Michael Perelman (October 1, 1939 - September 21, 2020) was an
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
economist
An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics.
The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...
and
economic historian, former professor of
economics
Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services.
Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics anal ...
at
California State University, Chico
California State University, Chico, or commonly, Chico State, is a public university in Chico, California. Founded in 1887, it is the second oldest campus in the California State University system. As of the fall 2020 semester, the university h ...
. Perelman has written 19 books, including ''Railroading Economics'', ''Manufacturing Discontent'', ''The Perverse Economy'', and ''The Invention of Capitalism''.
Biography
A student of economics at the
University of Michigan
, mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth"
, former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821)
, budget = $10.3 billion (2021)
, endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
and
San Francisco State College, Perelman earned a
Ph.D in
agricultural economics
Agricultural economics is an applied field of economics concerned with the application of economic theory in optimizing the production and distribution of food and Natural fiber, fiber products.
Agricultural economics began as a branch of econom ...
from the
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant un ...
in 1971,
[Michael Perelman, Ph.D., CV](_blank)
Economics Department, University of California, Chico (Retrieved 21 March 2014) under supervision of
George Kuznets
George M. Kuznets (; July 28, 1909 – August 3, 1986) was an American economist. A member of the University of California, Berkeley's department of agricultural and resource economics, he specialized in agricultural economics. Regarded by his pe ...
. Perelman wrote that he was drawn away from the "framework of conventional economics," noticing that the agricultural system was "consuming ten times more energy than it was producing in the form of edible food." Perelman's research into how "profit-oriented agricultural system created hunger, pollution, serious public health consequences, and environmental disruption, while throwing millions of people off the land" led to his first book, ''Farming for Profit in a Hungry World'' (1977).
Perelman continued to write extensively in criticism of conventional or mainstream economics, including in all his
books
A book is a medium for recording information in the form of writing or images, typically composed of many pages (made of papyrus, parchment, vellum, or paper) bound together and protected by a cover. The technical term for this physic ...
(and especially his
books
A book is a medium for recording information in the form of writing or images, typically composed of many pages (made of papyrus, parchment, vellum, or paper) bound together and protected by a cover. The technical term for this physic ...
published from 2000 to date), papers and interviews.
Although perceiving flaws in Marx's work as it is typically interpreted in the context of its modern reading, Perelman wrote that "Marx’s crisis theory was far more sophisticated than many modern readers had realized," focusing on an interpretation that is largely bypassed by many readers of
Marxian economic thought.
Perelman viewed Marxist theory as vindicated through its account of crises that a capitalist economy must inherently generate.
Perelman appeared on a number of programs, including ''
Media Matters
Media Matters for America (MMfA) is a politically left-leaning 501(c)(3), nonprofit organization and media watchdog group. MMfA was founded in 2004 by journalist and political activist David Brock as a counterweight to the conservative Media ...
'',
Pacifica Radio
Pacifica may refer to:
Art
* ''Pacifica'' (statue), a 1938 statue by Ralph Stackpole for the Golden Gate International Exposition
Places
* Pacifica, California, a city in the United States
** Pacifica Pier, a fishing pier
* Pacifica, a concei ...
, KPFA 94.1 Berkeley, and
WBBR
WBBR (1130 AM) is a Class A clear-channel radio station licensed to New York, New York. It serves as the flagship station of Bloomberg Radio, Bloomberg L.P.'s radio service. The station offers general and financial news reports 24-hours a ...
(Bloomberg Radio).
Interview with Michael Perelman
by Tom Keene, Bloomberg Podcast
Books
* ''Farming for Profit in a Hungry World'' (1977)
* ''Classical Political Economy, Primitive Accumulation and the Social Division of Labor'' (1983)
* ''Karl Marx’s Crises Theories: Labor, Scarcity and Fictitious Capital'' (1987)
* ''Keynes, Investment Theory and the Economic Slowdown: The Role of Replacement Investment and q-Ratios'' (1989)
* ''Information, Social Relations, and the Economics of High Technology'' (1991)
* ''The Pathology of the U.S. Economy: The Costs of a Low Wage System'' (1993)
* ''The End of Economics (1996)
* ''Class Warfare in the Information Age'' (1998)
* ''The Natural Instability of Markets: Expectations, Increasing Returns and the Collapse of Markets'' (1999)
* ''Transcending the Economy: On the Potential of Passionate Labor and the Wastes of the Market'' (2000)
* ''The Invention of Capitalism: The Secret History of Primitive Accumulation'' (2000)
* ''The Pathology of the U.S. Economy Revisited: The Intractable Contradictions of Economic Policy'' (2001)
* ''Steal This Idea: Intellectual Property and The Corporate Confiscation of Creativity'' (2002)
* ''The Perverse Economy: The Impact of Markets on People and Nature'' (2003)
* ''Manufacturing Discontent: The Trap of Individualism in a Corporate Society'' (2005)
* ''Railroading Economics: The Creation of the Free Market Mythology'' (2006)
* ''The Confiscation of American Prosperity: From Right-Wing Extremism and Economic Ideology to the Next Great Depression'' (2007)
* ''The Invisible Handcuffs of Capitalism: How Market Tyranny Stifles the Economy by Stunting Workers'' (2011)
References
External links
California State University page
* Michael Perelman's blo
Unsettling Economics
* Michael Perelman. (2000).
The Invention of Capitalism: Classical Political Economy and the Secret History of Primitive Accumulation
' Published by Duke University Press
Duke University Press is an academic publisher and university press affiliated with Duke University. It was founded in 1921 by William T. Laprade as The Trinity College Press. (Duke University was initially called Trinity College). In 1926 ...
. ,
"What's Wrong with Tort Reform?"
by Michael Perelman (''Monthly Review'')
Michael Perelman: An Audio Podcast with Bob McChesney
Interview with Michael Perelman by JK Fowler for The Mantle on March 19, 2011
Interview with Michael Perelman by JK Fowler for The Mantle on April 15, 2012
{{DEFAULTSORT:Perelman, Michael
1939 births
2020 deaths
American economics writers
American male non-fiction writers
American economists
California State University, Chico faculty
Economic historians
Historians of economic thought
Marxian economists
UC Berkeley College of Natural Resources alumni
University of Michigan College of Literature, Science, and the Arts alumni
Copyright scholars