English economist Thomas Malthus became a professor of modern history and political economy at the College of the British East India Company; in 1818, the position of professor of moral philosophy and political economy appeared at Columbia University in New York; in 1819, the French scientist Jean-Baptiste Say took the chair of industrial economics at the Paris Conservatoire of Arts and Crafts. Political economy began to be taught as a special subject in 1825 at Oxford, in 1828 at University College London, and in 1832 at the University of Dublin.
Among the Russian works on the history of economic doctrines of the 19th and early 20th centuries, “Essay on the History of Political Economy” of 1883 by I. I. Ivanyukova, “History of Political Economy” of 1892 by A. I. Chuprov, “History of Political Economy” of 1900 by L. V. stand out. Fedorovich and “History of Political Economy. Philosophical, historical and theoretical beginnings of the economy of the 19th century." 1909 by A. N. Miklashevsky. As part of the book “Economic Essays,” the Russian scientist V.K. Dmitriev analyzes the main provisions of the theory of labor value and rent of D. Ricardo, the concept of distribution of J. von Thunen, the model of competition of O. Cournot and the main provisions of marginalism using mathematical methods.
The great English economist Alfred Marshall also made his contribution to this area of economic knowledge, who included an appendix entitled “The Development of Economic Science” in his 1891 treatise “Principles of Economic Science”. "History of the Theories of Production and Distribution in English Political Economy from 1776 to 1848." English economist E. Kennan, published in 1893, contains an interpretation of the ideas of D. Ricardo, James and John Stuart Millay, T. Malthus and others. Thus, the formation of the history of economic science was completed at the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th centuries, by which time the history of economic doctrines had already begun to be taught at the Sorbonne in Paris.
Among the works of the early 20th century devoted to the study of economic views, the “Theory of Surplus Value” by Karl Marx, as edited by Karl Kautsky, written in 1905-1910, stands out, where the theories of A. Smith, D. Ricardo, and other representatives of the so-called “vulgar political savings." In 1909, the first edition of “Histories of Economic Doctrines” by French economists Charles Gide and Charles Rist was published. This work analyzed the concepts of unorthodox movements, for example, Saint-Simonists, utopians, Fabians, anarchists (including the views of M. A. Bakunin and P. A. Kropotkin). The most important work dedicated to the history of mercantilist theory and retaining scientific significance to this day is the two-volume work of 1934 by the Swedish economist Eli Heckscher “Mercantilism”. Also, a detailed analysis of mercantilism is given in “The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money” by J. M. Keynes.
In the second half of the twentieth century, a large number of studies on the history of economic doctrines were published, among the authors of which were such major economists as J. Schumpeter, M. Blaug, R. Heilbroner, J. Stigler, W. C. Mitchell, J. C. Galbraith and many others.
Notes
Literature
- Galbraith J.K. Economics in Perspective: A Critical History. - Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1988. - 324 p. - ISBN 978-0395483466
- W. Mitchell. Types of Economic Theory: From Mercantilism to Institutionalism. - Augustus M Kelley Pubs, 1969. - ISBN 978-0678002346
- H. Spiegel, A. Hubbard. The Growth of Economic Thought. - 3 Sub edition. - Duke University Press Books, 1991. - 896 pp. - ISBN 978-0822309734
- G. Stigler. Essays in the history of economics. - University of Chicago Press, 1965. - 391 p.
- M. Blaug. Economic thought in retrospect. - Moscow: Delo, 1996. - 687 p. - ISBN 5-86461-151-4
- Robert L. Heilbroner. Philosophers from this world = The Worldly Philosophers. - Moscow: KoLibri, 2008. - 432 p. - ISBN 978-5-389-00073-5
- J. Schumpeter. History of Economic Analysis. - Economic School, St. Petersburg University of Economics and Finance, Higher School of Economics, 2004. - ISBN 5-900428-60-5, 5-900428-64-8, 0-415-10888-8
- Economic theory / Ed. E. N. Lobacheva. - 2nd ed. - M.: Higher Education, 2009. - 515 p. - ISBN 978-5-9692-0406-5
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Abstract on the history of economic doctrines
Why study the history of economic science?
In order to better understand the logic and structure of modern economic thinking (after all, modern economic theory consists of several theories that reflect different eras and cultural traditions, different types of scientific thinking).
Knowledge of the history of economic science allows us to compare the judgments of contemporaries with those that have already taken place, and give them our own adequate assessment.
