Ernesto Screpanti
Encyclopedia
Ernesto Screpanti is a professor of Political Economy
at the University of Siena
. He worked on the “rethinking Marxism
” research programme, in the attempt to update Marxist analysis by bring it in line with the reality of contemporary capitalism
, on the one hand, and to liberate Marxism
from any residue of Hegelian Metaphysics, Kantian Ethics and economic determinism, on the other.
by which the fundamental institution of this mode of production is not private property but the employment contract, intended as an institution that generates an authority relationship enabling capitalists to subject and exploit the workers. Capitalism
may take various forms, all of which have the above-mentioned fundamental institution in common, but vary depending on the ways in which different property rights regimes and accumulation governance structures are combined.
In dynamic analysis Screpanti criticized the so-called “laws of movement of capitalist development” as formulated by Marx, because of their deterministic implications as philosophies of history and the analytic limitations of some of their assumptions. He put forward a theory of development as an evolutionary process of a cyclical kind, coupling long and short run periodicity factors, both of which are determined by the dynamics of class conflict and income distribution.
In a more concrete analysis of contemporary capitalism, Screpanti formulated the theory of “global imperialism
”, which defines a governance system of world accumulation that cannot be understood with the traditional theories of imperialism. The fundamental imperialist contradiction is between the centre and the periphery of the global economy, not among the imperial states. There is no dominating imperial centre; there is instead a plurality of national, international, governmental, non-governmental, public and private agencies that contribute to accumulation governance on a world scale through a sort of competitive cooperation.
As to the theory of communism
, Screpanti proposed a re-reading of Marx and Engels as libertarian theorists. Freedom is defined as the real capacity of individuals to make choices. Following Gramsci’s approach, enriched with the achievements of current theory on the freedom of choice, this is intended as a magnitude determined by the opportunity sets available to individuals. Freedom of choice is not distributed equally in capitalism: it is practically nil for the workers and at its greatest for capitalists in the production process; it is negligible in the poor social strata and very large for the privileged classes in the consumption sphere. Communism
is seen as a conflicting process of historical transformation in which the oppressed and exploited classes struggle for the redistribution of freedom.
Political economy
Political economy originally was the term for studying production, buying, and selling, and their relations with law, custom, and government, as well as with the distribution of national income and wealth, including through the budget process. Political economy originated in moral philosophy...
at the University of Siena
University of Siena
The University of Siena in Siena, Tuscany is one of the oldest and first publicly funded universities in Italy. Originally called Studium Senese, the University of Siena was founded in 1240. The University has around 20,000 students, nearly half of Siena's total population of around 54,000...
. He worked on the “rethinking Marxism
Marxism
Marxism is an economic and sociopolitical worldview and method of socioeconomic inquiry that centers upon a materialist interpretation of history, a dialectical view of social change, and an analysis and critique of the development of capitalism. Marxism was pioneered in the early to mid 19th...
” research programme, in the attempt to update Marxist analysis by bring it in line with the reality of contemporary capitalism
Capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system that became dominant in the Western world following the demise of feudalism. There is no consensus on the precise definition nor on how the term should be used as a historical category...
, on the one hand, and to liberate Marxism
Marxism
Marxism is an economic and sociopolitical worldview and method of socioeconomic inquiry that centers upon a materialist interpretation of history, a dialectical view of social change, and an analysis and critique of the development of capitalism. Marxism was pioneered in the early to mid 19th...
from any residue of Hegelian Metaphysics, Kantian Ethics and economic determinism, on the other.
Theory
He formulated a general theory of capitalismCapitalism
Capitalism is an economic system that became dominant in the Western world following the demise of feudalism. There is no consensus on the precise definition nor on how the term should be used as a historical category...
by which the fundamental institution of this mode of production is not private property but the employment contract, intended as an institution that generates an authority relationship enabling capitalists to subject and exploit the workers. Capitalism
Capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system that became dominant in the Western world following the demise of feudalism. There is no consensus on the precise definition nor on how the term should be used as a historical category...
may take various forms, all of which have the above-mentioned fundamental institution in common, but vary depending on the ways in which different property rights regimes and accumulation governance structures are combined.
In dynamic analysis Screpanti criticized the so-called “laws of movement of capitalist development” as formulated by Marx, because of their deterministic implications as philosophies of history and the analytic limitations of some of their assumptions. He put forward a theory of development as an evolutionary process of a cyclical kind, coupling long and short run periodicity factors, both of which are determined by the dynamics of class conflict and income distribution.
