Marxian economics is a vital and evolving paradigm with a rich history. In recent decades the field has seen tremendous theoretical development, revealed important empirical applications, and significantly broadened its scope. This handbook provides a contemporary account of the discipline through studies of many of its key concepts. Its scope is broad, ranging from familiar Marxian concepts, such as value theory, the labor process, accumulation, crisis and socialism, to others not always associated with the Marxian canon, like feminism, ecology, international migration and epistemology. This breadth of coverage reflects the growth of Marxian economic and social theory, and encompasses both the history and the frontiers of current scholarship.
This handbook contains thirty-seven original essays commissioned specifically for this book from scholars recognized for their expertise in different areas of Marxian economics. Contributors come from the Americas, Europe, Asia and Australia, and include many of the leading scholars in the field, as well as younger scholars who have made promising contributions. They were asked to both survey the debates that shaped the evolution of these ideas and to give a rigorous description of current thinking and practice. Of course, each author approaches their subject from his or her own perspective and this is evident in the essays. As editors, we believe it is important for contributors to be free to take a position, but each author was also asked to pursue their ideas in a non-polemical fashion. In addition to this, we endeavored to be inclusive of a variety of different approaches and solicited contributions from scholars with varied perspectives.
The intended audience for this handbook includes established scholars as well as students, activists and others who want to become better acquainted with these key concepts. Readers who are familiar with the topics included here will find concise discussions of the state-of-the-art as well as original contributions. Those who are less familiar with these topics will find accessible discussions of how current practice evolved from seminal contributions and scholarly debates. Our hope is that both types of readers will find this volume to be a valuable resource.
While each entry stands on its own merit and may be read independently, the reader will notice that they are arranged into sections. Each section builds on the foundation provided by concepts in the preceding section. For this reason some readers may find it helpful to read the entries in order to provide at the outset the theoretical and conceptual background necessary to appreciate the entries later in the volume. The final section contains entries describing the key ideas of a number of different schools of thought within Marxian economics.
As editors, we came to this book project at the invitation of the late Stephen Resnick who felt that a handbook showcasing both the history and the contemporary evolution of Marxian economics was badly needed. Many of the key concepts used in Marxian economics initially seem self-evident (e.g., value, labor, capital, crisis), but may have specific meanings and significance that are distinct from both everyday usage and from mainstream economics. Furthermore, the understanding of these concepts progresses over time. We believe this volume will help address these issues by providing accessible discussions of the rich history of debate that resulted in the current understandings of these topics. Both Stephen Resnick and his collaborator RichardWolff were innovative and saw Marxian economics as evolving and developing while also deriving its central insights from its foundational texts. In this spirit we hope the present volume generates continuing engagement among scholars to continue the work of advancing Marxian scholarship with the goal of achieving a more just and equitable society.