Economic thought from ancient societies

frugalalal position from antediluvian patriarch societies cosmosThe oriental school of economic thought basic all toldy deals with the study of the course of economic thought from dissimilar quaint societies including the Hindu, Hebrew, Indian, roman letters, Greek, and Islamic societies. It has been observed that the main area looked into by the Hebrews and Hindus was base on agricultural economics and all this development was drawn from the writing of the pious lawfulness givers who were stand for at the clip. These superannuated belles-lettres consisted of ideas on unlike economic aspects such as division of labour, cottage industries, forest and mines, trade and trade practices, c at wizard mpt of wealth, transport, ban demesne-beater and loans, etcetera nigh of the writers who excessively played a role in the increment of this economic thought include Roman writers such as Cicero, Pliny Gato, Varro and Columella.During this period, and until the indust rial revolution, economics was not a separate discipline but check of philosophy. Its evolution into a distinct discipline of study in the well-disposed sciences can be attributed greatly to these source writers. Roman law to a fault create the come down recognizing that planning and commitments over time are incumbent for efficient production and trade. This bigger body of law was unified as the Corpus Juris Civilis in the 530s AD by Justinian, who was Emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire. In superannuated India, Chulavamsa records that Parakramabahu of Sri Lanka had vitiated the currency of Ancient Sri Lanka in fix up to produce property to support this large scale infrastructure projects. Parakramabahu also pi iodineered free trade during his reign. Many of the topics discussed during these ancient times are smooth prevalent in newfangled economics, including newss on the management of a consentaneous and efficient thrift and the morals of economics. These anci ent thoughts also foc lend oneselfd on issues of social welfare, for instance, redistribution of wealth during a famine.STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEMAncient economic thought is very much wide and its study provides a broad al-Qaida for comparison of the ancient approach to economic issues as compared to issues arising in the advanced world economies. The large number of ancient thinkers who contributed to this thought differed in beliefs and practices. Also, in spurtation on any(prenominal) of these ancient cultural-economic practices is very scanty and thus makes this query into the oriental school of economic thought necessary so as to be able to get a better fancying of the underlie economic issues of both the past and present.JUSTIFICATIONWith the evolution of economics, many writers declare come up with different theories about different areas in the subject. So as to be able to critically assess these different theories and understand the unity which connects us with the a ncient times, recognizeledge on the origin of the betimes stages of economic thought is necessary for one to be able to pullulate a well informed and unbiased stand on disputatious economic issues arising today and hence the call for for this study.OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDYTo understand the principles and concepts of the oriental school of economic thought.To know the key contributors of ancient economic thought.To appreciate and criticize how the ancient societies carried out their economic activities.To find out the major contributions of the oriental school of thought to the body of knowledge that exists today.To get a clearer understanding of the position of economics as a distinct element of a group of social sciences.Ancient near East frugal organizations in the earliest civilizations of the Fertile Crescent were driven by the need to efficiently grow crops in the river basins. The Euphrates and Nile Valleys were homes to earliest examples of codified measurements pen i n base 60 and Egyptian work outs. Keepers of royal granaries and absentee Egyptian land owners account in the Heganakht Papyri. Historians of this period note that the major tool of accounting for rural societies, the sales phthisisd to measure grain inventory, reflected dual religious and respectable symbolic meaning. The Erlenmeyer tablets give a depression of Sumerian production in the Euphrates valley around 2, 200 2, speed of light B.C., and shows an understanding of the relationship surrounded by grain and labour inputs (valued in egg-producing(prenominal) labour days) and outputs and an emphasis on efficiency. Egyptians measured work output in man-days. The development of sophisticated economic administration continued in the Euphrates and Nile Valleys during the Babylonian Empire and Egyptian Empires when trading units spread through the Near East within monetary systems.Egyptian fraction and base 60 monetary units were extended in use and mixed bag to Greek, ea rly Islamic culture, and mediaeval cultures. By 1202 A.D, Leonardo Pisa Fibonacci use of home in and Vedic-Islamic numerals motivated Europeans to apply zero as an exponent, birthing modern decimals 350 old age later. The city states of Sumer developed a trade commercialise sparing based originally on the commodity money of the shekel which was a certain(p) weight measure of barley, while the Babylonians and their city state neighbours later developed the earliest system of economics using a metric of assorted commodities, which was stubborn in a legal code. The early law codes from Sumer could be considered the first (written) economic formula, and had many attributes compose in use in the current price system today, such as codified amounts of money for origin deals (interest rates), fines in money for wrong doing, inheritance rules, laws concerning how private property is to be taxed or divided, etc.Ancient Greco-Roman worldSome prominent classical scholars assert that relevant economic thought was based on metaphysical principles which are incommensurate with contemporary dominant economic theories such as neo-classical economics. However, several ancient Greek and Roman thinkers make conglomerate economic observations especially Aristotle