Classical Political Economy, Imperialism and Poverty Description

The session of the webinar series will feature Professor Utsa Patnaik.

Abstract

The theories developed by (primarily English) classical political economy were closely intertwined with the rise of capitalism and the imperialist project. The working out of this project, led in turn to the production of poverty ; the lecture seeks to draw out these connections.

Speaker's Bio

Utsa Patnaik taught at the Centre for Economic Studies and Planning in the School of Social Sciences at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in New Delhi, from 1973 until her retirement in 2010. She obtained her doctorate in economics from Somerville College, Oxford University, before returning to India to join JNU. Her main areas of research interest are the problems of transition from agriculture and peasant predominant societies to industrial society, both in a historical context and at present in relation to India; and questions relating to food security and poverty.

She has authored several books, including Peasant Class Differentiation – A Study in Method (1987), The Long Transition (1999) and The Republic of Hunger and Other Essays (2007). A German translation of selections from the last book appeared in 2009. She has also edited and co-edited several volumes including Chains of Servitude – Bondage and Slavery in India (1985), Agrarian Relations and Accumulation – the Mode of Production Debate in India (1991), The Making of History – Essays presented to Irfan Habib (2000), and The Agrarian Question in Marx and his Successors in two volumes (2007, 2011).

Recent publications, both co-authored with Prabhat Patnaik, are 'A Theory of Imperialism' (2016) and 'Capital and Imperialism' (2021).

Format

Prof. Utsa Patnaik will be speaking for the first 45 minutes. We will then be holding a Q&A Session.

This session is part of the larger project:

Season I and Season II

This series aims to explore the tenets of capitalism over the fabric of time and examine its influence on the global economy and social classes.