Economy and Economics of Ancient Greece
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Economy and Economics of Ancient Greece Whilst modern economists are primarily concerned with how people behave, clas- sical writers such as Plato, Aristotle, and Xenophon were more interested in how people should behave, thus marking the ethical difference between economics now and economics in Ancient Greece. Partly a piece of economic history, partly a critique of utilitarianism, Takeshi Amemiya presents a complete model of the Athenian economy. Exploring all areas of this economy including public finance, banking, manu- facturing, and trade, Amemiya discusses the historical, cultural, political, and sociological condition of ancient Greece as well as the ethical background in which the economy developed. Such a broad and comprehensive survey is unprec- edented in this field. Takeshi Amemiya has taught an undergraduate course for the last five years at Stanford on Economy and Economics of ancient Greece and this text would be perfect for those and other students interested in this period. It would also be a useful reference point for graduates and of considerable interest to classicists at any level. Takeshi Amemiya teaches econometrics and Greek economy and economics at Stanford University. Routledge explorations in economic history 1 Economic Ideas and Government Policy Contributions to contemporary economic history Sir Alec Cairncross 2 The Organization of Labour Markets Modernity, culture and governance in Germany, Sweden, Britain and Japan Bo Stråth 3 Currency Convertibility The gold standard and beyond Edited by Jorge Braga de Macedo, Barry Eichengreen and Jaime Reis 4 Britain’s Place in the World A historical enquiry into import controls 1945–1960 Alan S. Milward and George Brennan 5 France and the International Economy From Vichy to the Treaty of Rome Frances M. B. Lynch 6 Monetary Standards and Exchange Rates M.C. Marcuzzo, L. Officer, A. Rosselli 7 Production Efficiency in Domesday England, 1086 John McDonald 8 Free Trade and its Reception 1815–1960 Freedom and trade: Volume I Edited by Andrew Marrison 9 Conceiving Companies Joint-stock politics in Victorian England Timothy L. Alborn 10 The British Industrial Decline Reconsidered Edited by Jean-Pierre Dormois and Michael Dintenfass 11 The Conservatives and Industrial Efficiency, 1951–1964 Thirteen wasted years? Nick Tiratsoo and Jim Tomlinson 12 Pacific Centuries Pacific and Pacific Rim economic history since the 16th century Edited by Dennis O. Flynn, Lionel Frost and A. J. H. Latham 13 The Premodern Chinese Economy Structural equilibrium and capitalist sterility Gang Deng 14 The Role of Banks in Monitoring Firms The case of the Crédit Mobilier Elisabeth Paulet 15 Management of the National Debt in the United Kingdom, 1900–1932 Jeremy Wormell 16 An Economic History of Sweden Lars Magnusson 17 Freedom and Growth The rise of states and markets in Europe, 1300–1750 S. R. Epstein 18 The Mediterranean Response to Globalization Before 1950 Sevket Pamuk and Jeffrey G. Williamson 19 Production and Consumption in English Households 1600–1750 Mark Overton, Jane Whittle, Darron Dean and Andrew Hann 20 Governance, The State, Regulation and Industrial Relations Ian Clark 21 Early Modern Capitalism Economic and social change in Europe 1400–1800 Edited by Maarten Prak 22 An Economic History of London, 1800–1914 Michael Ball and David Sunderland 23 The Origins of National Financial Systems Alexander Gerschenkron reconsidered Edited by Douglas J. Forsyth and Daniel Verdier 24 The Russian Revolutionary Economy, 1890–1940 Ideas, debates and alternatives Vincent Barnett 25 Land Rights, Ethno-Nationality, and Sovereignty in History Edited by Stanley L. Engerman and Jacob Metzer 26 An Economic History of Film Edited by John Sedgwick and Mike Pokorny 27 The Foreign Exchange Market of London Development since 1900 John Atkin 28 Rethinking Economic Change in India Labour and livelihood Tirthankar Roy 29 The Mechanics of Modernity in Europe and East Asia The institutional origins of social change and stagnation Erik Ringmar 30 International Economic Integration in Historical Perspective Dennis M. P. McCarthy 31 Theories of International Trade Adam Klug Edited by Warren Young and Michael Bordo 32 Classical Trade Protectionism 1815–1914 Edited by Jean Pierre Dormois and Pedro Lains 33 Economy and Economics of Ancient Greece Takeshi Amemiya Economy and Economics of Ancient Greece Takeshi Amemiya First published 2007 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 270 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2007 Takeshi Amemiya This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2007. “To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.” All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Amemiya, Takeshi. Economy and economics of ancient Greece / Takeshi Amemiya. p. cm Includes bibliographical references. 