bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The learned practice of religion: A review of the history of Religious Studies in Canada and its portent for the future
Authors: Wiebe Donald
Published: January 2010

I will argue here that a history of the study of religion in the Canadian academic context will reveal it to be little more than an extension of the kind of intellectual treatment religion receives in traditional religious contexts. To put it bluntly, I believe that an examination of "Religious Studies" in Canada will uncover a fundamental affinity between its "brand" of Religionswissenschaft and what is traditionally recognized as Glaubenswissenschaft, and, consequently, that it has contributed more to the leamed practice of religion than it has to the creation of a scientific study of religion. I will further argue that no scientific study of religion (rather than scientific analyses of particular aspects or elements of religious traditions) can possibly emerge on the Canadian scene until scholars in the field transcend the aim of making possible for their students the achievement of a new kind of religiosity or the creation of a more inclusive culture/society.
What the Canadian doctoral programs tell us about the academic study of religion in Canada
Authors: Desjardins Michel
Published: January 2010

Two new Canadian doctoral programs in Religious Studies opened their doors in September 2004. The Laurier-Waterloo and University of British Columbia programs provide the springboard for this paper to look at the full range of Canadian doctoral programs in our field: their distinctive characteristics, and the requirements they impose on students. This paper also uses the results to reflect on the nature of Religious Studies in this country: what has changed and what has remained the same over the last half century? In closing, it suggests ways in which the doctoral programs and the field itself could be made stronger.
La contribution québécoise et outaouaise à l'étude du christianisme ancien : 1940-2005
Authors: Painchaud Louis , Poirier Paul-Hubert , Dritsas-Bizier Moa
Published: January 2010

La contribution québécoise et outaouaise à l'étude du christianisme ancien est abondante et variée. Depuis les années 1940 jusqu'à aujourd'hui, elle se traduit par des travaux dans le domaines de la patristique, de l'histoire, de la théologie, et, plus récemment, de la littérature gnostique et apocryphe. L'évolution qu'elle a connue et l'effervescence des dernières années sont à l'image de ce qui se passe à l'étranger. Aujourd'hui, les universités québécoises et d'Ottawa sont devenues des centres importants dans ce domaine d'étude et leur rayonnement dépasse largement les frontières canadiennes. Le bilan qui est ici proposé permet de reconstituer l'évolution de ce domaine, d'en identifier les axes de force actuels et réunit une abondante information bibliographique.
Of myth and mantra: The slippery taxonomy of printed and oral Vrat Kathas
Authors: Menzies Robert
Published: January 2010

This paper examines how printed vrat kathas (stories associated with Hindu women's domestic rituals) present categories of myth, mantra and their internal "oral logic." The paper will articulate three things: (1) that vrat kathas deserve to be included in the more elevated category of "myth" because of the way they function within the Hindu women's ritual structure and world-view; (2) these stories are modeled on an understanding of mantra as a speech act; and (3) even when printed, these stories maintain an "oral logic" in structure, presentation of narrative and intention. Thus, printed pamphlets can also qualify, ironically, as "speech" acts. All of this indicates the difficulty inherent in creating a water-tight taxonomy of genres and suggests that a more appropriate understanding is as localities on a continuum.
Le lieu de parole en théologie. Marcel Gauchet et Jean-Luc Nancy
Authors: Roussel Danny
Published: January 2010

La théologie, telle que la comprend Pierre Gisel, n'est pas d'abord une fonction d'Église, mais bien un travail qui s'effectue d'abord à partir des données humaines communes à tous. La condition contemporaine interpelle la théologie du côté de l'histoire. Pour cette raison, Gisel propose d'articuler une théorie du christianisme à une théorie de la religion pour arriver à penser une généalogie de l'Occident. Deux théories du christianisme, qui ont en commun de le comprendre comme un geste de dépassement, seront ici présentées : celle de Marcel Gauchet et celle de Jean-Luc Nancy. Toutefois, ces deux théories divergent sur la manière de répondre au défi que représente la pensée du politique dans un monde « sorti de la religion » ou qui vit « la fin du sens ». Ces deux voies représentent deux lieux de parole possibles pour la théologie.
Le livre de spiritualité contemporaine en tant que lieu privilégié pour l'étude du Nouvel Âge
Authors: Couture André
Published: January 2010

Les travaux récents sur le Nouvel Âge proposent de ces pratiques spirituelles des approches historique, sociologique, voire théologique, mais négligent le plus souvent d'analyser en profondeur l'une des sources de renseignements les plus évidentes et en même temps les plus fécondes, soit la multitude de livres de spiritualité qui se vendent partout et séduisent un public de plus en plus friand. Après avoir abordé certains aspects de cette vaste question dans quatre livres et plusieurs articles et avoir encouragé des étudiants à faire des recherches sur des thématiques spécifiques, l'auteur pense qu'il est temps de faire le point et d'examiner ce qu'il est possible de tirer de ces études pour une meilleure compréhension de la cohérence de ce courant spirituel. Après un rappel de travaux récents, il présente un aperçu des principaux paramètres de cette nouvelle religion modelée sur la culture contemporaine, tels qu'ils ressortent de ces analyses.
Urban (re-) organization in Late Roman Palestine and the early Rabbinic guild: The Tosefta on the city and classification of space
Authors: Lightstone Jack N.
Published: January 2010

