Ancient Economic Thought

This book explores the interrelationship between economic practice and religion, ethics and social structure in a number of ancient cultures, including ancient East Indian, Hebraic, Greek, Hellenistic, Roman and emerging European cultures.

On March 17, 2015, Brill was informed that the article by Francisco Gómez Camacho S. J., "Later Scholastics: Spanish Economic Thought in the XVIth and XVIIth Centuries," in Ancient and Medieval Economic Ideas and Concepts of Social Justice, ed. S. Todd Lowry and Barry Gordon (Leiden: Brill, 1998), pp. 503-561 suffers from serious citation problems and that in some cases the original sources are never mentioned at all. It goes without saying that Brill strongly disapproves of such practices, which represent a serious breach of publication integrity. Brill condemns any violation of the authors' rights and the copyrights of the publishers, and distances itself from these practices. As a result Brill cannot stand behind the noted material as originally contained in this volume and for these reasons formally retracts the article by Francisco Gómez Camacho and also the volume. The volume will no longer be available in its current form. (Blurb: 13 scholars contribute to this survey of past discussions of the workings of economic structures and of justice in interpersonal relations, cultural institutions and the social order. They investigate the sources in each historic period from the world of the Old Testament and the ancient Greeks through to Spanish scholasticism and its offshoots in the Spanish Americas of the 18th century and relate the ideas of writers from the past to modern discussions.)

Economic thinking has a long history dating back to pre-Christian era. References to economic ideas and practices are found in Vedas, Bible and Koran in the form of commandments and instructions. Economics for long was regarded as the art of house keeping/management. In fact, Economy was the title of a book by an ancient Greek historian and philosopher Xenophon (434-355 B.C.). Aristotle was another ancient Greek thinker (384-322 B.C) who authored many works on philosophy, natural sciences and socio-economic problems. Another well-known Greek who reflected on economic matters was Plato, the author of the famous work, The Republic. The exploitation of the proletariat (workers) under capitalism led to the writings of Karl Marx (1818-1883), a German philosopher with revolutionary zeal. He published two epoch-making works in collaboration with his friend and benefactor Friedrich Engels (1820-1895): The Communist Manifesto (1848) and Das Capital (1867). These two works immensely influenced the thinking of the contemporary world. From the chaos of the depression of the early 1930s grew the ideas of John Maynard Keynes (1883-1946) which are relevant to this day. This book is an attempt to rekindle interest in the history of economic ideas.

In this concise yet comprehensive history, Heinz D. Kurz traces the long arc of economic thought from its emergence in ancient Greece to its systematic presentation among the classical thinkers of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries to the influential work of scholars such as Paul Samuelson and Kenneth J. Arrow. With a keen eye for how economic insights are acquired, lost, and reborn, Kurz focuses on the dynamic individuals who give old ideas new life and the historical events that provoke different approaches and theories. Over the course of this journey, Kurz explains what Adam Smith meant by the "invisible hand"; how Karl Marx's "law of motion" works in capitalist economies; the roots of the Austrian economists' emphasis on the problems of information, incomplete knowledge, and uncertainty; John Maynard Keynes's principle of effective demand and economic stabilization; and the insights and challenges offered by growth theory, welfare economics, game theory, and more. He concludes with a deft summation of world economists' major concerns today and their critical relation to world events.

This volume comprises twelve papers written by Chinese scholars on various aspects of the history of ancient Chinese economic thought. The contributions are preceded by an introduction which gives an overview of the development of the subject of history of economic thought in China, and which also provides an historical context to the individuals who constitute the major "schools" of ancient Chinese economic thought. The authors of the papers are leading scholars who have dominated this research area since the founding of New China in 1949, while the broad range of topics covered by the contributions includes questions of methodology, detailed and sometimes controversial interpretations of texts and "schools", and the international influence and modern relevance of ancient Chinese thought. A recurrent theme is that ancient Chinese thought has at least as much to offer to the historian as ancient Western thought. As the first such volume of papers to be translated into English, this collection provides a unique opportunity for non-Chinese readers to sample the way in which Chinese historians of economics have attempted to understand their own intellectual heritage. This book will be relevant to scholars interested in the history of economic thought, economic history and Chinese studies.

DigiCat Publishing presents to you this special edition of "A History of Greek Economic Thought" by Albert Augustus Trever. DigiCat Publishing considers every written word to be a legacy of humankind. Every DigiCat book has been carefully reproduced for republishing in a new modern format. The books are available in print, as well as ebooks. DigiCat hopes you will treat this work with the acknowledgment and passion it deserves as a classic of world literature.