4 economic thought of ancient greece. Economic thought of ancient greece and rome
The legislators and reformers of Ancient Greece were Solon, Pisistratus, Pericles. Solon (c. 559 BC) carried out reforms that helped accelerate the elimination of the remnants of the clan system: the abolition of land debts, the prohibition of debt slavery, the introduction of a land maximum, etc. All citizens were divided into four categories in accordance with the property qualification. Ancient traditions ranked Solon among the seven Greek sages. Reforms of the Athenian ruler Pisistratus (c. 560 BC) served the interests of farmers and trade and artisan strata (distribution of confiscated land to the rural poor, minting of state coins, etc.). Pericles (c. 490 BC) - Athenian strategist. His legislative measures (the abolition of the property qualification, replacement of voting by lot in the provision of positions, the introduction of payment to officials, etc.) contributed to the flourishing of the Athenian slave-owning democracy.
In the works of the ancient Greek thinkers Xenophon, Plato and especially Aristotle, the first attempts were made to theoretically comprehend the economic structure of society.
To characterize their economic views of greatest interest is the work of Xenophon (430-354 BC) "Economy", which became widespread not only in ancient Greece, but also in ancient Rome, and later in feudal Western Europe.
Economy, according to Xenophon's definition, is the ego science of enriching one's economy, which should teach the slave owner to skillfully enrich his economy, which will increase the production of useful things. Trade as a profession was considered worthy for the Greek. Xenophon approved only the grain trade of the landed aristocracy and the petty trade that served agriculture. He had a negative attitude towards large-scale merchant trade and usury, at the same time he praised money as a concentrated wealth and a means of enrichment.
Xenophon's concept of value is associated with use value, he believed that value is only that from which one can benefit. Xenophon substantiated the division of labor, came close to understanding the degree of dependence of the division of the pile on the size of the market. In the countryside, he pointed out, the division of labor is less developed, in the city it is more, since trade and the production of goods are more widespread here.
A prominent representative of ancient Greek philosophy is the ideologist of the Athenian aristocracy Plato (427-347 BC). "Dialogues", "State", "Laws" are well-known works of Plato. In them he, like Xenophon, adhered to the natural-economic concept. Plato saw in the division of the heap the basis of the stratification of society into estates. Plato's state consists of three estates: rulers (philosophers); warriors, artisans, farmers, small traders, belonging to the free; not free, i.e. slaves (a talking tool that does not belong to any class). Considering private property as a source of contradictions and disagreements in the state, he proposed to deprive philosophers and warriors of property and families, so that they only care about the state. Plato reflected the interests of the slave-owning aristocracy, striving to create a solid state in which its rule would be combined with the further development of the economy on the basis of the social division of labor. Such ideas had a prototype in the structure of the Egyptian state, where the division of labor within the caste system reached a high level in its time.
Plato was one of the first in the history of ancient economic thought to raise the question of the basis and level of prices. He understood that money plays not only the role of means of circulation and accumulation of wealth, but also performs the function of a measure of value. According to Plato, prices should be regulated by state authorities, and the basis should be taken such a price that would provide a moderate profit.
A significant step and development of the economic thought of Ancient Greece was the teaching of the outstanding thinker of antiquity Aristotle (384-322 BC). In the works "Nicomachean Ethics", "Politics", "Big Ethics", "Metaphysics", "On the Soul" and other works, Aristotle subjected to comprehensive criticism of Plato's philosophical idealism, but did not switch to the position of materialism. It is characterized by constant fluctuations between materialism and idealism.
Aristotle believed that economy is concerned with the household, the property of the slave owner, and politics - with the state structure, while in Plato, politics includes economy. Aristotle put forward a project of an ideal state that would smooth out the contradictions between classes and would have the middle class as its social basis. The population of such a state should consist of landowners, pastoralists, artisans, merchants, hired workers and slaves. Agriculture was recognized as an important and lasting field of activity. Despising the physical heap, Aristotle disdained the craft. Free citizens should perform only the functions of management, supervision and control, and hard work in agriculture remained the lot of slaves. Slavery seemed to him natural and logical, and he considered the slave a talking tool.
The merit of Aristotle the economist is that he was the first to establish certain categories of political economy and to a certain extent showed their interrelation. If we compare fragments of Adam Smith's "economic system" with the initial sections of the first volume of "Capital" by Karl Marx, then one can find a striking continuity of thought. Aristotle establishes two sides of a commodity - use and exchange value - and analyzes the process of exchange. He asks the very question that will worry political economy, namely: what determines the ratio of exchange, or exchange values \u200b\u200b(or, finally, price - their monetary expression). Aristotle does not find an answer to this question, but in general he correctly expresses reasonable considerations about the origin and functions of money; in its own way expresses the idea of \u200b\u200btheir transformation into capital (into money that generates new money).
Aristotle did not create a complete theory of value. He saw in exchange the equation commodity values and stubbornly sought some common basis for the equation. This was already a manifestation of the exceptional depth of thought and served as a starting point for further analysis many centuries after Aristotle.
Aristotle makes the very first attempt in the history of economics to analyze capital, opposing economics and chrematistics. He believed that the economy is a natural economic activity associated with the production of products, use values. It also includes exchange, however, again, only to the extent necessary to satisfy personal needs. The limits of this activity are also natural: the ego is a rational personal consumption of a person. Chrematism is the “art of making a fortune,” that is, activities aimed at making profit, for the accumulation of wealth, especially in the form of money. In other words, chrematistics is the “art” of investing and accumulating capital. Aristotle considered all this unnatural, but he was realistic enough to see the impossibility of a pure "economy": unfortunately, chrematistics are constantly growing out of economics. Attributing the use of money to make a profit to the field of chrematistics, Aristotle condemned this kind of activity. Proving that money alone cannot bring money, he considered usury to be unnatural. This view took root after several centuries in European medieval religious ideology.
Ancient Rome is characterized by more developed slave-holding production relations than in Ancient Greece. The territorial expansion of Rome led to the creation of a huge empire, the enslavement of many tribes and peoples. Unlike ancient Greece, in which slaves were mainly exploited in the sphere of crafts and trade, in ancient Rome, agriculture was the main field of application of slave labor. All this left an imprint on the nature of the economic thought of Ancient Rome, which primarily solved agrarian problems, including the problem of rational organization of slave-owning villas and latifundia.
The book of the economic thinker of Ancient Rome Cato the Elder (234-149 BC) "On Agriculture" reflects a longer experience of slave-owning economy, therefore it elaborates in much more detail the questions posed in the "Economy" of Xenophon. Cato gave advice to slave owners on how to get more income from the rural estate, guided by the rule: "the owner likes to sell, not buy." The responsibilities of managing the estate were defined in detail.
In the writings of another Roman thinker - Varro (116-127 BC), his books "On Agriculture", there is already anxiety about the fate of the slave-owning order. Varro condemned the resettlement of the Romans to the "city walls", where they prefer to "work with their hands in the theater and circus, and not in the field and not in the vineyard," completely entrusting the care of the estates to the managers. He shows all the advantages of agriculture and recommends combining the development of agriculture, coupled with animal husbandry, noting that "the foundation of every state is livestock." Varro sees the rise of agriculture not only in the intensification of the exploitation of the slave population. Listing agricultural implements, he divides them into three types: speaking tools (slaves); instruments that give inhuman sounds (oxen); mute tools (sickles, plows, etc.).
Varro believed that slave revolts were possible, so he recommended buying slaves of different nationalities.