Over the latter half of the 2nd century and into the 3rd century, urban institutions and administration figured ever more prominently in the organization and governance of Roman Palestine. In this context, the consolidation of the earliest guild of rabbinic masters took hold, and their Mishnah and its supplement, Tosefta, were composed. When compared with correlative passages in the more utopic Mishnah, traditions in Tosefta show decidedly greater interest in the urban setting and its constituent institutions as the territory for meaningful, ordered, human activity. Tosefta superimposes over Mishnah's utopic mapping of a world centred on one city, an "ideal" Jerusalem, a complementary mapping in which meaningful human action and interaction is centred upon one's "local city." In this respect, one might characterize Tosefta as "diasporizing" Mishnah's mapping of an ideal world centred upon a single Temple-city.
Représentations des jeux de hasard et d'argent : repères socioculturels et religieux
Authors: Suissa Amnon Jacob
Published: January 2010

La dépendance aux jeux de hasard et d'argent (gambling) est principalement comprise comme une maladie, une pathologie psychiatrique teintée d'une perte de contrôle et d'un désordre d'impulsion. Cette conception de la dépendance ayant son origine dans la culture nord-américaine, met en veilleuse la réalité multifactorielle de ce phénomène alors que les facteurs culturels et sociaux jouent un rôle prépondérant dans la saisie de ce problème psychosocial complexe. Au delà des aspects cognitifs et comportementaux associés aux joueurs dépendants, quelles places occupent les valeurs culturelles, religieuses et sociales de certains groupes dans les pratiques sociales du jeu ? Dans quelle mesure les facteurs culturels, religieux et sociaux contribuent à l'augmentation et/ou à la réduction des incidences de ce type de dépendance ? Face à ces deux questions, et devant la multitude de situations culturelles et nationales diverses dans le champ du gambling, cet article privilégie une démarche exploratoire en mettant en relief, de manière schématique, les dimensions socioculturelles de l'usage des jeux de hasard et d'argent auprès de la culture asiatique et chinoise, juive, autochtone, musulmane et chrétienne. En privilégiant une analyse psychosociale critique, nous espérons ainsi contribuer à l'avancement du débat sur cette question complexe que représente le jeu dit compulsif.
Religion and public policy in Canada: An itinerary
Authors: Bramadat Paul
Published: January 2010

Although the intersection between religion and public policy is the subject of intense interest within and outside of the academy, the Canadian work on these often fraught phenomena is still fairly modest. In an effort to clarify some of the basic issues underlying this relatively new subfield in religious studies, in this article I address three questions. First, how is religion currently framed by existing Canadian laws and policies? Second, is there evidence that policy-makers are actually interested in academic perspectives on religion and public policy? Third, which problematic issues might merit scholarly attention in the near future? Although religion is framed in quite a positive manner in the federal policies I review, until very recently Canadian policy makers have been reluctant to engage critically the problematic social and political issues in which religion is intimately involved. However, as a result of five "source tensions" in our society, policy makers and other elite members of our society are increasingly interested in a discursive realm in which religious studies scholars have something unique to contribute.
Bodily crisis and religious conviction: Implications of Kiyozawa Manshi's illness
Authors: Harding John S.
Published: January 2010

Kiyozawa Manshi (1863-1903) is well-known as a Japanese reformer of modern Jōdo Shinshū Buddhism. Kiyozawa's articles and diaries express an evolving religious conviction that emerged both within the context of Meiji Japan and as a result of life-threatening illness. Before he became bedridden with tuberculosis, Kiyozawa's religious orientation exemplified reliance on self-power, jiriki, and the preeminence of reason. Severe physical illness with its attendant limitations led Kiyozawa to repudiate his belief in both the viability and efficacy of jiriki, resulting in a reorientation of his religious conviction to a pronounced emphasis on faith as expressed by absolute trust in other-power, tariki. This case study of crisis and conversion in the life of Kiyozawa Manshi suggests interdependent and transformational connections between bodily illness and religious conviction.
Cynics or Luddites? Excavating Q Studies
Authors: Droge A.J.
Published: January 2010

In the last 20 years the Sayings Gospel "Q" has come to play an increasingly important role in the reconstruction of Christian origins. One might argue in fact that the field has reached a tipping point: the canonical myth of Christian origins—running along the traditional axis of Mark, Paul, and Luke-Acts—is now on the verge of collapse. Q has thus become a crucial site of conflict and contestation in the struggle over origins, and as such "Q studies" is particularly revealing of the ideological investments of professionals on both sides of the fight. This article tries to identify some of the stakes involved in this disciplinary crisis, and worries that the new counter-history of Christian origins has not entirely divested itself of the commitments of its more conservative adversaries.
Augustin conjugue-t-il souvent Ex 3, 14 à Ex 3,15 ? Études sur l'exégèse augustinienne d'Ex 3, 14-15
Authors: Falardeau Sébastien
Published: January 2010

