The textbook outlines the course of the history of economic doctrines in accordance with the general plan of its previous three editions in 1996, 1997 and 1999. In order to reflect the features of the evolution of economic thought in Russia during the so-called "golden age" of domestic theoretical economics, fragments from the works of the most famous Russian economists of the 19th - early 20th centuries are included in the corresponding chapters of the textbook.
As an additional educational and methodological material, the textbook contains a discipline program and guidelines for its study, test control questions for the discipline, approximate topics for term papers and graduation theses of a bachelor of economics, an approximate list of examination (test) tickets for the course.
The textbook is intended for students, graduate students, researchers and anyone interested in the history of world and domestic economic thought.

The history of economic doctrines is an integral link in the cycle of general educational disciplines in the direction of "economics".
The subject of study of this discipline is the historical process of the emergence, development and change of economic ideas and views, which, as changes occur in the economy, science, technology and social sphere is reflected in the theories of individual economists, theoretical schools, trends and directions.
The history of economic doctrines dates back to the time of the ancient world, i.e. emergence of the first states. Since then and until now, constant attempts have been made to systematize economic views into economic theory, accepted by society as a guide to action in the implementation of economic policy.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
FOREWORD 9
Section One INTRODUCTION TO THE HISTORY OF ECONOMIC DOCTRINES
Chapter 1. Main objectives and structure of the course in the history of economic thought 12
§ 1. Why study the history of economic doctrines 12
§ 2. Directions and stages of development of economic thought 17
Annex 23
Chapter 2. Problems of methodology in the course of the history of economic doctrines 32
§ 1. Methodology of economic science: statement of the problem 32
§ 2. Features of the main methodological principles and methods of study in economics 34
§ 3. The subject and method of economic science in retrospect 40
Annex 45
Section Two ECONOMIC DOCTRINES OF THE ERA OF PRE-MARKET ECONOMY
Chapter 3. Natural and economic economic thought of the ancient world and the Middle Ages 48
§ 1. Economic teachings of the ancient world 48
§ 2. Economic doctrines of the Middle Ages 54
Chapter 4. Mercantilism - the first theoretical school of the period of the emergence of market economic relations 62
§ 1. The subject and method of studying mercantilists 62
§ 2. The concept of wealth of early and late mercantilism 65
§ 3. The historical significance of mercantilism 68
Section Three ECONOMIC DOCTRINES OF THE ERA OF UNREGULATED MARKET RELATIONS
PART ONE. Classical political economy
Chapter 5. General Features and Stages in the Evolution of Classical Political Economy 71
§ 1. Essence of classical political economy and features of its subject and method 71
§ 2. General features of classical political economy 73
§ 3. The main stages in the development of the classical school 80
Chapter 6. The Birth of Classical Political Economy 85
§ 1. The economic doctrine of W. Petty 85
§ 2. The economic doctrine of P. Boisguillebert 89
Chapter 7. Physiocracy - a specific current of classical political economy 94
§ 1. The economic doctrine of F. Quesnay 94
§ 2. The economic doctrine of A. Turgot 99
Chapter 8. Adam Smith - the central figure of classical political economy 104
§ 1. Subject and method of study 106
§ 2. Features of theoretical developments 110
Appendix 117
Chapter 9
§ 1. The economic doctrine of D. Ricardo 132
§ 2. Economic doctrine Zh.B. Seya 141
§ 3. The economic doctrine of T. Malthus 148
Appendix 1 57
Chapter 10. The Completion of Classical Political Economy 166
§ 1. The economic doctrine of J.S. Milla 166
§ 2. The economic doctrine of K. Marx 172
Appendix 1 89
PART TWO. Opponents of classical political economy
Chapter 11
§ 1. Economic doctrine of S. Sismondi 210
§ 2. The economic doctrine of P. Proudhon 219
§ 3. The historical significance of economic romanticism 227
Chapter 12. Socio-economic reform projects of utopian socialism 233
§ 1. Features of utopian socialism of the post-manufacturing period 233
§ 2. Economic views of R. Owen, C. Saint-Simon and C. Fourier 235
§ 3. The historical significance of utopian socialism 241
Appendix 244
Chapter 13. The German Historical School 252
§ 1. Prerequisites for the emergence of the historical school of Germany in the works of its predecessors and founders 252
§ 2. Methodological features of the German historical school 255
Annex 260
PART THREE. Marginalism: the formation of a neoclassical direction of economic thought
Chapter 14
§ 1. What is marginalism and "marginal revolution" 272
§ 2. Predecessors of marginalism. "Gossen's Laws" 275
§ 3. Features of the stages of the "marginal revolution" 278
Chapter 15
§ 1. The economic doctrine of K. Menger 284
§ 2. Economic views of O. Böhm-Bawerk and F. Wieser 291
§ 3. Marginal concepts of W. Jevons and L. Walras 298
Application 304
Chapter 16
§ 1. Economic doctrine of A. Marshall 310
§ 2. The economic doctrine of J.B. Clark 316
§ 3. The concept of general economic equilibrium V. Pareto 322
Appendix 329
Section Four ECONOMIC DOCTRINES OF THE ERA OF REGULATED MARKET RELATIONS
PART ONE. The emergence of theories of social control of society over the economy and the market with imperfect competition
Chapter 17
§ 1. Prerequisites for the emergence and general features of institutionalism 332
§ 2. Concepts of reforms of the founders and institutionalism 335
Chapter 18. Market Theories with Imperfect Competition 343
§ 1. The theory of monopolistic competition by E. Chamberlin 344
§ 2. Economic theory of imperfect competition J. Robinson 352
PART TWO. Theory of state regulation of the economy
Chapter 19 Keynesianism 355
§ 1. The economic doctrine of J.M. Keynes 356
§ 2. Neo-Keynesian doctrines of state regulation of the economy 363
Chapter 20. Neoliberalism 367
§ 1. The concept of the social market economy 368
§ 2. Chicago School of Monetarism 371
PART THREE. The evolution of modern doctrines of economic thought
Chapter 21
§ 1. The birth of the concept of "neoclassical synthesis" 375
§ 2. New versions of the concept of "neoclassical synthesis" 376
Chapter 22. The Olympus of Modern Economic Thought 380
§ 1. About Laureates of the Nobel Prize in Economics 380
§ 2. Brief essay history of economic doctrines in the textbook "Economics" by P. Samuelson 387
§ 3. "Wind of Change" P. Samuelson 388
NOTES 392
EDUCATIONAL AND METHODOLOGICAL MATERIALS 423
1. WORKSHOP PLANS 423
2. TEST QUESTIONS FOR THE DISCIPLINE 441
3. EXAMPLE TOPICS AND METHODOLOGICAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE AUTHOR OF COURSE WORKS AND FINAL WORKS OF A BACHELOR IN ECONOMICS 454
4. EXAMPLE LIST OF EXAMINATION (TEST) TICKETS FOR THE COURSE "HISTORY OF ECONOMIC EDUCATIONS" 458
GLOSSARY OF BASIC TERMS AND CONCEPTS 462
NAME INDEX 471

It explores under the influence of what conditions views on economic reality change, how interpretations of basic categories evolve, methods of economic research are improved.

At the first acquaintance with the history of economic doctrines, one gets the impression that it is impossible to comprehend it, since the number of ideas, authors, and theories is unusually large, but it gradually becomes obvious that there are not so many new ideas and revolutionary breakthroughs. Economic theory is fairly easy to systematize.

The history of economic doctrines represents the stages of knowledge of economic science, helps to understand the logic, the relationship of economic categories, laws, concepts.

Familiarity with various areas in economic science allows you to better understand the relationship of theoretical views and concepts with the conditions and causes of their occurrence, the needs of economic practice, the interests of various peoples, countries. It is important to understand the sequence, the reasons for the evolution of scientific positions, ideas, their connection with the ongoing changes in economic practice.

The study of the history of economic doctrines allows us to distinguish two types of analysis: positive and normative.

• Positive Economics- a part of economic science that studies facts and the relationships between these facts.
• Normative theory engages in judgments about whether economic conditions or policies are good or bad, these judgments are advisory in nature, they say how the world should be.

Economic science was divided into theoretical (positive) and practical (normative) at the end of the nineteenth century. during the period of the emergence and development of the historical school, which set the direction for the development of the applied part.

The authors of the most significant economic theories are winners of the A. Nobel Memorial Prize, which since 1969 has been awarded for achievements in the field of economic sciences. In the course of the history of economic doctrines, the most striking of them are studied.

The subject of the course is the history of economic doctrines is the process of emergence, development and change of economic ideas and views as changes occur in the economy, science, technology and the social sphere. These ideas are studied in the theories of individual economists, theoretical schools, currents and directions.

It took hundreds of years for today's directions of economic thought: neoclassical, Marxist, neo-Keynesian, institutional and neo-institutional, neoliberal. The amount of knowledge on the history of economic doctrines is integral part universal, including economic culture.

Directions and stages of development of economic thought

The structure of the course on the history of economics proposed on this site consists of an introductory and three main sections. Its novelty, unlike publications Soviet period and even a number of works of recent years is, first of all, in the rejection of the criterion of class socio-economic formations (slave-owning, feudal, capitalist) and in highlighting the position of specific qualitative transformations in the economy and economic theory since pre-market economy before the liberal era unregulated), and then socially oriented or, as they often say, regulated market economy.

Here, however, two things need to be clarified. First, the epochs of the pre-market and market economies are supposed to be distinguished on the basis of the predominance of natural-economic or commodity-money relations in society. And, secondly, the eras of unregulated and regulated market economies must be distinguished not because of whether there is state intervention in economic processes, but by whether the state provides conditions for the demonopolization of the economy and social control over the economy.

Let us now briefly characterize the sequence and essence of the directions and stages in the development of economic thought.

Economic doctrines of the era of the pre-market economy

This era includes periods ancient world and the Middle Ages, during which natural-economic social relations prevailed, and reproduction was predominantly extensive. Economic thought in this era was expressed, as a rule, by philosophers and religious figures. The level of systematization of economic ideas and concepts achieved by them did not provide sufficient prerequisites for isolating the theoretical constructions of that time into an independent branch of science specializing purely in economic problems.

This era is completed by a special stage in the evolution of both economics and economic thought. From the point of view of the history of economics, this stage in the Marxist economic literature is called the period of primitive accumulation of capital and the birth of capitalism; according to a non-class-formation position - this is the period of transition to market mechanism management. From the point of view of the history of economic thought, this stage is called mercantilism and is also interpreted in two ways; in the Marxist version - as the period of the birth of the first school of the economic theory of capitalism (bourgeois political economy), and according to the non-class-formation version - as the period of the first theoretical concept of the market economy.

Mercantilism, which originated in the bowels of the subsistence economy, became the stage of a large-scale (nationwide) testing of protectionist measures in the sphere of industry and foreign trade and understanding of the development of the economy in the context of emerging entrepreneurial activity. And since the mercantilist concept actually begins counting its time from the 16th century, the beginning of the separate development of economic theory as an independent branch of science is most often attributed to this milestone.

In particular, at the dawn of its historical ascent, economic science, based on mercantilist postulates, propagated the expediency of state regulatory influence through economic motives and transactions so that “new” relations, which later received the name “market”, then “capitalist”, spread to all aspects of public relations of the state.

