Eyüp Özveren

From Stages to Varieties of Capitalism: Lessons, Limits and Prospects

The basic aim of this paper is to take a tour de force in order to put the varieties of capitalism (VoC) approach in perspective and to assess its limits and further prospects. There existed before it a certain stages-ofcapitalism (SoC) approach with a long history. The SoC approach developed largely under the influence of social and anthropological stage theories of progress and of Marxism. Accordingly, capitalism as a mode of production was perceived as progressing through commercial, industrial, and financial stage. In this paper, this link will be recovered for the benefit of further scholarship. We emphasize that the VoC approach, by the weight it puts on efficiency tends to rank circumstantially the variety at issue, thereby implying occasionally a desirable move towards the more efficient form. This means that the elements forming a given variety may actually be matched with the successive stages of a certain progress.

Karl Polanyi and the Modernity-versus-Postmodernity Debate

The originality of Karl Polanyis work in the interwar period has gained increasing recognition in recent years, during which time the major debate on modernity has erupted. In order to link Polanyis work with this debate, I will first discuss his legacy on the controversial concept of progress, and then relate his position to this debate. It is my contention that Polanyis position combines the better aspects of the two rival approaches to modernity. I will then re-link Polanyis thought to the intellectual figures, movements and climate of his time and thereby disclose a curious affinity between his thought and the Critical Theory of the Frankfurt School. This affinity can best be understood within the parameters of the historical context that they once shared.

Bazaars of the Thousand and One Nights.

Abstract A re-reading of the Thousand and One Nights in light of economic thought is attempted here. These stories characterize a bazaar economy as the dark side of medieval economics. The process-view of the bazaar is discussed in relation to Smith, Walras and the Austrian School. The tacit notions of ‘market price’ and ‘natural price’ are touched upon. Auctions are then elaborated with reference to Böhm-Bawerk. Moreover, the role of asymmetric information as a recurrent theme is interpreted in relation with Akerlofs approach. Finally, the collective function of the tales in fostering confidence in a less-than-well instituted bazaar economy is emphasized.

Where Disciplinary Boundaries Blur: The Environmental

This book is based on the premise that mainstream economics has become excessively specialized and formalized, entering a state of de facto withdrawal from the study of the economy in favour of exercises in applied mathematics. The editors believe that there is much scope for synergies by engaging in an encounter with economics and the other social sciences. The chapters in this book offer important new contributions to such a development.

Variations on a Schumpeterian theme: democracy, capitalism and civilizations in a turbulence zone

Since the fall of the Berlin Wall, debates over the future of democracy and capitalism have not only gained a new momentum but also a new direction. These debates are yet to be linked with a renewed concern over the fate of civilizations. In this paper, Joseph Schumpeters scheme of analysis as proposed in his Capitalism, Socialism, and Democracy is the point of departure for an analytical framework to assess the prospects of democracy, capitalism and civilization in the 21st century. A global dimension of analysis is superimposed upon the original Schumpeterian scheme; civilization, capitalism and democracy are then conceptualized as layers of a tripartite pyramid that represents the system whose historical development and prospects we wish to understand. Afterwards, the prospective relationships among different layers as this historical system approaches its own limits are explored. This modified Schumpeterian perspective provides a basis for arguing that what the future holds in store for us may be the exact opposite of liberal utopia.