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George Reisman's Program of Self- Education in the Economic Theory

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George Reisman's Program of Self- Education in the Economic Theory GEORGE REISMAN’S PROGRAM OF SELF- EDUCATION IN THE ECONOMIC THEORY AND POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF CAPITALISM Second Edition A Publication of GEORGE REISMAN’S PROGRAM OF SELF- EDUCATION IN THE ECONOMIC THEORY AND POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF CAPITALISM Second Edition The Jefferson School of Philosophy, Economics, and Psychology, PO Box 2934, Laguna Hills, California on line at www.capitalism.net Copyright © 2004, 1997 by George Reisman. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any manner without written permission of the author. Copies of this publication may be purchased from the publisher. All inquiries should be addressed to The Jefferson School of Philosophy, Economics, and Psychology, PO Box 2934, Laguna Hills, CA 92654. Fax: (949)-831-1783. CONTENTS INTRODUCTION v THE SYLLABUS FOR THE PROGRAM 1 SYLLABUS AND SYLLABUS SUPPLEMENTS FOR FIRST COURSE 25 SYLLABUS FOR FIRST COURSE 27 SUPPLEMENT 1 (From Nature and Value of Economics to Division of Labor) 31 SUPPLEMENT 2 (Dependence of Division of Laobr on Institutions of Capitalism) 37 SUPPLEMENT 3 (Demand and Supply, Uniformity Principles, Prices and Costs) 39 SUPPLEMENT 4 (From The General Pricing of Goods and Services in Limited Supply to The Tyranny of Socialism) 43 SUPPLEMENT 5 (The Influence of the Division of Labor on Private Ownership of the Means of Production) 49 SUPPLEMENT 6 (The Influence of the Division of Labor on Economic Inequality and Economic Competition) 53 SUPPLEMENT 7 (Monopoly Versus Freedom of Competition) 57 SUPPLEMENT 8 (The Productivity Theory of Wages Versus the Exploitation Theory) 63 SYLLABUS AND SYLLABUS SUPPLEMENTS FOR SECOND COURSE 69 SYLLABUS FOR SECOND COURSE 71 SUPPLEMENT 1 (Money and Spending) 75 SUPPLEMENT 2 (Productionism and Say’s Law) 79 SUPPLEMENT 3 (Unemployment and the Productivity Theory of Wages) 83 SUPPLEMENT 4 (Aggregate Production and Aggregate Spending, Saving and Demand) 89 SUPPLEMENT 5 (The Net-Consumption/Net-Investment Theory of Profit and Interest) 95 SUPPLEMENT 6 (Applications of the Net-Consumption/Invariable-Money Analysis) 99 SUPPLEMENT 7 (Exposition and Critique Of Keynesianism) 101 SUPPLEMENT 8 (Inflation) 105 ESSAY STUDY/REVIEW QUESTIONS 113 ESSAY QUESTIONS ON INTRODUCTION 115 ESSAY QUESTIONS ON CHAPTER 1, ECONOMICS AND CAPITALISM 115 ESSAY QUESTIONS ON CHAPTER 2, WEALTH AND THE ECONOMIC PROBLEM 117 ESSAY QUESTIONS ON CHAPTER 3, NATURAL RESOURCES AND THE ENVIRONMENT 121 ESSAY QUESTIONS ON CHAPTER 4, THE GAINS FROM THE DIVISION OF LABOR 123 iii ESSAY QUESTIONS ON CHAPTER 5, DEPENDENCE OF THE DIVISION OF LABOR ON CAPITALISM 124 ESSAY QUESTIONS ON CHAPTER 6, DEPENDENCE OF THE DIVISION OF LABOR ON CAPITALISM II: THE PRICE SYSTEM AND ECONOMIC COORDINATION 125 ESSAY QUESTIONS ON CHAPTER 7, DEPENDENCE OF THE DIVISION OF LABOR ON CAPITALISM III: PRICE CONTROLS AND ECONOMIC CHAOS 127 ESSAY QUESTIONS ON CHAPTER 8, THE DEPENDENCE OF THE DIVISION OF LABOR ON CAPITALISM IV: SOCIALISM, ECONOMIC CHAOS, AND TOTALITARIAN DICTATORSHIP 130 ESSAY QUESTIONS ON CHAPTER 9, THE INFLUENCE OF THE DIVISION OF LABOR ON THE INSTITUTIONS OF CAPITALISM 133 ESSAY QUESTIONS ON CHAPTER 10, MONOPOLY VERSUS FREEDOM OF COMPETITION 135 ESSAY QUESTIONS ON CHAPTER 11, THE DIVISION OF LABOR AND THE CONCEPT OF PRODUCTIVE ACTIVITY 144 ESSAY QUESTIONS ON CHAPTER 12, MONEY AND SPENDING 147 ESSAY QUESTIONS ON CHAPTER 13, PRODUCTIONISM, SAY’S LAW, AND UNEMPLOYMENT 152 ESSAY QUESTIONS ON CHAPTER 14, THE PRODUCTIVITY THEORY OF WAGES 154 ESSAY QUESTIONS ON CHAPTER 15, AGGREGATE PRODUCTION, AGGREGATE SPENDING, AND THE ROLE OF SAVING IN SPENDING 157 ESSAY QUESTIONS ON CHAPTER 16, THE NET-CONSUMPTION/NET-INVESTMENT THEORY OF PROFIT AND INTEREST 160 ESSAY QUESTIONS ON CHAPTER 17, APPLICATIONS OF THE INVARIABLE-MONEY/NET-CONSUMPTION ANALYSIS 163 ESSAY QUESTIONS ON CHAPTER 18, KEYNESIANISM: A CRITIQUE 164 ESSAY QUESTIONS ON CHAPTER 19, GOLD VERSUS INFLATION 166 Note: For short-answer questions on Chapters 1-19, see the separate TJS publication Short-Answer Q&A Supplement to Capitalism: A Treatise on Economics by George Reisman. This publication is now included in Reisman’s Program of Self-Eductaion in the Economic Theory and Political Philosophy of Capitalism and can be found on the same CD as the present publication. iv INTRODUCTION The purpose of this program is to provide a com- serve to reinforce and amplify it. I have placed refer- prehensive knowledge of the nature, foundations, and ences to all of the numerous other works that are in- operations of a capitalist society in all of its major as- cluded in the program, at the appropriate places in this pects, and to do so at an advanced level. As an essential scheme of organization. In effect, organizationally, my part of this objective, the program aims to develop in the book and lectures serve as the program’s spinal column, student