The history of economic science is part of the treasury of world culture; knowledge of it contributes to a more complete and real perception of reality.
The history of economic science can be presented on the basis of two approaches:
Relativistic the approach considers the economic theories of the past from the point of view of their historical conditionality;
Absolutist considers the development of theory as a continuous progress from erroneous judgments to truth, in the limit - to absolute truth.
Economic science has come a long way from economic thought (in the ancient world) to economic teachings (in the ancient period and the Middle Ages) and further to economic theory.
The emergence of economic thought
The oldest documents recording economic relations can be considered laws.
Ancient Babylon .
Laws of King Hammurabi (1792 - 1750 BC) - slave relations, money circulation, debt obligations, rent, wages of mercenaries.
Ancient India .
" Laws of Manu" (VI century BC) - rights and property relations, in later treatises - a description of the state and economic structure, rules of purchase and sale, hiring of workers, pricing.
Ancient China .
Works of Confucius (551-479 BC) - views on physical and mental labor, slave relations; treatise "Guanzi" (IV-III centuries BC) - on trade, taxes, agriculture and crafts, on finance;
the teaching of Xun Tzu (313-238 BC) is about taxation, against “exorbitant fees at outposts and markets that slow down exchange.”
Economic teachings of the world of antiquity
Ancient Greece .
Xenophon (430-355 BC) - “On Income”, “Economics” - gave the start to scientific economics. He divided the economy into sectors (agriculture, handicrafts, trade), and for the first time spoke about the feasibility of the division of labor.
Plato (427-347 BC) developed ideas about the division of labor, the specialization of labor and the characteristics of different types of activities.
Aristotle (384-322 BC) - “Politics”, “Ethics” - explores economics. processes to discover patterns. The main direction of economics. development should be the naturalization of economic life (natural economy as an ideal is a closed economic system, the labor of slaves is used, wealth is the totality of what is produced in this economy, the way to achieve wealth is the seizure of new territories and slaves with the subsequent organization of their labor). The development of exchange and trade contradicts the ideal type of development, although they are an integral part of life. Aristotle deeply analyzed monetary processes and phenomena. It was thanks to the development of this problem, which Aristotle himself considered a dead-end direction of economic development, that his name entered the history of economics. science as one of its founders and the first economist.
Ancient Rome .
Attention was paid to the problems of farming, organizing the labor of slaves, and land ownership:
Varro (116-27 BC) - “On Agriculture”;
Marcus Porcius Cato (234-149 BC) - “On Agriculture”;
Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 BC);
Pliny the Elder (123-79 BC) - “Natural History”;
Columella (1st century BC) - “On Agriculture” - agricultural encyclopedia of antiquity.
Economic thought in the 1st millennium AD. Economics and religion
The transition from the slave system to the feudal one, from pagan religion to monotheism, from the justification of slavery to its condemnation. There are no revolutionary changes happening. The strongest impact on economics. the church has its views. The commandments are interpreted as rules of economic behavior.
The Bible testifies that economic truths were known to people in ancient times. The books of the Old Testament contain advice, wishes, and parting words of an economic nature. The book of Nehemiah directly mentions taxes and collateral. You can also find instructions from the arsenal of forms and methods of economic management.
The Gospel (New Testament) played a huge role in the formation of a code of economic morality, opposition to the principles of acquisitiveness, naked profit, although it does not contain systematized views on the economy itself. The books of the New Testament contain ideas close to socialist and even communist.
In Islam, too, one can find confirmation of how religious beliefs influenced the economy. principles. Thus, Muhammad preached the spirit of moderation, non-worship of wealth, and mercy; established rules for the inheritance of property and the distribution of funds received in the form of zakat (this is a unique form of taxation - compulsory alms).
Mercantilism
The term (from Italian mercante - merchant, merchant) was introduced by the English. economist Adam Smith. This is an economical system. looks, cat was widespread in Europe in the second millennium AD. Representatives of mercantilism - English. William Stafford and Thomas Mann, fr. Antoine Montchretien, Scot. John Law, Italian. Gaspar Scaruffi and Antonio Gevonesi - considered money (at that time these were precious metals) as the main component of material well-being. The source of wealth is foreign trade. The concept of an active trade balance was introduced - the excess of exports over imports. In addition, mercantilism for the first time determined the managerial functions of the state; economic policy leading to the enrichment of the nation is protectionism(support for domestic merchants in foreign markets, restrictions for foreigners in the domestic market).
