The article investigates the relation between praxeology and history in the critique Mises directs at the possibility of the long-term existence of a socialist commonwealth. We argue that Mises makes no clear distinction between the praxeological concept of 'private property' (associated with the possession of means of production) and the historical concept of the ideal-type 'private property' (associated to property rights - see HODGSON, 2015). The lack of precision between the theoretical and the historical concepts of private property prevents Mises’s critique from being an 'exact law', as he would have it. Finally, we show in the last section the consequences for Mises’s critique of socialism of having a historical and a praxeological concept of private property.
Why has the "Adam Smith Problem" recently been discussed in the literature? Although most historians of economic thought regard the problem solved, these discussions cast doubt on this apparent solution. This article suggests that the "Adam Smith Problem" may originate from the concept of the human being developed by Smith in the "Theory of Moral Sentiments": in this book, human beings can be understood as composed of an empirical and a (quasi) transcendental side, in the form of the impartial spectator. It is argued that it is the tension between these two parts which creates supposed inconsistencies between aspects of the "Theory of Moral Sentiments" and the "Wealth of Nations" like, for example, the role of sympathy and self-interest in each of these books. Resumo Qual é o problema, Sr. Smith? Deixando a visão do homem de Adam Smith mais clara (e menos inflamada)Qual a razão das recentes discussões sobre o "Adam Smith Problem" na literatura? Embora a maioria dos historiadores do pensamento econômico considere o problema resolvido, estas discussões põem em dúvida esta suposta resolução. Este artigo sugere que o "Adam Smith Problem" pode ter como origem o conceito de ser humano desenvolvido por Smith na "Teoria dos Sentimentos Morais": neste livro, os seres humanos podem ser compreendidos como compostos de uma parte empírica e outra (quase) transcendental, na figura do espectador imparcial. Argumenta-se no artigo que é a tensão entre estas duas partes do ser humano que gera supostas inconsistências entre determinados aspectos da "Teoria dos Sentimentos Morais" e da "Riqueza das Nações", como, por exemplo, o papel da simpatia e do auto-interesse em cada um destes livros.Palavras-chave: Adam Smith; "Adam Smith Problem"; Conceito de ser humano; James Otteson; Vivienne Brown. JEL B12, B31.
ResumoO presente estudo investigou a produção em História do Pensamento Econômico (HPE)/Metodologia nos congressos da SEP e ANPEC, entre os anos de 2004 e 2014. Mais especificamente, o objetivo principal do trabalho foi verificar qual é a diferença entre a SEP e a ANPEC no que tange à permeabilidade da fronteira entre HPE/Metodologia e outras áreas da economia, com ênfase nas diferenças entre teóricos estudados pelos pesquisadores nos dois congressos. Verificou-se que a fronteira entre a HPE/Metodo- indeed, a permeability of HET/Methodology authors in other areas of economics, mainly at the SEP congress and, to a lesser degree, at the ANPEC congress. We also show that Brazilian researchers strongly concentrate their studies in classic authors (Smith, Marx, Keynes, Furtado). At the same time there is a huge dispersion of minor authors cited in the articles presented at the congresses.
Samuel Bowles é um economista norte-americano reconhecido por sua contribuição concernente ao papel da evolução das instituições nas preferências dos indivíduos, chamando atenção para a endogeneidade das preferências. Os tradicionais Manuais de Microeconomia trabalham com a ideia de que as preferências são exógenas, colocando-se sob questionamento apenas se as utilidades podem e/ou devem ser mensuradas ou apenas ordenadas. Nesse sentido, a ideia de Bowles de preferências endógenas efetivamente agrega elementos teóricos aos tradicionais Manuais de Microeconomia. Além disso, o autor é adepto de analogias biológicas, em contraponto às analogias da física mecânica presente nos Manuais de Economia tradicionais. Essa proposta de Bowles se concretizou em seu livro de 2004, Microeconomics: behavior, institutions, and evolution, que pretende avançar em relação às hipóteses simplistas dos tradicionais Manuais de Microeconomia especificamente. Deste modo, o presente artigo discute a contribuição teórica de Bowles ao ensino de economia e à Ciência Econômica em geral.
The article considers the possible compatibility (in epistemological and ontological terms) of the conceptions of convention and institutions in the thought of John Maynard Keynes, Thorstein Veblen and Douglass North. We argue, first, that while Veblen suggests an approach to institutions based on instincts, North sustains an approach to institutions based on rational choice, which implies distinct conceptions about institutions and the social world. We then present Keynes's ontological commitments and the epistemological implications of his ontology. We conclude that there is a background ontological compatibility between Keynes and the late North in that both accept that the socioeconomic world is fundamentally uncertain and non-ergodic; also that Keynes is epistemologically closer to North than Veblen in studying the economy as a market system embedded in social institutions; and finally that Keynes's treatment of individual action is closer to Veblen’s than North’s, in that both Keynes and Veblen see human action as based on instincts and not only on rationality.
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