History of Economic Thought. The emergence of economic thought in the ancient world (lecture notes)

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History of Economic Thought. The emergence of economic thought in the ancient world (lecture notes)

Lecture notes, cheat sheets

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The emergence of economic thought in the ancient world (Backgrounds of economic thought in the Ancient East. Ancient Egypt and Babylonia. Ancient Egypt. Babylonia. Economic thought in Ancient India. Economic thought in Ancient China. Economic thought in Ancient Rome. The teachings of Cato. The teachings of Xenophon. The teachings of Plato. The teachings of Aristotle)
Economic thought in the Middle Ages (Medieval teachings of Western Europe. "Salic truth". Socio-economic views of Ibn Khaldun. Teachings of Thomas Aquinas. Social utopia of Thomas More. "Russian Truth")
Mercantilism (Mercantilism. Economic prerequisites of mercantilism. Features of mercantilism as an economic idea. French and English mercantilism. Features of Russian mercantilism. Late mercantilism)
Physiocracy (General characteristics of the physiocrats. The teachings of François Quesnay. The activities of Jacques Turgot)
Classical school of political economy (Classical school. Economic views of William Petty. Teachings of Adam Smith. Teachings of David Ricardo)
Classical school after Smith and Ricciardo (The teachings of Jean-Baptiste Say. The economic views of John Stuart Mill. The economic views of Pierre-Joseph Proudhon. The teachings of Thomas Malthus)
historical school (Contribution of the historical school to the development of economic theory. Historical school of Germany. New historical school of Germany)
Utopian socialists (Western European utopian socialism. Economic views of Simon de Sismondi. Utopian dreams of Robert Owen)
Marxism (The emergence of Marxism as an economic doctrine. “Capital” by Karl Marx. Karl Marx on the commodity and its properties. Money and its functions. Karl Marx on constant and variable capital and surplus value. Karl Marx’s views on land rent)
Austrian school (Austrian school: the theory of marginal utility as a theory of pricing. The economic views of Eugen Böhm-Bawerk. The teachings of Carl Menger. The economic views of Friedrich von Wieser)
Marginalism (The theory of marginalism. Methodological principles of marginalism. The marginalist theory of value and its advantages. The marginalist revolution. The causes and consequences of the marginalist revolution. The theory of utility of William Stanley Jevons. The theory of exchange of William Stanley Jevons. The theory of labor supply of William Stanley Jevons. The theory of exchange of Francis Isidro Edgeworth)
General economic equilibrium theory (General equilibrium model including production; the problem of the existence of a solution and the process of "tatonnement". General equilibrium theory in the 20th century: contributions of A. Wald, J. von Neumann, J. Hicks, C. Arrow and J. Debreu)
Alfred Marshall (A. Marshall - leader of the Cambridge school of marginalists. Alfred Marshall's partial equilibrium method. Alfred Marshall's analysis of utility and demand. Alfred Marshall's analysis of costs and supply. Alfred Marshall's equilibrium price and the influence of the time factor)
The beginning of the economic development of Rus' (Eastern Slavs in the pre-state period. Prerequisites for the formation of the Old Russian state. General characteristics of the socio-economic development of Kievan Rus. Features of early feudalization. Social division of labor among the Eastern Slavs. The emergence of cities, the development of trade in Ancient Rus'. Internal development of Rus'. The adoption of Christianity and the baptism of Rus' . Money and its role in Kievan Rus)
Economic development of Rus' in the Middle Ages (Causes and consequences of feudal fragmentation. The growth of feudal land ownership. Rus' under Mongol-Tatar rule. Socio-economic and political consequences of the Mongol-Tatar yoke. The main conditions and stages of the unification of Russian lands into a centralized state. Economic policy of Russia in the second half of the 15th-17th centuries . Formation of the all-Russian market. Socio-economic development of Russia after the Time of Troubles)
Economic development under Peter I and Catherine II (The essence of the reforms of Peter I. The results of the reforms of Peter I. The peasant question. Agriculture and land use under Catherine II. Industry, trade and finance under Catherine II. The socio-economic policy of Catherine II. The nobility and the system of local government in the second half of the 18th century. Social -economic development of Russia in the first half of the 19th century)
Economic development of Russia in the 19th century. (The Crimean War and its impact on the economic situation in the country. General characteristics of the economic development of Russia in the first half of the 1860th century. Economic prerequisites for the elimination of serfdom. Abolition of serfdom. Stratification of the Russian village. Main types of agricultural farms and their characteristics. Bourgeois reforms of Alexander II and their consequences. Zemstvo reform Urban reform Judicial reform Military reform Educational reforms Financial reform Basic provisions of the legislation on peasants The situation of agriculture in the 1870-XNUMXs Agrarian reform of P. A. Stolypin)
Economic thought in Russia (second half of the 1917th - beginning of the 1921th centuries) (The place of N. G. Chernyshevsky in the history of Russian and world economic thought. Economic views of V. I. Lenin. The first socialist transformations. War communism as a stage in the formation of the command-administrative system (XNUMX-XNUMX ). Increasing crisis phenomena in the economy and the beginning of the New Economic Policy. Changes in the monetary and financial spheres)
Economic development of the USSR (The economy of the USSR on the eve of the Great Patriotic War. The Soviet economy during the war. Post-war development of the national economy. The country on the eve of reforms. Reform of the Soviet economic system. Transformations in the social sphere. The economy of developed socialism. The search for new forms and methods of management. Reforms of the 1960-1970s years: essence, goals, methods and results)
Economic development of Russia during the period of perestroika (Background of perestroika. Preconditions for its emergence. Reform of the political system. Reform of the electoral system. Analysis of liberal and other movements. Economic reforms. Economic reform of 1987. The “500 days” program. The dialectic of “new thinking”. The beginning of disarmament. Unblocking regional conflicts. Collapse socialist system)
Economic development of Russia since the early 1990s. (Russia in the first half of the 1990s. Continuation of the course of reforms, shock therapy. Issues of maintaining the unity of Russia. New Constitution. Privatization)

