Stephen Alvin Resnick (; October 24, 1938 – January 2, 2013) was an American Marxist

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 ...

. He was well known for his work (much of it written together with Richard D. Wolff) 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 ...

economic methodology Economic methodology is the study of methods, especially the scientific method, in relation to economics, including principles underlying economic reasoning. In contemporary English, 'methodology' may reference theoretical or systematic aspe ...

, and class analysis. His work, along with that of Wolff, is especially associated with a post- Althusserian perspective on political economy.

Biography

Resnick earned a B.S. in economics from the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

in 1960. He received his Ph.D. in 1964 from the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

. His dissertation was an

econometric analysis Econometrics is an application of statistical methods to economic data in order to give empirical content to economic relationships. M. Hashem Pesaran (1987). "Econometrics", '' The New Palgrave: A Dictionary of Economics'', v. 2, p. 8 p. 8� ...

of the European

Common Market A single market, sometimes called common market or internal market, is a type of trade bloc in which most trade barriers have been removed (for goods) with some common policies on product regulation, and freedom of movement of the factors of ...

. His early work (during his tenure at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

between 1965 and 1971) was with

Stephen Hymer Stephen Herbert Hymer (15 November 1934 – 2 February 1974) was a Canadian economist. His research focused on the activities of multinational firms, which was the subject of his PhD dissertation ''The International Operations of National Firms: ...

and focused on issues of economic development and

international political economy International political economy (IPE) is the study of how politics shapes the global economy and how the global economy shapes politics. A key focus in IPE is on the power of different actors such as nation states, international organizations and ...

. After a brief period at the

City College of New York The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a Public university, public research university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York ...

(1971–1973), Resnick began teaching at the Economics Department of the

University of Massachusetts Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst) is a public land-grant research university in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Massachusetts system and was founded in 1863 as the ...

in 1973. He began working with Richard D. Wolff in this period, and from then until Resnick's death they published numerous articles and books together, formulating a nondeterminist, class analytical approach. Topics included Marxian theory and value analysis, overdetermination, radical economics,

international trade International trade is the exchange of capital, goods, and services across international borders or territories because there is a need or want of goods or services. (See: World economy.) In most countries, such trade represents a significan ...

business cycle Business cycles are intervals of general expansion followed by recession in economic performance. The changes in economic activity that characterize business cycles have important implications for the welfare of the general population, governmen ...

s, social formations, the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

, and comparing and contrasting Marxian and non-Marxian economic theories. Resnick's work with Wolff took

Louis Althusser Louis Pierre Althusser (, ; ; 16 October 1918 – 22 October 1990) was a French Marxist philosopher who studied at the École Normale Supérieure in Paris, where he eventually became Professor of Philosophy. Althusser was a long-time member an ...

and

Étienne Balibar Étienne Balibar (; ; born 23 April 1942) is a French philosopher. He has taught at the University of Paris X, at the University of California, Irvine and is currently an Anniversary Chair Professor at the Centre for Research in Modern European ...

's '' Reading Capital'' as its point of departure and developed a very subtle reading 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 ''

Capital Capital and its variations may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital ** List of national capitals * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Econom ...

'' Volumes II and III in their influential ''Knowledge and Class''. In Resnick's work, Marxian class analysis entails the detailed study of the conditions of existences of concrete forms of performance, appropriation, and distribution of

surplus labor Surplus labor () is a concept used by Karl Marx in his critique of political economy. It means labor performed in excess of the labor necessary to produce the means of livelihood of the worker ("necessary labor"). The "surplus" in this context mea ...

. While there could be an infinite number of forms of surplus appropriation, the Marxist canon refers to ancient (independent),

slave Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

feudal Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was a combination of legal, economic, military, cultural, and political customs that flourished in Middle Ages, medieval Europe from the 9th to 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of struc ...

capitalist Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their use for the purpose of obtaining profit. This socioeconomic system has developed historically through several stages and is defined by ...

, and

communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

class Class, Classes, or The Class may refer to: Common uses not otherwise categorized * Class (biology), a taxonomic rank * Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects * Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used d ...

processes. In 1989, Resnick joined efforts with a group of colleagues, ex- and then current students to launch ''

Rethinking Marxism ''Rethinking Marxism'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal covering Marxist analyses of economics, culture, and society. It was established in 1988 and has been published by Routledge since 2003 on behalf of the Association for Economi ...

'', an academic journal that aims to create a platform for rethinking and developing Marxian concepts and theories within economics as well as other fields of social inquiry. He remained a member of the editorial board of the journal until 1994, and continued thereafter to serve as a member of the advisory board of the journal. Resnick continued to teach graduate seminars and undergraduate courses and direct dissertation research in economics at the

until 2013. He received multiple teaching awards and taught classes in economic theory, economic development, and economic history. Resnick listed his primary research interests as

Marxian theory Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse Social class, class relations, social ...

and

economic history Economic history is the study of history using methodological tools from economics or with a special attention to economic phenomena. Research is conducted using a combination of historical methods, statistical methods and the Applied economics ...

and

development Development or developing may refer to: Arts *Development (music), the process by which thematic material is reshaped * Photographic development *Filmmaking, development phase, including finance and budgeting * Development hell, when a proje ...

. Resnick died on January 2, 2013, as a result of leukemia.

Bibliography

Notable works of Stephen Resnick include: * Hymer, S., & Resnick, S. (1969). A model of an agrarian economy with nonagricultural activities. The American Economic Review, 59(4), 493–506. * Richard D. Wolff and Stephen A. Resnick. ''Economics: Marxian versus Neoclassical'' (Johns Hopkins Press, Baltimore, 1987). * Stephen A. Resnick and Richard D. Wolff. ''Knowledge and Class: A Marxian Critique of Political Economy'' (University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1987). * J.K. Gibson-Graham, Stephen A. Resnick and Richard D. Wolff. ''Class and Its Others'' (Minnesota University Press, Minneapolis, 2000). * J.K. Gibson-Graham, Stephen A. Resnick and Richard D. Wolff. ''Re/Presenting Class: Essays in Postmodern Marxism'' (Duke University Press, Durham NC, 2001). * Stephen A. Resnick and Richard D. Wolff. ''Class Theory and History: Capitalism and Communism in the USSR'' (Routledge, NY, 2002). * Stephen A. Resnick and Richard D. Wolff. ''New Departures in Marxian Theory (Economics as Social Theory'' (Routledge, NY, 2006). * Stephen A. Resnick and Richard D. Wolff. ''Contending Economic Theories: Neoclassical, Keynesian, and Marxian'' (The MIT Press, 2012).

Videos

"Course on Marxian Economics"

"Course on Socialist Economics"

"Past Present and Future of the Economics Department"
Round table with Resnick, Katzner, Bowles
"Memorial for Stephen Resnick"
Remarks of Richard D. Wolff
"The POLITICS of OUR 40-YEAR COLLABORATION"

References

External links

Stephen A Resnick's website with Richard D. Wolff

''Rethinking Marxism: A Journal of Economics, Culture and Society''

Re-centering Class in Critical Theory: A Tribute to Stephen A. Resnick (1938-2013)

Obituary article
on Umass.edu {{DEFAULTSORT:Resnick, Stephen 1938 births 2013 deaths American economists Marxist theorists Marxian economists University of Pennsylvania alumni MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences alumni Yale University faculty City College of New York faculty University of Massachusetts Amherst faculty Socialist economists

Biography

Bibliography

Videos

See also

References

External links