Re: [OPE] Charles Bettelheim’s contribution. Is there one?

wpc@dcs.gla.ac.uk

I recall reading Calcule Economique with great interest in the 70s, but 
in the end
not being really satisfied that he had come up with a solution to the 
problem.
You have to take into account the fact that the mileau into which he was 
intervening
was the debates in China and Russia at the time, and these paid little 
attention
to Mises either.

Alejandro Agafonow wrote:
>
> You are right Jerry, Bettelheim’s contributions are not to be found 
> only in one book.
>
>  
>
> Do you know his reasons for overcoming the socialist calculation 
> debate launched by Mises?
>
>  
>
> At first sight, reading his /Clacule économique/ one has the idea that 
> he was a Marxist intellectual working in isolation, citing only the 
> fathers of Marxism and a few colleagues. But he was not.
>
>  
>
> He got involved in the Cuban debate about the law of value in a 
> transition economy and had a lot on the field knowledge.
>
>  
>
> If his /Clacule économique/ was conceived to deal only with the law of 
> value, it is ok. But the title of the book and a few issues dealt 
> with, require a lot of sources that he overlooked.
>
>  
>
> Maybe he faced Mises in the works you cited and that I don’t know. But 
> Bettelheim is totally overlooked in the economic calculation literature.
>
>  
>
> Kind regards,
>
> A. Agafonow
>
>
>
> ----- Mensaje original ----
> De: GERALD LEVY <gerald_a_levy@msn.com>
> Para: Outline on Political Economy mailing list <ope@lists.csuchico.edu>
> Enviado: miércoles, 25 de junio, 2008 15:00:45
> Asunto: RE: [OPE] Charles Bettelheim’s contribution. Is there one?
>
>     > Charles Bettelheim’s contribution. Is there one?
>     >  Which was the contribution of Charles Bettelheim?
>     >  Concerning socialist economic calculation, I think that
>     > Bettelheim’s considerations did not go far from what Karl
>     > Kautsky (1902) and Otto Bauer (1919) attained.
>     > It is pretty much astonished since his /Calcul économique /
>     /> et formes de propriété/ was published on 1970!
>      
>      
>     Hi Alejandro:
>      
>     There were many contributions of Bettelheim, but they are
>     not to be found only in one book. He published a book on the
>     Soviet economy as far back as 1945. He also wrote many works
>     on planning long before his book on economic calculation.
>     Most of these have still not been translated into English.
>     A couple of early (and fairly conventional) books on planning
>     which were published in English include _Studies in the Theory
>     of Planning_ (Asia Publishing House, 1959) and _Some Basic
>     Planning Problems_ (Asia Publishing House and Statistical
>     Publishing Society, 1960).  His _Transition to the Socialist
>     Economy_ (Harvester Press, 1975; originally published in French in
>     1968) is available on the Internet. In any event, if you want to
>     understand his perspective better, you are probably better off
>     looking at his multi-volume _Class Struggles in the USSR_ and
>     his writings on the Chinese economy.
>      
>     in solidarity, Jerry
>
>      
>
>
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