Economic teachings of the era of unregulated market economy

The time frame of this era covers the period from about the end of the XII century. until the 30s. XX century, during which the motto of the complete “laissez faire” dominated the theories of the leading schools and directions of economic thought - a phrase meaning the absolute non-interference of the state in business life, or, what is the same thing, the principle of economic liberalism.

In this era, the economy, thanks to the industrial revolution, made the transition from the manufacturing stage to the so-called industrial stage of its evolution. Having reached its apogee in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the industrial type of management also underwent a qualitative modification and acquired signs of a monopolized type of economy.

But it was precisely the designated types of economy, due to the predominance of the idea of ​​self-regulation of the economy of free competition, that predetermined the originality of the postulates and the historically established sequence of domination in the economic science of this era, first of classical political economy, and then of neoclassical economic theory.

Classical political economy occupied "commanding heights" in economic theory for almost 200 years - from the end of the 17th century to the end of the 17th century. to the second half of the 19th century, essentially laying the foundations for modern economics. Its leaders, having in many respects rightfully condemned the protectionism of the mercantilists, thoroughly opposed the anti-market reformist concepts of the first half of XIX V. in the writings of his contemporaries as from among the supporters of the transition to society social justice on the basis of recreating the leading role in the economy of small-scale production, and the ideologists of utopian socialism, who called for universal approval by mankind of the advantages of such a socio-economic structure of society, in which there would be no money, private property, exploitation and other “evil” of the capitalist present.

At the same time, the “classics” completely unjustifiably lost sight of the significance of the search for the relationship and interdependence of economic environment factors with factors of a national historical and social nature, insisting on the inviolability of the principles of “pure” economic theory and not taking seriously enough successful developments in this direction in the works authors of the so-called German historical school in the second half of the 19th century.

Replaced at the end of the XIX century. classical political economy, neoclassical economics became its successor, primarily due to the preservation of "fidelity" to the ideals of "pure" economics. At the same time, it clearly surpassed its predecessor in many theoretical and methodological aspects. The main thing in this regard was the introduction of marginal (limiting) principles based on the mathematical “language” into the tools of economic analysis, which gave the new (neoclassical) economic theory a greater degree of reliability and contributed to the isolation of an independent section in its composition - microeconomics.

Economic doctrines of the era of a regulated (socially oriented) market economy

This era - the era of the latest history of economic doctrines - originates from the 20-30s. XX century, i.e., since the antimonopoly concepts and ideas of social control of the economy by society, shedding light on the failure of the lassez faire principle and aiming at various measures of demonopolization of the economy through state intervention in the economy, were fully identified. These measures are based on much more advanced analytical constructions provided for in economic theories updated on the basis of a synthesis of the entire set of social relations factors.

In this regard, we mean, firstly, the new, established by the 30s. 19th century the socio-institutional direction of economic thought, which in the identified three of its scientific currents is often simply called American institutionalism, secondly, the evidence-based theoretical justifications for the functioning of market economic structures in conditions of imperfect (monopolistic) competition that appeared in 1933, and, finally, thirdly also originated in the 1930s. two alternative directions (Keynesian and neoliberal) of theories of state regulation of the economy, which gave the status of an independent one more section of economic theory - macroeconomics.

As a result, over the last seven or eight decades of the ending XX century. economic theory was able to bring to the attention of the public a number of fundamentally new and extraordinary scenarios of possible options (models) of growth national economy states in the conditions of the unprecedented problems they are experiencing, caused by the consequences of the modern scientific and technological revolution. The economic science of our day is closer than ever to the development of the most reliable "recipes" on the way to erasing social contrasts in a civilized society and forming in it a truly new way of life and thinking.

For example, now economists in many countries, in designating the past and future state of society, no longer resort to opposing each other (at least explicitly) the former antipodes of economic theory - “capitalism” and “socialism” and, accordingly, “capitalist” and “socialist theories." Instead, theoretical studies about the "market economy" or "market economic relations" are becoming widespread in the economic literature.

Finally, it should be noted that by means of the non-class structure of the course on the history of economic doctrines proposed in this teaching aid, the solution of a two-pronged task is pursued, namely, to substantiate the need for de-ideologized principles of periodization of the directions and stages of the evolution of economic thought as the times of the prehistory of the market economy and market economic theory. , and today's realities in the theory and practice of a regulated (socially oriented) market, and that the criterion for the progress of science and truth should never be either “universal agreement” or “consent of the majority”.

History of Economic Thought

Introduction

The history of economic doctrines is only a part of the history of economic thought.

The history of economic thought begins with those time immemorial when people first thought about the goals of their economic activity, ways and means of achieving them, relations that develop between people in the process and as a result of obtaining and distributing goods, exchanging products and services produced.

Economic thought is an extremely broad concept. These are the ideas that exist in the mass consciousness, and religious assessments, and prescriptions regarding economic relations, and the theoretical constructions of scientists, and the economic programs of political parties ... The sphere of economic thought is diverse: here and general patterns of the economy, and the features of the economy of individual industries, and the problems of location of production, and money circulation, and the efficiency of capital investments, and the tax system, and the methods of keeping records of income and expenses, and the history of the economy, and economic legislation - you can’t list everything.

In all this complex set, it is possible, with a certain conventionality, to single out economic doctrines - theoretical concepts that reflect the basic laws of economic life, describe the relationship between its subjects, identify driving forces and significant factors in the creation, distribution and exchange of goods.

Economic doctrines are much younger than economic thought. The history of economic doctrines begins from the 16th century; its origins are inextricably linked with the development of the capitalist commodity economy.

This course contains short description the most important theoretical provisions and methodological guidelines of various scientific schools, which left a significant mark on the history of economic doctrines.

Section 1. Formation of economic thought.

Topic 1.1. The subject of the history of economic science

At first glance, the definition of the subject of the history of economic doctrine is not difficult: it is a chronological description, including comments on the most productive attempts to create more and more accurate and correct economic views.

However, this understanding of economic science requires clarification. First of all, the concept has changed over the centuries. subject economic theory. In the 18th century and the first half of the 19th century, the subject of economics was the study of "the nature and causes of the wealth of nations". In the last quarter of the 19th century, economics began to be seen as the science of human behavior, pursuing certain goals and using limited resources. In the 20th century, economic theories have become more advanced. Statistical and analytical methods emerged that were capable of solving problems that their predecessors had not been able to solve.

It is also important to understand the methods of cognition of economic science, which allow you to highlight the essence of various economic theories, look at them from different angles, try to understand how this or that theory would manifest itself in different historical eras. You need to know that the main methods are:

1. The method of scientific abstraction - expresses deep, causal relationships and patterns of economic development. It is a movement from the abstract to the concrete, from the general to the particular.

2. Dialectical - the emergence, origin, maturity, withering away of economic phenomena, the struggle of opposites, resolutions of contradictions, etc.

3. Analysis and synthesis - highlighting the most characteristic features in the essence of phenomena, formulating laws and patterns.

4. The method of induction - the derivation of a theory from facts and observations.

5. Deduction method - formulating hypotheses and confirming them with facts.

There are also system, historical, logical and other methods.

Topic 1.2. Economic doctrines of the ancient world.

The first major centers of civilization originated in the territory of Ancient Asia. Slave ownership reached significant development, the first slave-owning states arose. The most significant of them are:

Babylonian Kingdom - Code of King Hammurabi (1792-1750 BC). The code of laws of King Hammurabi gives an idea that the division of society into slaves and slave owners was recognized as natural and eternal. Slaves were equated with the property of slave owners, concern for the protection of private property and the development of monetary relations was reflected. The basis of the economy of the Babylonian kingdom was a subsistence economy.

Ancient China - Confucianism, a doctrine created by Confucius (551-479 BC). He proceeded from the fact that the social structure is based on the divine principle. Confucius considered the division of society into the "noble" who make up the upper class and the "common people" whose lot is physical labor. His teaching is aimed at strengthening the emerging slave system, strengthening the authority of the state and the power of the supreme ruler of China.

Ancient India - the treatise "Arthashastra" by Kautilya (late 4th - early 3rd century BC). The treatise tells about social inequality, justifies and consolidates it. The main branch of the economy was agriculture, the construction of irrigation systems, crafts and trade developed, and the idea of ​​active state intervention in the economy was promoted. If a resident of India became a slave, then he could have his own slaves.

Ancient Greece - the greatest role in shaping the teachings of ancient

Greece was played by Xenophon, Plato and Aristotle.

Xenophon (430-355 BC) a student of the ancient Greek philosopher Socrates. His economic views are set forth in the work "Domostroy", which contained numerous advice to slave owners, whose lot was the management of the economy, the exploitation of slaves, but not physical labor. He considered agriculture to be the main branch of the economy. He was the first to notice that the division of labor contributes to the prosperity of production. Crafts and trade were not included in the category of worthy activities.

Plato (427-347 BC) first expressed the idea of ​​the inevitability of dividing the state into two parts: the rich and the poor. Only foreigners could be slaves. He considered agriculture to be the main branch of the economy, but he also approved of crafts. Slaves Plato considered the main productive force.

Aristotle (384-322 BC) is known as the tutor of Alexander the Great. His views on slavery coincide with those of Xenophon and Plato. The merit of Aristotle is an attempt to penetrate the essence of economic phenomena. Wealth he divided into natural and monetary. He considered the natural to be true, because wealth has its limits, but monetary wealth has no such limits. Proceeding from this, he introduced the concepts of "economy" and "chresmatika", explained the need for the circulation of money in the economic sphere.

Ancient Rome completed the development of the economic thought of the Ancient World, reflecting the next stage in the evolution of slavery.

Cato the Elder (234-149 BC) considered the maintenance of slaves, the methods of their exploitation. He argued the need for harsh exploitation of slaves. Subsistence farming was his ideal, but trade was not excluded.

Varro (116-27 B.C.) reflected a more advanced form of slavery, in which slave owners placed their affairs in the hands of managers. His concerns are connected with the strengthening of subsistence farming.

Columella (1st century AD) reflected the crisis of slavery: the low productivity of slave labor, in

Topic 1.3. Economic thought of the era of feudalism.

The era of the Middle Ages covers a large historical period: in Western Europe - from the 5th century to the bourgeois revolutions of the 17th-18th centuries; in Russia - from the 9th century to the reform of 1861.

The politics of the Middle Ages is associated with the defense of the feudal order, according to which subsistence farming was considered a virtue, and trade and usury were not encouraged. The church had exclusive rights, so the economic thought of this period was clothed in a religious shell. The originality of economic thought was clearly reflected in the teachings of Catholicism. The Church increased its power, and possessing huge wealth and landed property, justified the domination of serfdom and defended its positions with the help of church rules - canons.

He played a huge role in shaping the teachings of the era of feudalism. Thomas Aquinas(1225-1275), who created an extensive work "The sum of the theologies." His teachings are still widely used by the Vatican. He dealt with such issues as social inequality, fair price, property, interest, profit, and so on.

Aquinas argued that people are born different in nature, so the peasants should be engaged in physical labor, and the privileged classes in spiritual activity.

IN private property he saw the basis of the economy and believed that a person has the right to appropriate wealth. Therefore, the property necessary to satisfy needs is natural and necessary.

fair price is formed on the one hand from the correct price, i.e. production costs, on the other hand, it must guarantee the participants in the exchange an existence worthy of their rank.

Profit, received by merchants, can be considered as payment for their labor.

