was a Japanese economist and is considered one of the most important theorists on the field of
Marx's theory of value. His main work ''Principles of Political Economy'' was published in 1964. Among his scholars are
Thomas T. Sekine and
Makoto Itoh
is a Japanese economist and is considered internationally to be one of the most important scholars of Karl Marx's theory of value. He teaches at Kokugakuin University, Tokyo, and is professor emeritus of the University of Tokyo.
He belongs to t ...
.
Thought
Uno based his work on a rigorously
Hegelian reading of Marx's ''
Capital''. This led him to his well-known conclusion that Marxian analysis had to be conducted at three separate levels:
# The "pure" theory of Capital, freed from the complications of history – highly abstract exercises in dialectical logic on the basic, core dynamics of
capitalist
Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, price system, priva ...
economy.
# A "middle" level, which traces the general development of capitalism through distinct historical stages –
mercantilism,
classical liberalism
Classical liberalism is a political tradition and a branch of liberalism that advocates free market and laissez-faire economics; civil liberties under the rule of law with especial emphasis on individual autonomy, limited government, econo ...
and so on.
# The analysis of the 'messy' details of capitalist economy in the real world, concentrating on particular narratives rather than an overall picture.
Uno and his followers have come in for criticism from the wider Marxist tradition for insisting on this separation. Simon Clarke sees this schema as "scholastic formalism", and the second level as an arbitrary addition to provide a link between the other two, rather than an analytically necessary one. As Kincaid points out, though, ''Capital'' is primarily a logically rather than chronologically argued work, which looks at the laws of capitalist development and draws mainly supporting evidence from historical data. Thus, the separation of the Uno school represents an acknowledgement of this logical nature, and registers the key problem of how the critique can be linked to actual economic development in a way that competing schools often cannot.
Selected publications
Main work
* Uno, Kozo: ''Principles of Political Economy. Theory of a Purely Capitalist Society''. Translated from Japanese by Thomas T. Sekine. Brighton, Atlantic Highlands/New Jersey 1980.
* Uno, Kozo: ''The Types of Economic Policies under Capitalism''. Translated from Japanese by Thomas T. Sekine and edited by John R.Bell. Leiden & Boston: Brill 2016.
Bibliography
Books
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Essays
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References
External links
* Verified, continuously update
selected bibliographywith links and materials. (Broken link. See partial fix for same link at end of page for Isaak Rubin. Also check for other pages re value form school likely to need same fix)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Uno, Kozo
Marxian economists
Marxist theorists
Japanese Marxists
Japanese economists
1897 births
1977 deaths