Primitive Accumulation: From Adam Smith to Angela Merkel
I am going to present this paper in Slovenia. Any comments would be appreciated.
The choice of Adam Smith as an introduction to a discussion of primitive accumulation might seem curious even though he inadvertently began the discussion of the concept. Like a modern astrophysicist trying to understand the Big Bang, he asserted that “the accumulation of stock must, in the nature of things, be previous to the division of labour” (Smith 1976, 2.3, p. 277). Smith, who often unintentionally raised important questions in the course of his confusion, was asking, what was the original accumulation that set off the ongoing process of capital accumulation.
I link the history of classical primitive accumulation to the contemporary ravages of neoliberalism.
http://michaelperelman.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/merkel1.docx
25 – The Confiscation of American Prosperity: From Right-Wing Extremism and Economic Ideology to the Next Great Depression
30 – Manufacturing Discontent: The Trap of Individualism in Corporate Society
Class Warfare in the Information Age
Railroading Economics: The Creation of the Free Market Mythology
Steal This Idea: Intellectual Property Rights and the Corporate Confiscation of Creativity
The Invention of Capitalism: Classical Political Economy and the Secret History of Primitive Accumulation
The Perverse Economy: The Impact of Markets on People and the Environment
do you have this is doc file?
http://michaelperelman.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/merkel1.docx<a
I read this and along with your Invention of Capitalism found both very useful for my study of agriculture in the eighteenth century as it pertains to Robert Burns.
You seem to cover a lot of the same ground in both. I like the emphasis on Steuart. Have you ever read Andrew Fletcher fl.late 1690s, early 1700s? I think it was Knud Haakonssen who suugested that many Scottish Enlightenment figures were writing in his wake…that might explain Steuart’s reference to slavery as part of an ongoing discussion with Fletcher’s work where the latter advocates a form of tied labour (which may have something to do with the recent famines Scotland had suffered in the 1690s).
The link between the C18 and today is well made…I wonder if a better way to frame this is ‘primitive accumulation’ becomes ‘modern confiscation’ because there seems to be a pretty shameless and naked grab by modern finance of pension funds, ‘life savings’, national companies by bigger global players without a whimper coming from national govts. I think calling it modern primitive accumulation makes the Marxist approach (which I share as far as a non-economist can) seem backward looking. I know this ‘confiscation’ is nothing new really but I wonder if we need new terms now in our hyper-financialised death spiral. Just a thought anyway.
Recently bought your ‘Perverse Economy’ as well. Very helpful and full of interesting material as always.