Aquinas tried to find a compromise regarding the collection percent which was forbidden by the church. He justifies interest by saying that it is a reward for the fact that the creditor is deprived of a possible income from the use of his funds.

The economic thought of the Russian state also existed in close connection with the religious beliefs of the people. Information about that time can be obtained from chronicles, letters of princes, church literature. The first set of laws is Russian truth"(11-13 century), reflecting the practical level achieved by economic thought by this time. It fixed the process of feudalization of the state, gave a legal definition of subsistence farming, contained norms for trade and protection of the interests of Russian merchants, the right to levy taxes, dues in kind, etc.

The economic interests of the landed nobility in the 16th century were expressed Yermolai Erasmus in labor" ruler". This is the first economic and political treatise in Russia, which outlines a system of measures to address the main issues of that time. The question of the position of the peasant masses occupies a great deal of attention. Erasmus proposed to reduce or exempt them from cash payments and shift them onto the shoulders of the urban population. He proposed a reform in the field of land tenure - the distribution of land to peasants and service people.

The first Russian economist is called I. T. Pososhkova. His book " On Poverty and Wealth"- the first work entirely devoted to the problems of Russia's economic development. The main idea of ​​the book is the elimination of poverty and the multiplication of wealth.

He saw the main reasons for the country's economic backwardness in the plight of the peasants and underdevelopment. financial system. He condemned poll tax, because it did not take into account differences in the economic situation of payers.

He gave priority trade: defended the interests of merchants, proposed to establish firm and uniform prices for goods, control the course of trade, instead of a multitude of duties, establish one - in the amount of 10%. He forbade the export of raw materials and strictly select exported goods.

Pososhkov advocated the development of agriculture, industry, factories, plants, for a careful attitude to nature and its riches.

He did not equate wealth with money, but believed that " a state is rich when its people are rich ».

The work of Pososhkov reflected the reforming activities of Peter 1.

Topic 1.4. Mercantilism.

The first school of economics was mercantilism, which became widespread in many countries until the end of the 17th century. He expressed the interests of merchant capital, and wealth was identified with gold and silver. The source of wealth was foreign trade. The state was supposed to facilitate the flow of gold and silver from abroad. In its development, mercantilism went through two stages: early and developed.

Early mercantilism- the monetary system, characterized by the concept of monetary balance. Its prominent representative, William Stafford (England). According to this concept, the task of accumulating monetary wealth in the country was solved mainly by administrative measures that ensured the strict regulation of money circulation and foreign trade. Monetarists, considering gold as a treasure, an absolute form of wealth, were looking for ways to inflow it from abroad and keep it inside the country. It was strictly forbidden to export money outside the given state, the activities of foreign merchants were strictly controlled, the import of foreign goods was limited, high duties were established, etc.

Developed mercantilism- manufacturing system, different ways of accumulating wealth. Instead of administrative methods of accumulation, economic methods come to the fore. Mercantilists refused to ban the export of gold outside the country. They outline measures to stimulate foreign trade, which was supposed to ensure a constant flow of gold into the country. The main rule of foreign trade was the excess of exports over imports. To ensure its implementation, the mercantilists took care of the development of manufacturing production, domestic trade, the growth of not only exports, but also imports of goods, the purchase of raw materials abroad, and the rational use of money. A ban was maintained on the export of raw materials, the import of a number of goods, especially luxury goods, was limited, high import duties were set, etc. The mercantilists demanded that the royal government encourage the development of national industry and trade, the production of goods for export, maintain high customs duties, build and strengthen the fleet, and expand external expansion.

Mercantilism in individual countries had its own characteristics:

England: mature mercantilism is represented by T. Men. T. Man was a major businessman of his time, one of the directors of the East India Company. He considered the strict regulation of monetary circulation to be harmful, advocated the free export of coins. His rule: "Sell more to foreign countries than buy from them." Men believed that the ban on the export of money abroad inhibits the demand for British goods, and an excess of money in the country leads to higher prices.

Due to the fact that England has outstripped other countries of the world in its capitalist development, the program of the mercantilists proved to be the most effective here. Its implementation contributed to the creation of conditions for the transformation of England into the first industrial power in the world.

France: A. Montchretien created the work "Treatise of Political Economy", in which he recommended the active intervention of the state in the economy. He considered merchants to be the most useful class, and trade was the main goal of crafts. He advised to strengthen manufactories, create craft schools, improve the quality of products. The doctrine of mercantilism was persistently put into practice in the second half of the 17th century. the period of the reign of Cardinal Richelieu (1624-1642) and the activities of the Minister of Finance Louis XIV Colbert (1661-1683). Efforts were made to create manufacturing production, conditions that contributed to its growth (granting loans, various benefits to industrialists and merchants, attracting foreign craftsmen, etc.) France built a fleet, created colonial companies, and launched foreign trade activities. With the help of the mercantilist policy, Colbert tried to overcome the socio-economic backwardness of the country, to catch up with England.

Spain: lingered at the stage of monetarism, in accordance with which the export of gold and silver abroad was severely pursued.

Germany: The evolution of mercantilism in Germany, in addition to the factors noted above, was influenced by the political fragmentation of the country. The activities of early mercantilism were combined here with economic policy typical of feudal principalities. They only exacerbated the economic chaos that reigned in the country, generated by fragmentation.

Italy: A. Serra published a "Short Treatise", which reflected the stage of mature mercantilism. A. Serra criticized monetarism. He advocated the development of handicraft production, the encouragement of the industriousness and ingenuity of the population, the development of trade, and the conduct of a favorable economic policy of the government. However, mercantilism did not give results due to the backwardness of the country's socio-economic development.

Russia: mercantilism was very specific. The predominantly agrarian nature of the country posed problems that did not fit into the concept of mercantilism. I. Pososhkov and A. Ordyn-Nashchekin developed a number of reforms that significantly moved Russia forward.

Section 2. Classical economic school.

Topic 2.1. Founders of the classical school.

The classical school is a new stage in the development of economic science. Unlike mercantilism, the emphasis is on production as the basis of the economy. Trade is relegated to the background. Two countries took part in the development of the classical direction - England and France. England in the 17th century, France in the 18th century. The founder of this direction in England was W. Petty, in France - P. Boisguillebert. The English classical school considered both agriculture and industry important, the French - agriculture.

W. Petty at first shared the thesis of the mercantilists about the accumulation of gold and silver in the country. He distinguished between natural and market prices. He believed that money expresses a measure of value. The value of a commodity produced by a person in a certain time is equal to the value of the amount of gold and silver that another person can mine, transport and mint coins from it in the same time. Later, he advocated the labor theory of value.

The founder of this trend was P. Boisguillebert. He criticized mercantilism, considering it the culprit of the country's difficult economic situation. Boisguillebert considered money to be the main reason for this state. The only function of money in his opinion is the function of exchange, and the value of a product is created by labor, regardless of whether the product is sold.

Topic 2.2. Physiocratism.

The school of physiocrats was formed in the middle of the 18th century and is translated as "the power of nature." F. Quesnay was the leader of the physiocratic school. In wealth, he sees the material side: exchange and industry cannot create wealth, because trade only moves the product, and industry only transforms the substance without adding anything. The substance grows where nature works. The net income of society is created only in agriculture. In accordance with Quesnay divided society into 3 classes:

Owners - nobility, clergy, king, officials;

Farmers are capitalists and hired workers;

Barren - the commercial and industrial population of the country.

He presented the model of relationships between these classes in the form of an economic table. This model is extremely simplified: it reflects only simple reproduction, i.e. reproduction, repeating from cycle to cycle unchanged.

A. R. J. Turgot completed the teachings of the physiocrats, who brought the most mature form of the physiocratic system. He considered the causes of wage labor, industrial and commercial profits, wages, and so on.

Topic 2.3. English classical school.

The leader of this school is A. Smith. He is the author of the book Studies on the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations”, which consists of 5 books. Smith reviewed division of labor and showed its impact on the growth of labor productivity.

Money he considered a commodity that can be exchanged for any other commodity. Only gold and silver coins can be in circulation.

He was the first to define cost, as the sum of two types of income: wages, profits and rents.

Capital is the sum of the means of production. It is divided into fixed and variable.

Salary is the amount of money a worker receives for his work.

Profit is the result of the worker's unpaid labor, appropriated by the capitalist.

Rent- the result of the worker's unpaid labor, appropriated by the landowner.

Work can be productive or unproductive. The result of productive labor is a material product, so it is exchanged for capital. The result of unproductive labor is services, so it is exchanged for income.

Profit decreases if the price of one product increases; and does not change if the price of all goods increases.

D. Ricardo supplemented and corrected some of the provisions of the work of A. Smith in the book “ The beginnings of political economy and taxation”, which consists of 32 chapters.

He criticized A. Smith for inaccurate definition cost and believed that value is primary and cannot be determined by income.

He did an analysis monetary circulation and came to the conclusion that not only gold and silver, but also paper money can be in circulation, if their number is limited. An increase in paper money in circulation may lead to an increase in prices.

Salary- this is the price of labor and it is associated with the movement of the working population. It can be natural (equal to the cost of necessary consumer goods) and market (equal to the amount of money received by workers).

Capital and profit he characterizes similarly to Smith, but believes that profit decreases if the price of one product increases; and if the price of all goods increases.

Topic 2.3. Utopian socialism.

Utopian socialism went through 2 stages of development: early (15th century) and late (18th-19th centuries). Utopia - "nowhere", i.e. a place that doesn't exist.

Representatives early utopian socialism were T. More and T. Campanella. T. More is the greatest humanist in England, the right hand of the king, the author of the book "Utopia". In it, he describes a non-existent city in which there is universal equality and happiness. For this book, T. mor was executed. T. Campanella, author of the book "City of the Sun", spent 27 years in casemates. The ideas of this book are very similar to those expressed by T. More. But neither More nor Campanella knew how to achieve such a future.

Representatives late utopian socialism are: A. Saint-Simon, C. Fourier, R. Owen.

A. Saint-Simon considered consistent historicism, i.e. believed that each subsequent system should be better than the previous one. The feudal system is better than the slave system, the capitalist system is better than the feudal system. But the capitalist system has not justified itself, so it must be replaced by an industrial system. At the present stage, industrialists, and not the bourgeoisie, should be in power. Therefore, a new system is needed - industrialism. In the new society, large-scale industry will be controlled from a single center and function according to a single plan. Private property is preserved, provided that the owners will obey the general plan. The capitalists must voluntarily hand over their funds to the people.

C. Fourier condemns capitalism for the mismatch of interests between the wealthy minority and the impoverished majority. Therefore, a new system is needed, the basis of which will be small self-governing communities of up to 2,000 people. The main activity of the community will be agriculture, and industry will complement it. People will change jobs several times a day. All property will become public. People will constantly change houses, furniture and other things. The day required for the organization of the phalanx will be given by the capitalists, who will become members of the community. The capitalists themselves will become members of the community and will be subject to a common plan.

R. Owen believed that value under capitalism is determined by money, not by labor. Money does not reflect labor costs and workers do not receive true remuneration. Therefore, money must be abolished and replaced by receipts, which will indicate the labor costs of workers, and for which in the "fair exchange bazaar" it will be possible to purchase any, goods of equal value in terms of labor costs. Owen conducted an experiment in one of the factories in Scotland and proved that it is possible to significantly improve the lives of workers. The new system will be based on common labor, common property, equality in rights and duties.