Certains commentateurs ont affirmé que saint Augustin conjugue souvent, ou presque toujours, les versets 14 et 15 d'Ex 3 : Ego sum qui sum, le Nom de Dieu en lui-même, et Deus Abraham, le nom du Dieu de l'histoire du salut. Nous avons voulu vérifier cette assertion en compilant systématiquement les citations d'Ex 3, 14 et d'Ex 3, 15 dans l'œuvre entière d'Augustin, ce qu'aucun commentateur n'a réalisé jusqu'à maintenant. Le résultat de notre étude montre qu'Augustin conjugue rarement Ex 3, 14 avec Ex 3, 15 : des 31 sermons et des 11 livres citant Ex 3, 14, il n'y a que 11 sermons et un seul livre qui y associent Ex 3, 15. S'il est vrai qu'Augustin relie souvent Ex 3, 14 avec le Dieu de l'histoire du salut, il le fait la plupart du temps par le biais de citations scripturaires autres qu'Ex 3, 15.
Jurgen Moltmann's doctrine of God: The trinity beyond metaphysics
Authors: Rossi-Keen Daniel E.
Published: January 2010

In this article I show how Moltmann's rejection of metaphysics (as a theological starting point) serves as an important controlling feature of his trinitarian doctrine of god. In so doing, I articulate several reasons that have motivated Moltmann's post-metaphysical methodological choices when formulating his trinitarian doctrine of god. After considering such reasons, I then address three distinctive elements of Moltmann's doctrine of god that emerge from his post-metaphysical trinitarian doctrine of god.
Ordre social et politique, temps et eschatologie : La lecture de l'Apocalypse par Irénée
Authors: Fantino Jacques
Published: January 2010

La conception chrétienne de l'eschatologie entraîne une compréhension originale de l'ordre politique et de l'autorité qui lui est associée. Ce qui compte en effet pour les chrétiens, c'est l'établissement du Règne de Dieu inauguré par Jésus, son enseignement et sa praxis. Larticle développe cette analyse à partir du Nouveau Testament en général, puis de l'Apocalypse et de sa lecture par Irénée de Lyon.
L'édition de la bibliothèque copte de Nag Hammadi à l'Université Laval prend un nouveau départ
Authors: Painchaud Louis
Published: January 2010

Cette note fait suite à l'article publié par le même auteur dans la revue SR, 27, 4 (1998) : 467-480 sous la rubrique «Courants» et fait part de nouveaux développements dans l'édition de la Bibliothèque copte de Nag Hammadi à l'Université Laval.
Dream interpretation in the psychology of religion: A topic review
Authors: Gollnick James
Published: January 2010

The earliest recorded dreams show that they were seen as part of a religious worldview, either as messages from the gods or as visitations by spirits and the gods themselves. The ancients made sense of dreams not as indicators of the dreamer's psychological state, but as real encounters with the spirit world and the sacred realm. In this article I examine how both of these perspectives on dreams, the ancient religious view and the more recent psychological view, have been treated in the psychology of religion, based on a review of the major English-language texts in the psychology of religion since 1970 and developments in dream research during the last 25 years.
The necessity of religious diversity
Authors: Jones Charles B.
Published: January 2010

This article seeks to contribute to philosophical discussions of religious diversity in three ways. First, by observing that diversity pervades all levels of human community, it corrects the usual description of the situation as one of diversity between religious systems taken as wholes. Second, it seeks to show, through an analysis of the epistemology of religious knowledge, that religious diversity is logically necessary and thus inevitable. Third, it concludes that because religious diversity is inevitable, it is not a problem to be explained or solved, but a datum with which theories of religion should begin.
Le réformisme islamique revisité : l'interprétation de Shahrūr ( 1938- ) et la condition féminine
Authors: Marcotte Roxanne D.
Published: January 2010

Le réformisme islamique, une des réponses offertes aux défis que pose le monde moderne pour la tradition religieuse, évolue dans différentes directions. Dans le monde arabe, Shahrūr se veut une de ces nouvelles voies avec son interprétation religieuse. Il propose une triple critique des interprétations religieuses traditionnelles : épistémologique, linguistique et critique. Une illustration de cette voix réformiste est sa nouvelle interprétation du statut de la femme en islam et de la polygamie.
Quelques facettes esséniennes chez Flavius Josèphe et la mystérieuse absence de l'historien de la littérature rabbinique
Authors: Friedheim Emmanuel
Published: January 2010

Le propos de cet article est de tenter d'expliquer l'absence de Flavius Josèphe de la littérature talmudique. Dans ces écrits aucune mention positive voire négative ou simplement d'ordre informatif n'est faite à propos de l'historien juif. Ce silence soulève de nombreuses interrogations. Au-delà de l'accusation de haute trahison envers la nation juive, il semblerait que d'autres raisons aient été à la base de son éviction de la mémoire collective du peuple juif. Selon nous, Josèphe applique dans certains domaines législatifs, une conception essénienne de la Halakha. Il est donc compréhensible qu'au lendemain de la grande révolte, lorsque les Sages pharisiens concentrent la Loi autour du Pharisaïsme traditionnel, Josèphe n'y trouve pas sa place.
The contribution of religious studies to public policy
Authors: Coward Harold
Published: January 2010