Early mercantilism arose before the Age of Discovery, and its central idea was that of “money balance.” Economical Government policy during this period was of a clearly fiscal nature. Successful tax collection could only be ensured by creating a system in which private individuals were prohibited from exporting precious metals outside the state. Foreign merchants were obliged to spend all the proceeds received on the purchase of local goods, and the issue of money was declared a state monopoly. Result: depreciation of money, rising prices for goods, weakening of the economic position of the nobility.
Late mercantilism adhered to the idea of a trade balance. It was believed that the state became richer, the greater the difference between the cost of exported and imported goods. Therefore, the export of finished products was encouraged and the export of raw materials and the import of luxury goods was limited, and the development of intermediary trade was stimulated, for which the export of money abroad was allowed. High import duties were established, export bonuses were paid, and privileges were granted to trading companies.
Result: confrontation between countries, mutual restrictions on trade, decline in industries focused on domestic markets.
Already in the 18th century. Logically completed mercantilism became a brake on economic development and came into conflict with the real needs of economic systems in Europe. Many concepts and principles of this doctrine are widely used in modern theory and practice.
Physiocrats
The term (power of nature) was introduced by Adam Smith. The founder of the doctrine was François Quesnay (1694-1774), the most prominent representatives were Victor de Mirabeau (1715-1789), Dupont de Neymour (1739-1817), Jacques Turgot (1727-1781). The physiocrats considered wealth not money, but “the products of the earth”; The source of society's wealth is agricultural production, not trade and industry. The increase in wealth comes from the “net product” (the difference between agricultural output and the output used to produce it during the year). The idea of government non-interference in the natural course of economic life.
Francois Quesnay (1694-1774) - "Economic table" (1758) - table of the circulation of beneficial resources. Quesnay divides society into three main classes - farmers, landowners and the “sterile class” (not employed in agriculture). The process of distribution and redistribution of the pure product goes through the following stages:
farmers rent land from owners for money and grow crops;
owners buy products from farmers and industries. products from artisans;
farmers buy industrial products. goods from industrialists;
industrialists buy agricultural goods from farmers - > money to rent land.
Jacques Turgot (1727-1781) attempted to practically implement the physiocratic concept. He carried out a number of reforms aimed at reducing the role of the state in the economic life of France. Contributions in kind were replaced by a cash tax, state expenditures were reduced, guild corporations and guilds were abolished, and taxation was introduced for the nobility (previously they did not pay). Turgot developed Quesnay's teachings in his work "Reflections on the Creation and Distribution of Wealth" (1776). According to Turgot, a pure product can be produced not only in agriculture, but also in industry; The class structure of society is more complex - there is differentiation within each class. In addition, he laid the scientific basis for analyzing the salaries of hired workers; formulated the “law of decrease in land product”, cat. In modern economic theory is interpreted in the form of the law of diminishing returns.
Although the practice of the physiocrats was unsuccessful, the theoretical contribution of this school cannot be overestimated.
Classical school
The direction originated in the 17th century. and flourished in the XVIII - early. XIX centuries The classics placed labor as a creative force and value as the embodiment of value at the center of their research, thereby laying the foundation for the labor theory of value. They also developed an idea of surplus value, profit, taxes, and land rent. The source of wealth is the sphere of production.
William Petty (1623-1687) is the first representative and progenitor of the classical school; he is responsible for scientific developments in the field of taxation and customs duties.
Adam Smith (1723-1790) - Father of Economics - Inquiries into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (1776) - The wealth of a nation is embodied in the products it consumes. The relationship between the amount of products consumed and the population depends on labor productivity (which in turn is determined by the division of labor and the level of capital accumulation) and the proportion of division of society into productive and unproductive classes. The greater this ratio, the higher the level of material well-being. THAT. the growth of wealth depends on the level of capital accumulation and the way it is used. Smith was a supporter of the mechanism of market self-regulation and the policy of non-intervention by the state. The main attention was paid to the study of patterns and conditions for growth in production volume.
David Ricardo (1772-1823) - “Principles of Political Economy and Taxation” (1817) - made a significant contribution to the development and clarification of various specific problems of economic theory. He proposed the theory of “comparative costs” (comparative advantages), which became the theoretical basis for the policy of free trade (free trade). The bottom line: in the absence of restrictions on foreign trade, the country's economy should specialize in the production of lower-cost goods - this will lead to efficient use of resources and ensure higher production volumes.
