New Perspectives on the History of Economic Thought

Session Submission Type: Panel

Abstract

This session will focus on new perspectives on some major theories in the history of economic thought, including the theories of Adam Smith, Karl Marx, and John Maynard Keynes. One presenter will discuss whether Adam Smith would be in favor of the Scottish independence referendum of 2014 and the ongoing arguments made by some members of the Scottish parliament for a new referendum in 2016. A second presenter will discuss how information technology might be used to address traditional economic questions about what, how, and for whom production takes place in a manner that is consistent with the ethical principles that Karl Marx argued would govern post-capitalist societies in his Critique of the Gotha Program. A third presenter will focus on the normal, or mainstream, interpretation of Keynes’s ideas as represented in The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money and then compare that interpretation to a far less traditional view.

Section

• Economics

Individual Presentations

• Would Smith Approve of Scottish Independence?: Exploring 18th Century Dependency Theory - Aida Ramos, University of Dallas

• Rethinking the Economic Problem - Daniel E. Saros, Valparaiso University

• A look at Keynes' Work from an Historical Perspective - Bill Ballard, Wayland Baptist University

• Property as a Claim to Power: A New Theory of Property - Aaron Barte Fricke, Fricke Law Ltd.

Session Organizer

• Daniel E. Saros, Valparaiso University