Topic 2.4. Marxist political economy

This doctrine was created by K. Marx with the direct participation of his friend and colleague F. Engels.

Marx proceeded from three scientific sources: the English classical political economy of Smith and Ricardo, the German classical philosophy of Hegel, and utopian socialism. They borrowed the labor theory of value from Smith and Ricardo. The second - the ideas of dialectics and materialism, the third - the concept of class struggle, elements of the sociological structure of society.

When feudalism collapsed and a “free” capitalist society arose, it became clear that this was a new system of exploitation and oppression of the working people. He criticized capitalism, dreamed of destroying it, but could not find a class in society capable of overthrowing the oppressors. The genius of Marx lies in the fact that he was able to see the “locomotives of history” in revolutions earlier than others, he was able to formulate the doctrine of the class struggle. People will always be victims of deception or self-deception in politics if they do not learn from certain phrases, promises, etc. see the interests of certain classes.

The development of the productive forces determines the change in production relations and thus in socio-economic formations. But as capitalism develops its productive forces to colossal proportions, it becomes more and more entangled in contradictions that are insoluble for it. These irreconcilable contradictions between the social character of production and private capitalist appropriation make themselves felt in periodic crises of overproduction, when the capitalists, unable to find solvent demand, are forced to stop production, drive workers out of the gates of enterprises, and destroy the productive forces. It also means that capitalism is fraught with a revolution designed to replace capitalist ownership of the means of production with socialist ownership.

That. communist society must inevitably replace capitalism. communist society in its development will take place 2 stages: socialism and communism. At the first stage, private property will disappear, and distribution will be carried out according to work. On the second, commodity-money relations will disappear, and distribution according to work will be replaced by distribution according to needs.

"Capital"

First volume called "", it was published in 1867.

1. Product- has properties: satisfies needs, exchanges, natural properties (signs, characteristics), social properties (relationships between people).

2. Turning money into capital:

C-D-C’ the sale of a commodity for the acquisition of another commodity, i.e. satisfaction of needs. Money in this case is an intermediary.

D-T-D' is the general formula for the movement of capital, i.e. goods are purchased in order to sell them at a higher price. Money in this case is the goal of production.

3. Surplus value production- Value is created by labor. Labor has a dual character: on the one hand, it is concrete labor, as a result of which a specific product is produced, on the other hand, it is abstract labor, i.e. the expenditure of forces, energy, and this makes the products of labor comparable.

4. Fixed and variable capital:

Permanent Capital is the part of capital that does not change its value in the process of production. These are raw materials, materials, etc.

variable capital is the part of capital that changes its value in the process of production. This is labor.

5. Rate of surplus value- m. Npr depends on the variable capital: Npr \u003d m / V. Labor is divided into necessary and surplus.

Necessary labor(working time) - part of the day during which the reproduction process takes place, i.e. the worker spends on himself.

Surplus labor(working hours) - outside the necessary working hours, i.e. part of the day during which the worker produces surplus value.

6. Working day length:

The working day cannot fall below the required working time, and cannot exceed 24 hours. The boundaries of the working day are set between these two limits: adults - 15 hours (from 5.30 to 20.30), adolescents - 12 hours, children - 8 hours. Only men work the night shift.

7. Relative surplus value- necessary + surplus labor. Absolute achieved by lengthening the working day. If labor is paid according to the value of labor, then surplus value can be obtained either by an absolute lengthening of the working day, or by increasing labor productivity.

8. The transformation of surplus value into capital:

Surplus value can be converted into capital only because it contains the same elements - labor costs. Surplus value is divided into capital and income, i.e. accumulates.

Second volume is called " Capital circulation process It was published in 1885.

Capital It is value that brings surplus value. This volume deals with industrial capital.

1. Metamorphoses of capital and its circulation:

D-T ... P-T'-D' money is used to purchase goods in the form of labor power and means of production. Then the movement of capital is interrupted and the process of production begins. As a result, a new type of commodity is obtained and exchanged for money of a larger mass, and the movement of capital is resumed. There is added value. That. There are 3 forms of capital - monetary, commodity and production.

2. Fixed and working capital:

Basic- is constantly involved in the production process. negotiable- in one production cycle.

2. production costs- production, storage costs, transport costs.

3. Capital turnover:

Capital turnover time- this is the time from the moment it is advanced into production, until the moment it returns in the same form. Fixed and circulating capital are included only in the production form of capital. The more turns capital makes, the higher the surplus value.

4. Reproduction and circulation of social capital:

Social capital is formed as a result of the interweaving of individual capitals. Social capital - W = C + V + m = K + p. It consists of the production of means of production and the production of means of consumption.

Third volume called " The process of capitalist production as a whole”, was published in 1894 by F. Engels.

1. The capitalist receives profit from the fact that he sold something that he did not pay for. Profit is the excess over the capital advanced. Profit is the converted value of surplus value. Npr \u003d m / V, and profit P \u003d m / C + V. The same surplus value can create more or less profit (depending on the approach of the capitalist).

2. The impact of wages on production prices:

An increase in wages increases production costs and decreases profits. However, if the rate of profit is reduced, then the mass of profit may increase at the expense of the unpaid labor of the workers. If the part of constant capital increases relative to variable capital, then the rate of surplus value will decrease, or the amount of unpaid labor will increase.

3. Trading capital:

It takes 2 forms - commodity-trade and money-trade, i.e. goods are either sold or bought.

4. Loan capital:

With the development of trade, the basis of credit expands, new means of payment arise - bills of exchange. They form trading money. Lending is about earning interest.

5. Land capital- rent:

Differential rent 1- excess profits received from the best plots of land.

Differential rent 2- excess profit received from the best plots of land through capital investment.

Absolute rent- the rent received by all landowners, tk. the worst plots also make a profit.

Fourth volume called " Surplus value theory", it was published in 1905-1910 and is a standalone book.

This volume contains criticism of previous economic teachings - A. Smith, D. Ricardo and others.

Genesis capitalist ground rent: industry destroys labor power, and agriculture destroys the power of the earth.

Marx's triune formula: capital - profit, land - rent, labor - wages.

Section 3. Neoclassical direction.

Topic 3.1. The emergence of the neoclassical trend.

The neoclassical direction or marginalism appeared in the middle of the 19th century and is associated with the introduction of the concept of "marginal utility". This made it possible to create a new tool for analyzing economic reality, using mathematical methods. Instead of the dynamic problems of the classical school, static problems appeared that allow mathematical formulations and solutions. At the center of this theory is the behavior of an individual consumer who maximizes his utility from the consumption of goods, and an individual producer who maximizes his profit.

The founder of this direction is Austrian school. The leader of this school K. Menger developed " marginal utility table».

Unit boons

The starting point of the analysis is a person's attitude to goods, which is manifested in the sphere of personal consumption. The subject of analysis is consumer assessments and consumer choice. The value of any good is determined by its ability to satisfy human needs. The value does not depend on the quantity of the benefit, but on the importance of the need that this good satisfies. Benefits are listed horizontally in descending order of utility. Vertical - units of consumption of these goods. At the intersection, each unit of each good is evaluated. He introduced the concepts of "demand price" and "supply price", analyzed the attitude of a person to goods, the value of goods, etc. ABOUT.

Böhm-Bawerk introduced additions to the table - not all benefits can be satisfied in stages, and also singled out objective and subjective value, formulated a market price model, developed a theory of capital as direct and roundabout methods for determining needs, etc.

American school- its leader D. Clark. He formulated 3 universal laws that operate in the economic sphere in any historical era:

1. The law of marginal utility - each class of buyers spends their money first on the most important products, then on less important ones. Those. marginal utility is the utility of the good that a given class can buy with its last unit of money.

2. The law of specific productivity - 4 factors are always involved in production - labor, land, capital and entrepreneurial activity. The owner of the corresponding factor owns his contribution - labor brings wages, land - rent, capital - interest, entrepreneurial activity - profit.

3. The law of diminishing productivity - an increase in any factor of production, while the rest remain unchanged, gives a decreasing increase in production.

Lausanne School- its leaders are L. Walras And In Pareto. L. Walras was the first to develop a closed mathematical model general economic equilibrium. V. Pareto improved this model and introduced the concept of "preference". The statement that a given good is more useful than another means that a person prefers this good to another. He owns an estimate of the equilibrium, called the "Pareto Optimum" - this is a position in which it is impossible to improve the well-being of at least one subject without compromising the well-being of another.

cambridge school- leader - A. Marshall. He synthesized the ideas of the English classical school and the concept of marginalists. He considers market equilibrium as equality of supply and demand prices. He introduced the concept of price elasticity of demand - it expresses the extent to which the volume of demand increases or decreases with a decrease or decrease in demand. The dynamics of production costs depends on changes in production volumes. Marshall paid much attention to the time factor - in the short term, prices are decisively affected by a change in demand, in the long term - by a change in supply. Marshall's contribution to economic theory is so great that it is called the "Marshallian revolution".

Topic 3.2. Economic thought in Russia in the late 19th early 20th century.

M. I. Tugan-Baranovsky adhered to the social direction, which is based on the theory of distribution. Distribution was depicted by him in the form of a struggle of various social groups for the "sharing" of the social product. The most important distribution category is wages. Its magnitude is regulated, on the one hand, by labor productivity, and on the other, by the strength of the working class. He compared the accumulation of loan capital with the accumulation of steam in a cylinder. M. I. Tugan-Baranovsky was the first to formulate the law of the investment theory of cycles and anticipated Keynes' idea of ​​"savings-investment". The phases of the industrial cycle are determined by the laws of investment.

N. D. Kondratiev worked on the problems of national economic planning, drew up the first plans, conducted market research, studied the objective characteristics and trends of a market economy. He is known to world science as the author of the theory of large cycles of the economic situation. N. D. Kondratiev studied data on European countries and the USA. The observation period was 140 years. At this time, 2.5 large cycles ended. N. D. Kondratiev is the only one who managed to present evidence for the existence of large cycles and they were named after him “Great Kondratiev Waves”.

A. V. Chayanov was the leader of the organizational-production school. The main subject of his research was the peasant economy. He put forward a plan for the reconstruction of the agrarian sector: the transfer of land to the ownership of the working peasantry; the introduction of labor ownership of land; the transfer to the state of the landed estates; introduction of a unified agricultural tax. A. V. Chayanov spoke out against the equalizing allotment of land to the peasants. His major achievement is the theory of differential optima of agricultural enterprises. The optimum is achieved where, other things being equal, the cost of the products obtained will be the lowest, i.e. envy of natural and climatic conditions. Chayanov proposed to carry out the socialization of the land - the destruction of land ownership. This means a revolution in land ownership and possible coexistence with the bourgeois order. He saw the stability of peasant farms in the fact that the peasant does not pursue profit and rent, but strives for economic independence.

V. K. Dmitriev compiled a system of linear equations, with the help of which he expressed simultaneous production costs and, for the first time in world literature, gave a way to express total costs. He came to the conclusion that the level of socially necessary costs is determined under the worst conditions. He introduced the concept of "technological coefficients of production costs", which formed the basis of the "cost-output" method of V. Leontiev.

E. E. Slutsky adhered to the mathematical and economic direction. One of his important works is "On the theory of a balanced consumer budget", in which he made a number of conclusions about the conditions for a stable consumer budget. Slutsky was the first to raise the question of the need for a special science - praxeology, which would develop the principles of rational behavior of people in various conditions.

