Robert Brenner
Encyclopedia
Robert P. Brenner is a professor of history and director of the Center for Social Theory and Comparative History at UCLA, editor of the socialist journal Against the Current
, and editorial committee member of New Left Review
. His research interests are Early Modern European History; economic, social and religious history; agrarian history; social theory/Marxism; and Tudor-Stuart England.http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/history/facultyplain.php?lid=37&display_one=1
He has been one of the contributors in a major Marxist debate, "Transition from Feudalism to Capitalism". In this debate he has sided on the importance of the transformation of agricultural production in Europe, especially in the English countryside, as opposed to the rise of international trade as the main cause of the transition. His influential 1976 article on "Agrarian Class Structure and Economic Development in Pre-industrial Europe
" set forth the controversial "Brenner thesis
." He argued that smallholding peasants had strong property rights and had little incentive to give up traditional technology or go beyond local markets, and thus no incentive toward capitalism
Later he attacked Paul Sweezy
and Immanuel Wallerstein
, who had emphasized the importance of rise of Europe dominated international trade as "Neo-Smithian Marxists." In recent years, however, he has concentrated on the global economy since 1945.
Against the Current
Against the Current could refer to:* Against the Current, the journal of the socialist group Solidarity * Against the Current, a 2009 film starring Joseph Fiennes, Elizabeth Reaser, and Justin Kirk...
, and editorial committee member of New Left Review
New Left Review
New Left Review is a 160-page journal, published every two months from London, devoted to world politics, economy and culture. Often compared to the French-language Les Temps modernes, it is associated with Verso Books , and regularly features the essays of authorities on contemporary social...
. His research interests are Early Modern European History; economic, social and religious history; agrarian history; social theory/Marxism; and Tudor-Stuart England.http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/history/facultyplain.php?lid=37&display_one=1
He has been one of the contributors in a major Marxist debate, "Transition from Feudalism to Capitalism". In this debate he has sided on the importance of the transformation of agricultural production in Europe, especially in the English countryside, as opposed to the rise of international trade as the main cause of the transition. His influential 1976 article on "Agrarian Class Structure and Economic Development in Pre-industrial Europe
Agrarian class structure and economic development in pre-industrial Europe
Agrarian Class Structure and Economic Development in Pre-Industrial Europe was a major historical debate in Past & Present following from Robert Brenner's article in issue 70...
" set forth the controversial "Brenner thesis
Agrarian class structure and economic development in pre-industrial Europe
Agrarian Class Structure and Economic Development in Pre-Industrial Europe was a major historical debate in Past & Present following from Robert Brenner's article in issue 70...
." He argued that smallholding peasants had strong property rights and had little incentive to give up traditional technology or go beyond local markets, and thus no incentive toward capitalism
Later he attacked Paul Sweezy
Paul Sweezy
Paul Marlor Sweezy was a Marxist economist, political activist, publisher, and founding editor of the long-running magazine Monthly Review...
and Immanuel Wallerstein
Immanuel Wallerstein
Immanuel Maurice Wallerstein is a US sociologist, historical social scientist, and world-systems analyst...
, who had emphasized the importance of rise of Europe dominated international trade as "Neo-Smithian Marxists." In recent years, however, he has concentrated on the global economy since 1945.
Books
- 1993: Merchants and revolution : commercial change, political conflict, and London's overseas traders, 1550-1653 (Princeton, Princeton University Press) ISBN 0-691-05594-7
- 2002: The boom and the bubble : the US in the world economy (New York, Verso) ISBN 1-85984-636-X
- 2006: The economics of global turbulence : the advanced capitalist economies from Long Boom to Long Downturn, 1945-2005 (New York, Verso) ISBN 978-1-85984-730-5
- 2009: Property and progress : the historical origins and social foundations of self-sustaining growth (London, Verso) ISBN 978-1-84467-318-6
Articles
- Brenner, Robert. "Agrarian Class Structure and Economic Development in Pre-industrial Europe". Past and Present 70 (1976), pp. 30–74
- "The economy after the boom: a diagnosis", International Viewpoint, 342, July/August 2002.
- "Devastating Crisis Unfolds", Against the Current, 132, January/February 2008.
- "The Economy in a World of Trouble", International Viewpoint, 411, April 2009.
- "What is Good for Goldman Sachs is Good for America The Origins of the Present Crisis" (October 2, 2009). Center for Social Theory and Comparative History. Paper 2009-1.
External links
- J.M. Blaut, "Robert Brenner in the Tunnel of Time", Antipode: A Radical Journal of GeographyAntipode (journal)Antipode is an academic journal that publishes in the field of critical geography. The journal publishes articles with Marxist, socialist, anarchist, anti-racist, and feminist approaches to geography with a left-wing focus...
, 26,4,(1994):351-76.