The work of the ancient Roman thinker Columella "On Agriculture" (1st century BC) testifies to the beginning decline of agriculture in ancient Rome and the emergence of a transition to a new, feudal mode of production, although they were written long before the death of the Roman Empire. Columella sought to restore the former position of agriculture in Rome. He recommended buying estates in the vicinity of cities so that the owner could directly observe the management of the economy. Columella raised the issue of the abandonment of slave labor and the transfer of farming to free clones, recognizing the greater profitability of their labor than the labor of slaves.
Legal and economic justification of slavery in the 1st-2nd centuries. AD became more and more complex. In the ego time, the idea was formed that people become slaves not by their origin, as Aristotle taught, but by force of circumstances. This is the conclusion reached by the representative of the Stoic school of philosophy Lucius Anneus Seneca (3 BC - 65 AD), who understood the political danger of slavery and urged the Romans to treat slaves more gently, almost like free people.
The interests of the ruined small landowners were defended by the brothers Tiberius (126-133 BC) and Gaius (153-121 BC) Gracchi, who tried to carry out agrarian reform. Tiberius Gracchus proposed the adoption of a law according to which Roman citizens were allowed to rent no more than 500 yugers (125 hectares) of state arable land, and one family could not occupy more than 1000 yugers. All surpluses were subject to return to the state and distribution among the needy but 30 yugers on the basis of inheritance and payment of a small tax.
This project has been partially implemented. Several tens of thousands of peasants received land. In addition, a law was passed on the sale of grain to the urban poor from state storage facilities at low prices. The results of the agrarian reform proved to be strong enough, and even after the death of Tiberius and Gaius, the conservatives were unable to repeal the laws on allotting land to the needy.
The economic demands of the slaves were most pronounced during the period of their uprising under the leadership of Spartacus (74-71 BC). The main demands of the rebels were the destruction of the slave owners and their latifundia, liberation from slavery, and the provision of land to the peasants. The uprising was brutally suppressed, but it contributed to undermining the former power of Rome.
The unresolved economic problems of ancient Rome became the cause of a fierce political struggle. After the suppression of the uprising of Spartacus, the Catiline conspiracy (63-62 BC) arose, which was of an anti-usury character, associated with the cancellation of debts and the expropriation of the rich, which also suffered defeat.
In the fight against the Catiline conspiracy, an important role was played by the ideologue of the ruling class, Mark Tullius Cicero (106-44 BC). Oi considered agriculture a noble occupation, was a supporter of private property, large land tenure, increased exploitation of colonies, approved of large-scale trade, advocated a fair attitude towards usurers.
The protest against the ruling class of slave-owners was reflected by Christianity - a new religion that took shape in Rome in the 1st century. AD The first Christians belonged to the lower strata of the people. Earlier Christianity acted as a religion of slaves, poor people, peoples conquered and scattered by Rome. The most vivid idea of \u200b\u200bthe economic views of the ideologists of early Christianity is provided by the works of Augustine the Blessed (353-430). Augustine considered agriculture an honorable occupation; condemned trade; recognized physical labor as honorable as mental; did not insist on the emancipation of slaves, the main task of the church determined the promotion of their moral improvement.
The economic thought of the ancient world gave a number of ideas on which subsequent economic theory began to rely. In this regard, the economic views of the thinkers of the Ancient World should be recognized as the starting point in the development of economic science.
Introduction
About five millennia ago, in the south of the Balkan Peninsula and the surrounding islands in the eastern Mediterranean, a culture was born that was destined to play the greatest role in human history - the culture of the ancient Greeks (Hellenes). Greece never aspired to dominance in the world, its inhabitants took part in only a few historical battles, and few of the Greek generals managed to gain great glory. Over the last two millennia, this people was under the rule of foreign conquerors, and only a century and a half ago Greece regained its independence and appeared on the map as an independent state.
It would seem that Greece in the past was no different from its neighbors - neither a special political role, nor any exceptional natural conditions. However, it was here, two and a half millennia ago, that the culture reached such a flourishing, which for many centuries turned out to be inaccessible to other later states.
This country played a special role on the political and economic map of that time. Its internal economic system and external economic relations deserve detailed study and may be interesting from the point of view of modern economics.
The main purpose of this essay is to consider the models of economic development of Ancient Greece.
The objectives of this essay:
· Describe the state and political structure of Ancient Greece;
· Indicate the features of the development of economic thought in Ancient Greece;
· Analyze the significance of the economic thought of Ancient Greece.
Economic views of ancient Greek thinkers
Greatest role in history economic doctrines Ancient Greece played the works of famous thinkers Xenophon, Plato and Aristotle.
The economic views of Xenophon (430- 355 BC) - a disciple of the famous ancient Greek philosopher Socrates - are set forth in the work "Domostroy", prepared as a guide for the conduct of a slave economy. He characterized home economics as the science of managing and enriching the economy. Xenophon considered the main branch of the slave economy to be agriculture, which he qualified as the most worthy type of occupation. He saw the main goal of economic activity in ensuring the production of useful things. Xenophon had a negative attitude towards crafts and trade, considered them to be an occupation suitable only for slaves. At the same time, in the interests of the slave economy, Xenophon allowed the use of commodity-money relations.
"Domostroy" contained numerous advice to slave owners in the field of economic activity. Their lot was the management of the economy, the exploitation of slaves. Xenophon expressed contempt for physical labor, qualifying it as an occupation suitable only for slaves, who must be treated like animals.
Xenophon became one of the first thinkers of antiquity who paid great attention to the division of labor, considering it as a natural phenomenon, as important condition increase in the production of use values. Xenophon first pointed out the relationship between the development of the division of labor and the market.
Economic ideas occupied a significant place in the writings of the ancient Greek philosopher Plato (427-347 BC). Most famous for his work "Politics or State". The socio-economic concept of Plato received a concentrated expression in the project of an ideal state. Plato viewed the state as a community of people generated by nature itself, for the first time expressing the idea of \u200b\u200bthe inevitability of dividing the state into two parts: the rich and the poor.
Plato paid great attention to the problem of the division of labor, considering it as a natural phenomenon. In his concept, the innate inequality of people was substantiated. He interpreted the division into free and slaves as a state given by nature itself. Slaves were seen as the main productive force, and their exploitation as a means of enriching the slave owners. Only Greeks could be free citizens.
Plato considered agriculture to be the main branch of the economy, but he also approved of handicrafts. Economic basis he saw the state in a subsistence economy based on the exploitation of slaves. He allowed petty trade to serve the division of labor. However, Plato was very negative about trading profits. In his opinion, trade should be mainly carried out by foreigners and slaves. In Plato's ideal state, free people were divided into three classes: 1) philosophers, called upon to govern the state; 2) warriors; 3) landowners, artisans and small traders. Slaves were not included in any of these classes.
The greatest contribution to the development of economic thought in Ancient Greece was made by the thinker of antiquity Aristotle (384-322 BC). As a student of Plato, he did not share Plato's idealism. Showing vacillation between materialism and idealism, he moved towards materialism. His political views are outlined in the work "Politics" and other works. He is an opponent of the aristocratic system, oligarchic power, a supporter of slave-owning democracy. Aristotle justified the division of people into slaves and free, perceiving it as natural. In his opinion, freedom was the lot of only the Hellenes. As for foreigners (barbarians), they, by their nature, could only be slaves. He divided the citizens of Greece into five groups (classes): 1) the agricultural class, 2) the artisan class, 3) the commercial class, 4) the hired workers, 5) the military. Slaves constituted a separate group that was not included in the civil society. Aristotle associated slavery with the natural division of labor, believing that slaves by their nature are such and are capable only of physical labor. The slave was equated with other things that belonged to the free, included in their property.