LECTURE No. 1. The emergence of economic thought in the ancient world

1. Background of economic thought in the Ancient East. Ancient Egypt and Babylonia

A feature of the development of the civilizations of the Ancient East is the large-scale economic functions of the state, for example, the construction of pyramids or an irrigation system.

Ancient Egypt

We do not know as much about the economic development of Ancient Egypt as we would like. By and large, only two documents about those times have survived to this day: “Instruction of the Heracleopolis king to his son” (XXII century BC) and “Speech of Ipures” (XVIII century BC).

The first document says that the king leaves his son the rules of government. In those days, it was important for kings to master some kind of art, and even better - several of them. The king, as it were, bequeaths to his son to master the science of proper management of the economy and the state as a whole, since this is as important as the highest level of skill in any art.

The second document makes us understand that even then the kings tried to prevent uncontrollability in the growth of interest and lending operations, as well as the formation of debt slavery in order to avoid stratification in society, which could subsequently lead to civil war. The kings understood that a civil war would cause an even greater decline in the country as a whole, and also lead to the impoverishment of the peasants. Since they will consider that they have practically nothing to lose but their lives, they will destroy the last thing they have.

Babylonia

Babylonia is an ancient Eastern state that was located in the valley between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. From this state the so-called laws of King Hammurabi (1792-1750 BC) have come down to us. In history, they are most often called a code of laws, which was used already in the XNUMXth century. BC e. Violation of the laws that were written in this code could entail severe penalties: economic, criminal liability, and the death penalty. Administrative punishments were also very common. Some of the laws looked something like this.

1. The largest percentage for a monetary amount is 20%, and for a natural amount a little more - 33%.

2. Anyone who has encroached on someone else's property, even on a slave, may himself become a slave or be sentenced to death.

3. If the royal soldiers or citizens of Babylon did not pay their taxes on time, they were deprived of their land plots under the new law.

4. If someone fell into debt slavery, he could not be left as a slave for longer than three years, and after serving his sentence as a slave, the debt was forgiven.

From such examples it is possible to see that already in very ancient countries that existed before our era, the first "sprouts" of economic thought and laws on the structure of this society were already beginning to appear. Although each civilization had its own nuances, but in general terms their development coincided, even if some civilizations were ahead of others in development.

2. Economic thought in ancient India

There is also insufficient data on economic thought in ancient India. Historians would like to know a lot of interesting things about this amazing country.

"Arthashastra" ("artha" - "teaching", "shastra" - "income", that is, if translated literally, it will turn out "the doctrine of income") - one of the most striking documents of Ancient India in the 5th - 10rd centuries. BC e. This document tells us about the economic achievements of the country. The author of this work is believed to be Kautilya, one of the advisers to King Chandragupta I (who ruled around the end of the XNUMXth century BC). He tried to explain to his people that wealth comes from labor, and also how necessary it is to share the profits of merchants with the state, because only the state allows preferential land use, builds roads, ensures the protection of facilities, develops industries, develops minerals (for example, , ores), the fight against speculators, who are not so easy to identify among respectable merchants. In his opinion, it is natural that there are free people and slaves. In addition, he called for those who do not pay for the use of land to be enslaved for a while or forever. Kautilya advocated that the state regulate the economic mechanism. The costs, in his opinion, should be set in advance, amounting to XNUMX% for local goods and XNUMX% for imported goods. Perhaps his views will seem naive and wrong to a modern person, but this is how economic theory was presented in ancient India. Of course, over time, it changed and came to a modern understanding of the economy, which exists to this day.

