Robert A. Brady (economist)
Encyclopedia
Robert Alexander Brady was an American
economist
who analyzed the dynamics of technological change
and the structure of business enterprise
. Brady developed a potent analysis of fascism
and other emerging authoritarian economic and cultural practices. His essential work is “about power
and the organization of power around the logic of technology
as operated under capitalism
”, yielding insights and understanding of modern society’s careening path between enhancing or destroying “life and culture”.
In The Spirit and Structure of German Fascism (1937) and Business as a System of Power (1943), important works in historical and comparative economics, Brady traced the rise of bureaucratic centralism in Germany, France, Italy, Japan and the United States; and the emergence of an authoritarian model of economic growth
and development.
Brady worked his way into and through college, doing undergraduate studies in history, philosophy, and mathematics at Reed College
, where he graduated in 1923. He became an Instructor in European History upon his graduation. He began his graduate work at Cornell and went on to Columbia
, where he completed his Ph.D. in 1929. He had been exposed to Veblen's
thought all along the way, most systematically at Columbia, where he worked closely with John Maurice Clark
. Brady took Veblen’s work as the point of departure for his own professional work. During his years of graduate study, he taught at Cornell, Hunter College
, Cooper Union
, and New York University
. In 1929, Brady joined the faculty at the University of California at Berkeley.
Brady served as Chief of the Standards Division, Consumers Advisory Board, National Recovery Administration
and on the staff of the National Resources Planning Board during the New Deal
. He was one of the founders of Consumers Union
, its vice president during its formative period, and head of Western Consumers Union.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
economist
Economist
An economist is a professional in the social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy...
who analyzed the dynamics of technological change
Technology
Technology is the making, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, and procedures. The word technology comes ;...
and the structure of business enterprise
Business
A business is an organization engaged in the trade of goods, services, or both to consumers. Businesses are predominant in capitalist economies, where most of them are privately owned and administered to earn profit to increase the wealth of their owners. Businesses may also be not-for-profit...
. Brady developed a potent analysis of fascism
Fascism
Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
and other emerging authoritarian economic and cultural practices. His essential work is “about power
Economic power
There is no agreed-upon definition of power in economics. At least five definitions of power have been used:*Purchasing power, i.e., the ability of any amount of money to buy goods and services. Those with more assets, or, more correctly, net worth, have more power of this sort...
and the organization of power around the logic of technology
Technology
Technology is the making, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, and procedures. The word technology comes ;...
as operated under 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...
”, yielding insights and understanding of modern society’s careening path between enhancing or destroying “life and culture”.
In The Spirit and Structure of German Fascism (1937) and Business as a System of Power (1943), important works in historical and comparative economics, Brady traced the rise of bureaucratic centralism in Germany, France, Italy, Japan and the United States; and the emergence of an authoritarian model of economic growth
Economic growth
In economics, economic growth is defined as the increasing capacity of the economy to satisfy the wants of goods and services of the members of society. Economic growth is enabled by increases in productivity, which lowers the inputs for a given amount of output. Lowered costs increase demand...
and development.
Brady worked his way into and through college, doing undergraduate studies in history, philosophy, and mathematics at Reed College
Reed College
Reed College is a private, independent, liberal arts college located in southeast Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1908, Reed is a residential college with a campus located in Portland's Eastmoreland neighborhood, featuring architecture based on the Tudor-Gothic style, and a forested canyon wilderness...
, where he graduated in 1923. He became an Instructor in European History upon his graduation. He began his graduate work at Cornell and went on to Columbia
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, where he completed his Ph.D. in 1929. He had been exposed to Veblen's
Thorstein Veblen
Thorstein Bunde Veblen, born Torsten Bunde Veblen was an American economist and sociologist, and a leader of the so-called institutional economics movement...
thought all along the way, most systematically at Columbia, where he worked closely with John Maurice Clark
John Maurice Clark
John Maurice Clark was an American economist whose work combined the rigor of traditional economic analysis with an "institutionalist" attitude.- Academic career :...
. Brady took Veblen’s work as the point of departure for his own professional work. During his years of graduate study, he taught at Cornell, Hunter College
Hunter College
Hunter College, established in 1870, is a public university and one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York, located on Manhattan's Upper East Side. Hunter grants undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate degrees in more than one hundred fields of study, and is recognized...
, Cooper Union
Cooper Union
The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, commonly referred to simply as Cooper Union, is a privately funded college in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, United States, located at Cooper Square and Astor Place...
, and New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
. In 1929, Brady joined the faculty at the University of California at Berkeley.
Brady served as Chief of the Standards Division, Consumers Advisory Board, National Recovery Administration
National Recovery Administration
The National Recovery Administration was the primary New Deal agency established by U.S. president Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933. The goal was to eliminate "cut-throat competition" by bringing industry, labor and government together to create codes of "fair practices" and set prices...
and on the staff of the National Resources Planning Board during the New Deal
New Deal
The New Deal was a series of economic programs implemented in the United States between 1933 and 1936. They were passed by the U.S. Congress during the first term of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The programs were Roosevelt's responses to the Great Depression, and focused on what historians call...
. He was one of the founders of Consumers Union
Consumers Union
Consumers Union is a non-profit organization best known as the publisher of Consumer Reports, based in the United States. Its mission is to "test products, inform the public, and protect consumers."...
, its vice president during its formative period, and head of Western Consumers Union.
Works
- “Industrial Standardization.” Ph.D. dissertation, Columbia University, 1929
- The Rationalization Movement in German Industry. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1933
- The Spirit and Structure of German Fascism. New York: Viking, 1937; Lyle Stuart (1971) ISBN 0806502398
- Business as a System of Power. New York: Columbia University Press, 1943; Transaction Publishers (2001) ISBN 0765806827; Kessinger (2007), ISBN 0548110964
- “The Economic Impact of Imperial Germany: Industrial Policy.” In The Tasks of Economic History (Supplement No. 3 to the Journal of Economic History) (December 1943)
- Planning and Technology. Mimeo, University of California at Berkeley Library, 1950
- Crisis in Britain. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1950
- The Citizen's Stake in Price Control. Paterson, N.J., Littlefield Adams, 1952.
- Organization, Automation, and Society: The Scientific Revolution in Industry. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1961.
See also
- History of Economic ThoughtHistory of economic thoughtThe history of economic thought deals with different thinkers and theories in the subject that became political economy and economics from the ancient world to the present day...