Aristotle's outstanding merit in the development of economic thought is his attempt to penetrate into the essence of economic phenomena, to reveal their regularities. He laid the foundation for economic analysis, which manifested itself in the approach to the definition of the subject of economic science, in the study of exchange, forms of value, etc.
Aristotle considered economic phenomena in terms of their greatest benefits. Everything that corresponded to the interests of strengthening the economy was accepted as natural and just. Aristotle attributed natural phenomena to economics, which revealed the sources of "true wealth", consisting of use values. Economics provided the study of ways to strengthen the natural economy; the possibility of expanding the production of use values. This corresponded to the maintenance of a moderate amount of wealth, which was supported by Aristotle, who rejected excessive accumulation of money, enrichment through speculative trade, usury, etc. He allowed exchange trade and related it to the economy.
It is interesting how Aristotle viewed the form of value. The monetary form of a commodity was taken as the development of a simple form of value. Although he could not scientifically explain the origin and essence of money, it is important that he connected them with the development of exchange, laid the foundation for considering the functions of money as a measure of value and a means of circulation.
2. Stages of economic development and the role of the state in the economy of Ancient Greece
2.1. Ancient Greece in the XI-VI centuries BC.
If we analyze this period of time, then we can say the following. It covers two stages in the history of Ancient Greece: the so-called dark ages (XI-IX centuries BC) and the archaic period (VIII-VI centuries BC). The Dark Ages are often called the Homeric period, since along with archaeological data, the main source for the study of this time is the poems "Iliad" and "Odyssey" attributed to Homer.
Usually XI-IX centuries. BC e. consider an intermediate stage, at which, on the one hand, compared with Achaean Greece, the level of development decreases, but, on the other hand, with the beginning of the production of iron tools, prerequisites are created for the further flourishing of the Greek states.
The Archaic period is characterized by two main processes that had a decisive influence on the development of Greek civilization:
Great colonization - the development by the Greeks of the coasts of the Mediterranean, Black, Azov seas;
Registration of the policy as a special type of community.
There are two main types of policies:
Agrarian - the absolute predominance of agriculture, the weak development of crafts, trade, a large proportion of dependent workers, as a rule, with an oligarchic structure;
Trade and handicraft - with a large share of trade and crafts, commodity-money relations, the introduction of slavery into the means of production, a democratic structure.
In the XI-IX centuries. BC. in the Greek economy, the natural type of economy prevailed; handicrafts were not separated from agriculture. There was some improvement in tools, in particular, a plow with a metal opener appeared. Livestock also played an important role in agriculture; livestock was considered one of the main types of wealth. In the craft of the XI-IX centuries. BC e. there was some differentiation, weaving, metallurgy, and ceramics were especially developed, but production was focused only on meeting the basic needs of people. In this regard, trade developed very slowly and was mainly of an exchange nature.
In the VIII-VI centuries. BC e. the economic situation in ancient Greece has changed significantly. During this period, the handicraft separated from agriculture, which remains the leading branch of the economy. The poor development of agricultural production at the previous stage, the inability to provide food for the growing population of the policies became one of the main reasons for Greek colonization. The most important function of the colonies located in the Black Sea basin was to supply the metropolises with bread. The main attention is paid to crops, the cultivation of which is more consistent with the natural conditions of Greece: grapes, olives, all kinds of vegetable and horticultural crops; as a result, agriculture is becoming more market-oriented.
The economic thought of Ancient Greece is associated with the names of Xenophon, Plato and Aristotle.
Economic reality acts as an adequate negation of actual processes; it needs scientific understanding, which makes it possible to assess the effectiveness of the state's economic policy. Philosophers of Ancient Greece tried to substantiate economic processes: Xenophon, Aristotle, Plato. It was the ancient Greeks who gave science the name "Economics". For the first time, the word economics, which means home economics, is found in the works of the philosopher Xenophon. Xenophon viewed the problems of economic life through the prism of morality, he believed that it was a shame to use money to increase it. I tried to substantiate the role of money and show their functions. But money as a commercial and usurious capital evoked Xenophon's condemnation.
According to Xenophon, every commodity has useful properties, use value and the ability to exchange for another commodity (exchange value). But being the ideologist of the natural economy, he did not attach importance to exchange value, and he explained the price as a result of the movement of supply and demand. Money was invented by people in order to be used for commodity circulation and the accumulation of wealth, but not for usurious enrichment.
The division of labor into mental and physical, and people into free and slaves has a natural origin. Preferential development of agriculture in comparison with handicrafts and trade.
Xenophon (430 - 354 BC) in his treatise "On the Household" gave a description of an exemplary, from his point of view, economy and an exemplary citizen. His work "On Income" is an attempt to find a way out of the economic difficulties of Athens. The most important ideas of the treatise "On Household" are as follows:
A) the natural origin is the division of labor into mental and physical, and people - into free and slaves;
B) any good has useful properties (use value) and is able to exchange for another good (exchange value).
Plato (428 - 347 BC) created the theory of an ideal social structure and presented it in his work "The State". The root idea of \u200b\u200bsuch a device is the idea of \u200b\u200bjustice; everyone is doing what he is better equipped to do. By justice, the philosopher meant the so-called integral virtue, uniting wisdom, courage and enlightened (affective) state and representing their balance. Plato preached the destruction of private property, the community of wives and children, the state regulation of marriages, the public upbringing of children who should not know their parents. Plato created the concept of an ideal state in which people were divided into 3 estates:
1) philosophers called to rule the state
3) farmers, artisans, small traders. (black)
The first and second - the upper class should not have property and burden themselves with the economy. Slaves are not equated with the property of free citizens. Condemns usury, the leading role of agriculture. The higher actions will be endowed with the right of ownership and use (incomplete ownership) granted to them by lot by the state of the house and land allotment.
Aristotle (384 - 322 BC) based his economic teaching on the premise that slavery is a natural phenomenon and should always be the basis of production. Key provisions of his work "Politics":
The presence of private property is mandatory;
All activities are divided into two groups: economy and chemistry. By economy, Aristotle understood the study of natural phenomena associated with the production of use values; it also included small trade, necessary to meet the needs of people. Under chrematism - the study of unnatural, from his point of view, phenomena associated with the accumulation of money; I also included large trade here. In accordance with this, Aristotle established two types of wealth: as the aggregate of consumer values \u200b\u200band as the accumulation of money, or as the aggregate of exchange values. He considered agriculture and handicraft to be the source of the first type of wealth and called it natural, since it arises as a result of production activities, is aimed at satisfying the needs of people and its size is limited by these needs. The second type of wealth Aristotle called unnatural, since it arises from circulation, does not consist of objects of direct consumption, and its size is not limited by anything. Thus, Aristotle approves economic activity and condemns creepy;
Money acts as a co-measure in exchange, and therefore it cannot be lent (a coin cannot give birth to a coin). Aristotle believed that money became a "universal medium of exchange" as a result of an agreement;
A person, according to Aristotle, is a creature that cannot live outside society and the state. Consequently, the state is more important than the family and the individual. Considering upbringing as a means of strengthening the state system, the philosopher believed that schools should only be state-owned and in them all citizens, excluding slaves, should receive the same upbringing, accustoming them to state order.
Aristotle, like Xenophon and Plato, insists on the conditioning of the division of society into free and slaves, labor - into mental and physical, exclusively by "laws of nature."