What contribution can Religious Studies make to public policy in Canada and internationally? This article suggests a significant contribution can be made by taking a new approach—one that is correlational, interdisciplinary and builds bridges between the university and the community. Our narrow and less challenging Religious Studies departmental ways must be imaginatively stretched into new patterns. A theoretical approach is sketched and practical examples are given from studies at the Centre for Studies in Religion and Society, University of Victoria, in the areas of "Population, consumption and the environment," "Healthcare ethics," "Ethics and Canadian fisheries" and "Restorative justice."
Serving Citizens: How Comparable Are Polish and Russian “Street-Level” Bureaucrats?
Authors: Berenson Marc P.
Published: January 2010

An experimental survey on bureaucratic responsiveness in the social welfare arena in Poland and Russia shows that both countries’ social welfare workers are capable of performing in a manner deemed helpful to local Polish and Russian citizens—a key component of effective governance. Such findings are surprising given an absence of reforms to create Weberian bureaucracies out of both countries’ social welfare agencies, differences in Polish and Russian overall governance, and variations in civil society legacies. The findings suggest that Weberian features, designed to keep outside interests at bay, may not necessarily be essential for local government to be perceived as being responsive and may not be relevant for certain sectors, such as social welfare, where opportunities for corruption are more limited. Because “customer service” is important for an effective state, citizen perceptions of local bureaucrats’ responsiveness need to be recognized as critical components of on-the-ground governance.
A study of the relationship between exit, voice, loyalty and neglect and commitment in India
Authors: Mellahi Kamel , Budhwar Pawan S , Baibing Li
Published: January 2010

Drawing on exit, voice, loyalty and neglect (EVLN) literature, this study examines direct and interactive associations between organizational-level commitment and team-level commitment and the use of EVLN by managers in India. The study is based on a survey of 200 managers and supervisors from seven Indian firms. The findings on the use of voice are consistent with the past research in Western countries, but challenge the prevailing assumption about the use of voice in high power distance societies. The results also indicate that team-level commitment moderates the association between organizational-level commitment and the use of EVLN.
Antecedents and outcomes of information disclosure to employees in the UK, 1990—2004: The role of employee voice
Authors: Peccei Riccardo , Bewley Helen , Gospel Howard , Willman Paul
Published: January 2010

We map changes in the pattern of information disclosure by management to employees over 14 years in the UK, using the Workplace Employment Relations Survey (WERS) panels for 1990—8 and 1998—2004. We use time-lagged probit regression to explore antecedents and outcomes of disclosure over the two periods, focusing on the effects of voice mechanisms on disclosure and on the impact of disclosure on performance.The results show a significant increase in disclosure over the first period but a levelling off in the second. Neither union recognition nor direct participation had a significant impact on disclosure in either period. Joint consultation did, however, have a significant positive effect on disclosure, but more so in the first than in the second period. In addition, prior disclosure had a positive effect on subsequent disclosure. An explanation of trends in terms of lock-in and institutional decoupling is developed. Disclosure has a positive effect on financial performance.
The Problem of France's Recovery.
Authors: Rollet H. L.
Published: January 2010

This is the text of an address delivered by Mr. Rollet to the Wellington Rotary Club on July 8 of this year. Mr. Rollet is Charge d'Affaires of the French Legation.
Searchlight on Central Europe
Authors: Benda H.
Published: January 2010

Mr. Benda, a political science student who arrived in New Zealand from Czechoslovakia a few years ago, here gives a dispassionate survey of the Central European political scene.
Local Body Government
Authors: Knowles G. Hinton
Published: January 2010

On the controversial topic of local, government Mr. Knowles, the editor of the “Howick Times,” here argues the case for the decentralised local body in a manner which, it would seem, gives advocates of centralisation much to ponder over.
Part III: Views Related To The Function and Limits of the State in Modern Society
Authors: Wilson W. J.
Published: January 2010

Mr. Wilson, editor of “The Standard” weekly newspaper, the official organ of the Labour Party, sees in modern society an inevitable and beneficial increase in state activity, to which no limit need, be set.
Views Related To The Function and Limits of the State in Modern Society
Authors: Algie R. M.
Published: January 2010

Mr. R. M. Algie, National Party Member of Parliament for Remuera, deeding more specifically with legislative process sees in modern New Zealand trends a danger to the freedom of the individual, and argues that Cabinet and departmental control have rendered parliamentary control largely non-effective.
Views Related To The Function and Limits of the State in Modern Society
Authors: Higgins J. A.
Published: January 2010

Father J. Higgins, Roman Catholic sociologist, uses the notion of Natural Law to arrive at the limits to the power of the State.
Analysis of an Open Access Scheduling System in Outpatient Clinics: A Simulation Study
Authors: Lee Sangbok , Yih Yuehwern
Published: January 2010

