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1	Deconstructing "The Invisible Hand" Discourse: An Essay on Reflections in Economic Methodology Tsai, Po-wen 11 January 2005 (has links) The aim of this dissertation is to reflect on economic methodology. To reflect means to think about the relationship between researcher and the object of research. The object in mainstream economics is fixed in market realm. When the object is fixed then the focus in economic study is the method. Mainstream economics used equilibrium analysis method in order to make the research outcome be certainty. In the process of pursuing certainty the ontology of the object is neglected. The de-centering strategy we applied is deconstruction concept. My main reason for taking Derrida¡¦s deconstruction as a starting point is to de-center the fixed center which operating mechanism is the invisible hand. In this dissertation the logic of deconstruction is ¡§neither..or..¡¨ form and the steps are to undo and displace. In order to emphasize the multiples means and the relation of knowledge and power we use the term discourse. In chapter four we undo ¡§the invisible hand¡¨ metaphor that is the center of market. The direct consequence of the undo process is the finding of the ontological implication. In chapter five we displace ¡§the invisible hand¡¨ metaphor. Through rereading Adam Smith¡¦s methodology we interpret invisible hand as causal relation and find the same ontological implication. Together with these two processes above we find out the inspiration for reflection of economic methodology that is to answer the most fundamental question about what is the economic object. In chapter six we call for discussion to bringing the ontology back into economics. We believe the study of economic ontology is a prerequisite for understanding economics as a scientific discipline. It is thus intended and hoped that this reflection will help to beyond the opposite between positivism and post-positivism. For the defined goal to coordinate the opposite we introduce philosopher Quine¡¦s ontological method called ontological commitment. After the reflection we claim ¡Gthe method such as formation and econometric is important, but if we can emphasize the ontology of research object then the study will be activity. The defense of this claim is the main subject of this dissertation. Finally we just point out that if the claim is accepted, then something along this line of the attention is essential to the practice researcher. That is to take more time to think the nature of the research object when he construes a model. Ontology Deconstruction Invisible Hand Economic Methodology Discourse
2	Neviditeľná ruka trhu: Adam Smith a G. W. F. Hegel / The invisible hand of market: Adam Smith and G. W. F. Hegel Krištofóry, Tomáš January 2009 (has links) Hayek's interpretation of Smith's invisible hand as a metaphor for the theory of spontaneous order still holds as the only authentic interpretation of that famous phrase, despite all criticism. Although not many authors noticed it, Hegel was a theorist of spontaneous order, namely also a theorist of the spontaneous order of market economy. There is evidence that Hegel followed here Adam Smith's teachings about the invisible hand. The invisible hand is present in Hegel's writings as an element, from what sprang his theory of spirit. That means that his theory of spirit is a general theory of spontaneous order, although written in metaphysical manner. However, being a theorist of spontaneous order didn't prevent him from being an interventionist. He was led to interventionism by his synoptic fallacy of mind. He never tried to apply this fallacy on the studies of the market economy. Marxists did that. Some of recent scholars (Sciabarra, Johnson, and Cristi) identified Hegel's theory of spontaneous order, but their interpretation wasn't perfectly in accordance with Hegel's texts. How these authors denied Popper's and Hayek's incorrect opinion that Hegel was a totalitarian, thus it is needed to enrich studies of mentioned current scholars. Here it is taken into account only what Hegel wrote, not later authors about him. This thesis is also an attempt to evaluate the history of economic thought from the standpoint of Smith's and Hegel's methodology.