3. Economic thought in ancient China

Most often, Ancient China is associated with Confucius. Also, those who know more about the history of this country also associate it with the collective treatise popular at that time called "Guanzi". Confucius (Kung Fuzi) (551 (2) - 479 BC) - philosopher and thinker of Ancient China. He is known to all as the author of the treatise "Lun-yu" ("Conversations and Judgments"). According to Confucius, a good state should be like a respectable family. The sovereign is a father who takes care of everyone, and the inhabitants of the state are children who obey their sovereign father in everything. (It is possible that even from there the phrase "tsar-father" came to us.) But only a highly educated sovereign can rule like that. Only he is able to influence the distribution of wealth in the country. Confucius always stood up for the protection of the privileges of the tribal nobility. He also believed that all people are divided into classes by God himself, but still reminded that a person of any class should try to become morally perfect. Confucius believed that the moment might come when everyone would have prosperity, because the management of the economy would be skillful, the wealth of the state would increase, and regardless of whether it was a private economy or a common peasant property.

The main task of the author of the book "Kuan Tzu" was also the construction of such a society in which all the people would become well-to-do and therefore happy. Confucius, believed that the people are inherently divided into estates correctly, although it is not known exactly which estate he himself belonged to. Perhaps if he had been from the poorest class, he would have thought a little differently. He also believed that the state must necessarily regulate the price of bread and create a grain reserve in case of crop failure. Still, in his opinion, the state should create the most favorable conditions for lending to farmers. He proposed to replace direct taxes on salt and iron with indirect ones, which would be taken into account already in finished products made from these goods. He considered gold to be a commodity that exists to measure other commodities.

4. Economic thought in Ancient Rome. Cato's teaching

Cato, much less famous under his real name Marcus Porcius (234-149 BC), is known as the author of a work called Agriculture. In it, he tried to describe the economy of Ancient Rome in general terms, as well as agriculture itself and agriculture in particular. Judging by the reviews of many scientists, he succeeded in this to the extent that was possible at that stage of economic development. Cato called for farming as much as possible, because physical labor does not allow a person to be rude, angry, aggressive and dissatisfied. Labor, and only agricultural work, can benefit health. It cannot be said that Cato was an ardent opponent of trade, but he did not really welcome it, because he considered it a dangerous disaster that could create inconvenience and trouble and lead to the emergence of dissatisfied citizens (for example, with low-quality goods or too high a price for them). . According to Cato, all economic areas should be united into one large one. He very zealously supported the slave system and pointed out that slaves should be constantly punished so that they would not be lazy in their work. Therefore, Cato suggested that the master himself should work from time to time, so that the slaves knew that they were being looked after and did not allow themselves to relax. Every master should have an overseer over his slaves, perhaps even one of the slaves, who will punish those who do bad work to the fullest extent.

Over time, in ancient Rome, those who work for money or a certain part of the crop began to appear (later they began to be called sharecroppers). A reflection of how to enter into an agreement with them and conduct business with them, we can find in the work of Cato. Also in his treatise you can learn a lot of useful advice about the purchase of land or slaves.

Historians and contemporaries believe that at that time there was no more economical and able to properly manage money in all of Rome. Cato looked for profit in everything and clearly knew where to save money.

5. Teachings of Xenophon

It is believed that it was Xenophon (430-355 BC) who proposed the name “economics,” which literally translates as “the science of skillful housekeeping” (or “housekeeping”). The basis was the creation of the treatise "Oikonomia", which described the economy as understood by the ancient Greeks. This treatise covers absolutely all aspects of life of that time (from the distribution of responsibilities in the house to farming). This is due to the fact that the farms were subsistence, that is, they provided themselves with everything they needed. Xenophon is also recognized as the author of the treatise "Domostroy", which was considered by the ancient Greeks a model of wisdom. In this treatise you can read what was considered true and wise at that time.

1. Labor should be divided into mental labor and physical labor.

2. People should be divided into free and slaves (this is natural).

3. Natural purpose is, first of all, agriculture, and only then craft and trade.

4. The simpler the work, the faster and better it will be done.

5. The larger the sales market, the greater the division of labor goes.

6. Any product has useful properties, that is, what it is purchased for. It is also possible to constantly change one product for another.

7. Money exists for faster and easier exchange. Also, money was invented for accumulation, but not for usurers to profit.

The most important activity, according to Xenophon, is agriculture. But the craft is not needed at all, so everyone who is engaged in it or is going to do it should be blamed.

Xenophon also believed that slavery was necessary. To make a slave work harder, it is necessary to reward those who work better, both materially and morally, thereby "igniting" the rivalry between them.

