[lbo-talk] Open Letter from a Keynesian to a Marxist by Joan Robinson

[Mike Beggs]

On Tue, Jul 19, 2011 at 6:46 AM, michael perelman
<michael.perelman3 at gmail.com> wrote:
> Sorry for the addendum; too quick on the send key.  Robinson and
> Eatwell wrote a Sraffian economics text, which was not very
> successful.  Much of the efforts to create a Sraffian theory of the
> economy centered around Cambridge and Italy.

King and Alex Millmow wrote a fascinating essay about the making and
failure of this textbook - 'Death of a Revolutionary Textbook' - I
don't think this is paywalled but let me know if so:

http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/history_of_political_economy/v035/35.1king.html

I agree with the general consensus that it's flawed as an introductory
text. Mainly, it's too difficult in places to be an introduction. But
I think it's pretty cool, and still an excellent way to get a general
sense of the Cambridge vision. It really is politically radical too,
starting the analytical section with a demonstration of the
arbitrariness of property income and ending with a chapter on
socialist planning.

It's well out of print but I might know someone who might be
digitising it soon, so let me know if anyone wants to be put in touch
for a copy.

Mike