Aristotle, Adam Smith and Karl Marx On Some Fundamental Issues _ Spencer J.Pack

ARISTOTLE, ADAM SMITH AND KARL MARX

On Some Fundamental Issues in The 21^st Century political Economy

2010

Spencer J. Pack

Pages 277

Acknowledgements viii

Introduction x

PART I ARISTOTLE’S SEMINAL POSITION

1. Aristotle on exchange value and money 3

1.1 Aristotle’s analysis of exchange value and the development of money in The Politics 3

1.2 Justice, exchange value, money and commensurability in The Nicomachean Ethics 6

1.3 Aristotle on commensurability 11

2. Aristotle on the relation between capital (chrematistics) and character 15

2.1 Aristotle’s pronouncements concerning the unnatural use of money 15

2.2 Aristotle on the natural, or what is meant by this unnatural chrematistic use of money? 17

2.3 On the chrematistic use of money, consumption and character 19

3. Aristotle on change and government 33

3.1 Aristotle on change in general 33

3.2 On change and the state, and other perspectives regarding the state 37

PART II ADAM SMITH’S DEBATE WITH ARISTOTLE OVER CHREMATISTIC/ECONOMIC ISSUES

4. Adam Smith on exchange value and money 47

4.1 Smith on exchange value: clarity amidst the ambiguity 47

4.2 Reading Adam Smith on value 53

5. Adam Smith on money and capital 57

5.1 The use of money (or value) to produce (or acquire) more money (or revenue) 57

5.2 Smith’s insistence on the naturalness of using money to acquire more money 61

6. Adam Smith on character 66

6.1 Following Aristotle on character 66

6.2 Smith’s favorable attitudes towards characters formed in commercial society 67

6.3 Nonetheless: problems with the capitalists/merchants/masters and their managers 71

6.4 Character of landlords 79

6.5 Character of workers 80

6.6 Religion and character 83

6.7 Conclusion 85

7. Adam Smith on government and change 88

7.1 Smith on the role of the government 88

7.2 Smith on change 100

PART III KARL MARX’S MODERN RETURN TO ARISTOTLE

8. Karl Marx on exchange value and money 109

8.1 Introductory comments 109

8.2 Marx on value and exchange value 111

8.3 Marx on the development of the money form 118

9. Karl Marx on capital and character 125

9.1 Introductory comments 125

9.2 Marx on capital 126

9.3 Marx on character 134

10. Karl Marx on the state and change 143

10.1 Marx on the state 143

10.2 Marx on change 149

10.3 Concluding thoughts on Marx on the state and change 163

PART IV LESSONS FOR THE 21ST CENTURY

Introduction to Part IV 169

11. Exchange value and money in the 21st century 171

11.1 General comments 171

11.2 The dialectical dance of Aristotle, Smith and Marx on value and exchange value and 21st century implications: Sraff a’s interjection 172

11.3 Money and the global economy in the 21st century 175

12. Capital and character in the 21st century 183

12.1 Capital controversies (again) 183

12.2 Savings and capital 191

12.3 Character and the critical problem with our managers 195

13. Government and change in the 21st century 203

13.1 The problem of government 203

13.2 Change 208

13.3 Religion, change and the future 213

14. Concluding thoughts for the 21st century (and the third

millennium) 222

Selected bibliography 228

Index 253