3	Le vrai sens de la main invisible : la fin d'un mythe ? / The true meaning of the invisible hand : the end of a myth ? Beşeoğlu, Gökhan 19 October 2012 (has links) L'objet de cette recherche est de découvrir le vrai sens de la fameuse « main invisible » d'Adam Smith à travers la nature humaine en insistant surtout sur le rôle de l'imagination humaine. Afin d'éclairer le plus grand mythe de toute l'histoire de l'économie moderne, on va faire référence aux différents concepts du maître écossais comme la philosophie, la sympathie, le spectateur impartial, la surprise, l'étonnement, l'admiration ou encore les vertus. Dans cette démarche, il sera sans doute essentiel d'insister sur les caractéristiques de l'homme à savoir son amour pour des systèmes cohérents, réguliers, harmonieux et simples, pour améliorer sa condition, sa recherche pour plus de commodités, son désir d'approbation ou encore son aversion pour une désapprobation de la part d'autrui. L'objet de ses différentes références est de prouver une cohérence évidente et intelligible non seulement en ce qui concerne l'unicité de la philosophie smithienne mais aussi en ce qui concerne le vrai sens de la main invisible du père fondateur de l'économie moderne. / The purpose of this research is to discover the true meaning of the famous "invisible hand" of Adam Smith through human nature with particular emphasis on the role of human imagination. To inform the biggest myth in the history of the modern economy, we will refer to different concepts of the Scottish master as the philosophy, sympathy, impartial spectator, surprise, wonder, admiration or virtues. In this approach, it may be essential to emphasize the characteristics of man namely his love for coherent, regular, harmonious and simple systems, to improve his condition, his search for convenience, his desire to approval or his aversion for disapproval from others. The purpose of its various references is to prove an evident and intelligible consistency not only regarding to the uniqueness of the Smithian philosophy but also regarding to the true meaning of the invisible hand of the founding father of the modern economics. Main invisible Philosophie Imagination Sympathie Surprise Etonnement Admiration Vertus Système Ethique Invisible hand Philosophy Imagination Sympathy Surprise Wonder Admiration Virtues System Ethics
4	The Theoretical Relevance Of An Updated Marxian Theory Of Commodity In Economics Ahumada, Pablo Emiliano January 2007 (has links) How does material production become socially recognised in capitalism? This is a fundamental question to be addressed in capitalist production, since material production takes place privately and independently in a global and atomistic system. This thesis shows that the question is tackled by Marx in the first three chapters of Capital. The process of social recognition of material production is that of the realisation of work carried out privately and independently as part of the social labour. For Marx this occurs through the private and independent work becoming objective social labour as the substance of the value of commodities, and through the latter finding its necessary developed mercantile expression in the price form of commodities. Therefore, private and independent work becomes social labour through the recognition of its product as equivalent to a certain amount of money. The thesis argues that Marxs answer is powerfully insightful but flawed because it did not succeed in fully characterising the historical specificity of commodity. Commodity is not merely the differentiated unity of use value and value but of use value and mercantile use value, and of labour value and mercantile value. The former dialectic is immediate and distinguishes between the utility of commodity as a direct means of consumption or production and that as a means of exchange, fully determining the behaviour of the private and independent commodity producer. The latter dialectic is objective and distinguishes between commodity as the embodiment of the social labour necessary to reproduce it and as the embodiment of command over social labour, enabling the adjustment of the productive structure. Both dialectics are mediated by the mercantile form of value, which allows the indirect expression of labour value as the gravitational force of the system. The theory of commodity offered in this thesis, unlike that of Marx, consistently hinges on the atomistic private and independent commodity producer. The thesis shows that commodity production is the organisation of societys labour for its material reproduction, just as in any previous mode of production. The discovery of the generic aspect of commodity production breaks the false immediate link between production and supply, and that between the labour theory of value and both the supply-side-determined theory of price and the single-factor theory of production. The thesis also shows that the mercantile form of value is what allows societys labour to become an objective and autonomous materially abstract substance regulating the adjustment of the productive system under the form of material signals. This is the specific aspect of a global mode of production comprised of free and independent individuals. The mercantile form of value is thus Adam Smiths invisible hand. Finally, the thesis analyses some implications of the framework with regard to the analysis of monetary phenomena, capital accumulation and sustainable development, and reviews the most popular Marxian topic in Economics: the transformation of values into prices of production. commodity money form of value exchange value labour value mercantile value use value mercantile use value comparative advantage Marx material production invisible hand dialectic