Thomas Malthus (1766-1834) - “An Essay on the Law of Population” (1798) - touching on demographic problems, tried to identify patterns of population change. By endowing people with the ability for limitless reproduction, nature, through economic processes, imposes restrictions on the human race that regulate population growth.
John Stuart Mill (1806-1873) - “Principles of Political Economy” (1848) - in the 19th century. encyclopedic textbook on economic theory. Mill systematized the work of his predecessors, taking into account the new level of knowledge, and also laid the foundations for a number of fundamental concepts and provisions, and expressed many valuable ideas.
In the second half of the 19th century. In economic theory, two directions have emerged - the direction of economic analysis, which later received the general name Marxism, and the so-called marginal theory, which then grew into the largest neoclassical school.
Utopian socialism and communism
Socialist and communist ideas have been maturing in society since the 16th century. But the most fertile ground for them developed towards the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th centuries, when the unseemly features of the existing capitalist system were fully revealed: the accumulation of capital in the hands of a few, the deepening of private property, the polarization of wealth, the plight of the proletarians.
Many scientists advocated utopian socio-political and economic systems based on the principles of collectivism, justice, equality, and fraternity.
Utopianism originated in the 15th century. Thomas More wrote "Utopia", containing a description of the ideal system. Tommaso Campanella (1568-1639) imagined a “City of the Sun” that contained an ideal community. Gabriel Bonneau de Mably (1709-1785) spoke about social justice, considering large-scale agriculture to be the main economic evil. Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) - defended the right of the people to the violent elimination of injustice in his essay “Discourses on the beginning and foundations of inequality...”. The Swiss Jean Charles Leonard Simond de Sismondi (1773-1842) saw in political economy the science of improving the social mechanism for the sake of people's happiness; introduced a new understanding of the term “proletariat” as a poor, oppressed layer of workers.
Utopian socialism. Predicting the death of the capitalist system, socialists insisted on the need to change the social system in the name of creating a new social formation (NOF). Main ideas: high security of people in a team, equality, brotherhood, centralized leadership, planning, world balance. Socialists proposed eliminating the market system, replacing it with total state planning.
Claude Henri Saint-Simon (1760-1825) - NOF - industrialism, the bourgeoisie and the proletarians form a single class; compulsory labor, unity of science and production, scientific economic planning, distribution of the social product.
Charles Fourier (1772-1837) - NOF - harmony, saw the “phalanx” as the primary cell of the future society. industrial and agricultural production are combined; mental and physical labor are not opposed.
Robert Owen (1771-1858) - NOF - communism, proposed the creation of self-governing "villages of community and cooperation", devoid of classes, exploitation, private property, etc. Building a system peacefully, through the spread of ideas of equality and social justice.
Communism (scientific socialism).
Karl Marx (1818-1883) - developed his own system of views on theoretical economics (political economy). Relying mainly on the classical school, he nevertheless significantly changed many of its provisions. It hardly has competitors among economic theorists. He developed a number of special theoretical issues characteristic of the economy of that period - the theory of the business cycle, income, wages, simple and expanded production, land rent.
His theory is most fully expounded in Capital (1867,1885,1894). Labor costs that determine the value are not individual, but socially necessary, i.e. equal to the number of working hours, cat. required on average for the production of goods at a given level of production development. THAT. only hired labor (the proletariat) produces value. Excess value (surplus value) is appropriated by the owner of capital - an entrepreneur, a capitalist - this is how the process of gradual accumulation of capital takes place, which is actually the result of the appropriation of the fruits of someone else's labor. When making decisions, the capitalist is guided by maximizing the amount of surplus value. The one who extracts the maximum possible surplus value by exploiting hired labor survives in the business world, while the rest lose their competitive positions. THAT. both the proletariat and the capitalists are hostages of the system. The process of functioning of the capitalist economy leads to the collapse of the entire system.
There will only be a way social revolution on a global scale eliminate the system of private property as the main obstacle to development, move to public regulation of economic life based on the principles of equality of all people and justice.
