Re: A tangential request

[STEPHEN BLOCK <blocks@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Colin

I would imagine that many, if not most Marxists scholars teaching in, say,
sociology, would not be aware of Kalecki, or Sraffa, or even Ed Nell's work.
That was my point really. Critical theory, as it is taught today, really
emphasizes political economy in a pretty remote way with perhaps an emphasis
on such things as commodity felitshization, and the global effects of
colonialism, if that. Much of it leans toward aesthetic issues; the
social-cultural, where technical economy of virtually any kind is largely
overlooked for a number of reasons. But surely one of them is that it
requires training and dedication to that field to make very much headway or
sense of what Marx's contribution was.

So, that was why I specifically called for people with expertise in that
area because I was aware that my colleague did not put an emphasis on that
part of Marx's theoretical contribution.

On the other hand, although I am aware of Kalecki's work, and Joan
Robinson's, and other left Keynesians (whom I knew, for instance, from
McGill), the purpose of my post was not to enumerate scholars in the field;
rather it was to try to connect people who perhaps wished to be connected.

And so to answer our question, I would imagine my colleague is not aware of
much of that literature. It seems to me to be quite common that those
calling themselves Marxist scholars at this point are really unaware of much
of Marx's economic theory and certainly would no nothing of Kalecki, etc. I
think that is a realistic assessment, whether we like it or not. That's why
I put out the call.

S Block



>
> 1. One of the main branches of PK thought comes from Kalecki
> who draws heavily on Marx, so the role of Marxian PE in PK
> thought is much more than "rounding out."
>
> 2. That said, I'm puzzled by "some appreciation of Marx
> technical skills and the value of his contribution to
> theoretical debates of the 20th century" as there is already
> a vast literature on that -- I just yesterday finished
> teaching Schumpeter's _Capitalism Socialism and Democracy_ to
> undergrads whose assessment of Marx is still pretty smart
> though 60 tears old, and even people like Mark Blaug have
> written thoughtful Marx-assessments, not to even begin
> enumerating the lit by those more sympathetic to the Marxian
> project.  Has your friend consulted this literature?
>
> Best, Colin
>
>
> --
> ____________________________________________
> Colin Danby
> Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences
> University of Washington, Bothell
> (425) 352-5285
> fax (425) 352-5335
> danby@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> http://www.bothell.washington.edu/IAS/danby/
> ____________________________________________
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