From Subsistence to Exchange and Other Essays

by P.T. Bauer

Peter Bauer, a pioneer of development economics, is an incisive thinker whose work continues to influence fields from political science to history to anthropology. As Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen writes in the introduction to this book, "the originality, fo

Genres: Economics, Nonfiction, Essays

168 pages, ebook

First published March 20, 2000

Reviews

[Dianne · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good essay on Western Guilt and Third World Poverty. Bauer argues that those third world countries which have had no contact with the West are poor and undeveloped e.g. Afghanistan, whereas the colonised have by and large benefitted. The British stance of limited government changed during the 1940s leaving the newly independent countries with a basic structure which allowed the incoming governments the ability to increase regulation, tighten controls, and restrict imports so limiting investment.

[Liberté · Rating 3 out of 5]

The essays of a pioneer in development economics, Peter Bauer, are gathered together in this edition. For the economic illiterate, this book may be a struggle, but Bauer forgoes the dependence on mathematical models that much of contemporary economics relies on and gets to the point with clear historical and cultural references. Bauer tackles the hot topics of development economics from a free market perspective, challenging the effectiveness and motivations behind foreign aid and what a developing country requires to escape poverty. He thoroughly dismantles the premise that more land and/or resources are necessary, pointing to smaller and resource-poor economies like Hong Kong, Venice and Switzerland as vibrant and productive counterexamples. He challenges the notion of per capita income, pointing out that population increases relative to capital accumulation would decrease that number, but as wealth is not stagnant and not fixed, population growth does not have to be feared. He eviscerates the concepts of Western guilt and social justice, including those pushed by Pope Paul VI, and points to wealth creation and economic mobility as the future of development. If read with an open mind, which Amartya Sen, Bauer's former student and Nobel Laureate deigned to do, simple but often dismissed economic principles are argued clearly and evidenced in these essays. A must-read for any student of economics or politics. The book's main drawback is that Bauer's essays date primarily from the 1970s and 1980s, so an updated telling of the same stories would be useful.

[Tyler · Rating 4 out of 5]

I give this book a weak four stars. The content at the very beginning was great. There are a few parts that were a little more confusing. That is only because he takes a whole chapter, which was fairly long, and dedicates it to rebutting an economist that I've never heard of or read. Granted, the majority of the book is rebutting. I also found the chapter against egalitarianism a little weak. I don't think it would be able to convert anyone to non-egalitarianism. Nevertheless, the rest of the book is phenomenal. It takes on the many myths in economics and I think it takes them on superbly. He gives many, many real world examples like Hong Kong, India (which at the time of the writing was in very bad economic shape). Great Britain, and many more. The complaints about it being outdated, while true, I think are unwarranted. The points that Bauer tries to make are confirmed through the examples he gives. They do not require further elaboration. That being said, I do admit it would be very helpful if there was some new examples to show being that the there is a new interest in this debate because of the great recession.

[Gavin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Conservative critique of foreign aid, but without contempt or narrow particularism. Emphasised cultural barriers and institutional weakness as a lone voice during the hegemony of Rostow's capital-only fairytale.

[Martha Njolomole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read and quite informative but may come off as condescending to a biased mind. Overall enjoyed reading it but I didn't agree with some of the points raised.