The Classical approach to distribution and the “natural system”

The modern reformulation of Classical analysis of value and distribution built upon Sraffa’s Production of Commodities provides quite a general and open framework to study distributive relationships, that deserves to be still explored. The present work aims to go through these relationships according to the perspective ensuing from the notion of “natural economic system”, developed by Pasinetti. The natural economic system is a sort of ideal configuration, which allows to accomplish the potentialities of the production system concerning growth, employment and the satisfaction of final wants. Actual (capitalist) economies do not normally fulfil the “natural” configuration. But this configuration can be considered a reference point in order to discriminate between the conditions that have to be verified for the system to reproduce itself and grow according to its potentialities, and the conditions that have to be regarded as pertaining to the institutional sphere. On this perspective several indications can be drawn on various aspects. In this work we shall focus on the normative conclusions that can be drawn about income distribution. Firstly a description of the characteristics and the implications of the “natural” configuration of income distribution will be provided: we will focus on natural rates of profit (which are differentiated among sectors), on the natural level of wages and on the natural rate of interest. Secondly we will depict some instruments to orientate the actual set-up of capitalistic economies towards the natural configuration. In particular we will develop a notion of uniform natural profit rate and we will describe the consequent necessary (“natural”) financial system which allows the natural accumulation of capital to be realized in a capitalistic context, where profit rates tend to be uniform.Average natural profit rate; Classical political economy; Labour theory of value; Natural system; Natural profit rates; Prices; Sraffa framework; Structural change; Surplus approach

Pasinetti on Ricardo

Ricardo, ‘corn’ theory of profit, Sraffa’s Standard commodity

Sounds (aṣwāt) in the multi-tematic lexicon al-Gharīb al-Muṣannaf by Abū ‘Ubayd al-Qāsim b. Sallām (d. 224/838)

This article is part of a broader research on sounds (aṣwāt, sing. ṣawt) as they were systematised in the context of early Arabic lexicography. It takes as a case study the multi-thematic lexicon al-Ġarīb al-Muṣannaf by Abū ‘Ubayd al-Qāsim b. Sallām (d. 224/838) and more specifically the three chapters respectively devoted to voices, tones of voices of people’s speech and their modulation, and languages and words included within the opening book regarding the lexicon on human anatomy

The importance of a self-determination integrated transition-to-work program for young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities: A program development plan

This capstone experience was completed at Beyond the Challenge, an adult day program for young adults with Down Syndrome. The goal was advocating for the need to address soft skills for successful employment. The final outcomes was the development and implementation of an 8-week program promoting self-determination skills through work-related activities.https://engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/ot_capstone_posters/1001/thumbnail.jp

Whiskey in Early America

Following the American Revolution (1775-1781), Americans turned to whiskey as their spirit of choice simply because it was readily available. Whiskey would shape the identity of the early republic after the Whiskey Rebellion (1791-1794) and set the precedent for frontier insurrection and the authority of the federal government. Whiskey became a crucial contributor to the budding economy of early America and the establishment of distilleries and the ease of distribution of the drink opened up the development of the West. Whiskey became so prolific in the first few decades of the United States that even today, it remains a significant piece of the American identity

“Violence is who we are”: Adolescents constructing human rights consciousness in “postwar” Guatemala

National education reforms in Guatemala’s postwar years have centered on supporting civic skills and human rights awareness, while largely silencing historical analysis of the recent armed conflict. But given the scale of Guatemala’s “postwar” violence and instability, it is unclear whether young people find relevance in the principles of human rights, as well as how they interpret their disarticulation from Guatemala’s history of violence. Everyday experiences with a deeply unequal society may further undermine this educational approach and the peacebuilding goals that underlie it. Based on ethnographic fieldwork in rural and urban communities, this paper explores how “postwar” generation youth construct human rights consciousness, drawing on the language and principles of human rights to generate their own narratives about past and present violence. Young peoples’ interpretations of human rights pivot along interpretations of past and present injustice, exhibiting three contrasting stances: narratives of denial in which adolescents reject the normative claims of the human rights framework, narratives of skepticism in which they question whether human rights can be effectively practiced in Guatemala, and narratives of empowerment in which they embrace justice initiatives for past and present violence through the lens of human rights. While outlining a typology of human rights consciousness among Guatemalan adolescents, I explore how young people draw on the multiple histories and silences that they have been presented with through formal and informal educational encounters.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/108492/1/Bellino_Listening to press.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/108492/4/Bellino_Educating for HR consciousness.pdfDescription of Bellino_Listening to press.pdf : Main articl

Whose past, whose present?: Historical Memory Among the “Postwar” Generation in Guatemala

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/109393/1/Whose past whose present TO PRESS.pdfDescription of Bellino, M.J. (2014). Whose Past, Whose Present. Chp. 7, pp. 131-151.pdf : Main articleDescription of Whose past whose present TO PRESS.pdf : [Superseded] Manuscript versio