and Xenophon. Many other Greek writings show understanding of sophisticated economic concepts. For instance, a form of Greshams law is presented in Aristophanes Frogs, and beyond Platos application of sophisticated mathematical advances enamord by the Pythagoreans in his appreciation of flat money in his Laws (742 a-b) and in the pseudo-Platonic dialogue, Eryxlas.Bryson of Heraclea was a neo-platonic who is cited as having heavily influenced early Islamic economic scholarship. The influence of Babylonian and Iranian thought on Greek administrative economics is present in the work of Greek historian Xenophon. Discussions of economic principles are especially present in his Oeconomicus, his biography of Cyrus the Great, Cyropaedia, Hiero and shipway and Means. Hiero is a minor work which includes discussion of leaders stimulating private production and technology through various means including public recognition and awarding of prizes. Ways and Means is a short treatise on economic development, and showed an understanding of the importance of taking service of economies of scale and advocated laws promoting foreign merchants. The Oeconomicus disc uses the administration of agricultural land. In the work, intrinsic psycheal value of goods is analyzed and compared with replace value Xenophon gives an example of a horse which whitethorn be of no use to a person who does not know how to handle it, but shut away has exchange value. In Cyropaedia, Xenophon presents what in hindsight can be seen as the foundation for a theory of bewitching exchange in the market which entrust result in the depth psychology of better fit or suitability to either society who wants to buy the same item . Xenophon discusses the concept of division of labour, occupyencing change cooks and workers in a shoe making shop. Marx attributes to Cyropaedia the idea that the division of labour correlates to the size of a market.Roman law developed the need recognizing that planning and commitments over time are necessary for efficient production and trade.Ancient IndiaChulavamsa records that Parakramabahu I of Sri Lanka had debased the currency of Ancient Sri Lanka in order to produce monies to support his large scale infrastructure projects. Parakramabahu I also pioneered free trade during his reign, a war was fought with Burma to defend free trade.Chanakya (c. 350 BC 275 BC) considered economic issues. He was a professor of Political Science at the Takshashila University of Ancient India, and later the establish Minister of the Mauryan Emperor, Chandragupta Maurya. He wrote the Arthashastra (science of material gain). Many of the topics discussed in the Arthashastra are still prevalen t in modern economics, including its discussions in the management of an efficient and substantialness frugality. Chanakya also focuses on issues of welfare, for instance, redistribution of wealth during a famine and the collective ethics that hold a society together.The Arthashastra argues for an autocracy managing an efficient or real economy. The qualities described are in effect that of a command economy. It discusses the ethics of economics and the duties and obligations of a king. Chanakya writes on the economic duties of a kingThe king shall be ever active in the management of the economy.The root of wealth is economic activity and lack of it brings material distress.In the absence of generative economic activity, both current prosperity and future growth will be destroyed.A king can achieve the desired objectives and teemingness of riches by undertaking productive economic activity.Ancient chinawareIdeal and effective economic policy was long sort for in ancient chinaw are, one of the greatest early clearers being the Emperor Qin Shi Huang (r. 221 BC 210 BC), who standardized coin currency end-to-end the old warring states once he unified them under a strong central bureaucracy (which the Zhou dynasty had always lacked). However, one of the greatest reformists in China lived during the medieval Song dynasty (960 1279 AD), that being Chancellor Wang Anshi (1021 1086 AD). Wang Anshis political faction of the New Policies chemical group enacted a series of reforms that come to on military reform, bureaucratic reform and economic reform. The economic reforms include low cost loans for farmers who he considered the spinal column of the Chinese economy in terms of production of goods and the greatest microbe of the land tax. Replacing the corvee labour service with a tax instead, he enacted giving medication monopolies on crucial industries producing tea, salt, and wine, introduction of local militia to tranquillity the budget spending on th e official standing army of one million troops and the establishment of a Finance Planning foreign mission staffed largely by political loyalists so that his reforms could pass quickly with little time for conservatives to oppose it in court. chivalric Islamic WorldTo some degree, the early Moslems based their economic analyses on the Quran (such as the opposer of riba, interest) and from Sunnah, the sayings and doings of Muhammad.Early Muslim thinkers, Al-Ghazali (1058 1111 A.D.) classified economics as one of the sciences connected with religion, along with metaphysics, ethics and psychology. Authors have noted, however, that this connection has not cause early Muslim economic thought to remain static.Persian philosopher Nasir al-Din-al-Tusi (1201 1274) presents an early exposition of economics (what he calls Hekmat-e-madani, the science of city life) in discourse terce of his ethics the study of universal laws governing the public interest welfare in so far as they are di rected, through cooperation, toward the optimum (i.e. perfection).Many scholars trace the history of economic thought through the Muslim world, which was in a Golden Age from the 8th to 13th coulomb and whose philosophy continued the work of the Greek Hellenistic thinkers and came to influence doubting Thomas when Europe re observed Greek philosophy through Arabic translation. A viridity theme among these scholars was the praise of economic activity and even self-interested accumulation of wealth. The influence of earlier Greek and Hellenistic thought on the Muslim world began largely when Abbasid Caliph al-Mamun, who sponsored