Marx's ideas were supplemented and somewhat revised by Friedrich Engels (1820-1895) and V.I. Lenin (1870-1924). This theory was called communism, or Marxism-Leninism. Marx and Engels wrote the “Manifesto of the Communist Party” (1948) - the abolition of private ownership of land and means of production, the introduction of collective ownership, the centralization of money, capital, transport in the hands of society, the same duty of labor for everyone, economic planning.
The successor of Lenin's ideas I.V. Stalin, apparently, finally broke with the idea of world revolution and reformulated the problem into the gradual creation of a communist society on the scale of a separate state, relying on its own forces.
In the works of the founders of Marxism, there is no more or less detailed study of the issue of specific mechanisms for the economic functioning of a socialist or communist economic system.
Marginalism
The school refers to “pure theory”. Representatives of marginalism (from the French marginal - limit) are the Austrians K. Menger, E. Boehm-Bawerk, the Englishman W. Jevons, the Americans. J.B. Clark, Swiss V. Pareto.
The value of a product is not established in production, but only in the process of exchange, and depends on the subjective psychological characteristics of the buyer’s perception of the value of the product (if I don’t need it, I’m not ready to pay a high price). The usefulness of a product depends on the system of needs. The system of needs is ranked according to the criterion of need. The law of diminishing marginal utility (each subsequent good of a given type has less and less utility for the consumer) has become the fundamental principle of marginalism. The price depends on marginal utility (MU) and should fall as the supply of the good increases.
Two options for margin analysis - cardinalism(PP can be measured in utils) and ordinalism(it is enough to measure only the relative values of the PP of different goods).
In theoretical terms, but not in practical terms, this principle is quite productive. For the first time, an attempt was made to present basic economic ideas using mathematical apparatus and to give science a strictly demonstrative form. Marginalism made a great contribution to the development of science, stimulating interest in the analysis of consumer psychology, developing and applying a number of mathematical constructs.
Neoclassicism
Neoclassicism, or neoclassical synthesis, united the positions of classicists and marginalists.
Alfred Marshall (1942-1924) - “Principles of Political Economy” (1890) - founder of the movement. I used a functional approach (all economic phenomena are not related to each other in a cause-and-effect relationship - this is the principle of causality, but in a functional relationship). The problem is not how the price is determined, but how it changes and what functions it performs. Problem eq. science to study the actually operating mechanism of the market economy and understand the principles of its functioning. The essence of the market mechanism, according to Marshall: the transaction price is the result of an agreement between the seller and the buyer. The seller's price in its minimum value is the cost of the goods; The buyer's price at its maximum value is equal to the marginal utility of the product. As a result of bargaining, a certain equilibrium price is established, which becomes the price of the product. THAT. The seller's price is formed according to classical laws, and the buyer's price is formed according to the marginal canon. What is new is that price is the result of a quantitative relationship between the quantities of supply and demand in a given market. The transaction price and the amount of demand are inversely related: the higher the price, the lower the demand; with the amount of supply - in direct proportion: the higher the price, the higher the supply. When supply and demand are equal, the price becomes the equilibrium market price.
The market or price mechanism is capable of adjusting the price level in markets without outside intervention. Disruption of the market mechanism can occur due to government intervention, as well as during monopolistic tendencies in the market, when the seller, independently of the buyer, forms market prices.
Joan Robinson, E. Chamberlin - studied the pricing mechanism in the market depending on the degree of its monopolization; proposed the theory of imperfect competition.
Closely related to neoclassicism is the so-called. NEOLIBERALISM. The basic principle was laid down by A. Smith: minimizing government influence on the economy, providing producers, entrepreneurs, and traders with the maximum possible freedom of action.
Friedrich Hayek (1899-1992) - an ardent supporter of economic liberalization and free market relations; Nobel laureate 1974 He devoted his works to proving the superiority of the market system in a mixed and, especially, a centralized “command” economy. Attached great importance to the mechanism of market self-regulation through free market prices. "The Road to Serfdom" (1944) - any refusal of economics. freedom of market pricing will inexorably lead to dictatorship and economics. slavery.
Ludwig von Erhard - developed methods for the practical application of the ideas of neoliberalism to economic systems - "Welfare for All" (1956) - developed the concept of a market economy and built his own model of a consistent transition to such an economy, based on the idea of adapting to the current situation.
Joseph Schumpeter (1883-1950) - "The Theory of Economic Development" (1912) - in modern economics, the main driving force is free enterprise. The scientist became a herald of innovation in the economy, considering the decisive factor in its dynamics to be renewal (the emergence of new tools of production, technological processes, materials, raw materials, the development of new markets). He believed that interest in business, the desire for success, the will to win, and the joy of creativity play a huge role.