Exchange and trade were already in place, as was the division of labor, but this had not yet become a necessary means of survival, since the Greeks still relied on the household, especially in the smaller towns. According to Xenophon, the division of labor could bring more benefits, because the more often a person does the same simple work, the more perfect he becomes in this area.

In ancient Greece, life followed customs: professions were passed down from father to son, and it was believed that they did not have the right to choose their own fate. Also, the son inherited everything that was earned by the father. If the father had cattle, money or other benefits, then people believed that the son received many benefits, although Xenophon looked at this issue differently. In his opinion, nothing is good for a person if he does not know how to properly manage it. (A cow cannot be constantly useful if you do not know how to milk it, because you can only kill it once).

6. Teachings of Plato

Plato (428 - 348 BC) - an ancient Greek philosopher, one of the first thinkers who tried to show what an ideal state should look like. He is known as the author of the works "State" and "Laws". Plato believed that the ideal state is something similar to how the human soul works. According to Plato, philosophers should rule the state, because their main advantage is wisdom. They make up the first class, the second are the warriors, who must keep order both in the state itself and on its borders, and the third are merchants, artisans, peasants, who must provide the first two classes with goods. He believed that only the lower class should be given land, so that the first two would not seize it as more intelligent people. Plato thought that the best thing is when the state is ruled by a tyrant, but his idea was refuted when he himself was sold into slavery. In many ways, this system resembles that built in ancient India - the "breaking" of the country's inhabitants into so-called castes. Plato called them classes and made his improvements. According to his teachings, there should be three classes: philosophers, warriors and everyone else (townspeople and residents of surrounding lands, merchants, artisans, peasants).

Plato was the first to classify the forms of government according to how they obey the laws and how many people govern the state. This can be represented in the following table.

Plato, like Xenophon, believed that slavery was necessary, and in order for a slave to work better, he must be encouraged for labor success. He also believed that the slaves should not understand each other, as in the biblical legend of the Tower of Babel, that is, communicate in different languages so that they cannot agree on an escape, or, worse, an uprising. Plato believed that slaves can be equated with property.

According to Plato, prices for goods should be set by the state. He believed that money could only be an object for accumulation, but he had a negative attitude towards people who saved money or borrowed it at interest. In his work "Laws" he criticizes usurers even more than in the treatise "State". He also said that one should not do something if it will be paid for later, but it is worth doing only when they are ready to immediately pay you for your services or goods, even if with a different product.

Plato, like Xenophon, considered agriculture to be the most important, and not craft and trade. He also suggested that land could be inherited. Even Plato practically demanded that people should not be richer than each other by more than 4 times.

7. Teachings of Aristotle

Aristotle (364 - 322 BC) - philosopher, student of Plato and teacher of the great Alexander the Great, the first thinker who expressed the opinion that economics is the science of wealth. He is also known to us as the author of many works on the ideal state, such as "Politics", "Nicomachean Ethics", etc.

Aristotle believed that free people should neither work with their own hands on the earth, nor engage in crafts, for this there are slaves. He assumed that someday there would be no slavery, although in his writings he justified slavery and considered it right. Aristotle supported Xenophon and Plato on the division of labor (into mental and physical) and the division of people (into free and slaves). He also, like his predecessors, believed that agriculture was the main thing when compared with handicraft and trade. Almost all scientists of antiquity thought so.

Aristotle contrasts economy and chrematism in his writings. The economy is the acquisition of wealth for a completely comfortable existence of oneself and one's family. Chrematistics is the accumulation of money in excess of what a person needs to live. The thinker divided chrematistics into two types:

1) the ability to save what is needed later to save money (housekeeping);

2) the accumulation of everything, including money, beyond measure.

He condemned if money became an end in itself, and not a means to good ends, especially among those who were engaged in commercial trade and usury. Aristotle constantly mentions in his works that he hates usury. After all, money, in his opinion, exists for completely different purposes (for example, to be able to help those who do not live so well). Money, according to Aristotle, appeared because of the need to trade in a more convenient way, that is, not to find out how many pieces of one product can be exchanged for several pieces of another product. The very need for trade arose because of the division of labor. People began to apply the division of labor, because each person has some abilities and skills to a greater extent, and others to a lesser extent. Therefore, the ancient Greeks realized that it was much more profitable to exchange one for another than to learn how to make this product just as skillfully.

Aristotle also put forward a theory about the value of money and price, but did not finish his research in this area, as he still did not realize much. However, Aristotle went much further in his studies than Plato and Xenophon. Also for researchers of future generations, he "composed" topics that will always be of interest to people.

Authors: Eliseeva E.L., Ronshina N.I.

>> Forward: Economic thought in the Middle Ages (Medieval teachings of Western Europe. "Salic truth". Socio-economic views of Ibn Khaldun. Teachings of Thomas Aquinas. Social utopia of Thomas More. "Russian Truth")

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