Scientific articles

Economic theory: the 35-year experiment

At the same time, the famous course "Economics" begins to lag relative to the high education requirements. Why? At the beginning, it was entirely Keynes'. Then P. Samuelson offered, after a long period of work over the problems of economic growth, the concept of neoclassic synthesis, where he combined a number of Keynes' and neoclassic positions. Therefore, the third edition (1955) was compiled from the positions of neoclassic synthesis. Generally, the long-lasting relevance of "Economics" (the book was edited 16 times, starting from the 12th one in cooperation with W. Nordhaus) lies in constant changes and supplements done by P. Samuelson, in particular, in:

  • 1963, when he reassessed the budgetary methods of the economy regulation;
  • 1964, when he included the empirical curve into the 6th edition, which characterizes the link between the annual percentage change of a salary expressed in a monetary equivalent and the level of unemployment and called the graph after the author's name - Phillips curve.
  • 1973, when he supplied the 9th edition with the section dedicated to Marxism (according to his point of view, "Marxism can appear to be very useful to leave it entirely to marxists"). But, in the 1990s, "Economics" lost such a dynamics. Meanwhile, economic theory, having made a qualitative breakthrough in the 1950s, is on the next stage of energy accumulation to proceed to the next stage of its development. We cognize and then remove new problems, mentioned here as well as those that were not highlighted, particularly, those of asymmetric information, transactional expenses, neoinstitutional structure of the economic system, and others, which were only learnt in last years.

Therefore, the basis of the mechanism for a constant renovation of curricula could be the introduction of a new specific course in high schools within the course of the economic theory or the history of economic thought, i.e. the course of nobeleology. By means of this, a serious advancement towards both a new ideology of the training of economists and the realization of ideas of the Bologna process which correspond to the demands of the time most adequately in regard to the higher education development, will be made.

By formulating the course "Economic nobeleology," we strive:

  • to bring in not so much of an order, as a certain logic in this chaotic list of theories, concepts, paradigms, scientific ideas, etc. The course does not restrict itself to the learning of sources and the systematization or clarification of the viewpoints of Nobelists. It tends to reveal the interrelation and continuity of the ideas, a transformation of approaches and conclusions. "Nobeleology" is concerned with the conditions which influence the change of viewpoints onto the economic reality, the evolution of the interpretation of basic categories, and the improvement of methods for economic researches. This course helps to understand the general direction of the economic thought evolution, transformation of its general trends, and interrelation with economic policy and strategic and immediate decision-makings;
  • to suggest the basis for the critical reassessment of out-of-date economic knowledge.

"Economic nobeleology" is made up of the latest theoretical and methodological achievements of the second half of the XXth century. Let us understand that, for the training of highly qualified economists, who would be able to respond to the "challenges" of the time under conditions of the globalization, it is necessary to have knowledge and pedagogic technologies which would be not just simply larger by volume but qualitatively other ones. In my opinion, the suggested economic nobeleology fully matches the "Concept of economic education development under conditions of the socially oriented economy and the informational technological society" that is being developed by the group of specialists attached to the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine.

We have to provide the Ukrainian youth with knowledge of a new kind, to train economists-managers able to think independently, to defend national interests, and equally participate in the process of globalization. The most important and hardest thing is to change the content of the training process, supply it not only with the socio-economic component, but with the modern humanistic orientation.

The essence of economic nobeleology lies not only in the getting rid of the stagnation and conservatism of the former period and in the correction of mistakes, but in the overcoming of the historically limited features of the public organization and the methods of work and faults that became obsolete. The constructive side of the suggested interpretation of economic nobeleology is not considered as something rigid and unable to change but as a continuous true movement through contradictions, the movement which will have to be directed or reshaped.

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