Economics: Marxian Versus Neoclassical

by Richard D. Wolff, Stephen A. Resnick

Wolff and Resnick provide a unique, balanced explication of the differing assumptions, logical structures, and arguments of neoclassical and Marxian economics. They address broader aspects of evaluating or choosing between alternative theories, but their conclusions are nonpolemical. Throughout, math is used simply and sparingly.

Genres: Economics, Politics, Philosophy, Nonfiction, Social Science

296 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1987

About the author

Richard D. Wolff is an American economist, well-known for his work on Marxian economics, economic methodology, and class analysis. He is Professor of Economics Emeritus, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and currently a Visiting Professor in the Graduate Program in International Affairs of the New School University in New York. Wolff has also taught economics at Yale University, City University of New York, University of Paris I (Sorbonne), and The Brecht Forum in New York City. In 2010, Wolff published Capitalism Hits the Fan: The Global Economic Meltdown and What to Do About It, also released as a DVD. He will release three new books in 2012: Occupy the Economy: Challenging Capitalism, with David Barsamian (San Francisco: City Lights Books), Contending Economic Theories: Neoclassical, Keynesian, and Marxian, with Stephen Resnick (Cambridge, MA, and London: MIT University Press), and Democracy at Work (Chicago: Haymarket Books).

Reviews

[Public Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

During the Cold War there was a notion among some Soviets that for one to learn about the US it was okay to read Pravda, but to learn the truth about their own country it was necessary to read the international press. The reasoning, so it goes, is that countries can tell the truth about others but have a hard time telling the truth about themselves.

I felt a similar principle at work while reading this book. Perhaps the best way to learn about capitalism is by reading what the critics say. Nowhere else will you see the assumptions and contradictions laid quite so bare. Of course to stay true to this principle I would have to turn to the Austrians at the Mises Institute to learn about Marx - and I don't think anyone should make that mistake.

Before starting this book I was girding my loins for a long, difficult read. The Marx Engels Reader was nigh impossible for me to get through - but I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I have been listening to Professor Wolff's seminars on Youtube (where he suggested this book, natch) so that made following the sections on Marxian economics a lot easier to understand. Aside from the (far too copious) charts and graphs in the Neoclassical section I found this book surprisingly readable. Richard D. Wolff does an excellent job starting big and drilling down into specific ideas. It's a real talent.

I feel like I learned more about Neoclassical economics than Marxian from this book. Seeing everything laid out in this way made me realize how influential Neoclassical philosophy has been for American politics since the very beginning... absolutely elemental. It was a real eye opener.

[Tom Emanuel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would imagine that Richard Wolff and Stephen Resnick's contrast and comparison of Marxian and neoclassical economics would be highly instructive for the students of mainstream neoclassical economics for whom it is written. It serves as a solid (if somewhat oversimplified) introduction to Marxian economics and does a good job of pointing up the major theoretical and practical differences between the two theories. However, I was in precisely the opposite position from this book's intended reader - I had a background in Marxism and was looking for a stronger grounding in neoclassical economics. From my perspective, then, the book was instructive but not as helpful as it might have been. The most valuable takeaway for me was that economics is not an absolute science; different economic theories shed light on different aspects of the economy. Neither the one nor the other tells the whole story, and so we would do well to understand and to apply both neoclassical and Marxian modes of analysis.

[Jesse Dilport · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW. I have never learned so much in one book. Super informative intro to Capitalism, Keynesianism, and Marxian economics/philosophy.

[Amar · Rating 3 out of 5]

From my view, this is a poor understanding of Marxism from a philosophical view. That said, Wolff and Resnick provide an incredibly easy to digest textbook.

[Gage Hoefer · Rating 3 out of 5]

You can tell this was written to introduce neoliberal economic students who had never read a book on Marxism or epistemology before to both topics; it does a fairly good job at summarizing the key tenets of neoclassical economic theory, but for anyone with even a brief background in Marxism I'd recommend to skip this. The version of Marxism it describes is kind of odd- I think it's very Althusserian, but I could be wrong.

[Alex Nelson · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a disappointment. The authors present a rather peculiar interpretation of Marx, and compare this to the marginalist paradigm. It seemed like a 250-page straw-man.

[Adam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Burn the factories! Revolution now!