Open access (OA) is a scheduling system which leaves the majority of the slots open to same-day appointments (SDAs). The OA is expected to reduce patient waiting time and no-show rate, and, in turn, increase clinic performance including patient satisfaction. Although many success stories have been reported, there is no study investigating the impact of OA configuration considering environmental conditions. In this paper, we conducted a simulation study in an outpatient clinic setting. The clinical environments we consider include the demand variability, no-show rate, and the ratio of SDA patients. The OA configurations are constructed by the slots for pre-book which is a complement of SDA and the scheduling horizon for the pre-book. The experimental results demonstrate the performance of different OA configurations under various clinical environments in terms of patient waiting time, patient rejection rate and clinic utilization. The results are scrutinized in the method of a multi-objective optimization.
A Transformative Theory of Religious Freedom: Promoting the Reasons for Rights
Authors: Brettschneider Corey
Published: January 2010

Religious freedom is often thought to protect, not only religious practices, but also the underlying religious beliefs of citizens. But what should be said about religious beliefs that oppose religious freedom itself or that deny the concept of equal citizenship? The author argues here that such beliefs, while protected against coercive sanction, are rightly subject to attempts at transformation by the state in its expressive capacities. Transformation is entailed by a commitment to publicizing the reasons and principles that justify the basic rights of citizens.
Mobilising Ulster Unionism: new directions or old?
Authors: McAuley James White
Published: January 2010

One consequence of the contemporary peace process in Ireland has been the surfacing from deep within working class loyalism of groupings openly challenging the traditional values of Unionism. For socialists one of the key questions is whether this marks some form of permanent change, or something that will be neutralised by the counter-positions taken by traditional supporters of Unionism. This article argues that while ‘new loyalism’ may modify the central themes of Unionism, it is unlikely in the foreseeable future to herald a break from them. (C)ultural identity has itself become a term much used and abused. In Ireland, it is thrown around like a frizbee. Terms such as Irish, British; nationalist, Unionist; protestant, catholic. But what does identity actually mean, or, more importantly, are people really so preoccupied with it in Ireland as compared with people in England, France or the US? (Gerald Dawe, The Rest is History, 1998: 113-114)

(P)olitical-cultural identities are ways of reading enfolding structural circumstances. These subtle constructs are contested; they express a balance between private thoughts and public truths. The nature of political-cultural identity will be shaped by the exchange of powerful groups, established institutions and the informal resources of everyday life. (P. W. Preston, Political/Cultural Identity, 1997: 175)
Socialist Feminism, Reproductive Rights and Political Action
Authors: Hoggart Lesley
Published: January 2010

The problem of translating political aims into effective political practice is of longstanding concern for political activists, including feminists. This article considers this problem for socialist feminist political activity around reproductive rights. It includes a consideration of the strategy of feminist alliances with socialist movements in political practice. It does so through a study of the Workers’ Birth Control Group in the 1920s and the National Abortion Campaign in the 1970s. Both these feminist organisations attempted the difficult task of taking feminist demands for bodily control into the labour movement. These two cases examine how far successful alliance with a reformist dominated labour movement was facilitated through the promotion of moderate—as opposed to radical—politics on reproductive rights, and, further, how far class and gender politics clashed in the process.
The Dialectical Structure of Marx's Concept of ‘Revolution in Permanence’
Authors: Hudis Peter
Published: January 2010

This article argues that while the limitations of Hegel's political reconciliation with existing reality has long been evident, the depth of Marx's challenge to capital cannot be fully comprehended, let alone restated for today, without a re-encounter with Marx's rootedness in and transcendence of Hegel's concept of absolute negativity. The need to go beyond critiques of private property and the market by projecting ground for the negation of capital creates a compulsion to return to Hegel at his most ‘abstract’ level—the Absolute.

THE 150TH ANNIVERSARY of Marx's Communist Manifesto last year seemed to have brought with it a shock of recognition concerning the timeliness of Marx's critique of existing capitalism. For some, the Manifesto's discussion of the relentless drive of capital for self-expansion makes it ‘the most concise and thrilling account of a process that creates havoc in the contemporary world, the inexorable pressure of globalization.’ For others, the Manifesto's description of ‘a class of labourers who live only so long as they find work, and who find work only so long as their labour increases capital,’ makes it the best ‘characterization of capitalism at the end of the 20th century currently available.’
Marxism and the Production of Nature
Authors: Castree Noel
Published: January 2010

This essay surveys a century of debate on the Marx-nature question. It seeks to expose, critique and reformulate a set of foundational assumptions which, it is argued, have informed this debate. Three main arguments are put forward. First, it is suggested that successive attempts to expound a Marxian theory of nature have see-sawed between naturalistic and social constructionist positions. Second, as such many Marxist theories of nature are shown (ironically) to have much in common with forms of bourgeois and anti-bourgeois environmentalism they otherwise oppose. Finally, as a way out of the impasse of Marxian thinking on nature, a conception of the production of nature is tentatively put forward.
Capital Against Nature
Authors: Spence Martin
Published: January 2010

