Jim,
In response to another posting you wrote:
<Jim D: Marx was right, under the gold standard (which prevailed at the
<time), which prevents any price inflation. Nowadays, prices may or may not
<rise with money wages, but capitalists have much more control over prices
<than under the gold standard. Currently, it's import and export competition
<(along with the dollar exchange rate) which determines how much power the
<businesses have over prices.
You make my point exactly. Under the institution of the gold standard one result was
that provided by Marx. But under fiat money and flexible exchange rates, the results are
not the same. This is what I meant by saying that "If you are an institutionalist
then all analysis is rooted IN THE INSTITUTIONS OF THE TIME AND PLACE." That is,
one size (theory) does not fit all (historical and institutional periods). Obviously,
this is the case for the SSA school and the regulation school: Capitalism changes in the
way it operates with changes in the political/institutional context (e.g. the collapse of
the Soviet Union, the imperialism of the WTO, WB and IMF, the 'counter-revolution' in
China, etc.) This is the thesis of Geoff Hodgson's book *How Economics Forgot History*
as a critique of neoclassical (and Marxian and Keynesian) theories) that claim general or
universal applicability. This is why Galbraith kept writing new books virtually right up
until his death.
Paul
Jim Devine wrote:
I agree with most or all of Paul's defense of Galbraith. But I want to
comment on the following:
On 5/2/06, paul phillips <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
If we read Smith, Marx, Ricardo, Owen, Veblen, Marshal, Keynes etc.
etc. today, they all seem to be "dated". Of course they are dated if
you accept the institutional concept of historical specificity. If
you are an institutionalist then all analysis is rooted IN THE
INSTITUTIONS OF THE TIME AND PLACE. If you are looking for a "general
theory", then you won't find it in institutionalism.<
that indicates a severe limitation of institutionalism, doesn't it?
maybe it's better than the false universal applicability of NC
economics, but it's still a limitation.
--
Jim Devine / "Economics is extremely useful as a form of employment
for economists." -- John Kenneth Galbraith.
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