L. V. Kantorovich, a Nobel laureate in economics, showed that any economic problems of distribution can be considered as problems of maximizing a certain value under certain restrictions. He created linear programming methods that are convenient for many types of calculations in the economy. He showed the existence of dual estimates in linear programming problems - one cannot simultaneously minimize costs and maximize results.

Section 4. Modern economic theory.

Topic 4.1. institutionalism.

Institutionalism originated at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries in the United States. Its founder was T. Veblen. In his Theory of the Leisure Class, he opposed the notion that each individual seeks the greatest profit. A person is not a calculating machine, and in addition to benefits, there are also customs, traditions, mores.

The period of the beginning of the 20th century was marked by the rapid growth of corporations. In this regard, T. Veblen added another group to the 3rd classes of society - technical specialists.

T. Veblen believes that the era of the market economy covers 2 stages:

On the first, property and real power are in the hands of the entrepreneurs;

On the second, there is a split between business and industry. Business is in the hands of the leisure class, which lends its capital rather than investing in production.

In his opinion, the modern economy does not operate on the basis of supply and demand. Large firms are involved in speculative operations, increasing their purchasing power at the expense of credit, and not expanding production. As a result, there are pyramids of credit, there is a recession in business activity, the bankruptcy of many firms, due to the requirements of immediate repayment of loans.

D. Commons proposed the theory of transactions, according to which the transaction was a trinity: conflict, interrelation of interests, conflict resolution.

W. Mitchell was a researcher of economic cycles.

D. Galbraith devoted his attention to the industrial system, corporations, the role of the state, etc. He was the first to substantiate the thesis about the replacement of the power of the market - by the decisions of managers. He considers it necessary to limit the power of corporations, military concerns, military department apparatuses. He developed reforms aimed at strengthening the role of the state; retraining of persons left without work; reduction in military spending, etc.

R. Coase (50s of the 20th century) considered the problem of a “continuous market”, i.e. interaction between state regulation and market economy. He opposed attempts to find market failures and encourage government intervention in the economy.

Topic 4.2. Keynesianism.

Since the mid-1930s, the development of economic theory has been influenced by the theory of D. Keynes. In 1936, D. Keynes' book "The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money" was published. Keynesianism gained worldwide fame because of the rationale for the need for government intervention in the economy. His theory was formed after the global crisis "The Great Depression" and was a "lifeline" for the economies of many countries. The focus is on 2 problems: demand and unemployment.

Demand theory: before D. Keynes, it was believed that all produced goods would be sold, but D. Keynes believes that a person may not purchase goods, but save his money. D. Keynes identifies 3 ways to regulate demand:

Monetary policy - stimulating demand by lowering the rate of interest and influencing the desire for liquidity,

Budgetary policy - the organization of investments. The lack of private investment must be regulated at the expense of the state,

The policy of protectionism - closing the borders to foreign competitors expands the conditions for domestic production.

The theory of employment and unemployment: with an increase in employment, national income increases, and therefore consumption increases. But consumption is growing more slowly than income, because the propensity to save increases. That. effective demand decreases, and this affects the size of production. The decline in production leads to an increase in unemployment. Keynes identified frictional, voluntary and involuntary unemployment caused by a decrease in demand.

Multiplier theory: investment in any industry entails an increase in employment, income and consumption not only in this industry, but also in industries associated with it. In turn, changes in these industries generate growth in employment, income, and consumption in second-tier industries. There is a multiplier effect. The value of the multiplier depends on the proportion of consumption in income. The main problem should be considered the transformation of the saved part into investments.

Topic 4.3. Modern stage development of economic doctrines.

Monetarism- appeared in the mid-80s and became a battlefield between the followers of D. Keynes and the monetarists, whose leader was M. Friedman. Monetarists argue that government intervention in the economy according to Keynesian recipes is harmful in the long run. the action of market regulators is blocked. The regulatory role of the state should be limited to the sphere of monetary circulation. The condition for economic stability is the constant, gradual pumping of the money supply into circulation.

neoliberalism has 3 centuries of history and is in constant combat with the concept of state intervention in the economy. By the end of the 19th century, he lost ground, but by the 30-40s of the 20th century, he again gained strength in the person of L. Von Mises and F. von Hayek. L. von Mises considered the division of labor, private property and exchange to be the foundations of civilization. And the regulated economy is turning into a field for the arbitrariness of state officials. F. von Hayek believes that only the market is able to quickly respond to fluctuations in supply and demand. And central planning will always be late. In some studies, their direction is called neoliberalism. But most scientists call neoliberalism another branch of economic liberalism, whose leader was W. Eucken, and one of the representatives - L. Erhard. The function of the state, in their view, is the role of the judge to ensure that the rules are followed.

Supply theory appeared in the late 70s and 80s. A large role in the development of this theory belongs to the American Enterprise Institute. Fluctuations in economic growth rates, unemployment and inflation, in their opinion, were provoked by an increase in government spending. In practice, this theory has not justified itself.

rational expectations theory it is a product of the latest evolution of neoclassicism. This school was formed in the USA. Rational expectations are formed on the basis of all available information about state of the art and prospects for economic development. However, this theory turned out to be divorced from real processes.

Literature:

1. « History of Economic Thought". Study guide. Ministry of Defense Shmarlovskaya G.A., Tur A.N., Lebedko E.E. etc. New Knowledge LLC 2000.

2. "History of the World Economy". Lecture notes. Bor M.Z. Business and Service 2002.

3. "History of Economic Thought". Lecture course. Levita R.Ya. Catallaxy with the participation of CJSC "KnoRus", 2003.

4. "Ancient bookkeeping: what it was." Malkova T.N. Finance and Statistics, 1995.

5. "History of Economics and Economic Doctrines". Educational and methodical manual of the Ministry of Defense. Surin A.I. Finance and Statistics, 2001.

6. "History of economic doctrines" M., 2003. R.Ya. Levita.

7. "History of economic doctrines" M.: Humanitarian ed. center, 1997, N.E. Titov.

8. "History of economic doctrines" M .: Publishing house "Center", 1997, V.N. Kostyuk.

9. E. F. Borisov "Anthology on economic theory" M., "Lawyer" 1997

10. "History of economic thought in Russia" ed. A.N. Markova, M.: "Law and Law". Ed. association "UNITI", 1996

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Reviewer -- Semenkova T.G., Ph.D. economy sciences, prof. Financial Academy under the Government of the Russian Federation

Titova N.E.

History of economic doctrines: a course of lectures. -- M.: Humanit. ed. center VLADOS, 1997. - 288 p. ISBN 5-691-00008-X.

The purpose of the course of lectures is the development by students of the historical heritage and ideological wealth of scientists from different eras in the field of economic thought. The study of the concepts and theories of individual schools and trends that existed in the past and exist in the present in economic science allows you to consolidate and deepen the knowledge gained in the course of economic theory.

For students of economic universities, as well as for self-studying the history of economic doctrines.

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INTRODUCTION

The history of economic doctrines occupies a large place in the system of economic sciences. Complementing economic theory, it also carries a certain independent load. The importance of the history of economic doctrines is also great in the system of economic education, in the training of economists, in shaping their qualifications.

The following definition of science is accepted in the literature: the history of economic doctrines studies the historical process of the emergence and development of the main systems of economic views of scientists from various historical periods. It follows from this that the analysis of the emergence and development of economic doctrines covers the entire historical process of social development, all historical epochs, beginning with the slave-owning society.

The roots of economic theories go back to the nature of the economic system, which forms the basis for the development of society. “Economic conditions,” emphasized F. Engels, “no matter how strongly others influence them - political and ideological ones, are ultimately decisive and form that red thread that permeates all development and alone leads to its understanding »*

The connection between economic doctrines and the economy of society is the most direct. Their role in social development is very great. Economic doctrines do not passively reflect the processes taking place in the economy, but have a certain impact on them, contributing to social development, accelerating or, conversely, slowing it down. It is well known that many concepts (for example, neoclassical or Keynesian) were the basis of state economic programs.

Economic doctrines are explored in dynamics in the process historical development. At the same time, it must be emphasized that the history of economic doctrines is turned to the present. This is determined by the special relevance and even topicality of the issues it considers, which is one of the important features of the subject of the history of economic doctrines. The analysis of the economic teachings of past epochs is not self-sufficient; it is not carried out for the sake of studying the historical process itself. Knowledge of the historical past contributes to a better understanding of the origins of the present.

The course of lectures on the history of economic doctrines examines the entire process of the evolution of economic science. An important place is occupied by the analysis of the classical school, Western European economic doctrines, and Russian economic thought.*

In the domestic economic literature, the economic concepts of welfare are practically not studied in full. Meanwhile, in the West, there have long been special textbooks on welfare economics, * any textbook on microeconomics and macroeconomics includes a section on "Welfare economics".** The "welfare state" in Europe is considered the official goal of state policy.

The problem of individual and social welfare is a fundamental, complex socio-economic and philosophical problem, which occupies a significant place in historical, economic, philosophical, sociological, statistical and other studies. Well-known concepts of well-being by A. Smith, L. Walras, C. Menger, V. Pareto, J. Hobson, A. Bergson, C. Arrow, A. Pigou, P. Samuelson, J. Galbraith, W. Rostow, K. Price , E. Hansen, G. Myrdal, J. Buchanan, G. Jantis, J. Sismondi, N.G. Chernyshevsky and others. Many of the economists considered welfare and ways to achieve it in society the subject of political economy, rightly believing that it economic activity and the activities of the state must be aimed at the well-being of the individual and society.

I. THE ECONOMIC DOCTRINES OF THE ANCIENT WORLD

economic teaching school

When studying the first section, the course of the history of economic doctrines, it is necessary to take into account its specifics, due to a very extensive period of history, an abundance of material reflecting the development of economic thought in the ancient world. Slavery originated in the East in the 4th millennium BC. The countries of the Ancient East are characterized by patriarchal slavery. Slavery reached its greatest development in antique period in ancient Greece and Ancient Rome from the 1st millennium BC according to the IV century. AD Its heyday falls on the 5th century. BC. Ancient slavery, called classical, was the most mature form of slavery, when slaves were the main productive force of society.

In a slave-owning society, an ideology corresponding to it was formed, and economic thought developed. The dominant position was occupied by the ideology of slave owners.

Lecture 1. Economic thought of Babylonia, China, India

On the territory of ancient Asia, large centers of civilization were formed, slave ownership reached significant development, and the first slave-owning states arose. Numerous historical monuments allow us to judge the origin and development of economic ideas. The history of ancient Babylonia gives an idea of ​​this. The beginning of the formation of an early class society is evidenced, for example, by the laws of King Eshnunna (XX century BC). They dealt with economic matters. The most significant monument of the Babylonian kingdom is the code of King Hammurabi (1792-1750 BC), which broadly reflected the economic foundations of society, the most important trends in its development. The Code of Laws of Hammurabi gives an idea that the division of society into slaves and slave owners was recognized at that time as natural and eternal, slaves were equated with the property of slave owners. Hammurabi's laws reflected concern for the strengthening and protection of private property. An attempt on her life was punishable by death and slavery. The historical monument testifies that the basis of the economy of the Babylonian kingdom was a subsistence economy. The community retained its position, although the disintegration had already thoroughly touched it. The tsarist government took care of protecting the interests of the community and small producers. The laws of Hammurabi reflected the development of commodity-money relations, measures that contributed to the expansion of commercial transactions.

