Andrew Kliman (born 1955) is an American
economist
An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics.
The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...
and professor of
Economics
Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services.
Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...
. He is the author of several
publications
To publish is to make Content (media), content available to the general public.[Berne Conv ...](_blank)
on
Marxian economics
Marxian economics, or the Marxian school of economics, is a heterodox school of political economic thought. Its foundations can be traced back to Karl Marx's critique of political economy. However, unlike critics of political economy, Marxian ...
. His book ''Reclaiming Marx's "
Capital"'' defends the
Temporal Single System Interpretation of
Karl Marx
Karl Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, political theorist, economist, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. He is best-known for the 1848 pamphlet '' The Communist Manifesto'' (written with Friedrich Engels) ...
's
value theory
Value theory, also called ''axiology'', studies the nature, sources, and types of Value (ethics and social sciences), values. It is a branch of philosophy and an interdisciplinary field closely associated with social sciences such as economics, ...
against claims of inconsistency from
neoclassical,
neo-Ricardian, and other economists.
Education
Kliman holds a
BA ''
cum laude
Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...
'' (1978) from the
University of Maryland
The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the Univ ...
and a
PhD
A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...
(1988) in Economics from the
University of Utah
The University of Utah (the U, U of U, or simply Utah) is a public university, public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. It was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret (Book of Mormon), Deseret by the General A ...
.
[Curriculum Vitae]
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Reclaiming Marx's ''Capital''
Writing in ''History of Political Economy,'' professor Bill Lucarelli has argued that "''Reclaiming Marx’s “Capital”'' stands like a beacon in recent academic controversies over Marx’s theory of value. ... Essentially, the aim of this book is not so much about vindicating and canonizing St. Marx, but rather to debunk the myth of internal inconsistency. In so doing, Professor Kliman succeeds quite admirably. ... It is ... an indictment of the academic profession that the TSSI approach has been neglected for more than a quarter of a century. The specter of Sraffa, it appears, still haunts the ivory towers of academia."
Writing in ''Nova Economia,'' professor Eduardo Maldonado Filho writes, "The structure of the book, and the manner and accuracy with which the controversial arguments have been presented by the author, allow the interested reader, even one not versed in Marxist economics or mathematics, to understand the issues in the controversy and, not less important, to form his/her own opinion about the topics that have been debated. ... e effort of reading will ... lead to effective comprehension of why Marx’s critics are wrong in their allegations. In my opinion, Kliman’s book constitutes the most important contribution to political economy of the last three decades and, as such, it is highly recommended for all those interested in Marx’s work."
Writing in ''Review of Radical Political Economics,'' professor Ajit Sinha argued for the existence of a "major weakness of this book: a lack of rigor in reasoning". His published response was criticized heavily for academic dishonesty and deliberately misrepresenting Kliman's arguments.
Marxian school of economics
Kliman has recently discussed what he calls the "disintegration of the Marxian school" of economics. In this paper, he also proposes measures to halt and reverse this process, namely (1) "the field needs to greatly reduce its dependence on the resources of academia. Intellectual autonomous zones need to be created"; (2) "cooperative behavior and attitudes, not uncooperative ones, need to be fostered and rewarded"; (3) "efforts to solve theoretical problems, not efforts to create and perpetuate them, should be fostered and rewarded"; (4) "run-of-the-mill anomalies such as the 'transformation problem' should not be allowed to become sources of internal crisis"; and (5) "people outside the field need to appreciate how profoundly the myth of Marx’s internal inconsistencies has damaged it. ..since a false charge of inconsistency issued knowingly is the moral equivalent of defamation, it would not be unreasonable for the public to ask those who have perpetuated the myth of inconsistency to make restitution."[Kliman, Andrew (2010)]
The Disintegration of the Marxian School
, ''Capital and Class,'' vol. 34, no. 1, 2010, pp. 361-368
Selected works
*''Reclaiming Marx's "Capital": A Refutation of the Myth of Inconsistency'', Lexington Books, December 2006,
*''The Failure of Capitalist Production: Underlying Causes of the Great Recession'', Pluto Press, November 2011,
See also
* Critique of political economy
Critique of political economy or simply the first critique of economy is a form of social critique that rejects the conventional ways of distributing resources. The critique also rejects what its advocates believe are unrealistic axioms, flawe ...
References
External links
Personal website
Association of Heterodox Economics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kliman, Andrew
1955 births
20th-century American economists
20th-century American essayists
20th-century American historians
20th-century American male writers
20th-century American non-fiction writers
21st-century American economists
21st-century American essayists
21st-century American historians
21st-century American male writers
21st-century American non-fiction writers
American essayists
American male non-fiction writers
American Marxist historians
American Marxist writers
Autonomism
Cooperative theorists
Critics of capitalism
Critics of political economy
Living people
Marxian economists
Marxist humanists
Marxist theorists
Pace University faculty
Socialist economists
University of Maryland, College Park alumni
University of Utah alumni