This collection of essays by prominent Turkish scholars provides a comprehensive historical, poli... more This collection of essays by prominent Turkish scholars provides a comprehensive historical, political, and economic analysis of Turkey from the inception of its republic after World War I right up to the present. The essays--most never before published in English--break away from the conventional analytic approach, which holds the modernization process of 19th-century Europe as a paradigm for all developing countries. Instead, the contributors focus on Turkey's transition to capitalism to reveal other, indigenous paths to development experienced by many non-Western nations. The anthology concludes with an assessment of the past decade and examines future prospects for the nation.
in the foundations of the Marxistcritique of political economy since the early seventies hasresul... more in the foundations of the Marxistcritique of political economy since the early seventies hasresulted in a closer examination of Marx’s distinction between productive and unproductive labour (henceforth PUPL). This closer look has, however, given rise to serious debates on questions of definition, on the criteria to be used and even on the very desirability of such a distinction. The theoretical atmosphere of the entire decade of the seventies, in particular, was after all characterised by the controversy raging between the proponents and the opponents of the so-called Sraffa-based critique of Marx’s theory of value. The various viewpoints in the more specific debate on PUPL did not, to be sure, correspond in a strict way to the great divide in the larger debate. Nevertheless, unsparing scrutiny of the fundamentals was the sign of the times. We believe that the particular debate concerning PUPL was abandoned at a point where the issues under discussion were far from resolved. There
This essay conceptualizes the capitalist state’s taxation and expenditure activities in Marx’s ci... more This essay conceptualizes the capitalist state’s taxation and expenditure activities in Marx’s circuit of capital. It also empirically shows how the net social wage has evolved in Turkey in the period 1980–2019 and in what direction it has influenced the rate of surplus value. The essay’s empirical findings demonstrate the utter failure of the pseudo-welfare state of Turkey to ameliorate income distribution. Hence, the article contributes to demolishing the myth that the Islamist party AKP, in power since 2003, is pro-poor and pro-labor, and that its fiscal policies have been consistent with its glorified Islamic values and its self-ascribed image of an antipoverty stance. JEL Classification: H2, H5, I30
2019 International Conference on Computational Science and Computational Intelligence (CSCI), 2019
We present an improved version of a previous efficient algorithm that computes the number D(n) of... more We present an improved version of a previous efficient algorithm that computes the number D(n) of zero-free graphical degree sequences of length n. A main ingredient of the improvement lies in a more efficient way to compute the function P(N,k,l,s) of Barnes and Savage. We further show that the algorithm can be easily adapted to compute the D(i) values for all i≤ n in a single run. Theoretical analysis shows that the new algorithm to compute all D(i) values for i≤ n is a constant times faster than the previous algorithm to compute a single D(n) value. Experimental evaluations show that the constant of improvement is about 10. The techniques for the improved algorithm can be applied to compute other similar functions that count the number of graphical degree sequences of various classes of graphs of given order or size and that all involve the function P(N,k,l,s).
This article starts out by trying to demonstrate why the distinction between productive and unpro... more This article starts out by trying to demonstrate why the distinction between productive and unproductive labour (PUPL) is crucial, both for the analysis of the trajectory of capitalism in general and for an understanding of the peculiar features of late twentieth century capitalism. Subsequent sections provide the necessary clarification about the distinction between PUPL by focusing on the concepts ‘productive labour in general’ and ‘productive labour for capital’ and attempt to classify all major types of labour in capitalism accordingly. The essay also deals with thorny questions about the status of labour in the services sector and state provision of social services. The last section addresses some common criticisms found in the literature concerning Marx's distinction between productive and unproductive labour.