5	The soft budget constraint : the emergence, persistence and logic of an institution : The Case of Tanzania1967-1992 Eriksson Skoog, Gun January 1998 (has links) The soft budget constraint - today a popular metaphor - is a paradox. In socialist economies, it implies that the state tends to bail out state-owned firms in financial trouble, in spite of the tremendous performance problems of the entire system that result. When the system broke down, the soft budget constraint was expected to disappear. However, it seems to persist, and its persistence appears to hamper the transition process itself. This study seeks an answer to this paradox. It aims at increasing our understanding of why the soft budget constraint exists. By investigating state-owned enterprises in Tanzania before, during and after socialism, the prevalence of the soft budget constraint is examined and an explanation of its existence is suggested. The approach is institutional. The soft budget constraint is defined as an informal institution and an invisible-hand explanation of its emergence, persistence and logic is applied. The study shows that the soft budget constraint emerged as an unintended consequence of the establishment of the Tanzanian socialist system in the 1970s. A behavioural solution to recurrent systemic problems was offered, and thus the soft budget constraint performed several functions. Once established, its very existence set off a cumulative process of self-generation. Four reinforcement mechanisms that accounted for its prevalence during Tanzanian socialism are identified. Its character as a behavioural rule helps to explain why it persisted during market-oriented reform, initiated in the mid-1980s. The soft budget constraint was part of the socialist heritage, was adapted to systemic change, and influenced the direction and character of this change. / Diss. Stockholm : Handelshögsk. Soft budget constraints Public enterprises Socialist system Market oriented transition Tanzania Economic development Institutional change Invisible hand explanations Ekonomi Tanzania Statsägda företag Statliga företag Economics Nationalekonomi
6	Teorie mravních citů a odkaz Adama Smithe v současné filosofii / Theory of Moral Sentiments and Adam Smith's Legacy in Contemporary Philosophy BUKÁČKOVÁ, Tereza January 2017 (has links) This thesis deals with the theory of moral sentiments as put in Adam Smith's work. The thesis reflects the legacy of Adam Smith and enlightened sentimentalism as whole in field of contemporary philosophy and sociological science. Hence the thesis gives attention to misinterpretations of Smith's work, to his economical heritage with emphasis on Hayek's elaboration of the theory of spontaneous order (which has foundation in the notion of the "invisible hand") and also to his legacy in political philosophy. Here the thesis introduces particularly the debate on reflective autonomy, which is crucial for the lining of fundamental features of the disagreement between rationalistic and sentimentalistic account of the origin of morality, and tries to advocate the significance of sentimentalistic claims in todays society. The aim of this thesis is to convince the reader that the aspects of our mind, which the theory of moral sentiments and sentimentalism emphases and which are rather overlooked or devalued in todays world, are absolutely necessary in public debate.
7	The theoretical relevance of an updated Marxian theory of commodity in economics Ahumada, P. E. January 2007 (has links) How does material production become socially recognised in capitalism? This is a fundamental question to be addressed in capitalist production, since material production takes place privately and independently in a global and atomistic system. This thesis shows that the question is tackled by Marx in the first three chapters of Capital. The process of social recognition of material production is that of the realisation of work carried out privately and independently as part of the social labour. For Marx this occurs through the private and independent work becoming objective social labour as the substance of the value of commodities, and through the latter finding its necessary developed mercantile expression in the price form of commodities. Therefore, private and independent work becomes social labour through the recognition of its product as equivalent to a certain amount of money. The thesis argues that Marx's answer is powerfully insightful but flawed because it did not succeed in fully characterising the historical specificity of commodity. Commodity is not merely the differentiated unity of use value and value but of use value and mercantile use value, and of labour value and mercantile value. The former dialectic is immediate and distinguishes between the utility of commodity as a direct means of consumption or production and that as a means of exchange, fully determining the behaviour of the private and independent commodity producer. The latter dialectic is objective and distinguishes between commodity as the embodiment of the social labour necessary to reproduce it and as the embodiment of command over social labour, enabling the adjustment of the productive structure. Both dialectics are mediated by the mercantile form of value, which allows the indirect expression of labour value as the gravitational force of the system. The theory of commodity offered in this thesis, unlike that of Marx, consistently hinges on the atomistic private and independent commodity producer. The thesis shows that commodity production is the organisation of society's labour for its material reproduction, just as in any previous mode of production. The discovery of the generic aspect of commodity production breaks the false immediate link between production and supply, and that between the labour theory of value and both the supply-side-determined theory of price and the single-factor theory of production. The thesis also shows that the mercantile form of value is what allows society's labour to become an objective and autonomous materially abstract substance regulating the adjustment of the productive system under the form of material signals. This is the specific aspect of a global mode of production comprised of free and independent individuals. The mercantile form of value is thus Adam Smith's invisible hand. Finally, the thesis analyses some implications of the framework with regard to the analysis of monetary phenomena, capital accumulation and sustainable development, and reviews the most popular Marxian topic in Economics: the transformation of values into prices of production. commodity money form of value exchange value labour value mercantile value use value mercantile use value comparative advantage Marx material production invisible hand dialectic
