[Marxism] re Sweezy

[michael a. lebowitz]

Jim,
    You asked for some specifics. Ok, you begin by saying 'Sweezy in 
fact was one of the pioneer Keyensian
economists in the US, right alongside his more famous colleagues like 
Paul Samuelson..' Aside from the fact that Samuelson wasn't a colleague 
[maybe a student in the socialism class-- I can't recall; remember that 
Sweezy was denied a job at Harvard], your comment that he was a 'pioneer 
Keynesian'  is contrary to his own statements about the Keynesians and 
has about as much credibility as saying Marx was a pioneer Ricardian 
because he drew upon some of Ricardo's insights. What some who view 
themselves as untainted by Keynes and thus the only true Marxists may 
not understand is the basic principle of a dialectical worldview that 
[in the words of listmember Richard Levins] 'parts acquire properties by 
virtue of being parts of a particular whole, properties they do not have 
in isolation or as parts of another whole.' So, the question is what was 
the whole in which those parts were situated. As for Kalecki's 
influence, that came later--- but both he and Sweezy were influenced by 
Rosa Luxembourg [and the former's obscure essays working through the 2 
Dept model in the 30s preceded Keynes and, in my view, were superior].
            michael.

-- 
Michael A. Lebowitz
Professor Emeritus
Economics Department
Simon Fraser University
Burnaby, B.C., Canada V5A 1S6

Director, Programme in 'Transformative Practice and Human Development'
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