Mercados medievales y orden social: una aproximación austriaca al caso inglés

In this article we will attempt to analyze, from an austrian perspective, the main traits of late medieval English socioeconomic history, taking in account the so-called «commercialization model», which is an interpretative trend that highlights the importance of trade and markets in medieval economy. Thus, in the first place, we will explain the fundamental features of this model and, afterwards, some theoretical elements of the austrian perspective (institutions, spontaneous order, social space) will be presented. Starting from this, in the second place, the origins and development of medieval markets, understood as social spaces, will be explained. Afterwards, we will analyze the process of price-formation in these markets and, finally, we will study the emergence of a catallactic order and its main traits (economic calculation and market networks). Keywords: medieval markets, commercialisation model, social space, Austrian theory of institutions, catallactic medieval order. JEL Classification: N01, N93, P16, Z13 Resumen: En este artículo nos proponemos analizar, a partir de una perspec-tiva austríaca, los rasgos principales de la historia socioeconómica inglesa de la Edad Media, teniendo en cuenta especialmente el llamado «commercialisa-tion model», una línea interpretativa que insiste en la importancia del comercio y los mercados en la economía medieval. Así, en primer lugar se explicarán las características fundamentales de este modelo, y a continuación, se presenta-rán algunos elementos teóricos (instituciones, orden espontáneo, espacio social) de la perspectiva austríaca. A partir de estas cuestiones, en segundo lugar, se pasará a explicar los orígenes y desarrollo de los mercados medieva-les, entendiéndolos como espacios sociales. A continuación, se analizarán los procesos de formación de precios en estos mercados y, finalmente, se estu-diará la emergencia de un orden cataláctico y sus rasgos principales (cálculo económico y redes de mercados). Palabras clave: mercados medievales, commercialisation model, espacio social, teoría austríaca de las instituciones, orden cataláctico medieval. Clasificación JEL: N01, N93, P16, Z13

The degradation of Brazilian socioeconomics

ABSTRACT In recent years, a number of illegal activities operated under the radar of conventional analysis have taken place in Brazil. This study proposes an Extended Keynesian Model in order to understand this phenomenon, a model that explains that crises happen because of the replacement of productive activities with unproductive and destructive activities. The model is used here to examine Brazil’s socioeconomic history since the institution of the economic plan that established the actual currency “Real” (R$), concluding that as the plan’s concern was predominantly with stabilization and not growth, productive activities have never been promoted on an appropriate scale. This has paved the way for the advancement of unproductive and destructive activities which have ultimately led to the country’s increasing degradation.

The Modern Swedish Book Business, 1800–2000

The Swedish book business began as a poorly developed market with serious economic, social, and infrastructural issues, but transformed over the course of two centuries into a well-functioning, albeit small, market with strong international ties. The 19th-century book market was hampered by poor infrastructure and underdeveloped publishing and book sales. Technological innovations in printing techniques and the new wood-based pulps for paper, in combination with better infrastructure, improved matters. The book business was increasingly professionalized at every stage, and by the turn of the 20th century could fairly be described as industrial and modernized. Access to forestry (and hence inexpensive pulp), inexpensive hydroelectric power, and strong industrial growth have been important factors in the advances in the Swedish book trade: they contributed to making printing cheaper and faster and thus paved the way for the low-priced books that were to dominate the business throughout the two centuries. Regardless of the era or the ideologies and purposes involved, cheap books have always driven the industry and have also been one of the most important factors in breaking down the social and cultural barriers to reading. Developments in Sweden’s book trade generally followed the same course as socioeconomic history, with the notable exception that Sweden’s book trade has always been more liberal and commercial than other forms of trade and industry. The book market was regulated through trade agreements between 1843 and 1970. These created a stable, but strictly controlled, market. A deregulation of the trade in 1970 saw the pendulum swing far back. In comparison with other Western European countries since 1970, Sweden has had fewer restrictions and regulations and thus a highly commercial and price-conscious market. A further notable aspect of the Swedish book trade is that despite the smallness of the country in terms of population and language, exports and imports have been far larger than most comparable countries. The international ties in terms of business-to-business relations, translations, and foreign rights sales remain strong, with the Swedish book trade very dependent on the international trade.

Introduction

This introductory chapter provides an overview of the book's main themes. This book explores the disavowed claims of the past on the present through a group of cultural productions—literature, drama, and film—focused on racialized subject-formations and cultural formations. Investigating the intersection of categories of social difference, nation making, and buried social memory, it uncovers a host of hidden dialogues for the purpose of dismantling the legacy effects of historical racial subjugation and inequality. The book brings psychoanalytic paradigms of mourning and melancholia and discussions of race and performance by W. E. B. Du Bois, Frantz Fanon, Julian Carter, Diana Taylor, and Kimberly Benton into conversation with literary work on post-Emancipation America's everyday life and ritual practice to challenge scholarship that calls for the clinical separation of ethnic studies and psychoanalysis as well as the divorce of psychoanalysis and socioeconomic history, and presumes that this disengagement is central to American nationhood's continued relationship with unresolved racial grievances. This study develops a theory of “cultural melancholy” that uncovers the ideological and psychical claims of the history of slavery and ongoing racial subjugation on contemporary racialized subject-formations and dominant American culture.

The Archaeology of Construction: A New Approach to Roman Architecture

Representing a new disciplinary orientation, the archaeology of construction is defined as the study of all material traces furnishing information about the design, the construction, and the organization of a building. It thus offers a way of broadening our approach to Roman architecture, until now considered mainly from the perspective of monumental and decorative typologies. This article aims to set out its various specificities and potential contributions. While the archaeology of construction has clear methodological links with the archaeology of standing structures, notably through the vertical stratigraphy of elevations, it is distinguished by its scale of study, which covers the entirety of the worksite and seeks to restitute its context of production and its dynamics. Seven elements are considered, illustrated by recent archaeological research: the initial project, the preparation of the site, the setting up of infrastructure, the production of materials, their transformation, their implementation in the construction, and finally the finishing and decorative operations. The data collected make it possible to combine an archaeology of technology with socioeconomic history, considering the building process in all its interactions with Roman society as a system of production and trade.