Aristotle pointed out that people are mistaken in understanding wealth as an abundance of money. Money fulfills its role only because people have agreed to accept it as payment for real things. Money is a necessary sign, an element of any exchange. Aristotle was the first scientist to understand that relationships between people arise when there are different professions, i.e. exchange is possible if there is a division of labor, when there is a proportion of exchange. His conclusions can be summarized as follows:
1) there is nothing in the goods themselves that could equate them with each other;
2) commodity exchange is a relationship not only between things, but also between their owners;
3) there are 4 participants in the exchange transaction, these are the commodity owners (A and B) and their goods (X and Y);
4) it is the commodity owner who has something inherent that allows them to be equated with each other and the goods exchanged;
5) the general substance is the need for something that each of them does not have;
6) at the same time, Aristotle believes that everything should be measured by one thing;
7) the proportions of exchange Aristotle presented as follows.
If a. A is a shoemaker, a. B is a grain grower and if the need of a grain grower for shoes (A / B \u003d 3), then the exchange equation (price) is as follows: Y \u003d 3X, for a measure of bread, 3 pairs of shoes are given.
Aristotle's ideas had a tremendous impact on the development of price theory. But only in the XVIII century. French thinker Turgot continued and developed the idea of \u200b\u200bthe mutual dependence of needs. A hundred years later, on this basis, the theory of marginal utility was created. Aristotle, a staunch supporter of private property, considered it inevitable and natural. Aristotle can be called the first economist in the history of science. His economic views were developed in the economic thought of the Middle Ages. Aristotle was able to delve deeply into the issues of economic analysis, it was he who defined economics as the science of wealth, and made a valuable contribution to the theory of value, price and money.
A certain influence on the development of the economic thought of antiquity was exerted by the Romans Cato the Elder (234-149), Varromos (115-27 BC), Seneca (4-65 AD) Lucretius Carus (39-55 .), Columella 1 c. AD
Sr. Cato considered the criteria for choosing land for organizing an effective economy, gave detailed recommendations for determining the structure of land. The most famous is his treatise "Land Tenure". Subsistence farming was the ideal for him. However, trade was not excluded, the ability to develop purchase and sale. It was recommended that obedience be taught to slaves who spoke tools.
Varrom - treatise "On Agriculture". Considered the problems of the latifundian economy. Reproached the slave owners for having retired. He is looking for ways to strengthen the economy in the development of agriculture and animal husbandry, in the application of agronomic science. Slaves are also classified as tools.
Socio-economic contradictions were investigated by Seneca and Lucretius Car. They revealed the economic reasons for the decay and death of slavery, the main of which, in their opinion, was the lack of material interest. Seneca's views influenced the formation of the economic concepts of Christianity.
Columella also comes to the conclusion about the low productivity of slave labor: the Latifundia destroyed Italy.
The thinkers of the ancient world strove to idealize and preserve slavery and a natural economy, as the main conditions open to reason and protected by civil laws, not coming of a natural order.
The proofs of the ideologists of the Ancient world were based mainly on the categories of morality, ethics, morality and were directed against large trade and usurious operations, i.e. against the free functioning of money and commercial capital, which was seen as an artificial entity that violates the principle of equivalence and proportionality of the exchange of goods in the market at their value.
The thinkers of antiquity had not yet singled out economic phenomena from the whole sum of social processes, had not created a systematic doctrine of economics. Economic and philosophical thought of that period were inseparable. Ancient philosophers reduced the range of economic issues to issues of ensuring the efficiency of the economy and the rational combination of factors of production. In the last third of the 19th century, these questions became central to economic theory. Currently, they represent an essential part of economic theory.
For the first time in the history of human civilization, the comprehension of economic life at a sufficiently high abstract-logical level began in the era of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. The thinkers of Ancient Greece - Xenophon, Plato, Aristotle were the first to try to theoretically explain such economic phenomena as commodity-money relations, exchange, money. Subject research by ancient authors has become microeconomics, that is, the problems of the development of private economy. In contrast to ancient Eastern economic thought in ancient society, it was primarily about wealth not states, but human, which was interpreted as commodities. IN method there was both a normative approach (the idea of \u200b\u200b"natural order", moral and ethical assessments) and a positive one. Ancient Roman authors of the 3rd-1st centuries BC. paid attention mainly to the practical and legal problems of the economy. The writings of Cato, Varro, Columella dealt with the organization and management of a slave villa. The problems of private property were analyzed by Roman lawyers. Roman law as a set of laws on property relations became the basis for the subsequent development of private property law and legal science in European countries. And although in the ancient period economic knowledge was part of the philosophical, legal systems of ancient philosophers, their economic views became the basis on which economic science further developed within the framework of European civilization.
3.1. Economic Thought of Ancient Greece
The flowering of ancient Greek economic thought falls on the IV-III centuries. BC. This period was characterized by a crisis of the polis system that had developed by that time. Polis - city-states - are a special form of socio-economic and political organization of ancient society, where a collective of free citizens is opposed by slaves, as well as foreigners (meteki). Belonging to the polis gave citizens the right to land and slaves. The economy was dominated by small and medium (parcel) agriculture and land use, and small handicraft production in cities. The needs of the population were mainly met through their own production. The resulting exchange between handicrafts and agriculture could not involve significant volumes of production, most of which was consumed within the economy. Ancient societies at this time reveal a very sharp border between commodity and unmarketable sectors of the economy. Since economic sustainability, in the minds of public figures and scientists, was associated with the self-sufficiency of the policy, it was characteristic critical attitude to the development of commodity production, especially large-scale production.
In the conditions of the crisis of the polis system, issues related to determining the direction of economic development, researching the advantages and disadvantages natural and commercial economy, private and collective ownership, the search for an effective form of organization of the economy. These problems become the object of special research in the works of the ancient Greek philosophers Xenophon, Plato, Aristotle.
Xenophon(c. 430-355 BC) - a representative of the aristocratic circles of the Athenian polis. Engaged in agriculture and literary work, philosopher, student of Socrates.
The economic views of Xenophon are set out in his work "Oikonomikos" ("Domostroy" or "On the Household"). The work was written in the then accepted form of a conversation between Socrates and the slave owner Kritobulus and, in fact, is a guide for running a slave (domestic, individual) economy.
Thanks to the title of this work, for the first time in scientific circulation, the term economy (oikonomikos (Greek) is a combination of the words "oikos" - house, economy and "nomos" - rule, law), i.e. the science of housekeeping (individual) economy. Then this term - economics ("economy") is used by Aristotle, who understood by it a certain image of universal rules of economic management, following which can lead to an increase in wealth. Thus, a special subject of research stood out in the total amount of human knowledge. Its meaning will change in the future, but the general direction set by Xenophon will remain for centuries.
Xenophon wrote that "economy" (economics) is the science with which one can enrich the economy. Wealth is abundance useful things... Xenophon considered agriculture as the source of wealth and the main branch of the slave economy, which he defined as the most worthy type of activity. Xenophon praised agriculture: the land teaches justice, for it gives more to those who work harder. Xenophon had a negative attitude towards crafts, considering them to be an occupation suitable for slaves. Not included in the category of worthy activities of a free Greek and trade. The legitimacy of the existence of slavery was not in doubt from Xenophon. In his opinion, the division of labor into mental and physical, and people - into free and slaves has a natural (natural) origin. "Domostroy" contains numerous advice to slave owners on the rational management of the economy and exploitation of slaves, applying severe measures against them. Physical labor was considered as a lot for slaves.
Xenophon was one of the first to pay attention to the issues division of labor, considering it as a natural phenomenon and an important condition for the production of useful things. He first pointed out the relationship between the division of labor and the size of the market. In his opinion, the emergence of various professions depended on the size of the market.
