First published in 1990, this is an analysis of the history of western economics from Petty to Supply-Side, through the prism of the controversies over productive labour and its product. It treats the early economists’ "productive-unproductive" dichotomies as shorthands for many other sets of distinctions relevant for boundaries, value and welfare. Central to the debates is the question of whether the economy is said to generate a ‘surplus’. Economists and politicians with views on these matters include the Physiocrats, Smith and Ricardo, Marx and his Soviet and western admirers, the marginalists, Keynes, Polanyi, Becker, and Reagan. The book maps the shifting emphases that economists and social thinkers have placed on markets and ‘mode’ of production generally. This reissue will be useful to students of economic thought, welfare theory and policy, growth economics and economic systems.

First published in 1990, this is an analysis of the history of western economics from Petty to Supply-Side, through the prism of the controversies over productive labour and its product. It treats the early economists’ "productive-unproductive" dichotomies as shorthands for many other sets of distinctions relevant for boundaries, value and welfare. Central to the debates is the question of whether the economy is said to generate a ‘surplus’. Economists and politicians with views on these matters include the Physiocrats, Smith and Ricardo, Marx and his Soviet and western admirers, the marginalists, Keynes, Polanyi, Becker, and Reagan. The book maps the shifting emphases that economists and social thinkers have placed on markets and ‘mode’ of production generally. This reissue will be useful to students of economic thought, welfare theory and policy, growth economics and economic systems.

First published in 1983, this book attempts to unify two bodies of theory which had become severely disjointed. Theories of the planning process had become detached from those of the urban and regional processes which are the subject of planning intervention. The author argues that major weaknesses of planning intervention in cities and regions have resulted from this split, and shows how it is possible to develop an integrated theory of the relationship between planning and spatial development. The mechanism which helps to unify the two fields is the division of labour. This poses problems for the planning system as its spatial requirements change but it depends upon the state planning framework in order to overcome those obstacles — hindering its capacity for spatial reorganisation. This book offers a thorough analysis of these obstacles and requirements by references to contemporaneous theoretical advances in the study of the development process, the state (especially at sub-national level), and the labour market. It is argued that the way capital makes use of urban and regional space can be explained by using the theoretical framework which is developed and, on this basis, point to certain innovative ways in which the processes underlying urban and regional de-industrialisation may be countered.

First published in 1984, this study examines closely the shifting attitudes towards, and theories concerning, imperialism, from the colonial wars of the late nineteenth century to America’s involvement in Vietnam. This lucid investigation encompasses the World Wars, the disintegration of the Colonies and the Cold War. It also gives fascinating insight into the theories of imperialism advocated by such diverse writers as Hobson, Wilshire, Angell, Brailsford, Luxemberg and Lenin. Throughout, the author objectively evaluates the theory that capitalism is a cause of aggression – a fundamental tenet of anti-imperialist writers. It is Norman Etherington’s contention that further investigations into the sources, causes and effects of imperialism can only take place if the various theories concerning it are analysed. A fascinating and detailed study, this reissue will be of particular value to students interested in the theories and history of imperialism.

This study, first published in 1986, provides a systematic account of the processes and structure of class formation in the major advanced capitalist societies. The focus is on the organizational mechanisms of class cohesion and division, theoretically deriving from a neo-Marxian perspective. Chapters consider the organization and structure of the ‘corporate ruling class’, the middle class and the working class, and are brought together in an overarching analysis of the organization of class in relation to the state and the economy. This title will be of particular interest to students researching the impact of recession on societal structure and the processes of political class struggle, as well as those with a more general interest in the socio-economic theories of Marx, Engels and Weber.

Originally published in 1979, Ideology and Cultural Production examines the contribution to the debate surrounding ‘culture’, ‘ideology’, and ‘representation’, in this collection of essays. Originally presented as papers at the 1978 British Sociological Conference on the theme of culture, the collection is tied together under the argument for a definition, which emphasizes the material and ideological conditions of cultural production. The volume discusses key issues, such as the break with ‘super-structural theory’, the question of economism, and the argument between culturalism and structuralism, as well as the central debates of determinism and autonomy.

Originally published in1984. Regional development planning has grown rapidly in recent years, as both an academic specialism and a focus of policy and practice. Books and articles on the subject have proliferated, and all across the Third World governments have become commited to it, setting up large new departments and even ministries. Charles Gore argues that this growing popularity of regional planning in developing countries is profoundly paradoxical.