Jim,
Thanks very much for your excellent suggestions. I would also appreciate
more specifics from anyone who would like to suggest.
Larry Shute
Thanks for your message at 11:33 AM 10/30/97 -0800, James Devine. Your
message was:
>Larry Shute asks for a list of the basic institutions. I would define an
>"institution" as any organization created by people.
>
>1) capitalism (the "capitalist mode of production"), a macro-societal
>institution that includes:
>
>a) markets.
>
>Not only are there major institutions within these markets (corporations,
>oligopolies, etc.) but markets themselves have human-created rules and
>mechanisms. Markets _are_ institutions. One problem with NC econ. is that
>they treat markets as somehow being natural rather than creations of human
>beings.
>
>b) the state & political organizations.
>
>The separation of the state from the rest of society into being a
>specialized sector is a key factor differentiating capitalism from other
>modes of production. Similar to the state in many ways, but acting in a
>decentralized way are:
>
>c) not-for-profit organizations, including industry self-regulation
>organizations. (For the life of me, I don't get why these play little or no
>role in econ. textbooks. My life is surrounded by them.)
>
>d) imperialism (the globalizing drive of capitalism. maybe not an
>institution itself).
>
>Bureaucracies are very important institutions in corporations, the state,
>political organizations, and not-for-profits. They also play a role in:
>
>2) labor unions & informal labor organizations.
>
>3) patriarchy: this a long-lived system of male privilege that precedes
>capitalism and has so far persisted in post-capitalist societies
>(bureaucratic socialism).
>
>4) ethnic or racial domination.
>
>Cutting institutions a different way (following and adding to Robert
>Heilbroner), one can think of 4 major ways that people organize themselves:
>
>1) tradition, custom, convention. (The role of custom is being accepted
>more and more by economists these days. A colleague of mine just told me of
>one at the University of Chicago's economics department who emphasizes the
>role of customs.)
>
>2) command, bureaucracy, top-down rule.
>
>3) markets, competition.
>
>4) democracy, bottom-up rule.
>
>It reveals a lot about Heilbroner that he missed the last one (and that
>many economists have followed him on this). In personal communication,
>however, he did indicate that he was willing to accept #4 as a friendly
>amendment.
>
>in pen-l solidarity,
>
>Jim Devine [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>http://clawww.lmu.edu/1997F/ECON/jdevine.html
>Econ. Dept., Loyola Marymount Univ.
>7900 Loyola Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90045-8410 USA
>310/338-2948 (daytime, during workweek); FAX: 310/338-1950
>"The only trouble with capitalism is capitalists. They're too damned greedy."
>-- Herbert Hoover
>
