Study On Economic Hermeneutics Of Meghnad Desai

Being a very influential British left-wing scholar, Meghnad Desai makes his economic hermeneutic thought the important continuation of the explanation traditions of Marxist philosophy and political economy at the present age. The aim of this thesis is to conclude the new theoretical achievement through in-depth research and interpretation of Desai’s thought; the aim of this thesis is to reveal that the critical task of economic hermeneutics is to seek the explanatory power of economic theory by means of the interaction between history and theory, also via the interaction between reality and theory in order to grasp the meaning of social activity and the meaning of human economic activity.This thesis seeks to explain the important contribution of economic hermeneutics to the clearance of the dense scientism fog above economic theory, and to the return value of the economic phenomenon existing as historical existence. The author argues that the theoretical conformation of economic hermeneutics is the dialectical unity between "form" and "usage":on one hand economic hermeneutics makes hermeneutics its usage, emphasizes economic theory and the text nature of social economic development, and further reveals deeply the subjectivity of human economic activity and the understandable precondition for economic activity; on the other hand economic hermeneutics insists that Marxist political economics is the main body, makes Marx’s two discoveries--materialism and the theory of surplus value---- unified in an overall interpretation pattern, adheres to the objectivity of history and the principle of unification of logic and reality. Economic hermeneutics results in the combination of comprehension practice and the practice of human economic activities, and then forms a comprehensive and general explanatory framework under the guidance of Marxism, ultimately opens up a new path in the British neo-Marxist critique of political economy.On the basis of the above understanding of the economic hermeneutic thought, firstly, the author extracts the core concepts that economic hermeneutics is tenable, regards the core concepts as the basis of mastering economic hermeneutic thought and the clue of controlling the whole thesis. And then the author explores the ideological sources and features of economic hermeneutics, explains that the text comprehension practice is based on Marxist economics, on the critical acceptance of traditional economics and philosophical thoughts. Text comprehension practice is consistent with positive reflection of the human economic activities through economic hermeneutics. The contents of economic hermeneutics include three main dimensions that are the critique of social existence, the critique of economy elements and the critique of social ideals. Economic hermeneutic thought expresses the historic sense of economy practical activity, market awareness and a fine prospect of the future ideal society, and constitutes its core aim of reconstructing the meaning of economic activities. According to this train of thought, this thesis starts with the following six chapters.Chapter one is the introduction. This part mainly talks about the aim and the meaning of this thesis, Desai himself and his academic achievements, the study and the analysis about Desai himself and his economic hermeneutic thought in the foreign and domestic academic. Based on the above preparation works, the writer summarizes the critical concept of economic hermeneutic thought in this part, and considers it as the critical concept of the whole thesis.Chapter two focuses on the forming of Desai’s economic hermeneutic thought. The main contents include historical background and ideological background of Desai’s economic hermeneutic thinking. The presentation of Desai’s economic hermeneutic thought is inseparable from the edification of liberal ideology, from the tide of globalization and from the changes of politics, economy, and culture in and out of England, from the raise of the British neo-Marxism in Britain, too. This chapter also digs the ideological source of Desai’s economic hermeneutics, and points out that Desai’s economic thought is based on the tradition of Marxist philosophy and political economy; also it fully absorbs the positive aspects of classical economics and neoclassical economics.Chapter three mainly talks about the major features of economic hermeneutic thought. This part starts from the argumentation that economy is in essence the science of history, and then illustrates the theoretical paradigm and philosophical bases of traditional economics, finally confirms that economic hermeneutics itself exists as a science of social and historical texts. Its fundamental goal is to seek the meaning of the economic life of mankind. On this basis, economic hermeneutics has the obvious features---- unified criticism and construction, unified historicity and totality.Chapter four mainly studies the content that economic hermeneutics is a kind of critique of social existence coming from the perspective of historical context. Economic hermeneutic thought is the economics thought with sense of history. This chapter, starting from the historical context, mainly argues the essential bases of capitalism development by means of materialism and the surplus value theory. at the same time, economic hermeneutics interprets the development history of both capitalism and socialism, completes the critique of social existence from the historical point view.Chapter five mainly discusses that economic hermeneutics is the critique of economics ontology from the point view of market development. In this part the author first clarifies the historical changes of the concept of "mark" in philosophical traditions, and then points out the market in the field of economic hermeneutics is different from the above two, that is, market is the result of the economy’s realistic development and text format of economics. What’s more, this kind of market can display the meaning of nominal nature after the complete explanation and coinstantaneous participation of social system.Chapter six discusses the critique of social ideals of the economic hermeneutic thought of Desai. The so-called ideal social critique, starting from the realistic economic development, is a critical analysis of an ideal society that may arise. This part analyzes the root of the appearance and development of globalization, and points out that globalization, which is on the basis of free market, results in a new economic relationship and promotes the transformation of realistic social structure.Ultimately, this chapter highlights the facet that economic hermeneutics is based on the display of economic development; makes people look forward to the emergence of a self-organizing, self-running, self-conscious socialist society; shows the highest theoretical pursuit and theoretical foothold of economic hermeneutic thinking.The innovations of this thesis are as follows:I. On the basis of overall studies, this thesis critically analyzes and interprets Desai’s academic thought, and then systematically presents that the economic hermeneutic thought of Desai starts from the social existence ontology, finally makes the meaning of dissecting human economic activities the basis. The domestic and foreign studies don’t touch upon this work.II. This thesis, from the three perspectives that are text and meaning, criticism and construction, the unification of historicity and integrity, fully defines that Desai’s economic hermeneutics is based on materialism and the theory of surplus value, and reaches the ideological characteristics on the interpretation and understanding of the interrelation between social politics, economy and culture. This is undoubtedly a valuable attempt to combine the two discoveries into an explanatory framework and to form the rational and effective understanding of economic activity.III. This thesis shows that the economic hermeneutic thought of Desai, through three main dimensions that are the critique of social existence, the critique of economy elements and the critique of social ideals, provides complete statements on discovering and confirming the life world of human economic via the double meaning of criticizing and structuring.Through the expansion procedure of the above chapters and innovation points, this thesis introduces and analyzes the economic hermeneutic thought of Desai systematically and comprehensively; points out that Desai himself and his articles are not only the important part of Britain’s neo-Marxist, but also the inheritance and development of Marxist philosophy and the tradition of political economics. Through the discovery and systematic research of the economic hermeneutic thought of Desai, the thesis suggests that: in the field of the economic hermeneutic thought, the essence of economic research is to discover the meaning, the aim is to explore the intendment of economic activities; the economic hermeneutic thought provides a new train of thought for correcting the theoretical shortcomings of traditional economics and fully carrying forward the Marxist political economy.