Keynesianism
In the main industrialized countries of the world there was an absolute drop in production, rising unemployment, massive bankruptcies of firms and general discontent. Communist and national socialist ideas began to spread throughout the world, predicting the collapse of the capitalist system. The neoclassical doctrine did not offer recipes for improving the situation, rejecting the very formulation of the question of a long-term crisis in a market-type economy and advising not to interfere in this process.
John Maynard Keynes (1883-1946) - “The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money” (1936) - substantiated the need and identified specific directions for the regulatory impact on the economy on the part of the state. He presented his theory in extremely heavy language, without the slightest attempt to make his text understandable to the public. According to Keynes, the laws of macro and microeconomics do not coincide (the production and supply of a single product can increase constantly while the production capabilities of the economy as a whole are limited by labor resources). For the first time I noticed that the average level of income of citizens in developed countries is much higher than the minimum required level, and with income growth there is a tendency towards savings rather than consumption. THAT. demand consists only of consumer expenditures of the population; its total value falls the faster the faster incomes grow. If savings depend on income, then investments ultimately depend on the price of money and bank interest rates on loans. If the volume of investment exceeds the volume of savings, then inflation occurs, otherwise unemployment occurs. State economic policy should be aimed at maintaining sustainable effective demand. Keynes described acceleration effect- public investment revitalizes business activity through increased private investment in related projects; multiplier effect growth in supply and demand (one leads to the other); took a different look at the role of the factor of frugality in the process of eq. development.
The main task of the state is to maintain macroeconomic balance through influencing aggregate demand. Keynesianism became the theoretical basis for the system of state countercyclical regulation. The proposed concept is effective in practical terms, but does not always allow one to cope with inflation and unemployment.
Economic theories of the post-war period
After the Second World War, Keynesianism took a dominant position in economic theory. But already in the 50-60s. basic postulates were refuted or questioned by a number of new schools and movements.
>> MONETARISM is a theory based on the idea of the decisive influence of the money supply on prices, inflation and the course of economic processes. Therefore, monetarists reduce economic management to state control over the money supply and the issue of money.
Milton Friedman - Nobel laureate 1976 - "Monetary history of the United States 1867-1960." (together with A. Schwartz) - in long-term periods, major changes in the economy are associated with the money supply and its movement. All the largest eco. shocks are explained by the consequences of monetary policy, and not by the instability of the market economy. The demand for money is the most important motivator of behavior. Rejection of social programs as an ineffective investment. The huge role of freedom; The state should interfere as little and carefully as possible in market relations (since the results of intervention are unpredictable in the long term).
THE THEORY OF SUPPLY ECONOMICS (A. Laffer, J. Gilder) - it is necessary to stimulate the activation of product supply, and not subject aggregate demand to government regulation. Deregulation (flexibilization) will lead to the fact that markets will restore their efficiency and respond by increasing production volumes. THAT. it is necessary to recreate the classical mechanism of capital accumulation and revive freedom of private enterprise. Specific measures are anti-inflationary: reducing tax rates on personal income and corporate profits, reducing the state budget deficit by reducing government spending, a consistent policy of privatization of state property. Based on this theory, they entered world history as reformers of the conservative type: M. Thatcher, R. Reagan, K. Tanaka.
THE THEORY OF RATIONAL EXPECTATIONS (J. Muth, T. Lucas -N. l. 1996, L. Repping) - began to develop only in the 70s. Consumers make decisions about current and future consumption based on forecasts of the future price level for consumer goods. Consumers strive to maximize utility and have learned to adapt to changes in the economy (they are able to predict them), and with their rational behavior they nullify the effectiveness of government policy in the economy. areas. Therefore, the government must create stable, predictable rules for market consumption, abandoning the discrete stabilization policy of the Keynesian type.
INSTITUTIONALISM - social institutions (state, trade unions, large corporations) have a decisive influence on the economy. The direction is based on the works of Thornston Veblen.
John Kenneth Galbraith - the processes of economic organization and management come to the fore. The decisive role in management belongs to the technostructure - the layer of managers, cat. Guided by supra-class interests. He sees no obstacles to the merger and convergence of the capitalist and socialist systems. This idea is supported by prominent economists Walt Rostow (USA) and Jan Tinbergen (Nobel laureate, Netherlands).