A large place in the history of social thought of ancient China of the period under review is occupied by Confucianism - a doctrine created by Confucius (Kung Fuzi), who lived in 551-479. BC. The economic views of Confucius are systematized by one of his followers Mencius (372-289 BC). They had a great influence on Chinese economic thought. In the country's economy during the tenure of Confucius, there were significant changes associated with the decomposition of the primitive communal system and the formation of slavery. Agriculture fell into decline, communal ties were destroyed, property differentiation increased, and the positions of private slave-owning farms were strengthened.

Confucius was one of the first to create the doctrine of natural law, on which his philosophical and socio-economic concept was based. He proceeded from the fact that the social structure is based on the divine principle. It determines the fate of man and the social order. Confucius considered the division of society into "noble" who make up the upper class, and "common people" ("low"), whose lot is physical labor, Confucius considered natural. He did not reduce relations between slave owners and slaves only to coercion. Confucius urged to cultivate the "trust" of slaves in the exploiters, advised the "noble" to seek the loyalty of the slaves.

The teachings of Confucius are aimed at ensuring the stability of the emerging slave system, strengthening the authority of the state, and the widespread use of traditional forms and rituals for these purposes. He advocated strengthening the power of the supreme ruler of China.

The economic views of Confucius, being a product of his era, were contradictory. The idealization of antiquity, the consolidation of patriarchal-communal relations coexisted with him with the development of rules governing the relationship between slaves and slave owners. He represented, first of all, the positions of the hereditary slave-owning aristocracy, as well as the lower, service stratum of the slave-owners. He combined slavery with the preservation of the old patriarchal orders, relations of consanguinity. In the conditions of aggravated social contradictions, Confucius was looking for ways to achieve social "equality" while maintaining the slave-owning order, smoothing out class conflicts. Confucianism substantiated the conservatism of the social structure, which was established on long years in Chinese society.

Confucianism found its development in the views of Mencius, who linked social inequality with "heavenly will", justifying the opposition between mental and physical labor. At the same time, Mencius was against the tightening of slaveholding oppression, advocated the restoration of communal land ownership, and advocated for the community and the economic interests of the peasants. The inconsistency inherent in the socio-economic concept of Confucianism was further deepened by Mencius.

Confucianism was criticized by Mo Tzu and his supporters (Mohists). They preached the natural equality of people, denied class, the privileges of the nobility. Mohists substantiated the need for an all-round development of production to meet the needs of the entire population, the universal participation of people in physical labor, the development free initiative small producers. Contrasting the idea of ​​"universal mutual love" with Confucianism, the Mohists did not understand its illusory nature.

One of the significant monuments of the history of economic ideas in China is the treatise "Kuan Tzu", written by unknown authors. It belongs to the IV-III centuries. BC. Showing concern for the peasantry, the authors proposed limiting their compulsory labor service, protecting them from speculators and usurers. In order to strengthen the economic position of the peasants, the authors of the treatise proposed changing the tax system and raising the price of bread. They assigned concern for improving the welfare of the people to the state, which was to actively intervene in economic affairs, eliminate the causes that hinder the well-being of the people, create grain reserves to stabilize prices, and take measures to overcome adverse natural conditions etc.

The clash of two trends in socio-economic life: the desire to preserve the patriarchal-communal principles, on the one hand, the growth and strengthening of the position of slave ownership, on the other, the struggle of the classes behind them, for a long time determined the most important problems of the economic thought of ancient China. The problem of the relationship between subsistence and commodity economy reached great acuteness.

Studying the history of economic thought ancient india, one should first of all pay attention to the economic ideas contained in the most ancient monuments - the Vedas, which are a collection of prayers, hymns, spells. They were created in the 1st millennium BC. and reflected the beginning of the decomposition of the primitive communal system, the formation of slavery. By the beginning of the 1st millennium, the appearance of such works of the ancient Indian epic containing economic ideas as the Mahabharata and the Ramayana dates back. The first tells about the wars of the Bharata tribe, the second about the exploits of Rama.

The development of economic thought was reflected in literary and religious monuments. Among them are the famous "Laws of Manu", compiled over a number of centuries. They contain rich material on the socio-economic conditions of India in the 3rd millennium BC, and express the economic views of the slave owners through the mouths of the priests (Brahmins). "Laws of Manu" is a set of prescriptions sent down to people by the "divine legislator". They established the forms of transformation of a free person into a slave (dasa), consolidated his disenfranchised position in society. The "Laws of Manu" reflected the existence of hereditary castes. The Brahmin concept of economic policy substantiated in them assigned a significant role to the state, which was entrusted with providing income, regulating economic activity, exploiting the free population, etc.

An outstanding monument to the history of the economic thought of ancient India is the treatise "Arthashastra", the author of which was the adviser to King Chandragupta I, the Brahman Kautilya (end of IV - beginning of III centuries BC). * "Arthashastra" was created as an instruction for the king, but in its content and significance it went far beyond the scope of the code of advice. This is an extensive economic work, covering a wide range of issues and testifying to the maturity of Indian economic thought at that time. "Arthashastra" characterizes the socio-economic and political structure of the country, contains rich material illustrating the development of economic ideas.

"Arthashastra" tells about social inequality, justifies and consolidates it, confirming the legitimacy of slavery, the division of society into castes. The basis of the country's population was the Aryans, divided into four castes: Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Shudras. Brahmins and kshatriyas enjoyed the greatest privileges. The author showed concern for strengthening the position of the Aryans. It was pointed out that "for the Aryans there should be no slavery." If the Aryans, for some reason, became slaves, then such a state was considered temporary for them, and measures were provided for their release. The treatise paid great attention to the regulation of slavery, which retained the features of the patriarchal. Measures were recommended to limit the development of slavery and prevent the exacerbation of class conflicts. The Indian slave could own property, had the right to receive an inheritance, the right to redeem himself at the expense of his property.

The "Arthashastra" described in detail the state of the country's economy, the main occupations of the population. The main industry was agriculture, which depended largely on irrigation. At the same time, crafts and trade developed. The treatise assigned a large role to the construction and maintenance of irrigation systems, which were qualified as the basis of the harvest. Damage to the irrigation system was seen as a grave crime. "Arthashastra" contains rich information about the social division of labor and exchange. The doctrine of trade was in it an integral part of the entire doctrine of the conduct of the national economy.

"Arthashastra" paid great attention to the interpretation of the economic role of the state. It carried out the idea, typical of the economic thought of the countries of the Ancient East, about the active intervention of the state in economic life, in the regulation of social relations. Moreover, the treatise directly entrusted the tsarist authorities with the care of many economic affairs, including the colonization of the outskirts, the maintenance of irrigation systems, the construction of wells, the creation of new villages, the organization of spinning and weaving production with the involvement of a specific contingent of workers (widows, orphans, beggars, disabled people, working out a fine, etc.). The economic policy of the tsarist administration, the tax system, the management of the tsar's economy, the main sources of income, etc. were described in detail.

The treatise "Arthashastra" gives an idea of ​​how Indian economic thought interpreted the main issues of socio-economic relations, the economic life of the early slave-owning society typical of the countries of the Ancient East.

Lecture 2. Economic doctrines of Ancient Greece

The greatest role in the history of the economic doctrines of Ancient Greece was played by the works of famous thinkers Xenophon, Plato and Aristotle.

Xenophon was born in Athens in 430 BC (died 355 BC), belonged to a wealthy slave-owning aristocracy. He is a student of the famous ancient Greek philosopher Socrates. According to his political views, he acted as a supporter of the aristocratic Sparta and an opponent of Athenian democracy.

The economic views of Xenophon are set forth in the work "Domostroy", prepared as a guide for running a slave economy. Defining the subject of home economics, he characterized it as the science of managing and enriching the economy. Xenophon considered agriculture to be the main branch of the slave-owning economy, which he qualified as the most worthy occupation. According to Xenophon, "agriculture is the mother and nurse of all arts." He saw the main goal of economic activity in ensuring the production of useful things, i.e. consumer values. Xenophon had a negative attitude towards crafts, he considered them an occupation suitable only for slaves. Trade was not included in the category of worthy activities of a free Greek. At the same time, in the interests of the slave-owning economy, Xenophon allowed the use of commodity-money relations.

"Domostroy" contained numerous advice to slave owners in the field of economic activity. Their destiny was the management of the economy, the exploitation of slaves, but by no means physical labor Xenophon expressed contempt for physical labor, qualifying it as an occupation suitable only for slaves. Giving advice on the rational management of the economy and the exploitation of slaves, he taught how to treat slaves like animals.

Xenophon, one of the first thinkers of antiquity, paid great attention to the division of labor, considering it as a natural phenomenon, as an important condition for increasing the production of use values. He came close to the principle of the manufacturing division of labor. Xenophon first pointed out the relationship between the development of the division of labor and the market. In his opinion, the division of professions depended on the volume of the market.

Xenophon is the ideologist, first of all, of a subsistence slave-owning economy. At the same time, he considered the development of trade and money circulation useful for this economy. In them he saw one of the sources of enrichment and advised to use in his own interests Xenophon recognized money as a necessary means of circulation and a concentrated form of wealth. Condemning money as trading and usurious capital, he recommended hoarding it as treasure.

Xenophon had an understanding of the dual purpose of a thing: as use value, on the one hand, and exchange value, on the other. As an ideologist of natural economy, he did not attach much importance to exchange value. The value of a thing was made dependent on utility, and the price was directly explained by the movement of supply and demand.

Economic ideas occupied a significant place in the writings of the ancient Greek philosopher Plato (427-347 BC). His most famous work is Politics or the State. The socio-economic concept of Plato received a concentrated expression in the project of an ideal state. Plato considered the state as a community of people generated by nature itself, for the first time expressing the idea of ​​the inevitability of dividing the state (city) into two parts: rich and poor.

Plato paid great attention to the problem of the division of labor, considering it as a natural phenomenon. In his concept, the innate inequality of people was justified. He interpreted the division into free and slaves as a normal state given by nature itself. Slaves were seen as the main productive force, and their exploitation as a means of enriching the slave owners. Only Greeks could be free citizens. Barbarians, foreigners turned into slaves.

Plato considered agriculture to be the main branch of the economy, but he also approved of handicrafts. He saw the economic basis of the state in a subsistence economy based on the exploitation of slaves. With the natural division of labor, Plato linked the need for exchange. He allowed petty trade, which was designed to serve the division of labor. However, in general, Plato treated trade, especially large-scale trade profits, very negatively. In his opinion, trade should be mainly carried out by foreigners, slaves. For a free Greek, he considered trade unworthy and even shameful.

In the ideal state of Plato, free people were divided into three classes: 1) philosophers, called to govern the state; 2) warriors; 3) landowners, artisans and small traders. Slaves were not included in any of these classes. They were equated with inventory, were considered as talking tools of production. Philosophers and warriors made up the highest part of society, about which Plato showed special concern. He intended to provide them with socialized consumption, which gave rise to interpret this as a kind of "aristocratic communism."

