Conference of Socialist Economists
Encyclopedia
The Conference of Socialist Economists (CSE) describes itself as an international, democratic membership organisation committed to developing a materialist critique of capitalism
, unconstrained by conventional academic divisions between subjects.
, and more specifically in a corresponding dissatisfaction with orthodox economic theory.
A first conference in January 1970 was attended by 75 people, mainly economists, who discussed papers on the capital controversy, the state of development economics
, and the internationalisation of capital. A second conference in October of the same year attracted 125 participants (including 20 from abroad) and considered the economic role of the state in modern capitalism.
This event proved to be the founding conference, deciding to set up CSE as a permanent organisation, to organise a further conference on Britain and the EEC, and to investigate launching a journal. This further conference (December 1971) saw the launch of the Bulletin of the CSE, with the first issue containing four of the conference papers. The Bulletin was succeeded in 1977 by a refereed journal, Capital & Class
, which continues to be published.
Notwithstanding its name and history, both CSE and Capital & Class live up to the declared aim of being unconstrained by conventional academic subject divisions. Probably only a minority of CSE members are professional economists, and the journal's contents range over the whole of the social and human sciences.
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...
, unconstrained by conventional academic divisions between subjects.
History
CSE's origins lie in the general upsurge in socialist politics in the United Kingdom in the 1960s spurred by disillusion with the Labour government of Harold WilsonHarold Wilson
James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, FRS, FSS, PC was a British Labour Member of Parliament, Leader of the Labour Party. He was twice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the 1960s and 1970s, winning four general elections, including a minority government after the...
, and more specifically in a corresponding dissatisfaction with orthodox economic theory.
A first conference in January 1970 was attended by 75 people, mainly economists, who discussed papers on the capital controversy, the state of development economics
Development economics
Development Economics is a branch of economics which deals with economic aspects of the development process in low-income countries. Its focus is not only on methods of promoting economic growth and structural change but also on improving the potential for the mass of the population, for example,...
, and the internationalisation of capital. A second conference in October of the same year attracted 125 participants (including 20 from abroad) and considered the economic role of the state in modern capitalism.
This event proved to be the founding conference, deciding to set up CSE as a permanent organisation, to organise a further conference on Britain and the EEC, and to investigate launching a journal. This further conference (December 1971) saw the launch of the Bulletin of the CSE, with the first issue containing four of the conference papers. The Bulletin was succeeded in 1977 by a refereed journal, Capital & Class
Capital & Class
Capital & Class is the journal of the Conference of Socialist Economists .The journal aims to provide a critique of global capitalism in the Marxist tradition, reaching out into the labour, trade union, and other radical movements, such as anti-racism, environmentalism, and feminism.The journal has...
, which continues to be published.
Notwithstanding its name and history, both CSE and Capital & Class live up to the declared aim of being unconstrained by conventional academic subject divisions. Probably only a minority of CSE members are professional economists, and the journal's contents range over the whole of the social and human sciences.