NEW INSTITUTIONALISM - developed in the last quarter of the 20th century, based on neoclassical theory; presented by the works of Nobel Prize laureates R. Coase, D. North, D. Buchanan.
Economic thought in Russia
Russian scientists have contributed to the development of certain issues in economic science.
XVIIcentury - the formation of an all-Russian market, the emergence of manufactories.
A. Ordin-Nashchokin (1605-1680) - advocated for the strengthening of a centralized state, developed a program for the implementation of economic activity. Russian politics, wrote the “New Trade Charter”, aimed at protecting Russian trading people.
I.T. Pososhkov (1652-1726) - “The Book of Scarcity and Wealth” (1724). How to increase wealth? - to attract the entire working population, to work “at a profit”, profitably, to follow the principle of the strictest economy. The primary task of the state is to take care of the welfare of the people. He called for exporting from Russia not raw materials, but manufactured goods; do not import products, cat. can be produced independently; maintain a balance of import and export. He advocated the industrial development of Russia. Based on the legality of serfdom, he recommended limiting peasant duties and assigning land plots to peasants. He proposed replacing the poll tax with a land tax, and advocated the introduction of tithes in favor of the church.
XVIII - XIX VV.
V.N. Tatishchev (1686-1750) - “Imagination of merchants and crafts” - supported the development of industry, trade, merchants in Russia, advocated a policy of protectionism.
M.V. Lomonosov (1711-1765)
N.S. Mordvinov (1754-1845), M.M. Speransky (1772-1839) - representatives of the Russian classical school; economic program of the advanced part of the Russian nobility.
A.N. Radishchev (1749-1802) - the stimulating role of trade for industry. development of Russia; about the types of prices and their relationship with utility; about the types of contracts in trade transactions; about the stimulating and disincentive role of taxation; about the content of sale, purchase, barter, service, assignment, loan, lottery, redemption, bargaining; about loans, interest and their rate.
A.A. Chuprov (1874-1926) - founder of Russian statistics; author of works on problems of political economy, economic statistics, agriculture, money circulation and prices.
Marxist ideas of scientific socialism were analyzed and discussed
M.A. Bakunin (1814-1876), G.V. Plekhanov (1856-1918), P.B. Struve (1870-1944), V.I. Lenin (1870-1924).
XXcentury.
M.I. Tugan-Baranovsky (1865-1919) was the first to proclaim the need to combine the labor theory of value with the theory of marginal utility. He made the greatest contribution to the theory of markets and crises, analysis of the development of capitalism and the formation of socialism, and the development of the social foundations of cooperation.
V.A. Bazarov (1874-1939), E.A. Preobrazhensky (1886-1937) - refers to the learned economists and practitioners who tried to build the theory of a socialist planned economy, based on the possibility of interaction between a planned and market economy.
A.V. Chayanov (1888-1937) - representative of the organizational and production direction in Russian economics. thoughts, theorist of family and peasant farming. More than 200 scientific papers. His scientific ideas about the development of peasant farming in Russia, about cooperation, diverged from Stalin’s guidelines for forced collectivization of agriculture.
N.D. Kondratiev (1892-1938) - is known in the world economy as one of the creators of the theory of large cycles and long waves. Conducted major research in the field of economic dynamics, market conditions, and planning. In 1927 sharply criticized the draft five-year plan, defending the idea that long-term plans should contain not specific quantitative indicators, but general directions of development.
V.S. Nemchinov (1894-1964) - known for his work in the field of statistics and mathematical modeling of economic processes. "Statistics as a Science" (1952). A significant part of his research is devoted to the problem of the development of productive forces and the analysis of economic phenomena using mathematical methods.
L.V. Kantorovich (1912-1986) - winner of the 1975 Nobel Prize in Economics (together with the American T.C. Koopmans), creator of linear programming. Laid the foundations of the mathematical theory of optimal planning and use of resources. His work is used in macroeconomic research.
A.I. Anchishkin (1933-1987) - known for his work in macroeconomic forecasting.
Economic science clearly lags behind the practical demands of our time, but, nevertheless, moves forward, enriching humanity with new theoretical and applied knowledge in economics. The Nobel Prize in Economics has been awarded annually since 1961. New currents of economic thought are developing, designed to more fully and deeply explain observed and predict future economic events.