The greatest thinker of antiquity, Aristotle, made the greatest contribution to the development of the economic thought of Ancient Greece. He was born in 384 BC. in the family of a doctor (died in 322 BC). Being a student of Plato at the Academy, Aristotle did not share, however, Platonic idealism. Showing fluctuations between materialism and idealism, he moved towards materialism. Aristotle is known as the educator of the heir to the throne in Macedonia, the famous Alexander of Macedon. Later, he founded the Lyceum philosophical school in Athens, was engaged in scientific and pedagogical activities, and was the author of numerous works on natural science topics, philosophy, logic, economics, literature, history, etc. His political views are set forth in the work "Politics" and other works. He is an opponent of the aristocratic system, oligarchic power, a supporter of slave-owning democracy. Aristotle justified the division of people into slaves and free, perceiving it as natural. In his opinion, freedom was the lot of only the Hellenes. As for foreigners (barbarians), by their nature they could only be slaves. He divided the citizens of Greece into five groups (classes): 1) the agricultural class, 2) the class of artisans, 3) the merchant class, 4) hired workers, 5) the military. Slaves constituted a separate group, not included in the civil community. Aristotle associated slavery with the natural division of labor, believing that slaves by their nature are such and are only capable of physical labor. The slave was equated with other things belonging to the free, included in their property. Slaves, according to Aristotle, had to provide all kinds of physical labor.

The outstanding merit of Aristotle in the development of economic thought is his attempt to penetrate into the essence of economic phenomena, to reveal their patterns. In this, Aristotle differed significantly from his predecessors (Xenophon, Plato), laying the foundation for economic analysis, which manifested itself in the approach to defining the subject of economic science, in the study of exchange, forms of value, etc.

Being a supporter of a subsistence economy based on the exploitation of slaves, Aristotle considered economic phenomena from the point of view of the greatest benefit. Everything that corresponded to the interests of strengthening the economy was accepted as natural and fair. On the contrary, everything that shattered and decomposed the economy belonged to the category of unnatural phenomena. From this point of view, wealth and its sources, the means of meeting the needs of society, were evaluated. Aristotle attributed natural phenomena to the economy, which revealed the sources of "true wealth", consisting of use values. The economy ensured the study of ways to strengthen the subsistence economy; the possibility of expanding the production of use values. This corresponded to the maintenance of a moderate amount of wealth, the supporter of which was Aristotle, who rejected the excessive accumulation of money, enrichment due to the form of circulation, speculative trading, usury, etc. He allowed barter trade, since it did not violate the predominant role of use value, and attributed it to the economy.

Aristotle associated unnatural phenomena with the excessive development of the sphere of circulation and included them in chrematistics, which was regarded as the art of "making money", creating wealth that has no boundaries. He rejected large-scale, speculative trade, pursuing the goal of accumulating monetary wealth, and condemned usury. Being a supporter of economic management, the great thinker of antiquity strongly opposed what belonged to chrematistics.

Aristotle made brilliant conjectures about exchange, exchange value. He understood that the exchanged commodities, without the identity of their essences, could not be related to each other as commensurable quantities. In his opinion, exchange cannot take place without equality, and equality without commensurability. In exchange, all crafts and arts are equated, and the use values ​​involved in it have something in common, although Aristotle could not explain such an equation. The genius of Aristotle manifested itself in the fact that in expressing the value of a commodity, he discovered the relation of equality. Only the historical boundaries of the society in which he lived prevented him from discovering what this relation of equality "really" consists of.

It is also interesting how Aristotle considered the form of value. The monetary form of the commodity was taken as a development of the simple form of value. Although he could not scientifically explain the origin and essence of money, it is important that he connected them with the development of exchange, laid the foundation for considering the functions of money as a measure of value and a means of circulation. “In the history of economic doctrines, ancient Greek thinkers reveal the same genius and originality,” K. Marx noted, “as in all other areas. Historically, their views therefore form the theoretical starting points of modern science.*

Lecture 3. Literature on the organization of slave latifundia in Ancient Rome

The economic thought of the ancient world was further developed and completed in Ancient Rome. It reflected the next stage in the evolution of slaveholding, new forms of organization of slaveholding farms, the more brutal exploitation of slaves characteristic of them, the aggravation of contradictions and the intensification of the struggle in the conditions of a decaying slaveholding society. The most important problem of ancient Roman literature was the problem of slavery, its justification, organization and methods of running large slave farms (latifundia). Cato the Elder (234-149 BC), Varro (116-27 BC), Columella (I in AD) spoke on these issues.

The substantiation of the ancient Roman form of slavery, the methods of conducting a large-scale agricultural economy are described in detail in the essay "Land Ownership" by Cato the Elder, who was a large landowner. Cato's treatise reflected the period of the rise of Roman slave-owning production. His ideal was basically subsistence farming, providing first of all for their own needs. However, trade was not excluded, designed to sell part of the products and acquire what could not be produced on its own. A large place in Cato's work was occupied by advice on the maintenance of slaves, the use of their labor, and methods of exploitation. The author classified slaves as tools of production, recommended keeping them strict, depending on diligence, rationally exploiting their labor. Cato considered it expedient to acquire slaves at a young age, educating them in obedience, in a spirit pleasing to the owner. Anticipating possible indignations and performances of slaves, Cato advised maintaining discord among them, inciting conflicts, disagreement between them, and getting rid of the decrepit and sick in a timely manner. Slaves were severely punished for the slightest misconduct. Food, clothing, housing had to correspond to their position as talking tools. All these councils of Cato are aimed at ensuring the rational conduct of a large slave-owning economy.

Development of the problems of the latifundian economy in the 1st century BC. continued the Roman scholar Varro. His views are set forth in the treatise On Agriculture. It reflected, on the one hand, more developed forms of slavery, the highest degree of evolution of large slave-owning economies; on the other hand, new aspects of the socio-economic situation associated with the deepening contradictions that increasingly permeated the economy of the Roman slave state.

In his treatise, Varro expresses serious concern about the fate of the slave economy. He reproaches the slave owners that they have retired from business, live in cities, entrusting latifundia to managers. The author is looking for ways to strengthen the economy not only in the development of agriculture, but also in cattle breeding, in the application of agronomic science, the growth of production intensity, the improvement of slave exploitation methods, the use of material incentives, etc. His concerns are connected not only with the preservation of the natural character of the slave-owning latifundia, but also with an increase in their profitability, an increase in the efficiency of production Varro pays great attention to the treatment of slaves, the methods of their exploitation. He classified slaves as one of three types of agricultural implements: talking. Two other types of tools in his classification were mute (inventory) and making inarticulate sounds (draft cattle).

The crisis of slavery reflected in his essay "On Agriculture" Columella. In an extensive treatise, consisting of 12 books, the state of slave-owning latifundia is examined in detail. Columella wrote about the extremely low productivity of slave labor, about the fact that slaves bring the greatest harm to the fields, have a bad attitude towards work, the maintenance of livestock, equipment, steal, deceive landowners, etc. The picture painted by Columella testifies to the decline of agriculture, to the fact that the economy of the slave society was already in a state of crisis, which continued to deepen. According to Columella, "the latifundia ruined Italy."

In search of a way out of the crisis, the Roman scientist prefers the more productive labor of free producers, raises the question of the rejection of slave labor, the use of columns.

One of the pages in the history of the economic teachings of ancient Rome is connected with the Gracchian agrarian movement, which expressed the interests of the landless and land-poor peasantry in the struggle against the latifundists. It was led by the brothers Tiberius (163-132 BC) and Guy (153-121 BC) Gracchi. Demanding the restriction of large-scale landownership and the allotment of land to landless and small-land peasants, they intended to carry out such a reform within the framework of the slave-owning system and in this way strengthen it.

In ancient Rome, the struggle of slaves for their liberation reached great proportions. Their demands were put forward in a generalized form during the uprisings. The main ones were the destruction of slave-owning latifundia, liberation from slavery. The brightest pages of anti-slavery speeches are connected in Ancient Rome with the largest uprising of slaves under the leadership of Spartacus (74-71 BC).

II. ECONOMIC THEORIES DURING THE MIDDLE AGES

The era of the Middle Ages covers a large historical period in Western Europe - from the 5th century. before the bourgeois revolutions of the 17th-18th centuries, in Russia - from the 9th century. before the reform of 1861. In a number of countries in Asia and Africa, feudal relations continued into the 20th century.

The economic thought of the Western Middle Ages developed along with the evolution of society.

When studying the economic teachings of the Middle Ages, one should first of all pay attention to the economic ideas contained in documents and used to substantiate legal norms. These include records of customary law and the so-called "Pravda" of individual tribes, economic regulations of feudal estates, guild charters, economic legislation of cities, etc.

Lecture 4. Economic ideas in Western Europe and in Russia

The economic thought of the Middle Ages is closely connected with the economic policy of the states, designed to maintain the feudal order, its stabilization. The defenders of the interests of the feudal lords had a negative attitude towards trade and usury. Natural economic limitation of production was considered an advantage and was presented as a social virtue.

Due to the fact that the church played an exceptional role in the Middle Ages, economic thought in a number of cases took on a religious veneer and took on a theological form.

An idea of ​​the economic ideas of the early Middle Ages (VI-X centuries) is given by the old record of the judicial customs of the Franks "Salic Truth", compiled at the beginning of the VI century AD.

Citing a list of fines for all kinds of crimes, she characterizes the economic views of the Franks: the communal peasantry, on the one hand, and service people or combatants, on the other. In its prescriptions, agriculture appears as the natural occupation of the franc. Cities and industry were not given much attention. Trade problems are completely absent.

"Salicheskaya Pravda" defended the positions of the community, the stability of communal land tenure, the priority of communal property over private property. At the same time, the communal principles of economic life were combined in it with the recognition of slavery, the colony of large landownership and royal power as lawful phenomena.

"Salic truth" reflected the decomposition of the tribal system, the beginning of the process of feudalization of the differentiation of Frankish society and the interests of the service aristocracy, grouped around the king.

Three centuries later economic issues Medieval estates were reflected in the Capitulary of Villas (law on estates), published under Charlemagne. It consolidated the serfdom of the peasants, the task of economic policy was reduced to the establishment of serfdom.

Economic views of the canonists

The originality of the economic thought of the Middle Ages was clearly reflected in the economic teachings of Catholicism. In the Middle Ages, the Catholic Church increases its power. Possessing colossal wealth and landed property, the churchmen justify the domination of serfdom and defend its positions with the help of church rules, the so-called canons of the church.

The finalist of the views of the canonists was the Italian theologian Thomas Aquinas (1225-1275), who created an extensive work "The Sum of Theologies". He stood out as a major representative of the economic thought of the Middle Ages. Aquinas' work became a kind of encyclopedia of Catholicism. And to this day his teaching is widely used by the Vatican.

Aquinas considered such economic problems as property, trade, "fair price", interest.

He characterized the social division of labor as a natural a natural phenomenon and believed that it underlies the division of society into estates. Aquinas argued that people are born different in nature and, based on natural differences, he concluded that the peasants were created for physical labor, and the privileged classes should devote themselves to spiritual activity "in the name of saving the rest." Like ancient thinkers, he put intellectual labor above physical labor and interpreted the latter as a slave occupation.

F. Aquinas paid much attention to private property. In it, he saw the basis of the economy and believed that a person by nature has the right to appropriate wealth. Hence, property acquired to meet the necessary needs is a natural and necessary institution of human life.