Xenophon is, first of all, the ideologist of the natural economy. He saw the main goal of economic activity in the production of use values. At the same time, Xenophon considered the development of trade and money circulation... In them he saw one of the sources of enrichment, advised to use them in their own interests. Xenophon recognized money as a means of circulation and accumulation of treasures, condemning usury.
Elements of the process analysis are also observed in Domostroy. pricing... Every product has useful properties ( use value) and the ability to exchange ( exchange value). "Value is something good", which depends on the usefulness of things, the ability to use them. Thus, a subjective moment is introduced into the understanding of value. Value things were made dependent on utility, and price was directly explained by the movement of supply and demand.
A significant place in the history of economic thought of Ancient Greece is Plato(428-347 BC). Plato came from a family of Athenian landowning nobility, scientist, philosopher. He created a philosophical system of objective idealism and his own philosophical school (Academy) in Athens. He wrote many works of philosophical and socio-political content. Problems of an economic nature were considered by him in the works "State" and "Laws". In these works, Plato creates a project for a new ideal stategiving him utopian features.
Plato paid great attention to the problem division of labor... In him he saw the basic principle of building a state... Plato viewed the state as a community of people, generated by the very nature of man. Each person, according to Plato, has many different needs, but only one ability. Therefore, in order to satisfy all their needs, people must live as a united society, where everyone will specialize on what he has the ability to, and then, exchanging the results of work with other people, satisfy all his needs.
Plato was the first to express the idea of \u200b\u200bthe inevitability of dividing the population of the state (city) into two parts: rich and poor. Plato believed that inequality rooted in the nature of people and therefore irreparable, but each person must receive his share in accordance with natural abilities. This will be true. The division into free and slaves, Plato also interpreted as a normal state, given by nature itself. Slaves were seen as the main productive force. Only Greeks could be free citizens. Barbarians and foreigners turned into slaves.
In Plato's ideal state, free people were divided into three classes: 1) philosophers, called upon to govern the state; 2) warriors; 3) the mob, consisting of farmers, artisans, merchants. Slaves are not included in any class and are a talking tool of labor. The first two estates do not have the right to possess any property, and their consumption must be collective. Only mobiles are allowed to own property. In the later work, Laws, property was still allowed. But it should not have exceeded four times the value of land plots, which were equally endowed with citizens.
Money for Plato, they should perform only the function of a means of circulation and serve the exchange. The need for exchange was associated with the natural division of labor. Plato considered agriculture to be the main branch of the economy, but he also favored crafts. Small trade was allowed. However, in general, Plato reacted extremely negatively to trade, especially large ones, and to trade profits. He considered it unworthy to engage in trade for a free Greek.
Plato strongly condemned loan operations and demanded restrictions merchant profits rationing prices. Merchants, together with artisans and slaves, in Plato's ideal state were supposed to satisfy the needs of the first two estates, i.e. a certain “ aristocratic communism».
By proclaiming the state the supreme owner of the land, which distributes allotments, ensures collective consumption, regulates commodity-money relations, Plato actually reproduces the archaic orders of oligarchic Sparta and idealizes the subsistence economy. His economic views are inseparable from the philosophical system he created.
The greatest contribution to the development of economic thought was made Aristotle (384-322 BC). Aristotle - a student of Plato and a member of his Academy, was engaged in pedagogical and scientific activities. In 343, Aristotle was invited by the Macedonian king Philip as the tutor of his son - the future great commander Alexander the Great. In 355 he returns to Athens and founds his school of philosophy (Lyceum). Aristotle's creativity is very extensive and concerns various branches of knowledge. Economic issues were touched upon by him in the works "Nicomachean Ethics", "Athenian politics", "Politics". In these works, Aristotle first tried systematize notions of patterns economic development policy. He sought to find means to preserve and strengthen the economy and social structure of the policies. First of all, it is the preservation of the natural slave economy. The division of people into slaves and free was perceived by Aristotle as natural. Freedom is the privilege of the Hellenes. Slaves - special kind talking tools. The slave owners are busy managing, because slaves cannot lead. For the purpose of mutual self-preservation, the general law of nature - domination and subordination - operates. Physical labor makes even a free person like a slave. The purpose of a citizen, according to Aristotle, is to develop his own intellect and participate in public life, all physical work is done by slaves. Slave labor is the main source of increasing wealth.
Aristotle distinguished two types of economic activity: “ savings"- economy for the sake of self-sufficiency and" chrematism»- farm for the purpose of enrichment. According to Aristotle, "economy" (economics) is an activity within the framework of a natural economy, associated with the production of use values \u200b\u200bto meet the necessary needs. The concept of chrematistics (in Greek “chremata” - money) means the art of “making money”, this is an activity in the sphere of circulation, the functioning of commercial and usurious capital. According to these types of activity, Aristotle established two kinds of wealth – natural, as a set of consumer values \u200b\u200band unnaturalas the accumulation of money or as a set of exchange values. The source of the first type of wealth, he considered agriculture, handicrafts, as well as small trade (that is, "economy") and called it natural, since it is aimed at satisfying necessary needs people and its size is limited by these needs... The second type of wealth (money wealth) Aristotle calls unnatural, since it arises from circulation, does not consist of items of direct consumption, and its size is not limited by anything... Thus, Aristotle approves of economic activity and condemns chrematistics - activities aimed at enriching money. Money in chrematistics serves as a means of increasing wealth, that is, "it is not used for what it was invented for."
Money, according to Aristotle, is “a thing quite conditional". The origin of the money was associated with development of exchange... Aristotle argued that gradually exchange led to the appearance of such items, which in themselves were of value as certain ingots of metal, and began to serve the exchange. As a result, "a coin appeared by common agreement." Thus, money is “ artificial", I.e. created by humans thing for the convenience of trading. Aristotle actually initiated the consideration of the functions of money as a measure of value and a medium of circulation. He recognized for money and the function of a means of accumulation, but considered it unnatural.
Aristotle was a champion of the natural economy and at the same time, being an objective scientist, he studied commodity exchange. For the first time, he poses a question that will always excite economic science: what determines the ratio (proportion) of the exchange of two goods? Why "two lodges are exchanged for one chariot"? What is behind this price ratio? In his opinion, exchange cannot take place without equality, and equality without commensurability. Measurement commodity values \u200b\u200bare carried out by artificial means, with the help of money. But Aristotle understood that the exchanged goods without the identity of their essences could not relate to each other as commensurable quantities. Aristotle sees in exchange the equation of commodity values \u200b\u200b(values) and stubbornly searches for some general abstract basis of this equation. For the first time, Aristotle poses the problem of value. This appeal to the essence of phenomena became a manifestation of a high level of theoretical analysis and served as a starting point for further economic analysis, and many centuries after Aristotle.
3.2. Economic Thought of Ancient Rome
The economic thought of antiquity received further development in the III-I centuries. BC. in ancient Rome. At this time, there was a transition from small-scale parcel production to large-scale slave-owning economy as a result of the concentration of land ownership in the hands of the patricians. The organization of such an economy has become more complicated. The commodity sector of the ancient economy expanded, because many farms were closely connected with the market and were able to satisfy urban demand by expanding the production of commodity products. The issues of rational organization of the economy of the slave-owning latifundia are becoming especially relevant, as are the problems of increasing the efficiency of forced slave labor.
