Michael Perelman

Michael Perelman
Born	Michael Perelman
Occupation	Business writer Professor
Nationality	American
Period	1977–present
Genres	Non-fiction
Subjects	Economics
Notable work(s)	Railroading Economics (2006) Manufacturing Discontent (2005)

Michael Perelman is an American economist and economic historian, currently professor of economics at California State University, Chico. Perelman has written 19 books, including Railroading Economics, Manufacturing Discontent, The Perverse Economy, and The Invention of Capitalism.^[1]

Biography

A student of economics at the University of Michigan and San Francisco State College, Perelman earned a Ph.D in agricultural economics from the University of California, Berkeley in 1971.^[2] Perelman writes 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).^[2]

Although perceiving flaws in Marx's work as it is typically interpreted in the context of its modern reading, Perelman writes 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.^[2] Perelman views Marxist theory as vindicated through its account of crises that a capitalist economy must inherently generate.^[2]

Perelman has appeared on a number of programs, including Media Matters,^[3] Pacifica Radio,^[4] KPFA 94.1 Berkeley,^[5] and WBBR (Bloomberg Radio).^[6]

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

1. ^ Bailes, John & Cihan Aksan. (2008). "The Crisis of Capital: An Interview with Michael Perelman". State of Nature. Spring 2008. Retrieved 22 Mar. 2009. http://www.stateofnature.org/michaelPerelman.html
2. ^ ^{a b c d} "Michael Perelman, Ph.D". Economics Department. University of California, Chico. Retrieved 22 Mar. 2009. http://www.csuchico.edu/econ/faculty/perelman.shtml
3. ^ Media Matters. (20 July 2008). Retrieved 22 Mar. 2009. http://will.illinois.edu/mediamatters/show/july-20-2008
4. ^ Seidman, Barry. "Sun, Sept 2 6:00-7:00 pm: Equal Time for Freethought". Upcoming Programs. WBAI-FM and Pacifica Foundation. Retrieved 22 Mar. 2009. http://wbai.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=9632&Itemid=127
5. ^ "In the News". Inside Chico State. 14 Feb. 2008. (Vol. 38, No. 4). Chico: University Publications. Retrieved 22 Mar. 2009. http://www.csuchico.edu/pub/inside/08_02_14/achievements.shtml
6. ^ Keene, Tom. Bloomberg Podcast: Interview with Michael Perelman

External links

• California State University page
• Michael Perelman's blog Unsettling Economics
• Michael Perelman. (2000). The Invention of Capitalism: Classical Political Economy and the Secret History of Primitive Accumulation Published by Duke University Press. ISBN 0822324911, 9780822324911
• "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

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Name	Perelman, Michael
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