Monday, May 4, 2015

Merijn Knibbe — Bob Solow, Matt Rognlie, Paul Romer, Mason Gaffney, the economic statisticians and rent incomes.


Important. How and why economic rent is back on the table after being excluded by neoclassical economics in reaction to Henry George.

It's short. Read the whole thing. This is potentially a game-changer, as Michael Hudson has been saying. 

Once rent comes into the picture, it becomes clear how the game is rigged by power, since power is required to extract rent. 

If one wants to continue claiming with neoclassical economists that economics is based on laws of nature, then it is necessary to include laws of power in the equations.

Real-World Economics Review Blog
Bob Solow, Matt Rognlie, Paul Romer, Mason Gaffney, the economic statisticians and rent incomes.
Merijn Knibbe

5 comments:

MRW said...

Is neoclassical economics the same thing as neoliberal?

Tom Hickey said...

Neoliberalism is a political theory, whereas neoclassical economics is an economic theory. Neoclassical economics underlies the economic liberalism upon which neoliberalism is based. In this view, economic liberalism is foundational and social and political liberalism are built on this foundation.

Neoliberalism is a political theory of market societies linked transnationally through free trade, free capital flows and international economic organization under neoliberal direction.

It is internationalism based on a transnational economic elite who presume themselves to be the meritocracy who not only deserve to direct event but also are the ones most capable of doing so pragmatically in order to increase global prosperity iaw the liberal values of freedom and individualism.

This is not a new vision. Historian Carroll Quigley described it in his works. The Wikipedia article on Quigley is decent. It points out that Quigley's work was used by conspiracy theorists in ways much different than the import of the works and his own views.

MRW said...

I'm guilty of using shorthand too.

I should have written the complete sentence:
"Is neoclassical economics the same thing as neoliberal economics

;-





0?

A said...

Tom,

this might interest you:

http://www.mutualist.org/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/MPE.pdf

Tom Hickey said...

Thanks, Phillipe. Looks interesting from a quick perusal.