The political economic program of the 1980 military coup was designed by Turgut Ozal, at the time... more The political economic program of the 1980 military coup was designed by Turgut Ozal, at the time an adviser to the then prime minister, Suleyman Demirel. Ozal was later to become deputy prime minister under the military junta, and eventually prime minister and president of the republic. The program was based on the overarching assumption that markets operate more efficiently to produce a functioning economy than any kind of government intervention or involvement. All aspects of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank-sponsored debt and loan restructuring program of 1980—the so-called “January 24 measures”—as well as similar programs that followed it, were fully consistent with that assumption. With these measures, the internally oriented, partly planned, hybrid development model based upon import substitution industrialization (the replacement of foreign imports with domestic production) was abandoned and superseded by the market-based policies of an export-incentivizing gro...
This book provides an alternative foundation for the measurement of the production of nations, an... more This book provides an alternative foundation for the measurement of the production of nations, and applies it to the US economy for the postwar period. The patterns which result are significantly different from those derived within conventional systems of national accounts. Conventional national accounts seriously distort basic economic aggregates, because they classify military, bureaucratic and financial activities as creation of new wealth, when in fact they should be classified as forms of social consumption which, like personal consumption, actually use up social wealth in the performance of their functions. The difference between the two approaches has an impact not only on basic aggregate economic measures, but also on the very understanding of the observed patterns of growth and stagnation. In a world of burgeoning militaries, bureaucracies, and sales forces, such matters can assume great importance at the levels of both theory and policy.
The main focus of this study is the role of the state in the distribution process vis-a-vis the w... more The main focus of this study is the role of the state in the distribution process vis-a-vis the working class in the United States during the period 1952-1980. This focus led me to formulate and then answer a question: what is the net impact of the distributive activities of the state on the wages of the working class as a whole and various segments within it? In order to deal with this question I proposed a concept, net-tax, which is taxes paid to the state minus benefits and income received from it. The empirical findings of the article concerning the net-tax paid by labor led me to call into question the economically beneficial role of the welfare state in relation to the wages of the working class.
Political Economy and Contemporary Capitalism: Radical Perspectives on Economic Theory and Policy, 2000
The growth of welfare states is one of the hallmarks of moder n capitalist democracies. European ... more The growth of welfare states is one of the hallmarks of moder n capitalist democracies. European welfare states began with pension and social insurance programs in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and then grew into comprehensive systems of social support between the 1930s and the 1950s. By contrast, the US state only began its excursions into social insurance and public assistance during the Great Depression of the 1930s, and was typically much less comprehensive in the postwar period (Skocpol 1987). ...
Persian Translation of Sungur Savran and Ahmet Tonak's Türkiye’de Marx’ın Kapital’I, 2019
Persian Translation of Sungur Savran and Ahmet Tonak's Türkiye’de Marx’ın Kapital’I published in ... more Persian Translation of Sungur Savran and Ahmet Tonak's Türkiye’de Marx’ın Kapital’I published in Naghd website and republished by Marxian Tendency Library: Savran, S. ve Tonak, A. (2018), Türkiye’de Marx’ın Kapital’I, Mülkiye Dergisi, 42 (1), 127-144.
This collection of essays by prominent Turkish scholars provides a comprehensive historical, poli... more This collection of essays by prominent Turkish scholars provides a comprehensive historical, political, and economic analysis of Turkey from the inception of its republic after World War I right up to the present. The essays--most never before published in English--break away from the conventional analytic approach, which holds the modernization process of 19th-century Europe as a paradigm for all developing countries. Instead, the contributors focus on Turkey's transition to capitalism to reveal other, indigenous paths to development experienced by many non-Western nations. The anthology concludes with an assessment of the past decade and examines future prospects for the nation.