8	Virtue, honour and moderation : the foundations of liberty in Montesquieu's political thought Aktoudianakis, Andreas January 2016 (has links) Liberal thinkers have suggested different theories that legitimise the state's various processes, institutions, and use of coercive power. However, their theories cannot account for those motivations that cause men to put their lives in danger when standing against political oppression. The study of Montesquieu's theory of government can aid liberalism's incomplete account of the political motivations that incline men to defend their liberty. Toward this end, this thesis studies Montesquieu's notions of virtue and honour, and challenges the meaning they have been accorded in previous studies. This thesis suggests that Montesquieu combined these notions in order to conceive a type of motivation that inclines individuals to defend their liberty against encroachment. In order to recover this type of motivation, this study will adopt an approach of close textual analysis with attention to the context. Virtue and honour play a crucial role in Montesquieu's political thought because they foster the preservation of government. Virtue inclines citizens in republics to act with self-sacrifice. However, that virtue does not aim toward the attainment of excellence or of God's grace; rather, Montesquieu conceived virtue in relation to public utility. Honour inclines the subjects of monarchy to pursue their selfish desires in order to derive public benefits. However, Montesquieu did not conceive honour in connection with the liberal motif of the invisible hand; rather, he conceived honour in connection with the pursuit of glory. By combining honour and virtue, Montesquieu conceived a type of motivation that can foster the preservation of liberty in modernity. This motivation enables individuals to enjoy their liberty in times of peace by pursuing their selfish desires; in times of crisis, it inclines them to perform great actions in order to defend that liberty against political oppression. Considering Montesquieu's type can aid liberalism's account of political motivations in the contemporary debate. 320.51
9	La disparition de la rencontre de marché dans la tradition économique française : de Boisguilbert à Walras / The disappearance of the encounter of market in the French economic tradition : from Boisguilbert to Walras Bruneau, Laurent 16 December 2010 (has links) La thèse se propose de réexaminer le concept de concurrence dans une sélection de textes classiques de la tradition économique française du 18ème siècle et du 19ème siècle.L’examen des textes fondateurs de Boisguilbert et de Cantillon, montre que le concept de concurrence recouvre deux contenus différents.- D’une part, la concurrence qui s’exerce sur un site de marché, du côté long du marché, et qui prend la forme d’un comportement conflictuel de rabais ou d’enchères monétaires.- D’autre part, la concurrence qui s’exerce ensuite à partir des signaux prix constitués sur le site de marché, et qui prend la forme de décisions quantitatives, de réallocations des marchandises, des capitaux et des hommes. Cette deuxième signification va peu à peu supplanter la première jusqu’à faire disparaître le concept même de rencontre de marché, notamment dans l’œuvre de Turgot (avec le marché général). Cette même tendance apparaît dans l’analyse mathématique d’Isnard, alors même que Canard propose une approche mathématique de la rencontre conflictuelle de marché.Au début du 19ème siècle, influencé par Smith modifiant la définition de la demande, Say confirme la disparition, tandis que Sismondi ne parvient pas à dissocier les processus concurrentiels.Par la suite, les auteurs de l’école française, au premier rang desquels Garnier et Molinari vont alors parachever le processus d’occultation des processus concurrentiels du premier type, malgré la tentative iconoclaste de Walras qui tente, sans succès selon nous, d’en rendre compte avec le tâtonnement. Au final, la recherche montre que l’absence de prise de conscience de la dualité du concept de concurrence, a rendu invisible le changement de direction de l’analyse de la rencontre de marché, vers 1760. Une reconnaissance de cette dualité pourrait donc réorienter efficacement les recherches contemporaines. / The thesis offers to re-examine the concept of competition in a selection of traditional texts of the French economic tradition of the 18th and 19th century.The examination of the founding texts of Boisguilbert and Cantillon, shows that the concept of competition covers two different contents.- On the one hand, the competition which is exerted on the site of a marketplace, on the long side of the marketplace, and which takes the form of conflictual behavior of outbidding or underbidding price.