James O'Connor's theory of the ‘second contradiction of capitalism’ is a pioneering attempt to reconcile Marxism with environmentalism, and other social movements. This article analyses O'Connor's theory, and finds both serious flaws and startling innovations. While rejecting the overall frame work of a ‘second contradiction’ as proposed by O'Connor, it seeks to combine his most valuable insiqhts with a renewed emphasis on class, in order to develop an alternative approach to a Marxist understanding of environmental crisis.
Environmental Taxation and Red-Green Politics
Authors: Luckin David
Published: January 2010

This article examines the arguments for and potential of environmental tax reform (ETR) from the standpoint of red-green politics. ETR has been criticised in relation to ethics, democracy and social justice. However, the ethical and democratic critiques can be countered through a critical examination of the potential of ETR as they take the fallacious neo-classical perspective as their reference point. In relation to social justice, the potential regressive consequences of some environmental taxes will, however, require mitigation and compensation. Despite the unsatisfactory nature of the recent reforms implemented in a number of European countries ETR has much to offer, both in terms of the effectiveness of environmental regulation and in reducing unemployment. In the longer term it could contribute to the creation of more favourable conditions for radical change.
A clear public mission? Public-private partnerships and the recommodification of the NHS
Authors: Ruane Sally
Published: January 2010

IT WAS AUGUST AND THE SILLY SEASON, so it was perhaps not clear at first whether the news from the Cumberland Infirmary, Carlisle, was a spoof or not. Collapsing ceilings? Flooding sewerage? No air conditioning and an indoor temperature of 33 degrees centigrade (thanks to a transparent roof)? A beds crisis in August? Unfortunately, far from spoof, this was the real life experience of a shining flagship development of the Private Finance Initiative— one of the country's first new PFI hospitals (Mathiason, 2000). Thirty-seven others, worth over £3.6bn, have been approved for development so far.
The ‘Fourth Way’ of the Ultra Right: Austria, Europe, and the End of Neo-Corporatism
Authors: Marchart Oliver
Published: January 2010

WHEN IN EARLY FEBRUARY 2000 Austria's conservative People's Party (ÖVP) announced that it would build a coalition with the ultra-right Freedom Party (FPÖ) shockwaves spread through the media worldwide. Undoubtedly, this constituted a historic event in the European political landscape. For the first time a party of the extreme xenophobic Right was allowed to enter government and as a result, for the first time in their history, the member states of the European Union decided to put one member state under diplomatic quarantine and to reduce bi-lateral relations to a technical level.1 Now, as the diplomatic boycott—the so-called ‘sanctions’—has been lifted it becomes clear that it has achieved the very opposite of what was intended. Contrary to widely circulated opinion, though, it was not the boycott itself which was unjustified but the lifting of the boycott. Questions of hypocrisy aside, in reality the boycott proved to be the first purely political decision taken by the EU: not the usual bureaucratic compromise solution but a decision over political principles by which a line of demarcation was drawn vis-à-vis ultra-right populism (Marchart 2000). For a few months it seemed that the EU-member states were not prepared to accept racist parties in government. Of course, this turned out to be a rather short-lived form of heroism when Austrian ministers threatened to use their power of veto at EU-conferences in order to fight the sanctions by any means.
Value, Labour and Negativity
Authors: Arthur Christopher J.
Published: January 2010

The concepts of the first chapter of Capital are there presented abstractly. At a more concrete level ‘value’, ‘abstract labour’, and ‘socially necessary Labour time’ must be situated in the capital relation; e.g. the time that is ‘socially necessary’ is that in which capital ‘pumps out’ labour. The essentially contested expropriation of the workers' powers by capital leads to a new understanding of the labour theory of value as a dialectic of negativity. Value is the shape of reified labour, the outcome of class struggle in production.
Rising ‘Material’ vs. Falling ‘Value’ Rates of Profit: Trial by Simulation
Authors: Laibman David
Published: January 2010

The ‘temporalist’ or ‘temporal single system’ (TSS) school of Marxist economic theory insists that, when capital stocks are valued at historical cost, capital accumulation as such must cause the ‘value’ rate of profit to fall, even while the ‘material’ rate rises. This claim fatally ignores the depreciation and scrapping of fixed capital. Simulation modeling reveals that once early vintages of capital goods and their associated labor forces and output are scrapped, the average productivities of labour and capital follow their latest-vintage equivalents upward, and the ‘value’ rate of profit follows the same course as the ‘material’ rate. ‘Temporalism’ thus fails to serve as an adequate foundation for the theory of capitalist accumulation and crisis.
The People-Nature Relation and the Historical Significance of the Labour Theory of Value
Authors: Liodakis George
Published: January 2010

