Download September 17 - York University

Intro to the Study of
Political Economy
September 17
Overview of Lecture
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Resources for students
Economics/Politics/Political Economy?
Thinking about capitalism
What is a good (or successful) economy?
Scott Library Workshops
Undergraduate Research Seminars
Covers library policies, finding books using the library catalogue, finding
scholarly articles using online databases.
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Thursday, September 21, 1:00-2:30 pm
Friday, September 25, 11:00-12:30 pm
Wednesday, September 30, 6:00-7:30 pm
Wednesday, October 7, 2:00-3:30 pm
Wednesday, October 14, 2:00-3:30 pm
Wednesday, October 15, 10:00-11:30 am
Academic Support Services
• Learning Skills Services: provides help
with academic writing, critical thinking,
reading and note-taking, study secrets,
time management, etc.
• Centre for Academic Writing: offers
individual tutoring, workshops and
resources for undergrads to help them
develop their academic writing skills.
Includes assistance for ESL students.
Economics for Everyone Website
• www.economicsforeveryone.com
• Glossary
Canadian Encyclopedia online
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Political Economy by James Laxer
Economics by Paul Davenport
Economics, Radical by Cy Gonick
The State by Leo Panitch
Politics by Garth Stevenson
Political Science by Reg Whitaker
Economics for Everyone by Jim Stanford
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“If there’s a simple, overarching theme
running through this book, it’s the idea that
people have to fight for whatever they get
from the economy” (Stanford, 2008: 12).
Economics for Everyone
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Stanford: “I believe that studying economic
history and the history of economic thought is an
inherently subversive undertaking. It refutes the
assumption that capitalism is ‘natural’ and hence
ever-lasting, and the related claim that
economics is the neutral, technical study of that
natural, ever-lasting economy” (2008: 9).
Economics/Politics?
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“economics is simply about how we
work…Economics is about who does what,
who gets what, and what they do with it”
(Stanford, 2008: 1).
This echoes a famous definition of politics by
political scientist Harold Lasswell. He stated
that “politics is who gets what, when and
how.”
A Broad Conception of Economics
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Along with markets and exchange,
“Economics also involves studying many
other things: history, technology, tradition,
family, power, and conflict” (Stanford, 2008:
24).
Economics is a social subject
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“because we interact, cooperate, and clash
with each other in the economy…economics
is a social subject” (Stanford, 2008: 1).
Economics is about politics & power
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“debates over economic issues are not
technical debates…They are deeply political
debates, in the broad sense of that word:
distinct groups of people have distinct
interests, they know their interests, and they
naturally work to promote them” (Stanford,
2008: 3).
What is political economy?
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At the most basic level, it is the intersection of
politics and economics.
The state and other political actors play a role
in shaping the economy.
In turn, the outcomes of the economic system
have broadly political ramifications.
Political Economy as a discipline
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“the first economists called their discipline
‘political economy’” (Stanford, 2008: 24).
Adam Smith, David Ricardo, Thomas
Malthus, John Stuart Mill were all students of
political economy
Karl Marx provided a “critique of political
economy”, but is often considered to be one
of the classical political economists
Political Economy as a discipline
in Canada
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Strong history of political economy as a discipline.
The Canadian Journal of Economics and Political
Science was published from 1935-1967. Then it
basically split into the Canadian Journal of Political
Science and the Canadian Journal of Economics.
The University of Toronto had a department of
political economy up until 1982. It was not until then
that it split into the separate disciplines of political
science and economics.
Studies in Political Economy has been published
since 1979.
Economics as a “Science”?
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“Economics is a social science, not a physical
science” (Stanford, 2008: 23).
What does that mean?
Economics and Normative Questions
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“Economics is not a neutral, technical discipline”
(Stanford, 2008: 4).
Stanford: “economists of all stripes carry political
baggage. I certainly do.” (2008: 8).
Stanford: “most economic theories over the
years have been motivated by political
considerations. Modern economics (including
this book!) is no different: economics is still a
deeply political profession” (2008: 25).
“Most economists…like to pretend that their
profession is ‘scientific’ and hence value-free,
but this is a charade” (Stanford: 2008: 29).
Capitalism
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Capitalism is a particular form of economy.
It developed historically in particular parts of
the world and have spread elsewhere.
Certainly capitalism covers the world today.
Stanford suggests that other kinds of
economies are likely to emerge in the future
of humanity (2008: 5).
What is specific to capitalism?
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“Most people have to work for others, in
return for a wage or salary”
“A small proportion of society owns the bulk
of wealth, and uses that wealth in an effort to
generate still more wealth”
“Competition between companies, each
trying to maximize its own profits”
(Stanford, 2008: 5).
Characteristics of Capitalism
Capitalism is
 “dynamic: flexible, creative, always changing”
 “conflictual: with ongoing struggles and
conflicts between different groups of people”
 “unstable: exhibiting periods of growth and
prosperity followed by periods of stagnation
and recession”
(Stanford, 2008: 7-8)
What is a good (or successful)
economy?
How do you define a successful
economy?
How do you measure success?
Gross Domestic Product
• GDP is a very common measure,
regularly cited in the mass media.
• Refers to the dollar value of all goods
and services produced in an economy.
• Nominal GDP or Real GDP
• GDP/capita
Limits of GDP as a measure
• Ignores unpaid work (disproportionally
performed by women)
• Does not differentiate between different forms
of economic activity or take into account any
negative impacts of economic activity (such as
environmental degradation)
• Ignores the distribution of economic activity and
income
Measuring Economic Success
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Joseph Stiglitz, “Lies, damned lies and GDP
Statistics,” Toronto Star. September 13, 2009.
Martin Regg Cohn, “How to measure Gross National
Happiness,” Toronto Star. September 15, 2009.
Commission on the Measurement of Economic
Performance and Social Progress
National Post editorial board, “The Quantification of
Happiness,” National Post. September 16, 2009.
The Canadian Index of Wellbeing
UN Human Development Index
1 Iceland
2 Norway
3 Canada
4 Australia
5 Ireland
6 Netherlands
7 Sweden
8 Japan
9 Luxembourg
10 Switzerland
2008 Report
(2006 data)
http://hdr.undp.org/en/statistics/
Other UN indices
Gender Related Development Index (GDI)
Canada ranks 4th
Gender Empowerment Measure
Canada ranks 11th
Human Poverty Index (2007-08 report)
Canada ranks 8th