There were a lot of works that investigated agricultural problems at that time. One can single out the treatise "On Agriculture", written By Marc Porcius Cato (234-149 BC). In fact, this treatise is a guide for the owner of an average estate. In it, Cato recommends "to live less, to make more money" and "to sell in general everything that is superfluous," although he was a supporter of self-sufficiency of the economy. Moreover, he advises to single out the most profitable industries - industries specializationsfarms. So, in suburban villas, he recommends cultivating grapes. Cato sought to provide income at the expense of slaves, paying a lot of attention in their work to the organization of their work. He demanded the maximum load and strict regulation of the working day of the slaves. Fearing harmony among them, Cato recommended exhausting them with labor, maintaining quarrels between them. A huge role was assigned to the owner of the estate, who had to know well the calendar of agricultural work and all the necessary agricultural techniques. Thus, the efficiency of the economy was put by Cato in dependence on a number of factors, one of which was efficiency of managerial work.
The problem of farm profitability inevitably entailed a problem costing and the optimal ratio of resources used in production. He lists in detail the set of tools and household utensils necessary for the household, including the clothes of slaves. For high profits, Cato advises “calmly wait for high prices". All of Cato's advice is aimed at ensuring the profitability of the slave villa that he defined rational organization of production.
Another famous agricultural economist in ancient Rome was Mark Terentius Varro (116-27 BC). His treatise "On Agriculture" has reached us. Varro, like Cato, also devotes his treatise to the problems of organizing slave labor and increasing its profitability. According to Varro, the basic principle for selecting the optimal economy is the quality of the earth itself... “The main thing,” he believes, “is to know what the land is and why it is good or not good.”
The appearance of Varro's estate determines agriculture, not the size of land and specialization, as Cato believed. Unlike Cato, Varro recognized the dependence of the efficiency of the slave economy not only on its internal organization, but also on market locations... The estates will be profitable if there are places in the neighborhood where it is convenient to export and sell products and from where it is profitable to import what is required for your own farm. Due to the fact that the treatise of Varro was written after the uprising led by Spartacus (74-71 BC), the author calls for adapting and applying more flexible measures of coercion in relation to slaves, to provide them with some privileges. On large agricultural work, Varro recommends using the labor of hired workers, understanding wage advantage compared to even softened forms of slavery.
In the 1st century. BC. In the organization of the slave economy, significant changes were outlined, in particular, the transition to the use of the labor of colonies in agriculture was indicated. The labor of the colonists was more productive than the labor of the slave. Changes in the organization of agricultural production were directly reflected in the economic thought of that time.
The slavery crisis was reflected in his extensive treatise "On Agriculture" Junius Moderate Columella (1st century AD). He paints pictures of the extreme decline of the slaveholding latifundia and proposes a whole system of measures for their restructuring. Columella is at odds with those who attach too much importance to the area or the natural fertility of the land. Essentially, Columella was the first to pose the problem intensive ways of economic development. Columella developed a system of artificial fertilization of the soil and offered not to skimp on conducting agrotechnical experiments. He offers reorganization of slave labor through their specialization and believes that "you should not spare 8 thousand sesterces for an experienced slave-winegrower." However, slavery was in crisis, and no recipes for saving the existing economic system could preserve it. Realizing the difficulties of restructuring, he himself, in the end, offered to lease the land to vacant columns. The colonists had more incentives to work harder. The process of feudalization of the economy of Ancient Rome in the 1st-3rd centuries. BC. deepened and continued until the 5th century, when the Roman Empire fell under the onslaught of the barbarians.
So, consideration of the economic views of the ancient authors shows that they all sought to perpetuate the natural slavery for their era. At the same time, the ancient thinkers in their excursions into the field of commodity production and circulation reveal genius and originality, due to which their views historically form the theoretical starting points of subsequent economic research.
Questions and tasks for self-control
1. What is the subject of the history of economic studies? What is the main problem being researched in economics?
2. Why is there a variety of theories? Are there absolutely correct economic theories?
3. Why was macroeconomics the subject of study in ancient Eastern economic thought?
5. What functions were assigned to the state according to ancient Eastern documents?
6. What is the connection of the subject of economic thought of ancient society with the socio-economic development of that period?
7. Give examples of the theoretical approach of ancient Greek thinkers to economic problems... What is the understanding of wealth, division of labor, goods and money from the ancient Greek authors?
8. What problems did the ancient Roman authors consider? What are their recommendations for organizing a private farm?
Topic: Economic Thought of Ancient Greece. Aristotle
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University: VZFEI
Year and city: Arkhangelsk 2012
Introduction 3
1 Economy of Ancient Greece XI-VI centuries BC e. 4
2 Economy of Greece in the V-IV centuries. BC e. 6
3 Ancient Greece of the Hellenistic era (IV-I centuries BC) 8
4 Economic teachings of Ancient Greece. Xenophon, Plato 9
5 Economic teachings of Aristotle 13
Conclusion 17
References 18
INTRODUCTION
Ancient Greece - a unique state that has reached the highest level of economic and cultural development. This country played a special role on the political and economic map of that time. Its internal economic system and external economic relations deserve detailed study and may be interesting from the point of view of modern economics.
The history of Ancient Greece is also unique thanks to its philosophers, who made an irreplaceable contribution to the development of economic thought in the form of teachings and works. To understand the development of economic thought in Ancient Greece, it is necessary to consider, first of all, the economic development of the country at various historical stages, to understand on what basis the economic teachings and worldviews of thinkers were formed. Therefore, the tasks of this test are:
- Study the economic development of Ancient Greece in the XI-IX centuries. BC, VIII-VI centuries. BC e., V-IV centuries. BC e., IV-I centuries. BC.
- Consider the economic views of Xenophon and Plato
- Analyze the teachings of Aristotle
ECONOMY OF ANCIENT GREECE XI-VI centuries BC e.
The history of Ancient Greece covers two stages: the Dark Ages (XI-IX centuries BC) and the Archaic period (VIII-VI centuries BC).
Usually XI-IX centuries. BC e. considered an intermediate stage, at which, on the one hand, compared with Achaean Greece, the level of development decreases, but, on the other hand, with the beginning of the production of iron tools, prerequisites are created for the further flourishing of the Greek states. In the XI-IX centuries. BC. in the Greek economy, the natural type of economy prevailed; handicrafts were not separated from agriculture. During this period, there was some improvement in labor tools, in particular, a plow with a metal opener appeared. Livestock also played an important role in agriculture; livestock was considered one of the main types of wealth. In the craft of the XI-IX centuries. BC e. there was some differentiation, especially weaving, metallurgy, ceramics were developed, but production was focused only on meeting the urgent needs of people. In this regard, trade developed very slowly and was mainly of an exchange nature.
The Archaic period is characterized by two main processes that had a decisive influence on the development of Greek civilization:
Great colonization - the development by the Greeks of the coasts of the Mediterranean, Black, Azov seas;
Registration of the policy as a special type of community.
In the VIII-VI centuries. BC e. the economic situation in ancient Greece has changed significantly. During this period, the handicraft separated from agriculture, which remains the leading branch of the economy. The poor development of agricultural production at the previous stage, the inability to provide food for the growing population of the policies became one of the main reasons for Greek colonization. The most important function of the colonies located in the Black Sea basin was to supply the metropolises with bread. The main attention is paid to crops, the cultivation of which is more consistent with the natural conditions of Greece: grapes, olives, all kinds of vegetable and horticultural crops; as a result, agriculture is becoming more market-oriented.
Handicraft production is also acquiring a commodity character, moreover, Greek colonization played an important role in this, which contributed to the expansion of the raw material base and the development of trade. Many Greek city-states are becoming large craft centers.
Greek trade in the era of the Great colonization is developing very actively. Constant ties are being established between the metropolises, which export mainly handicraft products, and the colonies that supply various types of raw materials and agricultural products. In the most developed Greek policies, maritime trade becomes one of the most important sectors of the economy.
