Karl Marx and the economics of communism: anniversary recollections

This paper grew out of the author's Karl Marx studies and his practical knowledge of Soviet-type communist economies. It covers a broad spectrum of ideas and practices prevalent in those economies, which— rightly or wrongly—have become associated with Marx's teaching and predictions. Chapter I tries to explain the reasons for Marx's continuous popularity. Chapter II critically examines the validity of the claim about Marxian socialism being “scientific” as opposed to “utopian”. The article, especially in chapter III elaborates on a number of other Marxian ideas, like that of the so-called “anarchy of the market”, which for many decades exerted a negative influence on his followers—theoreticians and practitioners engaged in building what they believed to be a communist economy and society. One of the quintessential features of Marx's teaching, which he took over from Smith and Ricardo, was the labor theory of value and the “law of value” in particular. The latter, interpreted by Stalin as “the law of value under socialism”, was used by him for ideological and propaganda purposes, but after his death has in turn been utilized by Marxists, non-Marxists and anti-Marxists to discredit the Stalinist economic system, and to advance propositions ranking from profound, relevant and commendable to vague and frivolous. Tracing in Chapter IV the peripetia of this “law” provides a deeper insight into both the essential weaknesses of the Marxian theory and the acute dilemmas of the Soviet-type economies.     

An Alternative Sociological Perspective on Economic Value: Price Formation as a Social Process

This paper identifies some deficiencies in the theory of value as found in traditional economics, specifically the fallacy of absolute value and its spurious resolution that treats prices as a priori parameters rather than as variables to be explained. One is a fallacy of omission, the other of commission, which together comprise the epistemological paradox of the modern neoclassical theory of value. This paper advances a different, sociological approach to economic value or market prices as a possible corrective to this paradox. Such an approach has origins in sociological economics or economic sociology, the main premise of which is that social influences in the economy affect the formation of value or price. This paper therefore explores the seldom examined social underpinnings of price formation and of market processes generally.     

Unpacking public justification

ABSTRACT

This brief response to Greenfeld’s caveat submits that public justification is not omnipresent, but can extend, and has extended, beyond the modern, liberal West. Subscribing to a thin, rather than thick, conceptualization of public justification, we chart the contested contours of public justification, and urge scholars of this emergent field to clarify their own take before advancing pertinent theories and case studies. We briefly expound the nature and historical roots of both ‘justification’ and ‘the public’, suggesting that their amalgam into public justification transcends the modern, liberal West.     

Childhood,age of consent and moral regulation in Canada and the UK

This paper analyses the resurgent regulation of young people's sexuality in Canada and the UK and examines notions of childhood in relation to adulthood, referred to by the term ‘generation’, as they are portrayed in the political process. In both cases, the political manipulation of the identity of childhood in relation to adulthood that is both gendered and generational is an important enabling factor, although regulation takes place within a specific context for each. Moreover, this politics of generation reaches beyond the specific regulation of young people's sexuality through notions of hegemonic femininity and masculinity and the idealization of the heterosexual family in a far more pervasive regulation of society in general.     

The Nature of Contracting Hazards in Public–Private Partnerships—Evidence from Ireland

The use of public–private partnerships (PPP) for the procurement of infrastructure and related services can be a complex and challenging process. This article adopts a transaction cost regulation perspective to examine two PPP cases from Ireland that encountered significant obstacles to successful procurement. It finds that both procurements met hazards including uncertainty about the viability of the bids and opportunistic behavior by preferred bidders that held quasi-monopoly positions. The public nature of both cases provided a fertile ground for opportunistic behavior by political opponents and other “interested” parties. The analysis shows how the governance of PPPs is shaped by the attributes of the transactions and the interaction of economic and political hazards that create transaction costs.     

技术民族主义对全球价值链的影响分析——以全球半导体产业为例

目前,由新技术引发的新一轮产业革命正推动全球政治经济权力结构发生重大调整,围绕新技术特别是影响下一代生产方式的关键技术的竞争呈加速态势。在此背景下,技术民族主义作为一种新的地缘政治思潮快速兴起,并与大国传统战略博弈叠加,驱动全球技术主导国美国对中国的战略认知改变和战略行动升级。美国对中国实施的全面技术封锁与技术遏制战略行动,以影响和破坏全球半导体价值链和产业链最为典型,影响了全球重要产业链的正常运转,压制了全球技术链协同,并对未来全球政治经济治理带来更多不确定性风险。     

Institutional and Economic Factors Affecting the Adoption of International Public Sector Accounting Standards

This article investigates the environmental factors associated with countries’ decision to adopt International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS). Based on a sample of 110 countries, the results reveal a positive influence of external public funding (coercive isomorphic pressure), the degree of external openness (mimetic isomorphic pressure), and public sector organizations’ importance on IPSAS adoption. They show a negative effect of the availability of local GAAP on this decision, whereas education level (normative isomorphic pressure) is a nonsignificant factor.

This research contributes to the international accounting literature in the public sector. The results are relevant to standard-setters, regulators, researchers, international financial organizations, and non-adopting countries.     

Not unlearning to care – positive moral development as a cornerstone of nonkilling

ABSTRACT

In this theoretical paper, selected areas of moral development as well as some of the respective theories and models are used to characterise positive, healthy moral development. Such moral development is seen as one prerequisite of nonkilling. From a lifespan perspective, core concepts such as moral motivation and moral agency are combined into an understanding of moral development, as based on the making meaning of experience in the context of social interaction and co-construction. The aim of (socio)moral development is seen in moral maturity, that is, the genuine understanding of the way our own actions or nonactions affect the welfare of others, including the motivation, the sense of personal responsibility, and the will to act in such ways as not to harm or to protect or re-establish others’ welfare. Reaching this aim can be seen as the outcome of healthy moral development.     

Present Situation,Problems, and Prospect of China's Public Servant Training

Abstract

Quality and ability of public servants, largely determined by education and training, are the key to the effective government administration. How to give full play to the effect of education in improving quality and ability of public servants is an important issue in the public servant training. The thesis reviews China's system of the public servant education and training, introduces and analyzes the basic training approaches as well as problems, and anticipates the future of China's public servant training.     

台湾证券柜台市场发展与闽台证券柜台市场合作

台湾证券柜台市场为破解台湾中小企业融资难题和完善多层次资本市场做出了积极贡献。但是,台湾证券柜台市场发展空间狭小,加强闽台证券柜台市场合作,既有利于扩大台湾证券柜台市场发展空间,又有利于破解福建中小企业融资困境。在充分论述闽台证券柜台市场合作必要性和可行性的基础上,文章提出引入台湾上柜和兴柜交易机制与福建产权市场对接,阐述了闽台证券柜台交易市场的框架设计、合作路径及配套措施。