An important place in the teachings of Aquinas is occupied by the theory of "fair price". The canonical theory inherited the idea of ​​a fair price from antiquity. In the Middle Ages, both the peasant and the craftsman had a more or less accurate idea of ​​the labor expended on the production of their goods and, in exchange, determined their prices depending on the labor expended on production. The law of value operated long before the rise of the capitalist mode of production. A price that was based on labor costs, i.e. on the exchange of equivalents, was considered a fair price.

On the one hand, Aquinas considers the “fair price” to be the correct prices corresponding to labor costs, and on the other hand, he proves the legitimacy of deviating from this price if it does not guarantee a decent existence for each participant in the exchange.

Consequently, from the point of view of Aquinas, not the same, but different prices for different classes for the same product were considered fair.

Closely related to the theory of "fair price" are Aquinas' arguments about profit and interest. Unconditionally justifying the receipt of land rent, he took an ambivalent position in relation to profit and interest. Aquinas was a supporter of the naturalization of economic life and, like his predecessors, was hostile to large-scale trade and usury. He devoted one of the questions of his main essay to the problem of the sinfulness of charging interest.

The profit received by merchants does not contradict, in his opinion, Christian virtue and should be considered as payment for labor. The level of profit is normal if it provides the merchant's family with the opportunity to live according to his place in the class hierarchy of society.

Paying tribute to the time, Aquinas makes attempts to find a compromise solution to the issue of charging interest, which in the middle of the XIII century. was forbidden and condemned by the church. He interprets it as a reward to the creditor for the risk of non-payment, for granting a delay to the debtor in paying his debt or as receiving disinterested gifts from the debtor, and also in the case of using the loaned money by the debtor to make a profit.

Economic ideas in the Middle Ages, in Russia. "Ruler" Yermolai-Erasmus.

The economic thought of the Russian state, as in other countries, developed along with the development of society. For a long time it existed in close connection with the religious views of people and their moral concepts. Therefore, in the study of economic thought Ancient Rus' attention should be paid to the annals, treaties of letters of princes, church literature. An important place among them is occupied by Russkaya Pravda, the first ever code of laws of the Russian state. Its content reflected the existing Kievan Rus in the XI-XIII centuries. relations of production.

End of the XV - beginning of the XVI century. - one of the important stages in the history of the Russian people. During this period, the process of eliminating the fragmentation of the country and the formation of the Russian centralized state is completed. This contributed to economic progress, the development of commodity-money relations. Along with the hereditary property of the boyars, the estate began to expand, noble land ownership as a reward for service. With the formation of a centralized state, the role of the local nobility increased significantly.

The economic interests of the local nobility expressed in the XVI century. Yermolai is a priest of the Moscow Palace Church. Later, he took the vows as a monk under the name of Erasmus. Most of his works are devoted to theological and moralistic topics, but in them he also covered topical social issues. According to his political views, Yermolai-Erasmus is an opponent of boyar autocracy.

Significant for its time, the work of Yermolai-Erasmus entitled “The Ruler and Surveying by the Benevolent Tsar”, or in short “The Ruler”, is the first special economic and political treatise in Russia, written in the 40s or early 50s of the 16th century. It outlines a system of measures aimed at solving the urgent problems of that time.

A large place in the "Ruler" is occupied by the question of the position of the peasant masses. Erasmus gave them paramount importance in the life of society and drew attention to their difficult, plight. In an effort to alleviate the situation of the peasants, he considered it necessary to free them from cash payments to the landowner and from the performance of the yam duty, which he proposed to shift to the population of the cities. Peasants, in his opinion, should perform duties to landowners only in the form of quitrent in kind in the amount of a fifth of the product they produce.

Erasmus made the amount of provision with land and peasants dependent on official merit and performance of official duty. The unearned wealth of the nobles was rejected by him as unfair.

In the "Ruler" the question of creating the economic basis of the Russian centralized state was considered. Erasmus saw such a basis in the local land tenure of service people. The reform he proposed in the field of land ownership - the distribution of land to peasants and service people - primarily reflected the interests of a new, progressive for that time part of society - the service nobility, and was aimed at strengthening the state. In this sense, it was progressive.

Rise of utopian socialism

In the late Middle Ages (XVI-XVII centuries), significant changes took place in the economic thought of Western Europe, caused by a deep process of development of manufactory production. The great geographical discoveries, the robbery of the colonies accelerated the process of capital accumulation.

During this period, social utopias arise. One of the founders of utopian socialism was Thomas More (1478-1532), an outstanding humanist thinker, politician of Tudor England, who was executed for his opposition to absolutism (he refused to take the oath to the king as the head of the church). The son of a wealthy judge and himself a lawyer by education, More held high government positions.0 But despite this, he sympathized with the misfortunes of the masses.

More sharply criticized the social orders prevailing in England, the methods of primitive accumulation of capital. He saw the root cause of poverty in private property and opposed it.

More was the first critic of capitalism. More's views did not represent a special scientific theory. They were just dreams.

Among the early representatives of utopian socialism is the Italian thinker Tommaso Campanella (1568-1639), who came from the poor peasantry. He is known as an active participant in the struggle for the liberation of southern Italy from the oppression of the Spanish monarchy. Once in the hands of enemies, Campanella spent 27 years in casemates. There he wrote his famous essay City of the Sun (1623), in which he sharply criticized the social system of Italy at that time.

In it, Campanella put forward a project for an ideal utopian state - the city of the Sun, the basis of which was the community of property. Reflecting the traditions of the economic thought of the Middle Ages, he was guided by a subsistence economy. The society of the future was drawn to him as a set of agricultural communities, to work in which all citizens are involved. Campanella recognized the individuality of housing and the family, the universality of labor, and rejected the thesis that after the abolition of property, no one would work. Consumption in the city of the Sun, he believed, would be public with an abundance of material goods, poverty would disappear. Relations between people should be based on the principles of friendship, comradely cooperation and mutual understanding.

However, neither T. More nor T. Campanella knew the real paths to the new society. They limited themselves to describing a utopian state with unusual orders, which revealed the historical limitations of their economic projects.

III. ECONOMIC THEORIES DURING THE BIRTH OF THE MARKET ECONOMY

Lecture 5. Mercantilism as the first school of political economy

The first school of economic science was mercantilism (from the Italian word "mercante" - merchant, merchant), which became widespread and occupied leading positions in the economic thought of many countries until the end of the 17th century.

Mercantilism expressed primarily the economic policy of the state. Mercantilists represented the interests of commercial capital. Its representatives practically solved the problems of initial accumulation.

One of the main features of mercantilism was the identification of wealth with gold and silver. Mercantilists believed that gold and silver were inherently money. This is not true, since nature does not create money, nor does it create bankers and the rate of exchange. Criticizing the position of the mercantilists that "gold by its nature is money," K. Marx pointed out that "money by its nature is gold." This means that it is gold, unlike all other commodities, that is most suitable for fulfilling the role of money.

The mercantilists considered foreign trade to be the source of wealth. This interpretation was not accidental. It was an integral part of the whole concept of the mercantilists.

Seeing the source of national wealth in foreign trade and profit from alienation, the mercantilists took care of an active foreign trade balance. Its implementation, as well as the accumulation of monetary wealth in general, was associated with the vigorous activity of the state, which, through a system of administrative measures and economic policy, was supposed to facilitate the flow of gold and silver into the country. To accomplish this task, the mercantilists put forward a whole system of measures recommended to the royal government, which was supposed to interfere in economic life and promote active foreign trade.

Mercantilism went through two stages in its development. The first is early mercantilism (XVI century), associated with the establishment of a monetary system (monetarism). The second stage is the developed mercantilism, called the manufacturing system (XVII century).

The monetary system is characterized by the concept of a monetary balance. Its prominent representative, William Stafford (England). According to this concept, the task of accumulating monetary wealth in the country was solved mainly by administrative measures that ensured the strict regulation of money circulation and foreign trade. Monetarists, considering gold as a treasure, an absolute form of wealth, were looking for ways to inflow it from abroad and keep it inside the country. It was strictly forbidden to export money outside the given state, the activities of foreign merchants were strictly controlled, the import of foreign goods was limited, high duties were established, etc.

The transition to the manufacturing system did not lead to a change in the basic dogmas of the mercantilist concept, however, it caused significant changes in the methods of accumulation. Mature mercantilism represented a more developed economy, which affected the economic doctrine. Its most famous spokesman was the English economist Thomas Man. In France developed mercantilism was represented by Colbertism. In Italy, the concept of the balance of trade was developed by Antonio Serra.

Like the monetarists, the representatives of the manufacturing system identified the wealth of nations with gold and considered foreign trade to be its only source. They were convinced of the omnipotence of money. According to Columbus, gold is an amazing thing! Whoever possesses it is the master of whatever he wants. Gold can even open the way to heaven for souls.

Representatives of developed mercantilism largely overcame the illusions of the monetarists. Their economic theory is more justified. Instead of administrative methods of accumulation, the importance of which has fallen, economic methods come to the fore. Mercantilists abandoned the ban on the export of gold outside the country, from the strict regulation of monetary circulation. They outline measures to stimulate foreign trade, which was supposed to ensure a constant flow of gold into the country. The main rule of foreign trade was the excess of exports over imports. To ensure its implementation, the mercantilists took care of the development of manufacturing production, domestic trade, the growth of not only exports, but also imports of goods, the purchase of raw materials abroad, and the rational use of money. The growth of manufactory production and the intensification of economic methods of accumulation did not exclude administrative influence from the state, although the nature of such influence changed. In accordance with the concept of the balance of trade, an economic policy of protectionism was pursued in the interests of their own manufacturers and merchants. A ban was maintained on the export of raw materials, the import of a number of goods, especially luxury goods, was limited, high import duties were set, etc. The mercantilists demanded that the royal government encourage the development of national industry and trade, the production of goods for export, maintain high customs duties, build and strengthen the fleet, and expand external expansion.

Mercantilism in individual countries had its own characteristics. Its development was associated with the level of maturity of capitalist production relations, which also determined the practical results of national mercantilist theories.

Mercantilism reached its greatest development in England. An early stage was represented by William Stafford, author of A Critical Exposition of Some of the Complaints of Our Compatriots (1581). Developing the concept of monetarism, Stafford expressed concern about the outflow of money abroad. He proposed to solve the problem of accumulating monetary wealth mainly by administrative measures, demanding from the state a ban on the export of coins, the import of luxury goods, and restrictions on the import of a number of other goods. Stafford spoke in favor of expanding the processing of English wool and the production of cloth.

Mature mercantilism is represented in England by the works of Thomas Maine (1571-1641). The classic representative of the manufacturing system, T. Maine, was at the same time a major merchant of his time, one of the directors of the East India Company. Defending the interests of the company from the attacks of opponents who criticized it for the export of coins, T. Man in 1621 published a pamphlet "Discourse on the trade of England with the East Indies." The author opposed the theory of trade balance to the concept of the monetarists. work "The Wealth of England in Foreign Trade or the Balance of Foreign Trade as a Regulator of Wealth". This is his main work, in the very title of which the creed of developed mercantilism was formulated. T. Man considered strict regulation of monetary circulation to be harmful, advocated the free export of coins, without which normal development of foreign trade. He considered the main concern to ensure the rule: "Sell to foreigners annually for a larger amount than we buy from them." ** Demanding the abolition of the law "on spending" coins for foreigners, T. Man proceeded from the fact that the ban on the export of money hinders the demand for British goods abroad, and an excess of money in the country contributes to higher prices.

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