The main distinguishing feature of the Greek polis was the participation of all members of the civil community in the government, and this feature largely determined the internal policy of the policies. In particular, many Greek city-states had laws restricting the acquisition and sale of land and aimed at protecting the land ownership of individual citizens. However, in most parts of Greece, the development of commodity production and a shortage of land led to the growth of large-scale land ownership, increased social differentiation and aggravation of the conflict between the aristocracy and the people (demos). In many policies of the archaic era, socio-political conflicts often ended in the establishment of a regime of personal power. In most cases, tyrants sought to enlist the support of the demos, took care of improving its position, promoted the development of crafts and trade, and the improvement of cities.
ECONOMY OF GREECE in the 5th-4th centuries BC e.
The expulsion of the Persians from the northern coast of the Aegean Sea, the liberation of the Greek policies in the Black Sea straits and western Asia Minor led to the creation of a rather extensive economic zone, including the Aegean Basin, the Black Sea coast, southern Italy and Sicily, within which strong economic ties have developed that feed the economy of individual policies ... As a result of the victories over the Persian troops, the Greeks seized rich booty, including material values \u200b\u200band prisoners. So, for example, after the Battle of Plataea (479 BC), the Greeks, according to Herodotus, “found tents, decorated with gold and silver, gilded and silvered beds, golden vessels for mixing wine, bowls and other drinking vessels. On the carts, they found bags of gold and silver cauldrons. They removed wrists, necklaces and golden swords from fallen enemies, and no one paid attention to the colorful embroidered robes of the barbarians. So much gold was taken that it was sold as if it were copper. "
The slave markets of Hellas were filled with numerous prisoners. In a relatively short time (50 years), more than 150 thousand people were sold. Part of the slaves and rich booty were sent to production, went to the organization of new craft workshops, slave estates, new construction.
The war gave rise to new needs and created additional incentives for economic development. It was necessary to build a huge fleet (several hundred ships), erect powerful defensive structures (for example, a system of Athenian fortifications, the so-called "long walls"), it was necessary to equip armies, which the Greeks had never exhibited before, with defensive and offensive weapons (armor, shields, swords, spears, etc.). Naturally, all this could not but move forward the Greek metallurgy and metalworking, construction, leatherworking and other crafts, could not but contribute to the overall technical progress.
Under the influence of these factors in Greece in the middle of the 5th century. BC e. an economic system has been formed. which existed without significant changes until the end of the 4th century. BC e. It was based on the use of slave labor.
The Greek economy as a whole was not homogeneous. Among the numerous policies, two main types can be distinguished, differing in their structure. One type of polis is agrarian with an absolute predominance of agriculture, poor development of crafts and trade (the most striking example is Sparta, as well as the policies of Arcadia, Boeotia, Thessaly, etc.). And another type of polis, which can be conditionally defined as trade and craft, - in its structure, the role of craft production and trade was quite significant. In these policies, a commodity slave economy was created, which had a rather complex and dynamic structure, and the productive forces developed especially rapidly. An example of such policies were Athens, Corinth, Megara, Miletus, Rhodes, Syracuse, a number of others, usually located on the sea coast, sometimes having a small chora (agricultural area), but at the same time a large population that needed to be fed, occupied productive labor. Polis of this type set the tone for economic development, were the leading economic centers of Greece in the 5th-4th centuries. BC e.
ANCIENT GREECE OF THE EPOCHIELINISM (IV-I centuries BC)
The loss of close polis unity became one of the important reasons for Greece's loss of independence and submission in 338 BC. e. Philip the Great, whose son and heir, Alexander, created in the 30-20s of the IV century. BC e. the largest ancient power in the world. From that time on, the policies ceased to be the leading force in the Greek world, and were replaced by the Hellenistic monarchies.
As you know, the state of Alexander the Great after his death fell apart into a number of states: the Greco-Macedonian kingdom; Egypt ruled by the Ptolemaic dynasty; the Seleucid state, the central core of which was Syria and Mesopotamia; The Pergamon and Pontic kingdoms in Asia Minor, etc. In these Hellenistic states, there is a synthesis of Greek (Hellenic) and Eastern elements; this applies to the economic, socio-political, and cultural spheres.
Also important in economic development played an exchange of experience between the ancient Greeks and the Eastern peoples, which contributed to the improvement of agricultural techniques, the cultivation of new crops, as well as the development of technology and further specialization in the craft.
During this period, science and technology underwent significant development: the famous scientist Archimedes discovered the hydraulic law, the law of the lever, invented the bolt, the screw water-drawing machine and much more.
During the Hellenistic era, the center of economic life shifted from mainland Greece and the Aegean Sea to the south and east, where many new cities were founded on the coasts of the seas and on caravan routes. Large trade and craft centers were Alexandria, Pergamum in the north-west of Asia Minor, Aitiohia on the Orontes River in Syria, Seleucia on the Tigris River in Mesopotamia, and others. In the III-II centuries. BC e. Hellenistic city-states were in their prime.
The cities were administrative units, in most cases self-government bodies were retained in them, lands owned by the city and individuals were attributed to them. The rest of the land fund was considered state: there were actually tsarist lands, as well as lands granted to the tsar's associates, temples, transferred to the holding of the soldiers.
In the Hellenistic states, classical slavery gradually spread, but along with it, debt slavery, characteristic of the Eastern economy, existed. In agriculture, the number of slaves increased, but the land was mainly cultivated by members of rural communities, who were in varying degrees of dependence on the state. In the craft, along with private workshops, there were workshops, whose workers also depended on the state.
ECONOMIC TEACHINGS OF ANCIENT GREECE. XENOPHONT, PLATO
At the beginning of the first stage in the history of economic thought, economic views were reflected only in works and materials that had little to do with economics. This refers to the Greek epic, in particular presented in the Iliad and Odyssey. A kind of cult of war, protection of the natural economy (trade is still poorly developed, and does not affect the foundations of the economy).
A more mature stage (VII-VI centuries BC) was presented by Hesiod "Works and Days". It is full of memories of those times when the land was more fertile, there were more freedoms. Hesiod glorifies the "system of two children" to limit the fragmentation of land allotments. Foreground: building a house, buying an ox. Defending peasant ideals, Geosides considers the purchase of a slave woman as an ox drover is a common lawful business.
In the IV century. BC. economic thought in Greece is developing under new conditions. The slavery crisis begins.
In the V century. BC. his teaching is put forward by the thinker Xenophon. Born in Athens in 430 BC (died 355 BC), he belonged to a wealthy slave-owning aristocracy. He is a student of the famous ancient Greek philosopher Socrates. In his political views, he acted as a supporter of aristocratic Sparta and an opponent of Athenian democracy.
The economic views of Xenophon are set out in the work "Domostroy", prepared as a guide for the conduct of a slave economy. Defining the subject of home economics, he characterized it as the science of managing and enriching the economy. Xenophon considered the main branch of the slave economy to be agriculture, which he qualified as the most worthy type of occupation. According to Xenophon, "agriculture is the mother and breadwinner of all arts" he saw the main goal of economic activity in ensuring the production of useful things, that is, use values. Xenophon had a negative attitude to the crafts, considered them to be an occupation suitable only for slaves. Not included in the category of worthy activities of a free Greek and trade. At the same time, in the interests of the slave economy, Xenophon allowed the use of commodity-money relations.
"Domostroy" contained numerous advice to slave owners in the field of economic activity. Their lot was the management of the economy, the exploitation of slaves, but by no means physical labor Xenophon expressed contempt for physical labor, qualifying it as an occupation suitable only for slaves. Giving advice on the rational economy and exploitation of slaves, he taught how to treat slaves like animals.
