Question 1. Part 1) In this two part answer, please write 1.5 pages
on each part, for a total of three pages of double-spaced text. Part 1) Working through the book authored by Ken McCormick, describe how Veblen define an instinct? Which “instincts” does McCormick draw from Veblen’s thinking? Please divide and consider these instincts noted into categories of “group” regarding and those considered as “self” regarding and offer at least one sentence that helps to clarify each instinct noted. Please also consider the instinct of “emulation” that is noted to fall in between and have relevance for both ‘group regarding’ as well as ‘self-regarding’?
Questions
- How does “habit” fitinto McCormick’s understanding of an institution? At least by page 22of his book, McCormick starts noting that institutions could placerestrictions on members of society in the interests of protecting socialhierarchies. Please note what some of the examples cited of institutionsthat limit advances in a society.As you seek to answer these question, please consider drawing fromideas advanced by author Ken McCormick, found especially in Chapter 2of his Veblen in Plain English.Part 3) How does technology contribute towards institutional change?Please consider McCormick’s Chapter 4, “Technological Change andInstitutional Change” and Chapter 5, “Social Evolution”? (And, as hasbeen presented during lectures.) Also consider what was presented inlectures on 21 and 23 January when we considered the ‘instrumental-ceremonial dichotomy’ formulated by Clarence Ayres.Question
- In this two part answer, please write your answers acrossthree pages of double-spaced text.In “The Machine Process”, Chapter II of The Theory of BusinessEnterprise, Thorstein Veblen describes at some length what he refers toin detail as a “machine process.”In Veblen’s view, what exactly is this machine process? As youdevelop your answer, please consider these aspects: Part 1) Whatcould give rise or cause the emergence of a/the machine process? Part2) How does the machine process display itself? Part 3) What are theparticular characteristics of the machine process that Veblen cites inChapter II of The Theory of Business Enterprise? Part 4) What effectsdoes the machine process wield over the industrial economy and alsoover economic and social life? Part 5) Should we consider the“machine process” an institution that emerged concomitant with therise of big business? (base your answer also on the definition of aninstitution that you offered to Part 1 above). Part 6) Building uponVeblen’s view—and adding your own perspective ( a portion of page 3of your answer)—how far reaching do you think the machine processextends and affects patterns in your own life? That is, in which ways
have you been incorporated into and had your patterns of behavior (as well as your habits of thought) influenced by the “machine process”? Be sure to draw your references and base your answers from reading Chapter II of Veblen’s The Theory of Business Enterprise. Question 3. In this two part answer, please write three full pages as you address the questions below. In Chapter 7 of Ken McCormick’s book, he focuses upon the topic of “Capital.” In Economic Science, what we term as capital proves central and also helps to define a particular school of thought within Economic Science. Back in the day and at Carlton College in Northfield Minnesota, Veblen was influenced by John Bates Clark, an American scholar who, with time, would advances ideas that became well known and widely accepted across the world. McCormick starts out by noting how textbook author Gregory Mankiw (2004, 829) defines capital. Please note Mankiw’s perspective. Then in the next two paragraphs, McCormick (2006, pp. 73-74) notes how J. B. Clark, a neoclassical theorist, defines capital. Then, starting in the last paragraph on page 74, McCormick notes how Veblen defines capital differently from J. B. Clark. Please work through these ideas advanced by McCormick, noting the views of Mankiw and Clark. Then develop how Veblen thought differently as he advanced his own theory of capital. Please differentiate Veblen’s view of capital with Mankiw’s and Clark’s thinking. How to squander points on this L.O.#1 and bomb out. Content: By not citing the literature sources noted in the questions. This means that McCormick’s Veblen in Plain English and Veblen’s The Theory of Business Enterprise need to be cited and also appear in the last page as entries in your bibliography. Please do not bring in additional sources.