the capacity for performing his own, indepen- so to speak, to which the rest of the program is attached dent politico-economic analyses of issues and events at various points. related to the subject matter of the program. The method of organization I have laid out would be As the means of accomplishing its purpose, the pro- suitable for someone willing and able to read several gram seeks to familiarize the student with the works of large books and a greater number of small ones, all Ludwig von Mises and Ayn Rand, and of the earlier fairly closely related in subject matter at any given point “Austrian” and classical economists, as well as with my but of different degrees of difficulty, all at the same own book Capitalism: A Treatise on Economics. An in- time. It is entirely possible, of course, that this method depth knowledge of this material is vitally necessary for of organization may not be the best one. It almost cer- anyone who seriously wants to understand capitalism. tainly is not the one that any given participant should The essential and principal themes of the program are follow in attempting to complete the program. My pur- (1) the individual pursuit of material self-interest under pose, which I have not found easy to accomplish, has freedom is the foundation of the development of capital- been to arrive at some principle of organization of all of ist institutions and of economic progress and prosperity; the very vital and extensive material one needs to know (2) the economic institutions of a capitalist society— in order to defend capitalism competently and effec- among them private ownership of the means of produc- tively. What this program offers—what makes it a pro- tion, division of labor, saving and capital accumulation, gram—is that it does possess such a principle. As far as economic competition and economic inequality, and the I know, it is the first and only program of its type. And profit motive and the price system—make possible con- this being so, it should be considered as version 1.0, to tinuous economic progress and continually rising living borrow an apt expression from the computer software standards for all; (3) the material self-interests of all industry. As and when improvements are made in the men are harmonious under capitalism, and that the ex- program, they will appear on the TJS web site on the tension of economic freedom, and thus the progressive internet. The URL of the TJS web site is: movement toward logically consistent, laissez-faire http://www.capitalism.net capitalism, is the solution for all the leading political- In accordance with what I have said, each participant, economic problems of our time, such as mass unem- after surveying the various suggestions for reading, and ployment and depressions, inflation, shortages, the topics they relate to, should feel absolutely free to economic stagnation and decline, monopoly, and inter- follow any particular, special line of interest that he may national and domestic economic conflict. Consistent have. If, for example, someone wants to read all of with its themes and with the axiomatic nature of the Henry Hazlitt’s Economics in One Lesson, or all of my value of human life and well-being, the program is Capitalism, or all of von Mises’s Human Action, or all unreservedly procapitalist in every respect. of all of von Mises’s works before turning elsewhere, or I have used the table of contents of my book as the everything on the subject, say, of inflation, or monopoly, basis for organizing the program’s content. My book is or socialism, or whatever, he should feel completely free to a comprehensive treatment of capitalism, and its organi- pursue his interest. It is just that sooner or later he should zation has been and continues to be the most satisfactory come back and ultimately complete the program. one I know of for the purpose of conveying the scope I estimate that it would take a full-time, dedicated and level of knowledge of capitalism that this program student at least a year to read and study everything that seeks to convey. In addition, I have incorporated into is listed in the program. For those who can devote only the program numerous recorded lectures I have given their spare time, the length of time over which pursuit of over the years, which I believe make an important con- the program might extend is correspondingly greater. tribution to the goals of the program. The great majority Given the collapse of much of higher education, I can- of these lectures were originally prepared in close con- not help but believe that enterprising students who are nection with the writing of my book, and all of them presently enrolled in colleges or universities could v GEORGE REISMAN’S PROGRAM OF SELF-EDUCATION IN THE ECONOMIC THEORY AND POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF CAPITALISM manage to squeeze the necessary time out of their regu- as a starting point for the preparation of the student’s lar courses, which are so often devoid of all real sub- own lectures and syllabi.
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