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Joseph Halevi – Farewell Lecture

by Adam David Morton on September 16, 2015

Joseph Halevi – Farewell Lecture

Adam David Morton | September 16, 2015

Tags: economic theory
economic theory
| 0 617

Since the earliest stages of capitalist development, economists have sought to construct theoretical systems that are capable of explaining how capitalism functions. In particular, the question of functional income distribution (between wages, profits/interest and rents) and its relationship to the process of capital accumulation are key issues at the heart of many of these theoretical systems, from David Ricardo to Thomas Piketty. ECOP2011 “Economic Theories of Modern Capitalism”, taught by Joseph Halevi over a forty-year-long career in the Department of Political Economy at the University of Sydney, introduced students to the major system-building attempts in the history of economic thought: the classical/Marxian, neoclassical and Cambridge Keynesian systems. Each attempt is historically contextualised in order to help students understand why different theorists focused on specific aspects of capitalism, as well as the ideological function that these economic theories provided during different periods in the history of modern capitalism.

The final component of the subject, and by far its most challenging aspect, was an introduction to a number of critiques that challenge the logical consistency of these theoretical systems. From these critiques, it is possible to identify a crucial limitation shared by all of the theoretical systems dealt with in this subject – namely an inability to explain income distribution and capital accumulation in an economic system where production of commodities takes place in many different sectors by means of commodities and labour. ECOP2011 concluded by imploring political economy students to focus their efforts on explaining actual capitalist economic processes in historical time so that the pitfalls of the system-builders can be avoided. Joseph suggests that a modern political economics must be built upon the contributions of post-Keynesians such as Michael Kalecki, Joan Robinson and Luigi Pasinetti, for whom capitalism is a complex and dynamic open system, constantly evolving and transforming in historical time.

There will be a dedicated feature on the notes of ECOP2011, to come. For now, we feature the farewell lecture given by Joseph Halevi at the University of Sydney given on 3 August 2015.

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Author: Adam David Morton

Adam David Morton is Professor of Political Economy in the Department of Political Economy at the University of Sydney. He is author of Unravelling Gramsci: Hegemony and Passive Revolution in the Global Political Economy (2007); Revolution and State in Modern Mexico: The Political Economy of Uneven Development (2011), recipient of the 2012 Book Prize of the British International Studies Association (BISA) International Political Economy Group (IPEG); and co-author of Global Capitalism, Global War, Global Crisis (2018) with Andreas Bieler. He co-edits Progress in Political Economy (PPE) with Gareth Bryant that was the recipient of the 2017 International Studies Association (ISA) Online Media Caucus Award for the Best Blog (Group) and the 2018 International Studies Association (ISA) Online Media Caucus Award for Special Achievement in International Studies Online Media.

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  • Home
  • About
  • Manchester University Press Book Series
  • Past & Present Reading Group
  • A Political Economy of Australian Capitalism
  • Australian IPE Network (AIPEN)
  • Journal of Australian Political Economy (JAPE)
    • Journal of Australian Political Economy (JAPE)
    • JAPE Submission Guidelines
    • JAPE Issues
    • JAPE Young Scholar Award
  • Other Reading Groups
    • The Rubicon Reading Group
    • Marxism Reading Group
    • Journal Club
  • Forums
    • Forums
    • Debating Debtfare States
    • Debating Economic Ideas in Political Time
    • Debating Mass Strikes and Social Movements in Brazil and India
    • Debating The Making of Modern Finance
    • Debating War and Social Change in Modern Europe
    • Debating Social Movements in Latin America
    • Feminist Global “Secureconomy”
    • Scandalous Economics
    • The Military Roots of Neoliberal Governance
  • Literary Geographies of Political Economy
  • Pedagogy
    • Five Minute Honours Theses
    • Piketty Forum
    • Radical Economics Pedagogy
    • Unconventional Wisdom
  • Wheelwright Lecture
  • Events
  • Contributors
  • Links
    • Political Economy At Sydney
    • PHD in Political Economy
    • Master of Political Economy
    • Centre for Future Work
    • Centre for the Study of Social and Global Justice (CSSGJ)
    • Climate Justice Research Centre (UTS)