At 02:12 PM 10/19/99 -0700, you wrote: >I am exploring the possibility of using the Brenner book (special issue of >NLR: The Economics of Global Turbulence) for a class broadly titled >"Contemporary Issues in International Political Economy". I have taught >two versions of it: 1) a standard political science approach that had the >Cold War as a significant parameter, 2) the globalization of economic >activities (Dicken, Harley Shaiken, etc). This time I want to use Brenner >to talk about capitalist crisis and thought that Brenner's book might do >it. I plan to cover the book in 10 weeks, which means I will be working >in various economic concepts along with the chapters. The reason is not >far too seek: the students have little or no background in economics and >economic reasoning. > >Since Jim D and others read the stuff and posted several critiques, would >this be workable for a 10 week class? Can you suggest some pedagogical >tips if I were to use this book? The book's basic theoretical framework (as it shows up in the NLR version) is very much the Marginal Cost/Average Cost model of introductory microeconomics (without any of the graphs or numerical examples and different vocabulary), which is why I have thought very seriously of using it for my US Econ. History course in the Fall of 2000. (Why not use something they've already learned, using it as a force for good rather than evil?) It's true that class struggle is important to Brenner's story -- almost entirely class struggle by the capitalists against the workers -- but that's relatively easy to understand, as is the idea that high profit rates promote economic growth. More difficult are the concepts of international exchange rates, their impact, and their determination, which are central to Brenner's story. The students might be overwhelmed by the wealth of historical detail and all the numbers. Others will like those details. If I use the book, I would complement it with more political economy (like my own 1994 article in RESEARCH IN POLITICAL ECONOMY, along with a lot of basics on the original Bretton Woods system and its breakdown). While the competition between the US, Japan, and W. Germany in international markets was crucial to the period that Brenner discusses, more is needed on the role of US hegemony (relative to other rich countries and to the "third world") during the period that Brenner discusses. I interpret his book as not only helping us to understand the hard times suffered during the last 25 years (Brenner's point) but also the break-down of the nation-state-centered "model" of economic growth (i.e., globalization). He doesn't deal with the latter question much if at all. Nor does he consider the "race to the bottom" as wages, public benefits, and environmental standards are moving down to harmonize with the lowest common denominator -- and the world-macroeconomic impact of that race. It's important to remember that the book is almost entirely a criticism of the "high wages squeeze profits and slow economic growth" theory (and its more sophisticated variants). That focus implies that lots of questions are not addressed which might be of interest. If I use his book, I would also set up a table to allow students to translate Brenner's vocabulary to the standard economics one (and back). What he calls "deflation," economists call "disinflation"; what he calls "hyperinflation," economists call "high inflation rates"; etc. Jim Devine [EMAIL PROTECTED] & http://clawww.lmu.edu/~JDevine