Contrary to some ecological critics, it is argued that it is not Marx's labour theory of value which should be blamed for environmental degradation and the ecological crisis, but rather the nature of capitalism itself insofar as it implies a continued appropriation of natural resources as a free gift of nature to capital. It is also argued that the necessarily limited environmental reforms under capitalism cannot ensure ecological sustainability. In historical perspective, it is argued that communism could offer the conditions for such an ecological sustainability, and create the preconditions for the supersession of the labour theory of value.
Brenner on Competition
Authors: Duménil Gérard , Glick Mark , Lévy Dominique
Published: January 2010

This paper criticizes Brenner's emphasis on competition within Manufacturing in his analysis of the falling profit rate, and the subsequent extension of this fall to the entire economy. His assumptions concerning price competition appear arbitrary and proofs are deficient. Brenner cannot escape the reliance on the rise of wages, contrary to what he contends in his criticism of profit-squeeze theory. Several basic theoretical issues, such as adjustment by prices (as in neoclassical models) or by quantities produced (as in Keynesian models), partial or general analysis are not treated properly. For Marx, the decline of the profit rate causes competitive wars; the inverse relationship is posited by Brenner.
‘We Earn Only for You’: Peasants and ‘Real’ Markets in Northern Pakistan
Authors: Akram-Lodhi A Haroon
Published: January 2010

This article analyses the realisation of the exchange-value of wheat in ‘real’ markets in northern Pakistan. Three ‘real’ markets are investigated: land, fertilizer and output. It is found that members of the dominant classes—landlords, industrial capital and merchant capital—are able to ‘regulate’ wheat production and processing markets. However, the members of the peasant classes require access to such markets in order to acquire necessary use-values that they do not themselves produce. As a consequence, the members of the peasant classes must deal with their structural subordination in ‘real’ markets.
Limiting National Interventionism in the United States: The Warfare-Welfare State as Restrictive Governance Paradigm
Authors: Waddell Brian
Published: January 2010

In response to business fears about growing national interventionism during the 1930s and 1940s, the United States channelled national state power into an indiosyncratic strong warfare/weak welfare governance paradigm. By making the welfare state a weak adjunct to a powerful warfare state and a subordinate and controversial part of postwar U.S. governance this paradigm has delimited, skewed, and distorted postwar U.S. political development. Postwar policy developments leading right up to the recent attacks on the welfare state and the growing neo-liberal consensus related to globalization can be understood in terms of this paradigm.
The continuing imperative of value theory
Authors: Fine Ben
Published: January 2010

Value theory lies at the heart of Marxist political economy for three key reasons. First, it is the abstract basis on which to understand the social relations of capitalist commodity producing society. Second, it attaches complex forms, such as price and profit, to simple underlying determinants. Third, it addresses the dialectics of change and reproduction. In addition, value theory is apposite in the current renewal of interest in the economy across the social sciences.
Why read Capital?
Authors: Holloway John
Published: January 2010

Why learn Latin? Both Latin and Capital are dying languages. How many Capital reading groups are there now? How many courses on Capital in colleges or universities? How many individuals ploughing on their own through the three volumes?

Yet it was reading Capital that brought many of us into the CSE. Now that Capital & Class is celebrating its twenty-fifth anniversary, it is worth recording that the change in the title of the journal of the CSE from the Bulletin of the CSE to Capital & Class had much to do with the influx of non-economists in to the CSE at about that time.
Globalization, labour and socialist renewal
Authors: Radice Hugo
Published: January 2010

This paper argues that two key issues need to be addressed in seeking to renew the socialist movement. First, the left must respond to globalization by breaking once and for all with nationalism. Secondly, we need to focus again on the critique of wage-labour broached in the 1970s, but neglected ever since.
‘New unionism’, organising and partnership: a comparative analysis of union renewal strategies in the public sector
Authors: Danford Andy , Richardson Mike , Upchurch Martin
Published: January 2010

The TUC's ‘New Unionism’ project contains contradictory tendencies in its promotion of both partnership relationships with employers and the adoption of more aggressive organising techniques. This paper investigates the impact of partnership-organising tensions on union activity at the workplace level in local government and the NHS. We explore these tensions by considering three dimensions of workplace union organisation: management-union relations; activist leadership style; and activist full-time officer relations. The paper rejects the argument that partnership and organising can be complementary union renewal processes. Instead, partnership relations detach senior activists from union members and restrict member participation and mobilisation.
Restructuring of work and union representation
Authors: Pulignano Valeria
Published: January 2010

This paper explores the implications of teamwork for trade unions, especially the assumption that new management strategies supporting teamwork may lead to the marginalisation of union organisation and influence. The fieldwork involves a cross-national comparison of Fiat in Italy and Rover in the British Midlands. The argument is advanced that institutional and socio-political factors rooted in the national system of industrial relations shape unions' responses to the general management derive of changing the organisation of work in the car industry.
William Morris and work as it is and as it might be
Authors: Stirling John
Published: January 2010

William Morris is a neglected theorist of the labour process debate which has often abandoned itself to the minutiae of work at the expense of the broader analysis initiated by Harry Braverman. Morris's writings on work are central to a socialist critique of the labour process. His analysis is necessarily located within nineteenth century debates and reflects the contradictions of his own life as an employer, communist activist and romantic medievalist. Nevertheless his influence was pervasive on the socialist critique of work that emerged in the twentieth century and his argument is firmly rooted in a Marxist class analysis that continues to have resonance today.
The fetishizing subject in Marx's Capital
Authors: Knafo Samuel
Published: January 2010