- On the other hand, the competition which is exerted from indications of price signal on the site of marketplace, and which takes the form of quantitative decisions, of réallocations of the goods, capital and men. This second significance gradually will supplant the first, until it made disappear the concept itself of encounter of market, in particular in the work of Turgot (with the general market). This same tendency appears in the mathematical analysis of Isnard, while at the same time Canard introduces a mathematical approach of the conflictual encounter of market.At the beginning of the 19th century, influenced by Smith amending the definition of the demand, Say confirms this disappearance, while Sismondi does not manage to dissociate the competitive processes. Thereafter, the authors of the French school, first and foremost Garnier and Molinari are then going to complete the blanking process of the competitive behaviour of the first type, in spite of the iconoclastic attempt of Walras which tries, unsuccessfully according to us, to give an account of it, with the concept of tâtonnement (groping).Finally, research shows that the absence of awareness of the duality of the concept of competition, made invisible the change of direction in the analysis of the encounter of market, in about 1760. A recognition of this duality could thus successfully reorientate contemporary research. Marché Rencontre de marché Rabais Enchères Efficience allocative Tâtonnement Formation des prix Processus concurrentiels Main invisible Allocation Prix Loi de l’offre et de la demande Vendeur Acheteur Valeur Travail Production Échange Équilibre Circulation Sciences économiques Boisguilbert Cantillon Turgot Isnard Canard Say Sismondi Smith Garnier Molinari Walras Cournot Market Encounter of market Competition Underbidding Outbidding Allocative efficiency Groping Price formation Competitive processes Invisible hand Price Law of the supply and of the demand Supply Demand Salesman Purchaser Value Work Production Exchange Balance Circulation Economy Economics
10	F. A. Hayek's Critique of Legislation Holm, Cyril January 2014 (has links) The dissertation concerns F. A. Hayek’s (1899–1992) critique of legislation. The purpose of the investigation is to clarify and assess that critique. I argue that there is in Hayek’s work a critique of legislation that is distinct from his well-known critique of social planning. Further that the main claim of this critique is what I refer to as Hayek’s legislation tenet, namely that legislation that aims to achieve specific aggregate results in complex orders of society will decrease the welfare level. The legislation tenet gains support; (i) from the welfare claim – according to which there is a positive correlation between the utilization of knowledge and the welfare level in society; (ii) from the dispersal of knowledge thesis – according to which the total knowledge of society is dispersed and not available to any one agency; and (iii) from the cultural evolution thesis – according to which evolutionary rules are more favorable to the utilization of knowledge in social cooperation than are legislative rules. More specifically, I argue that these form two lines of argument in support of the legislation tenet. One line of argument is based on the conjunction of the welfare claim and the dispersal of knowledge thesis. I argue that this line of argument is true. The other line of argument is based on the conjunction of the welfare claim and the cultural evolution thesis. I argue that this line of argument is false, mainly because the empirical work of political scientist Elinor Ostrom refutes it. Because the two lines of argument support the legislation tenet independently of each other, I argue that Hayek’s critique of legislation is true. In this dissertation, I further develop a legislative policy tool as based on the welfare claim and Hayek’s conception of coercion. I also consider Hayek’s idea that rules and law are instrumental in forging rational individual action and rational social orders, and turn to review this idea in light of the work of experimental economist Vernon Smith and economic historian Avner Greif. I find that Smith and Greif support this idea of Hayek’s, and I conjecture that it contributes to our understanding of Adam Smith’s notion of the invisible hand: It is rules – not an invisible hand – that prompt subjects to align individual and aggregate rationality in social interaction. Finally, I argue that Hayek’s critique is essentially utilitarian, as it is concerned with the negative welfare consequences of certain forms of legislation. And although it may appear that the dispersal of knowledge thesis will undermine the possibility of carrying out the utilitarian calculus, due to the lack of knowledge of the consequences of one’s actions – and therefore undermine the legislation tenet itself – I argue that the distinction between utilitarianism conceived as a method of deliberation and utilitarianism conceived as a criterion of correctness may be used to save Hayek’s critique from this objection. Hayek legislation rules law rationality rational action rational social order equilibrium utilitarianism method of deliberation criterion of correctness Elinor Ostrom Avner Greif Vernon Smith Joshua Epstein complexity knowledge social cooperation information know-how the Hayek problem the invisible hand Adam Smith Mises Keynes Marx welfare state Gilbert Ryle Michael Polanyi theory of legislation legisprudence jurisprudence Neo-Kantianism historicism cognitive closure theory of prices competition syntax grammar game theory generative social science agent-based computational modeling institutional policy analysis normative primacy of economics primacy of politics Sheri Berman constructivist rationalism socialism social democracy Nozick Rawls distribution justice freedom Kant polycentric government process of experimentation speculative philosophy analytical philosophy freedom under the law liberty philosophy of mind consequentialist

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