In a more concrete analysis of contemporary capitalism, Screpanti formulated the theory of “global imperialism
Imperialism
Imperialism, as defined by Dictionary of Human Geography, is "the creation and/or maintenance of an unequal economic, cultural, and territorial relationships, usually between states and often in the form of an empire, based on domination and subordination." The imperialism of the last 500 years,...
”, which defines a governance system of world accumulation that cannot be understood with the traditional theories of imperialism. The fundamental imperialist contradiction is between the centre and the periphery of the global economy, not among the imperial states. There is no dominating imperial centre; there is instead a plurality of national, international, governmental, non-governmental, public and private agencies that contribute to accumulation governance on a world scale through a sort of competitive cooperation.
As to the theory of communism
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
, Screpanti proposed a re-reading of Marx and Engels as libertarian theorists. Freedom is defined as the real capacity of individuals to make choices. Following Gramsci’s approach, enriched with the achievements of current theory on the freedom of choice, this is intended as a magnitude determined by the opportunity sets available to individuals. Freedom of choice is not distributed equally in capitalism: it is practically nil for the workers and at its greatest for capitalists in the production process; it is negligible in the poor social strata and very large for the privileged classes in the consumption sphere. Communism
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
is seen as a conflicting process of historical transformation in which the oppressed and exploited classes struggle for the redistribution of freedom.
Works
- "Freedom of Choice in the Production Sphere: The Capitalist and the Self-Managed Firm", in "Review of Political Economy", 2011, forthcoming.
- "Globalization and the Great Crisis", in "The Global Economic Crisis: New Persepectives on the Critique of Economic Theory and Policy", edited by E. Brancaccio and G. Fontana, LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
: RoutledgeRoutledgeRoutledge is a British publishing house which has operated under a succession of company names and latterly as an academic imprint. Its origins may be traced back to the 19th-century London bookseller George Routledge...
, 2011. - "A Quasi Natural Measure of Choice Freedom for Budget- and Time-Constrained Opportunity Sets", in "Metroeconomica", 2009.
- "Taxation, Social Goods, and the Distribution of Freedom", in "Metroeconomica", 2006.
- "Value and Exploitation: A Counterfactual Approach, in "Review of Political Economy", n. 1, 2003.
- The Fundamental Institutions of Capitalism, LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
: RoutledgeRoutledgeRoutledge is a British publishing house which has operated under a succession of company names and latterly as an academic imprint. Its origins may be traced back to the 19th-century London bookseller George Routledge...
, 2001. - "Wages, Employment and Militancy: A Simple Model and Some Empirical Tests", in “Review of Radical Political EconomicsReview of Radical Political EconomicsThe Review of Radical Political Economics is the quarterly journal of the Union for Radical Political Economics www.URPE.org. Launched in 1968, it is a leading venue for scholarly articles on radical political economics, including Marxist, feminist, lnstitutional, ecological, and post-Keynesian...
”, 2000. - "The Postmodern Crisis in Economics and the Revolution against Modernism", in “Rethinking MarxismRethinking MarxismRethinking Marxism is a Marxist quarterly journal of economics, culture and society. It was launched in 1988 and since 2003 it has been published by Taylor and Francis....
”, 2000. - "Capitalist Forms and the Essence of Capitalism", in “Review of International Political EconomyReview of International Political EconomyReview of International Political Economy is an academic journal which aims to explore International Political Economy from a range of perspectives. It includes global and interdisciplinary approaches over a wide range of issues and areas of inquiry...
”, vol. 6, n. 1, 1999. - "Banks, Increasing Risk, and the Endogenous Money supply", in “Economic Notes”, vol. 26, n. 3, 1997.
- "Epistemic Relativism, the Postmodern Turn in Economics, and the History of Economic Thought", in “History of Economic Ideas”, vol. 2, 1995.
- "Sraffa after Marx: a New Interpretation", in "Review of Political Economy", vol V, n.1, 1993.
- "Monetary Dynamics, Speculation, and the Term Structure of Interest Rates", in "Economic Notes", n.2, 1989.
- "Long Cycles in Strike Activity: an Empirical Investigation", in "British Journal of Industrial Relations", XXV, n.1, 1987.
- "Long Economic Cycles and Recurring Proletarian Insurgencies",in "Review of the F.Braudel Center", New York State University, VII, n.3, 1984.