Y. S. Brenner – författare

First published in 1966, this work summarises the theories of economic growth, both ancient and modern, and presents them in a form particularly suitable for university students, both in the developing world and elsewhere. The objective is to enable students to assess the major factors making for economic development and to encourage them to think about ways of applying their knowledge to the particular problems of their own countries.In addition there is a special survey of growth and of limiting factors in the economies of underdeveloped countries, with an important analysis of the economic results of planning in the USSR.

First published in 1966, this work summarises the theories of economic growth, both ancient and modern, and presents them in a form particularly suitable for university students, both in the developing world and elsewhere. The objective is to enable students to assess the major factors making for economic development and to encourage them to think about ways of applying their knowledge to the particular problems of their own countries.In addition there is a special survey of growth and of limiting factors in the economies of underdeveloped countries, with an important analysis of the economic results of planning in the USSR.

In this 1991 volume a distinguished team of international contributors consider some of the central long-term issues raised by the problem of income distribution. The Kuznets curve - i.e. the notion that income distribution became increasingly unequal during the period of industrialisation, and progressively less unequal during the drive to maturity - lies at the centre of much of the analysis, and its relevance is discussed in a wide-ranging series of articles covering the British, Belgian, German, Australian, Austrian and American experiences. This volume was the first for many years to take such a broad, comparative approach to income distribution, and makes an important and authoritative contribution to an area of perennial debate.

This stunning, refreshing work combines the history of economics and the practice of modern development. It is predicated on Brenner's view that there is no individual freedom without economic security, and that such security depends upon progress in both the natural and social sciences. Social institutions determine the pace and direction of technological advancement and scientific and technological achievements determine which forms of social reorganization are possible and which are illusory. As all living is action, and living implies choices, any theory of development must start with the person.Economic laws obtain only in relation to specific forms of social existence. Advanced societies are technically capable of providing for basic needs but are not yet convinced of their ability to do so. Modern life still reflects the fears of a society still trying to escape the anxieties, demons, and ghosts of a long dark era of unemployment and starvation. The problem of development is the contradiction between technological potentials and cultural inheritances.Looking into the Seeds of Time was originally written with the belief that the growing mastery of nature by humanity would curb egoistic impulses and replace competitive with cooperative goals. While the same spirit pervades this new edition, the work reveals how political as well as economic processes make the goals of prosperity harder to achieve. The work reveals a rare insight into the mechanisms of the marketplace, and how they can be examined in a comparative, historical context—across nations as different as the United States, Great Britain and Japan, and from the Reformation to the modern era of bourgeois consolidation. This is institutional economics at its very best.

This engaging and intelligent book argues that the unbridled impact of deregulated market forces will lead to social polarization and ultimately to the destruction of capitalist society as we know it today. After providing a lucid and accessible overview of the development of capitalism, Professor Brenner explains how human greed was confined within legal boundaries and shows how ingenuity rather than brute force ultimately became the source of wealth. He explores the interaction between ideas, behaviour and economic change and points out comparisons between scientific ideas and the phases of economic development. He warns that, by an inner logic, deregulated capitalism must necessarily lead to increased inequality and to the waning of those elements in bourgeois culture which are necessary for the proper functioning of a technologically advanced industrial economy.Written in a lively and non-technical style, the book will appeal not only to economists but also to other social scientists and historians concerned with the history and development of modern capitalist society.