Reinterprets
the history of economic thought and re-examines the
idea
of money as a "medium of exchange."
The end of the
twentieth century brought with it uncertainties about
the future in all parts of the world, but out of
these experiences comes rich material for reflection
on possible future directions of development. This
volume represents a tribute to the legacy of Karl
Polanyi in that his work provides the framework
andthe method of analysis around which work and
action can be organized and stimulated.
In resistance to the
prevailing "seductive" market, and as part
of the process of creating, organizing and
stimulating an alternative to it, this volume of
essays reinterprets the history of economic thought
and a re-examines monetary theory in general. The
authors challenge the idea that money is primarily a
"medium of exchange" that developed as a
response to the inconvenience of barter. They argue
that historically money predates (market) exchange
and should be seen fundamentally as a means of
payment in discharge of a social obligation.
Due to the continued
widening of inequality between developed countries
and the rest of the world, the growing instability of
the economies and social structure, and the
intensifying global ecological crisis, discussion of
possible "transformations," great or small,
has lost none of its urgency. The discussion of
alternatives needs to emerge from the marginalized
underworld and move increasingly towards centre
stage. The contributors strongly argue for the
necessity of re-embedding the economy in the
community, by a deepening of democracy, by the
creation of a society in which economic, social and
cultural rights take their place alongside universal
civil and political rights.
Table
of Contents
Introduction
Contributors include: László Andor,
Ayþe Buðra, Jeffrey Carpenter, Gibin Hong, Bob
Jessop, Tadeusz Kowalik, Roger Krohn, Larissa
Lomnitz, Yahya Madra, Sina Mandalinci, Jérôme
Maucourant, Patrice Meyer-Bisch, Jean-Yves Moisseron,
Surendra Patel, Hélène Pellerin, James Stodder,
Ngai-Ling Sum, Behzad Yaghmaian.
Fikret Adaman is
Associate Professor at Bogazici University, Turkey,
currently doing research on environmental economics.
Pat Devine is Senior Lecturer in Economics,
University of Manchester, and author of Democracy and
Economic Planning (Polity Press, 1988). His current
research is on the political economy of socialism.
Volume 11 of Critical
Perspectives on Historic Issues
524 pages
Paperback ISBN: 1-55164-186-0 $39.99
Hardcover ISBN: 1-55164-187-9 $68.99
Political Economy
November 2001