1. Greece–Economic conditions–To 146 B.C. I. Title. HC37.A44 2007 330.938–dc22 2006026697 ISBN 0–203–79931–3 Master e-book ISBN ISBN10: 0–415–70154–6 (hbk) ISBN10: 0–203–79931–3 (ebk) ISBN13: 978–0–415–70154–9 (hbk) ISBN13: 978–0–203–79931–4 (ebk) Contents List of illustrations ix Preface x Acknowledgments xv Map of Ancient Greece xvi Map of Attica xvii Chronology up to 600 BC xviii Chronology of sixth- and fifth-century Athens xx Chronology of fourth-century Athens xxii Weights, measures, and units xxiv PART I History, society, culture 1 1 History 3 2 Society and culture 13 3 Athenian democracy 37 4 Was Athenian democracy a success? 45 PART II Economy 55 5 Modernist–primitivist and formalist–substantivist controversy 57 6 The Athenian economy of the fifth and fourth century 62 viii Contents PART III Economics 115 7 Xenophon’s economics 117 8 Plato’s ethics 120 9 Aristotle’s ethics 131 10 Plato’s economics 138 11 Aristotle’s economics 150 12 Utilitarianism 158 Glossary of Greek names and terms 169 References 174 Index 179 Illustrations Figures 11.1 Edgeworth diagram 153 Tables 2.1 Size of workshops 35 2.2 Population estimates 36 3.1 Characteristics of Athenian institutions 43 6.1 Estimates of grain production 74 6.2 Slave import under varying assumptions 90 6.3 Slave import under the Isager-Hansen assumptions 91 Appendices 6.1 Calorie percentage in grain, grain–other food ratio, food–expenditure ratio 113 6.2 Annual consumption of grain 114 6.3 Transfer payment by the government (only adult male) 114 Preface This book will start with a brief introduction to the history of Greek civilization from the Mycenaean period to the fourth century BC, then present a detailed account of the Athenian economy and society in the fifth and fourth centuries, and conclude with the economic thoughts of Xenophon, Plato, and Aristotle. A study of the Athenian economy is not only interesting for its own sake but also useful as it will shed light on the primitivist–modernist controversy and the formalist–substantivist controversy. These two pairs of opposing concepts are closely related to each other, though conceptually different. A formalist believes that the Athenian economy can be analyzed by the basic behavioral assumptions of modern economics, namely, utility maximization and profit maximization, whereas a substantivist believes that a different set of behavioral assumptions, such as status maximization, must be substituted. A formalist is more likely to be a modernist, and a substantivist a primitivist, although not necessarily so. For example, one who believes that even the modern American economy should not be explained by utility maximization and profit maximization may be said to be both, a modernist and a substantivist, with regard to the modern American economy. Consideration of these problems will, therefore, be relevant not only for the Athenian economy but also for the modern economy and will force us to think deeply about the role of economic theory in general. Finley, following Weber and Polanyi, suggested that there was no “separate” economy in ancient Greece; it was “embedded” in society. He called this idea “substantivism,” thus shifting the emphasis of the debate from primitivist– modernist to substantivist–formalist. In order to understand the Athenian economy, we need to study various aspects of its society such as its religion, laws, customs, institutions, and political organizations. These are important to understand any economy, modern or ancient, but more so for ancient econo- mies because the degree of “embeddedness” is more pronounced for them. A study of the Athenian economy and society will provide a background for understanding the economic thoughts of Plato and Aristotle. Both Plato and Aris- totle extolled a small self-sufficient economy and disapproved of greedy profit- taking in reaction to the burgeoning market economy in fourth-century Athens. They were more concerned with justice than market equilibrium. They found value in what is good in itself rather than what is conducive to pleasure. A study of Preface xi the economic thoughts of Plato and Aristotle, and their ethical theories of which their economic thoughts constitute a part, will help us to rethink our accustomed values. In particular, it will help clarify the arguments for and against utilitari- anism, which forms the ethical foundation of modern economic theory. The book is organized into chapters as follows. 1. History This chapter will present the history of Greek civilization beginning with the Indo- European invasion of 1600 BC to the end of the Athenian democracy in 322 BC, with a discussion of important events and personalities.