Xenophon was one of the first thinkers of antiquity to pay great attention to the division of labor, considering it as a natural phenomenon, as an important condition for increasing the production of use values. He came close to the principle of the manufacturing division of labor. Xenophon first pointed out the relationship between the development of the division of labor and the market. In his opinion, the division of professions depended on the size of the market.
Xenophon is primarily an ideologist of a natural slave economy. At the same time, he considered the development of trade and money circulation useful for this economy. He saw in them one of the sources of enrichment and advised to use in his own interests Xenophon recognized money as a necessary medium of exchange and a concentrated form of wealth. Condemning money as a trading and usurious capital, he recommended accumulating it as a treasure.
Xenophon developed an understanding of the dual purpose of a thing: as a use value, on the one hand, and exchange value, on the other. As an ideologue of natural economy, he did not attach much importance to exchange value. The value of a thing was made dependent on utility, and the price was directly explained by the movement of supply and demand.
Economic ideas occupied a significant place in the writings of the ancient Greek philosopher Plato (427-347 BC). Most famous for his work "Politics or State". The socio-economic concept of Plato received a concentrated expression in the project of an ideal state. Plato viewed the state as a community of people generated by nature itself, for the first time expressing the idea of \u200b\u200bthe inevitability of dividing the state (city) into two parts: into rich and poor.
Plato paid great attention to the problem of the division of labor, considering it as a natural phenomenon. In his concept, the innate inequality of people was substantiated. He interpreted the division into free and slaves as a normal state, given by nature itself. Slaves were seen as the main productive force, and their exploitation as a means of enriching the slave owners. Only Greeks could be free citizens. Barbarians and foreigners turned into slaves.
Plato considered agriculture to be the main branch of the economy, but he also approved of handicrafts. He saw the economic basis of the state in a subsistence economy based on the exploitation of slaves. Plato associated the need for exchange with the natural division of labor. He allowed petty trade, which was intended to serve the division of labor. However, in general, Plato reacted very negatively to trade, especially large ones, to trade profits. In his opinion, trade should be mainly carried out by foreigners and slaves. For a free Greek, he considered the practice of trade unworthy and even shameful.
In Plato's ideal state, free people were divided into three classes: 1) philosophers, called upon to govern the state; 2) warriors; 3) landowners, artisans and small traders. Slaves were not included in any of these classes. They were equated with inventory, were regarded as talking instruments of production. Philosophers and warriors made up the upper class of society, for which Plato took special care.
ECONOMIC TEACHINGS OF ARISTOTLE
The largest figure representing the economic thought of the ancient world is Aristotle. He was able to delve into specific economic problems much more than his contemporaries.
He was born in 384 BC. in the family of a doctor (died 322 BC). As a student of Plato at the Academy, Aristotle did not share, however, Plato's idealism. Showing vacillation between materialism and idealism, he moved towards materialism. Aristotle is known as the educator of the heir to the throne in Macedonia, the famous Alexander the Great. Later, he founded the Lyceum philosophical school in Athens, was engaged in scientific and pedagogical activities, was the author of numerous works on natural science, philosophy, logic, economics, literature, history, etc. His political views are stated in the work "Politics" and other works. He is an opponent of the aristocratic system, oligarchic power, a supporter of slave-owning democracy.
Aristotle justified the division of people into slaves and free, perceiving it as natural. In his opinion, freedom was the lot of only the Hellenes. As for foreigners (barbarians), they, by their nature, could only be slaves. He divided the citizens of Greece into five groups (classes): 1) the agricultural class, 2) the artisan class, 3) the commercial class, 4) the hired workers, 5) the military. Slaves constituted a separate group that was not included in the civil society. Aristotle associated slavery with the natural division of labor, believing that slaves by their nature are such and are capable only of physical labor. The slave was equated with other things that belonged to the free, included in their property. Slaves, according to Aristotle, had to provide all types of physical labor.
Aristotle's outstanding merit in the development of economic thought is his attempt to penetrate into the essence of economic phenomena, to reveal their regularities. In this, Aristotle significantly differed from his predecessors (Xenophon, Plato), laying the foundation for economic analysis, which manifested itself in the approach to defining the subject of economic science, in the study of exchange, forms of value, etc.
As a supporter of a subsistence economy based on the exploitation of slaves, Aristotle considered economic phenomena in terms of their greatest benefits. Everything that corresponded to the interests of strengthening the economy was accepted as natural and just. On the contrary, everything that shook and disintegrated the economy belonged to the category of unnatural phenomena. From this point of view, wealth and its sources, means of satisfying the needs of society were assessed. Aristotle attributed natural phenomena to economics, which revealed the sources of "true wealth", consisting of use values. Economics provided the study of ways to strengthen the natural economy; the possibility of expanding the production of use values. This corresponded to the maintenance of moderate amounts of wealth, of which Aristotle was a supporter, who rejected the excessive accumulation of money, enrichment at the expense of the form of circulation, speculative trade, usury, etc. He allowed barter trade, since it did not violate the predominant role of use value, and related it to the economy.
Aristotle associated unnatural phenomena with the excessive development of the sphere of circulation and included them in chrematistics, which was viewed as the art of "making money," creating wealth that has no boundaries. He rejected large-scale, speculative trade, with the aim of accumulating money wealth, condemned usury. As a supporter of running an economy on the basis of economics, the great thinker of antiquity strongly opposed what was related to chrematistics.
Brilliant guesses were expressed by Aristotle about exchange, exchange value. He understood that the exchanged goods without the identity of their essences could not relate to each other as commensurate quantities. In his opinion, exchange cannot take place without equality, and equality without commensurability. In exchange, all crafts and arts are equated, and the use values \u200b\u200bparticipating in it have something in common, although Aristotle could not explain such an equation. The genius of Aristotle manifested itself in the fact that in the expression of the value of a commodity, he discovers the relation of equality. Only the historical boundaries of the society in which he lived prevented him from revealing what this relationship of equality "really" consists of.
It is also interesting how Aristotle viewed the form of value. The monetary form of a commodity was taken as the development of a simple form of value. Although he could not scientifically explain the origin and essence of money, it is important that he connected them with the development of exchange, laid the foundation for considering the functions of money as a measure of value and a means of circulation. “In the history of economic doctrines, ancient Greek thinkers show the same genius and originality,” noted K. Marx, “as in all other areas. Historically, their views therefore form the theoretical starting points of modern science. "
CONCLUSION
The word "economics" itself has an ancient Greek origin, which further enhances the role of Ancient Greece in the formation and development of this science.
In conclusion, it is necessary to highlight a feature of the development of economic thought in Ancient Greece: economic policy focused on the widespread exploitation of slaves, the development of trade and the monetary economy. In the conditions of the crisis of the slave-owning mode of production, the economic thought of Ancient Greece became more reactionary, which is expressed in its orientation towards a natural economy and towards the protection of aristocratic forms of government. These tendencies were most clearly manifested in the economic thought of Xenophon, Plato, to a lesser extent in the teachings of Aristotle.
Aristotle was the first to analyze economic phenomena and tried to identify patterns. He can be called the first economist in the history of science. Aristotle's economic views were developed in the economic thought of the Middle Ages. Aristotle posed a problem that has become central to economists for centuries and is still the subject of debate, which is formulated as follows: "What determines the proportions of exchange of goods" (what makes goods comparable). He developed a draft of the ideal state, in which he considers and recognizes the need to divide society into free and slaves. To summarize, Aristotle shaped the field of economics as an important and honorable activity.
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