‘It is fair to say that the duality of worker as “object of capital” and as “living creative subject” has never been adequately resolved in Marxist Theory.’ (Harvey, 1982: 114)
Are things really getting better?
Authors: Cregan Christina
Published: January 2010

Evidence suggests that, at school, young women now fare better than young men and that the labour market chances of some young blacks relatively improved in the last part of the century. However, by an analysis of econometric studies, case study work and official statistics, this paper debunks the idea that, for the majority of these groups, ‘things are getting better’. The main explanation is that their disadvantage is ground in the particular form of labour market stratification that each experiences. New Labour Policy is presented and recommendations made for change.
New Institutional Economics and economic history
Authors: Ankarloo Daniel
Published: January 2010

New Institutional Economics (NIE) has been celebrated as a path-breaking approach to the understanding of capitalism. This article advances a conceptual critique of NIE approaches to economic history. The author suggests that NIE cannot solve the underlying tension, that its economics remains ahistorical, and that when history, social relations and realism are invoked, the economics disappears, being replaced by various cultural and state-centred explanations. Therefore NIE is not so much a research programme in progress, but rather an indication of the degeneration of the tools of neo-classical economics.
Financialisation and the coupon pool
Authors: Froud Julie , Johal Sukhdev , Williams Karel
Published: January 2010

This article aims to extend our understanding of the role of capital markets in present day capitalism. It starts from a critical examination of established terms, shareholder value, corporate governance and financialisation, before suggesting a new generic term, coupon pool capitalism. The second half aims to demonstrate that, unlike the other terms, the coupon pool concept distinctively emphasises the generation of contradictions and instabilities. Empirical evidence is used to support the concept and explore dynamics.
Zapatismo and the Social Sciences
Authors: Holloway John
Published: January 2010

The zapatista uprising poses fundamental challenges for how we think about social theory and political practice. The great contribution of the zapatistas has been to break the connection between revolution and control of the state.
Union struggle and the crisis of industrial relations in Italy
Authors: Pulignano Valeria
Published: January 2010

This paper argues that the Berlusconi government is seeking to replace the ‘social concertation’ arrangement between government and trade unions with ‘social dialogue’ in an effort to undermine trade union ‘power’. This endeavour by the government to impose a policy of ‘social dialogue’ would severely limit trade unions' influence in economic and social policy decision-making and leave Berlusconi free to introduce reforms favouring his friends in employer organisations. One likely outcome would be the deregulation of the Italian labour market strongly damaging workers' rights.
Unlawful instruments and goods: Afghanistan, culture and the Taliban
Authors: Shorthose Jim
Published: January 2010

This brief paper offers a dialectical account of the cultural policies devised by the Taliban during their rule, which led to the banning of ‘unlawful goods and instruments' such as musical instruments and films. It suggests 3 aspects to this dialectical account. Firstly, an analysis of the global context against which these policies were devised and conducted. Secondly, an analysis of the specific policy content of the various cultural agencies involved. Thirdly, an analysis of the impact these factors had on the everyday lives of Afghan people and communities. It tries to show in detail how these 3 aspects stand in a dialectical relationship to each other. It is argued that such an approach contributes to a greater understanding of the meanings behind such actions to takes us beyond any initial repudiation of the Taliban's cultural repression.
Progressive capitalism, crisis, and class struggle: Lessons from Japan's production control and democracy movements, 1945-47
Authors: Burkett Paul , Hart-Landsberg Martin
Published: January 2010

Despite the recent upsurge of global economic instability and anti-capitalist protest, many left economists and progressive policy programs continue to draw their main inspiration from the purported equity and efficiency of particular varieties of capitalism. This tendency derives its legitimacy in large part from ‘progressive competitiveness' interpretations of the postwar Japanese experience. Unfortunately, these interpretations and the politics they encourage are based on a faulty understanding of Japanese history. To help correct this bias, we revisit the struggle to reshape the Japanese political-economy immediately after World War II. During this period, Japanese workers —under highly repressive and economically difficult conditions—responded to a severe capital strike by taking direct control over important sectors of production and posing a new vision of worker-community based democracy. We examine the development of this popular effort to remake Japanese society and the causes and consequences of its eventual defeat. We conclude by highlighting lessons from this period for contemporary anti-capitalist struggles.
Why Marxist economics should be taught but probably won't be!
Authors: Clarke Peter , Mearman Andrew
Published: January 2010

An argument will be made for the teaching of Marxist economics. This will draw upon the intrinsic and instrumental aims of education, as well as other literature in education. A case is made that Marxist economics should be taught. This is based on Marxist arguments against the orthodoxy, namely that it serves capitalist interests; and also educational arguments and the perceived ability of Marxist economics to meet educational aims. It then moves on to discuss why it is unlikely that Marxist economics will be taught in this way.