in the foundations of the Marxistcritique of political economy since the early seventies hasresul... more in the foundations of the Marxistcritique of political economy since the early seventies hasresulted in a closer examination of Marx’s distinction between productive and unproductive labour (henceforth PUPL). This closer look has, however, given rise to serious debates on questions of definition, on the criteria to be used and even on the very desirability of such a distinction. The theoretical atmosphere of the entire decade of the seventies, in particular, was after all characterised by the controversy raging between the proponents and the opponents of the so-called Sraffa-based critique of Marx’s theory of value. The various viewpoints in the more specific debate on PUPL did not, to be sure, correspond in a strict way to the great divide in the larger debate. Nevertheless, unsparing scrutiny of the fundamentals was the sign of the times. We believe that the particular debate concerning PUPL was abandoned at a point where the issues under discussion were far from resolved. There
This essay conceptualizes the capitalist state’s taxation and expenditure activities in Marx’s ci... more This essay conceptualizes the capitalist state’s taxation and expenditure activities in Marx’s circuit of capital. It also empirically shows how the net social wage has evolved in Turkey in the period 1980–2019 and in what direction it has influenced the rate of surplus value. The essay’s empirical findings demonstrate the utter failure of the pseudo-welfare state of Turkey to ameliorate income distribution. Hence, the article contributes to demolishing the myth that the Islamist party AKP, in power since 2003, is pro-poor and pro-labor, and that its fiscal policies have been consistent with its glorified Islamic values and its self-ascribed image of an antipoverty stance. JEL Classification: H2, H5, I30
2019 International Conference on Computational Science and Computational Intelligence (CSCI), 2019
We present an improved version of a previous efficient algorithm that computes the number D(n) of... more We present an improved version of a previous efficient algorithm that computes the number D(n) of zero-free graphical degree sequences of length n. A main ingredient of the improvement lies in a more efficient way to compute the function P(N,k,l,s) of Barnes and Savage. We further show that the algorithm can be easily adapted to compute the D(i) values for all i≤ n in a single run. Theoretical analysis shows that the new algorithm to compute all D(i) values for i≤ n is a constant times faster than the previous algorithm to compute a single D(n) value. Experimental evaluations show that the constant of improvement is about 10. The techniques for the improved algorithm can be applied to compute other similar functions that count the number of graphical degree sequences of various classes of graphs of given order or size and that all involve the function P(N,k,l,s).
This article starts out by trying to demonstrate why the distinction between productive and unpro... more This article starts out by trying to demonstrate why the distinction between productive and unproductive labour (PUPL) is crucial, both for the analysis of the trajectory of capitalism in general and for an understanding of the peculiar features of late twentieth century capitalism. Subsequent sections provide the necessary clarification about the distinction between PUPL by focusing on the concepts ‘productive labour in general’ and ‘productive labour for capital’ and attempt to classify all major types of labour in capitalism accordingly. The essay also deals with thorny questions about the status of labour in the services sector and state provision of social services. The last section addresses some common criticisms found in the literature concerning Marx's distinction between productive and unproductive labour.
The political economic program of the 1980 military coup was designed by Turgut Ozal, at the time... more The political economic program of the 1980 military coup was designed by Turgut Ozal, at the time an adviser to the then prime minister, Suleyman Demirel. Ozal was later to become deputy prime minister under the military junta, and eventually prime minister and president of the republic. The program was based on the overarching assumption that markets operate more efficiently to produce a functioning economy than any kind of government intervention or involvement. All aspects of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank-sponsored debt and loan restructuring program of 1980—the so-called “January 24 measures”—as well as similar programs that followed it, were fully consistent with that assumption. With these measures, the internally oriented, partly planned, hybrid development model based upon import substitution industrialization (the replacement of foreign imports with domestic production) was abandoned and superseded by the market-based policies of an export-incentivizing gro...
This book provides an alternative foundation for the measurement of the production of nations, an... more This book provides an alternative foundation for the measurement of the production of nations, and applies it to the US economy for the postwar period. The patterns which result are significantly different from those derived within conventional systems of national accounts. Conventional national accounts seriously distort basic economic aggregates, because they classify military, bureaucratic and financial activities as creation of new wealth, when in fact they should be classified as forms of social consumption which, like personal consumption, actually use up social wealth in the performance of their functions. The difference between the two approaches has an impact not only on basic aggregate economic measures, but also on the very understanding of the observed patterns of growth and stagnation. In a world of burgeoning militaries, bureaucracies, and sales forces, such matters can assume great importance at the levels of both theory and policy.