Style: Failure to indent paragraphs. In the first instance, failing to note that an author not only has a last name, but also a first name. Continuing to cite an author by repeating the first name is considered to be in error. Not placing the citation as close to the author’s name as is feasible. Skipping extra lines between paragraphs. Presenting excessively long paragraphs. Typically, two-plus paragraphs should appear on each page. This is standard for expository writing in social sciences, economics included. Not citing as emphasized. This means that borrowed ideas need to be artfully rooted in a citation. Please note that each paragraph containing borrowed ideas needs to cite the source(s). *Please consider mastering the art of paraphrasing. This suggests that you should avoid quotes drawn from the texts. Failing to use commas correctly. Messing up the bibliography by not indenting the lower line(s), and not double spacing. Below details the scale for moving from points to a final, letter grade. For this LO#1, you can multiply by “2” and gain an idea of your course grade at the time of the mid-term. A = 94 and above A– = 90-93 B+ = 87-89 B = 84-86 B– = 80-83 C+ = 77-79 C = 74-86 C– = 70-73 D+ = 67-69 D = 64-66 D– = 60-63 F = less than 60 P = greater than 59 NP = less than 60
Some tips on Social Science writing to consider: Learning to Paraphrase while using the adapted “Harvard Short Style” Consider an excerpt from Chapter 1, Page 7 of Veblen’s The Theory of Business Enterprise [1904]. Sentence. The material framework of modern civilization is the industrial system, and the directing force which animates this framework is business enterprise. Paraphrasing involves carrying forward ideas found in an author’s text without taking three or more words together. The word “that” often and typically designates a paraphrase is about to start. When borrowing an idea, best to artfully cite your author, year, and page number, especially when citing specifics. Attribution: Citation, and the violation of Plagiarizing and Plagiarism. Try: One point to consider: when working with old texts you should note once the original year of publication. Then, in the bibliography the year of publication is noted again until listed in the bibliography. So, consider: Veblen ([1904] 2005, 7) teaches us that business enterprise serves as the force animating the United States’ industrial system. Once this [1904] is introduced in hard brackets, then it is not necessary to note again in the text. But you need to note the two different years in the bibliography where the dates of this Cosimo book should appear as: Veblen, Thorstein. (1904 [2005])The Theory of Business Enterprise. Old Chelsea Station, New York: Cosimo. After noting original date of publication, then we use 2005 for Veblen’s book. If the reader has any question, they can refer to the bibliographical entry. So then citations appear as: Veblen (2005, 7) suggests that business enterprise serves as the force animating for what he presents as an industrial system. or, clarify your thinking with two ideas in two sentences. “In addition,” is useful.
According to Veblen (2005, 7), an industrial system serves as modern civilization’s material framework. In addition, business enterprise is argued to serve as a directing force animating this industrial system. or, In the view of Veblen (2005, 7), modern civilization’s industrial system is structured by a material framework. Business enterprise is, moreover, noted to animate this framework. or, In the Veblen of view (2005, 7), modern civilization’s industrial system is structured by a material framework. Moreover, he notes that business enterprise plays the key role animating this framework. Social science writing relies heavily upon a few key sentence structures that can be relied upon and also artfully mixed. Simple: An industrial system serves as modern civilization’s material framework. Subject verb object Consider a complex sentence with a gerund clause added: Gerunds are verbal nouns and are noted by adding an -ing ending to a verb. After a phrase that could also stand alone as a sentence, add a comma and then an –ing gerund. In the sentence below the verb is “serve” and the gerund is “serving.” The gerund clause is “..., serving as the animating force.” Business enterprise plays the key role in modern civilization’s material framework, serving as the animating force. or, Business enterprise is, according to Veblen (2005, 7), suggested to play the key role in modern civilization’s material framework, functioning as the animating force. Consider another gerund and gerund clause: In Veblen’s view (2005, 7), business enterprise plays the key role in modern civilization’s material framework, posing itself as the animating force. Then there are sentences with two independent clauses that can rely upon conjunctive adverbs to connect the ideas. Useful conjunctive adverbs are: therefore, moreover, however, nevertheless; furthermore. Use these with a semicolon before and then followed by a comma.
Veblen (2005, 7) notes an industrial system serves as modern civilization’s material framework; moreover, this material framework is animated by business enterprise. Veblen (2005, 7) notes an industrial system serves as modern civilization’s material framework; however, and what proves special is that this material framework is animated by business enterprise. Veblen (2005, 7) notes an industrial system serves as modern civilization’s material framework; furthermore, this material framework is argued to be animated by business enterprise. If one offers a sentence with two fully independent clauses that could stand alone as sentences, then the colon (:) is appropriate. The way that I know when the : is used correctly, I can substitute for the colon ”:” the words “in other words.” This is a sure rule of thumb. Many people use the colon improperly, and editors let it pass. Veblen (2005, 7) suggests that business enterprise animates modern civilization’s material framework: business enterprise is thought to serve as a directing force. To achieve a decent grade in this course, you will need to learn and ideally master the art of paraphrasing. Paraphrasing typically avoids quotes. My take is that when paraphrasing that one relies on quotes when introducing an odd term. The term is presented once in quotes, and once presented, the quotes are never relied upon again in the text. Sentence. The industrial system serves as the material framework of modern civilization, and business enterprise is suggested to animate this framework. This word “business enterprise” is largely unique to Veblen and his followers. So, let’s consider this as a term. What Veblen (2005, 7) refers to as “business enterprise” serves as a force animating, that is giving life to an industrial system. What Veblen refers to as an “industrial system” is also a unique formulation. So, one could note that with a quote. What Veblen (2005, 7) refers to as an “industrial system” is suggested to derive its animating force from business enterprise. As you write your text, it would be incorrect to place these terms in quotes a second time. The purpose of the quote is to note to the reader that this is a specialized term that has been properly introduced. Once properly introduced the term is used as a normal part of your text without any special designation.
