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Un Marco General para la Ciencia de la Sociedad Humana
[A General Framework for the Science of Human Society]

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  • Escudé, Guillermo J.

Abstract

This essay is meant as a contribution towards the integration of ‘the social sciences’ into a ‘science of human society’. For this it uses concepts and methods that economics has developed, but also questions the adequacy of mainstream economic theory in two aspects: a) the absence of a hierarchical class structure and consequent inter-class conflicts of interest, and b) the ‘benevolent government' or ‘social planner' approach to policy decisions. I construct three simple models where the first two are basically building blocks for the third. The first is a model of slaves and masters, the second of governed (clans) and governors and the third of capitalism (salaried workers, capitalist entrepreneurs, and governors). In each model, the agent(s) that have a higher rank in the hierarchy have the power to condition the decision rules of those below in a way that is similar to Stackelberg’s modeling of leader and follower firms within an oligopolistic industry. All agents in the model face a consumption/toil tradeoff. They have the same utility function albeit with class-specific parameters. The second model introduces public goods in consumption, which may have a negative impact on utility (public bads) for the governed, generating conflicting interests between the two classes. In each model, the agents deciding on the production of goods exert Planning, Organizing, Commanding and Controlling (POCC) work effort that enhances production but yields disutility. In the last two models the governing class exerts POCC work effort in the production of public goods and in the taxation necessary to finance it as well as its own consumption. The third model extends a basic model of monopolistic competition to include the Government and POCC work effort in the production of private and public goods. The distribution of income in terms of private goods is seen to depend entirely on decisions made by the upper class in the hierarchy. A more sophisticated distribution of ‘welfare’ could show much greater inequality due to possibly high levels of disutility due to public output which are public bads for workers but public goods for the upper classes. The framework is meant as a first approximation to a realistically more complex process where lower level classes have some degree of countervailing power (including elections, strikes, demonstrations, etc.). But that closer approximation could be modeled in different ways and would only modify the basic power structure reflected in the approximate model ‘in the margin’. RESUMEN Este ensayo pretende contribuir a la integración de ‘las ciencias sociales’ en una ‘ciencia de la sociedad humana’. Para ello usa conceptos y métodos que ha desarrollado la economía pero también cuestiona a la economía del mainstream en dos aspectos: a) la ausencia de una estructura jerárquica de clases y de conflictos de intereses inter-clases, y b) el enfoque del ‘gobierno benévolo’ o ‘planificador social’ para las decisiones de política. Construyo tres modelos sencillos de complejidad creciente. El primero es de esclavos y esclavistas, el segundo de (clanes) gobernados y gobernantes, y el tercero de capitalismo (asalariados, empresarios, y gobernantes). En cada modelo los agentes de mayor rango tienen el poder de condicionar las reglas decisorias de quienes están más abajo. Esto tiene similitud con la modelación de Stackelberg de empresas líderes y seguidoras en oligopolio. Todos los agentes confrontan un tradeoff consumo/esfuerzo y tienen la misma función de utilidad aunque con parámetros clase-específicos. El segundo modelo introduce los bienes públicos en el consumo, los que pueden tener impacto negativo sobre la utilidad (males públicos) de los gobernados, generando conflicto de intereses entre clases. En cada modelo los agentes que deciden sobre la producción ejercen trabajo de Planificación, Organización, Comando, y Control (POCC) que aumenta la producción pero brinda desutilidad. En los dos últimos modelos la clase gobernante ejerce trabajo POCC en la producción de bienes públicos y en la recaudación tributaria que lo financia, así como su consumo. El tercer modelo es extensión del modelo de competencia monopolística estándar que incluye el Gobierno y el trabajo POCC en la producción de bienes privados y públicos. Se muestra que la distribución del ingreso en términos de bienes privados depende de las decisiones tomadas por los gobernantes. Una distribución de ‘bienestar’ mostraría mayor desigualdad debido a las posibles desutilidades generadas por productos públicos que son males públicos para trabajadores pero bienes públicos para las clases altas. Se concibe este marco como primera aproximación de un proceso más complejo en que las clases inferiores tienen algún grado de poder contestatario (incluyendo elecciones, huelgas, manifestaciones, etc.) Pero esa mayor aproximación puede ser modelada de diferentes maneras y sólo modificaría la estructura de poder básica del modelo aproximado ‘en el margen’.

Suggested Citation

  • Escudé, Guillermo J., 2016. "Un Marco General para la Ciencia de la Sociedad Humana [A General Framework for the Science of Human Society]," MPRA Paper 83175, University Library of Munich, Germany.
  • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:83175
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Dixit, Avinash K & Stiglitz, Joseph E, 1977. "Monopolistic Competition and Optimum Product Diversity," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 67(3), pages 297-308, June.
    2. Guillermo José Escudé, 2014. "Addressing the Poverty of Mainstream Economics," Working Papers hal-01233851, HAL.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Hierarchical control; Public goods; Social classes; Governance;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • B41 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - Economic Methodology - - - Economic Methodology
    • B51 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - Current Heterodox Approaches - - - Socialist; Marxian; Sraffian
    • Y80 - Miscellaneous Categories - - Related Disciplines - - - Related Disciplines
    • Z13 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Economic Sociology; Economic Anthropology; Language; Social and Economic Stratification
    • Z18 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Public Policy

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