The main focus of this study is the role of the state in the distribution process vis-a-vis the w... more The main focus of this study is the role of the state in the distribution process vis-a-vis the working class in the United States during the period 1952-1980. This focus led me to formulate and then answer a question: what is the net impact of the distributive activities of the state on the wages of the working class as a whole and various segments within it? In order to deal with this question I proposed a concept, net-tax, which is taxes paid to the state minus benefits and income received from it. The empirical findings of the article concerning the net-tax paid by labor led me to call into question the economically beneficial role of the welfare state in relation to the wages of the working class.
Political Economy and Contemporary Capitalism: Radical Perspectives on Economic Theory and Policy, 2000
The growth of welfare states is one of the hallmarks of moder n capitalist democracies. European ... more The growth of welfare states is one of the hallmarks of moder n capitalist democracies. European welfare states began with pension and social insurance programs in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and then grew into comprehensive systems of social support between the 1930s and the 1950s. By contrast, the US state only began its excursions into social insurance and public assistance during the Great Depression of the 1930s, and was typically much less comprehensive in the postwar period (Skocpol 1987). ...
Persian Translation of Sungur Savran and Ahmet Tonak's Türkiye’de Marx’ın Kapital’I, 2019
Persian Translation of Sungur Savran and Ahmet Tonak's Türkiye’de Marx’ın Kapital’I published in ... more Persian Translation of Sungur Savran and Ahmet Tonak's Türkiye’de Marx’ın Kapital’I published in Naghd website and republished by Marxian Tendency Library: Savran, S. ve Tonak, A. (2018), Türkiye’de Marx’ın Kapital’I, Mülkiye Dergisi, 42 (1), 127-144.
While some of the analysis presented here, particularly as it pertains to religion in politics, i... more While some of the analysis presented here, particularly as it pertains to religion in politics, is no doubt rather dated, this book still provides a useful and original analysis of the political and economic developments in Turkey during the twentieth century. It has long been out of print.
This book provides an alternate foundation for the measurement of the production of nations, and ... more This book provides an alternate foundation for the measurement of the production of nations, and applies it to the U.S. economy for the postwar period. The patterns that result are significantly different from those derived within conventional systems of national accounts. Conventional national accounts seriously distort basic economic aggregates because they classify military, bureaucratic, and financial activities as creation of new wealth. In fact, these authors argue, such aggregates should be classified as forms of social consumption which, like personal consumption, actually use up social wealth in the performance of their functions. The difference between the two approaches has an impact not only on basic aggregate economic measures, but also on the very understanding of the observed patterns of growth and stagnation. In a world of burgeoning militaries, bureaucracies, and sales forces, such matters can assume great significance at the levels of both theory and policy.
This paper will be published as a chapter in the forthcoming volume, Routledge Handbook of Marx's... more This paper will be published as a chapter in the forthcoming volume, Routledge Handbook of Marx's Capital: A Global History of Translation, Dissemination and Reception, Publisher: Taylor and Francis, Editors: Marcello Musto, Babak Amini.
This project was initiated on the occasion of the 150th anniversary in 2017 of the first edition of Marx's Capital Book I (Das Kapital, Otto Meissner's Hamburg, September 1867). It is an ambitious project, mobilizing a large number of authors in many countries. Structurally, the book presents a chapter by country, in principle at least - it can sometimes be a group of countries or even a language (like Esperanto).
Uploads
Savran, S. ve Tonak, A. (2018), Türkiye’de Marx’ın Kapital’I, Mülkiye Dergisi, 42 (1), 127-144.
Savran, S. ve Tonak, A. (2018), Türkiye’de Marx’ın Kapital’I, Mülkiye Dergisi, 42 (1), 127-144.
This project was initiated on the occasion of the 150th anniversary in 2017 of the first edition of Marx's Capital Book I (Das Kapital, Otto Meissner's Hamburg, September 1867). It is an ambitious project, mobilizing a large number of authors in many countries. Structurally, the book presents a chapter by country, in principle at least - it can sometimes be a group of countries or even a language (like Esperanto).
https://socialhistory.org/en/news/das-kapital-fully-digitized