Kozo Uno
Encyclopedia
was a Japanese economist and is considered to be one of the most important theorists on the field of Marx's
theory of value. His main work Principles of Political Economy was published in 1964. Among his scholars are Thomas T. Sekine
and Makoto Itoh
.
. This led him to his well known conclusion that Marxian analysis had to be conducted at three separate levels:
Uno and his followers have come in for criticism from the wider Marxist tradition for insisting on this separation. Simon Clarke sees this schema as "scholastic formalism", and the second level as an arbitrary addition to provide a link between the other two, rather than an analytically necessary one. As Kincaid points out, though, Capital is primarily a logically rather than chronologically argued work, which looks at the laws of capitalist development and draws mainly supporting evidence from historical data. Thus, the separation of the Uno school represents an acknowledgement of this logical nature, and registers the key problem of how the critique can be linked to actual economic development in a way that competing schools often cannot.
Karl Marx
Karl Heinrich Marx was a German philosopher, economist, sociologist, historian, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. His ideas played a significant role in the development of social science and the socialist political movement...
theory of value. His main work Principles of Political Economy was published in 1964. Among his scholars are Thomas T. Sekine
Thomas T. Sekine
Thomas T. Sekine is a Japanese economist and is considered to be one of the most important theorists on the field of Marx's theory of value. His main work The Dialectic of Capital was published in 1986. He is a scholar of Kozo Uno.-Main Work:...
and Makoto Itoh
Makoto Itoh
is a Japanese economist and is considered internationally to be one of the most important scholars of Marx's theory of value. He teaches at Kokugakuin University, Tokyo, and is professor emeritus of the University of Tokyo....
.
Thought
Uno based his work on a rigorously Hegelian reading of Marx's CapitalDas Kapital
Das Kapital, Kritik der politischen Ökonomie , by Karl Marx, is a critical analysis of capitalism as political economy, meant to reveal the economic laws of the capitalist mode of production, and how it was the precursor of the socialist mode of production.- Themes :In Capital: Critique of...
. This led him to his well known conclusion that Marxian analysis had to be conducted at three separate levels:
- The "pure" theory of Capital, freed from the complications of history - highly abstract exercises in dialectical logic on the basic, core dynamics of capitalistCapitalismCapitalism 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...
economy. - A "middle" level, which traces the general development of capitalism through distinct historical stages - mercantilismMercantilismMercantilism is the economic doctrine in which government control of foreign trade is of paramount importance for ensuring the prosperity and security of the state. In particular, it demands a positive balance of trade. Mercantilism dominated Western European economic policy and discourse from...
, classical liberalismClassical liberalismClassical liberalism is the philosophy committed to the ideal of limited government, constitutionalism, rule of law, due process, and liberty of individuals including freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and free markets....
and so on. - The analysis of the 'messy' details of capitalist economy in the real world, concentrating on particular narratives rather than an overall picture.
Uno and his followers have come in for criticism from the wider Marxist tradition for insisting on this separation. Simon Clarke sees this schema as "scholastic formalism", and the second level as an arbitrary addition to provide a link between the other two, rather than an analytically necessary one. As Kincaid points out, though, Capital is primarily a logically rather than chronologically argued work, which looks at the laws of capitalist development and draws mainly supporting evidence from historical data. Thus, the separation of the Uno school represents an acknowledgement of this logical nature, and registers the key problem of how the critique can be linked to actual economic development in a way that competing schools often cannot.
Main Work
- Uno, Kozo: Principles of Political Economy. Theory of a Purely Capitalist Society. Translated from the Japanese by Thomas T. Sekine. Brighton, Atlantic Highlands/New Jersey 1980.
Books
- Joe, Hyeon-soo: Politische Ökonomie als Gesellschaftstheorie. Studien zur Marx-Rezeption von Isaak Iljitsch RubinIsaak Illich RubinIsaak Illich Rubin was a Russian economist and is considered to be the most important theorist of his time on the field of Marx's theory of value. His main work Essays on Marx's Theory of Value was published in 1924. During the course of the Great Purge he was executed in 1937.-Main Works:* Rubin,...
und Kozo Uno [German], Diss. Philipps-Universität Marburg 1995.
Essays
- Clarke, Simon: The Basic Theory of Capitalism: A Critique of Itoh and the Uno School in: Capital and Class 37.
- Foster, John Bellamy: Marxism and the Uno School. The Basic Theory of Capitalism: The Forms and Substance of the Capitalist Economy by Makoto Itoh.
- Kincaid, Jim: Finance, Trust and the Power of Capital, in: Historical Materialism, vol. 14.1 (Brill, 2006).
- Kubota, Ken: Die dialektische Darstellung des allgemeinen Begriffs des Kapitals im Lichte der Philosophie HegelsGeorg Wilhelm Friedrich HegelGeorg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel was a German philosopher, one of the creators of German Idealism. His historicist and idealist account of reality as a whole revolutionized European philosophy and was an important precursor to Continental philosophy and Marxism.Hegel developed a comprehensive...
. Zur logischen Analyse der politischen Ökonomie unter besonderer Berücksichtigung AdornosTheodor W. AdornoTheodor W. Adorno was a German sociologist, philosopher, and musicologist known for his critical theory of society....
und der Forschungsergebnisse von RubinIsaak Illich RubinIsaak Illich Rubin was a Russian economist and is considered to be the most important theorist of his time on the field of Marx's theory of value. His main work Essays on Marx's Theory of Value was published in 1924. During the course of the Great Purge he was executed in 1937.-Main Works:* Rubin,...
, BackhausHans-Georg BackhausHans-Georg Backhaus is a German economist and philosopher. He is considered one of the most important theorists on the field of Marx's theory of value. He began a long-term cooperation with Helmut Reichelt already from his years of university studies.-Main Work:* Backhaus, Hans-Georg: Dialektik...
, ReicheltHelmut ReicheltHelmut Reichelt is a German economist and philosopher of the Frankfurt School. Reichelt is one of the main authors of the “Neue Marx-Lektüre” and considered to be one of the most important theorists in the field of Marx's theory of value.He studied economics, sociology and philosophy in Frankfurt...
, Uno und SekineThomas T. SekineThomas T. Sekine is a Japanese economist and is considered to be one of the most important theorists on the field of Marx's theory of value. His main work The Dialectic of Capital was published in 1986. He is a scholar of Kozo Uno.-Main Work:...
, in: Beiträge zur Marx-Engels-Forschung. Neue Folge 2009, pp. 199–224. - Pozo, Luis M.: Dialectics and Deconstruction in Political Economy.
- Saraka, Sean: Review of Albritton's „Dialectics and Deconstruction in Political Economy“.
- Simoulidis, John: Levels of Analysis and the Concept of Interest: an Unoist Approach (PDF).
External links
- Verified, continuously updated selected bibliography with links and materials.