Please consider that you could fulfill course assignments by avoiding quoting text and instead artfully paraphrase. Veblen (2005, 7) suggests that business enterprise serves as a directing force animating our industrial system. Bibliographical references according to the Journal of Economic Issues and my interpretations: book McCormick, Ken. 2006. Veblen in Plain English. Youngtown, New York: Cambria Press, 2006. Veblen, Thorstein. (1904 [2005]) The Theory of Business Enterprise, Old Chelsea Station, New York: Cosimo. A subtlety to consider: When developing an idea artfully, the author introduces a new term with an indefinite article, either “a” or “an”. Once a term has been introduced with an indefinite article, then the author relies upon the definite article “the.” If you can add this subtlety, your presentation would be clearer. Example: Veblen introduces a challenging idea that the modern capitalistic system could be thought of as composed of an industrial system that is animated by business enterprise. The industrial system that Veblen considers is suggested to include the material producing sector of an economy. Business enterprise, on the other hand, is suggested to operate by a completely different logic than the industrial system. This approach can be relied upon to clarify the presentation of ideas. This approach is used especially in the field of law. The old style is to use the indefinite article and then when referring back the word “said” is used. In contemporary social science writing we simply rely upon the definite article “the” in place of “said.”
Use of an “em dash”. The em dash or is used typically used in American English and has the width of an “m”. The em dash is mostly limited to one way, but is sometimes used in a second way. The most common way to apply the em dash is to set off a clause with parenthetical information within a sentence. Commas could be used, but the em dash suggests a more sophisticated and artful approach. To use correctly, the em dash has no spaces between it and the words on each side. One other way is to use an em dash as a substitute for a : (colon) before a clause that ends a sentence. In Word, look in “advanced symbols” for the em dash. Economists are not typically thought of as representing the literati of society. But we can battle against this tendency. If you would like to challenge this view, then add the use of m-dash for your documents. Opening sentence of Moby Dick [1851] authored by Herman Melville Chapter One, Page 1. Making use of the em dash. Call me Ishmael. Some years ago—no mind how long precisely—having little or no money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me on shore, I thought I would sail about a little and see the watery part of the world. It is a way of driving .... This is the American Style of using the em dash. Note there are no spaces between the em dash and the words on each side. An em dash can also be used towards the end of a sentence and in my view should then be considered as a phrase presented emphatically. When an em dash is used in front of an ending phrase, typically the phrase is extra to the main idea and the preceding em dash suggests that the phrase should be understood as more emphatic that the other parts of the sentence. Here is an example from one of my coauthored articles in the Brazilian Journal of Political Economy, 2019 There is the broadly inquiring and sensitive Mr. Smith, the author behind his less frequently read and pondered Theory of Moral Sentiments, who focused, as the title suggests, on “sentiments”—what we interpret as related to emotions and feelings. This em dash could be substituted for the phrase “in other words” and thus functions like a colon (:).
There are a few stylistic practices that can be added to make a document more coherent. Introducing a new term with the indefinite article and then shifting to and remaining with the definite article is clearly one way to had coherence and consistency to writing. The other that I would like to note is a standard practice (if not a style rule) in Germany that I have adopted. Namely, when dealing with “Zeit” und “Raum,” (Think Immanuel Kant). In our more familiar English, Zeit und Raum is noted as “time” and “place,” note the time before the place. If this is consistently practiced, it is a subtle but effective way to add an internal structure to your writing. Consider: In 1884 (time), Thorstein Veblen completed his Ph.D. in Philosophy at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. (place) In 2019, (time), my student applied to two different law schools in the State of Washington (place). Back in the day (time), we would meet in San Francisco (place). These are some key points to consider when undertaking expository writing, points that could prove useful as your write up your papers for this course. The learning opportunities are designed to offer ways to practice. What we are considering should be considered ‘advanced’ and I would like to suggest that you (the student) should plan on devoting great attention towards making substantial gains in mastering this writing style. Once mastered, I think that you should have opportunities for professional advancement that is typically honored with increased salary and other benefits, like freedom to manage your own schedule. Very few people, including those with degrees from universities are able to write well. So, why not let me teach you some of the key dimensions of social science writing. If doubts remain on how to have your writing and text appear, please consider the series “Working Papers in Economics, Portland State University”. I have made an effort to edit all of the posted papers in a style consistent with what is emphasized in this course.