the translation of Greek texts into Arabic in the 9th light speed by Syrian Christians in Baghdad. But already by that time numerous Muslim scholars had written on economic issues, and early Muslim leaders had shown sophisticated attempts to enforce fiscal and monetary financing, use of deficit financing, use of taxes to encourage production, use of hono rable mention instruments for banking, including rudimentary savings and checking of accounts, and contract law.The origins of expectantism and free markets can be traced back to Caliphate where the first market economy and earliest form of merchant capitalism took root among the 8th and 12th centuries, which some refer to as Islamic capitalism. A vigorous monetary economy was created on the basis of expanding levels of circulation of a shelter high-value currency (the dinar) and the integration of monetary areas that were formerly independent. Innovative new descent techniques and forms of business organizations were introduced by economists, merchants and traders during this time. Such innovations included the earliest trading companies, belief cards, big businesses, contracts, bills of exchange, long distance, international trade, the first forms of partnerships and the earliest forms of credit, debt, profit, loss, capital (al-mal), capital accumulation (nama-al-mal), circu lating capital, capital expenditure, revenue, cheques, promissory notes, trusts, startup companies, savings accounts, transactional accounts, pawning, loaning, exchange rates, bankers, money changers, ledgers, deposits, assignments, the double entry bookkeeping system, and lawsuits.MAIN FINDINGSAfter leaving through the history of the oriental school of thought in the previous section, the following economic aspects come out clearly as having been discovered and practiced by these early thinkersThe Concept of Production and TechnologyAncient leaders stimulated private production and technology through various means including public recognition and awarding of prizes to successful inventors and producers.Economies of ScaleWays and Means was a short treatise on economic development written by Xenophon, which showed an understanding of the importance of taking advantage of economies of scale in production activity and advocated for laws promoting foreign merchants.Administration of Ag ricultural reason market-gardening was considered the most dignified occupation. In ancient India, the state took a principal part in developing agriculture and also demanded a fixed share of the gross produce.Price systemThe early law codes from Sumer were the first (written) economic formula, and had many attributes still in use in the current price system today, such as codified amounts of money for business deals (interest rates), fines in money for wrong doing, inheritance rules, laws concerning how private property is to be taxed or divided, etc.Grain and Labour Inputs RelationshipThe Erlenmeyer tablets gave a picture of Sumerian production in the Euphrates valley around 2, 200 2, 100 B.C., and showed an understanding of the relationship between grain and labour inputs (valued in female labour days) and outputs and an emphasis on efficiency in production.Output of marchThe Egyptians measured work output in man-days.Monetary UnitsThe Egyptian fraction and base 60 monetary u nits were extended in use and diversity to Greek, early Islamic culture, and medieval cultures. By 1202 A.D, Leonardo Pisa Fibonacci use of zero and Vedic-Islamic numerals motivated Europeans to apply zero as an exponent, birthing modern decimals 350 years later and hence the development of monetary units.ValueSubjective personalised value of goods was analyzed and compared with exchange value. Xenophon gave an example of a horse which may be of no use to a person who does not know how to handle it, but still has exchange value.Theory of Fair supplantXenophon presented what in hindsight could be seen as the foundation of a theory of fair exchange in the market which will result in the analysis of better fit or suitability to either party who wants to purchase the same item.Division of LabourXenophon discussed the concept of division of labour, with reference to specialized cooks and workers in a shoe making shop who specialised in different tasks.Free TradeParakramabahu I pioneere d free trade during his reign, this is plain because a war was fought with Burma to defend free trade in ancient India.WelfareIn India the leaders insisted on ensuring that the population as a whole has to be well looked after. For example, Chanakya focused on issues of welfare, for instance, redistribution of wealth during a famine and the collective ethics that held a society together.Standardized create verbally CurrencyEmperor Qin Shi Huang of Ancient China, standardized coin currency throughout the old warring states after he unified them under a strong central bureaucracy.Low Cost Loans For FarmersIn Ancient China Wang Anshis political faction of the New Policies Group enacted a series of reforms that centered on military reform, bureaucratic reform and economic reform. The economic reforms included low cost loans for farmers whom he considered to be the backbone of the Chinese economy in terms of production of goods and the greatest source of the land tax.Land TaxThis was a source of revenue for the Ancient Chinese presidential term from farmers, because during that period agriculture was the main driver of the economy.Fiscal and Monetary fundingThe Muslim leaders enforced various policy measures including fiscal and monetary financing, use of deficit financing, use of taxes to encourage production and use of credit instruments for banking.BankingThe early Muslim leaders had shown sophisticated attempts indlucing rudimentary savings and checking accounts, and contract law.Monetary EconomyBetween the 8th and 12th centuries, which some refer to as the period of Islamic capitalism, a vigorous monetary economy was created on the basis of expanding levels of circulation of a stable high-value currency (the dinar) and the integration of monetary areas that were previously independent of each other.SUGGESTIONSThe social organization manifested by the ancient civilizations should be critically looked at and applied to solve some socioeconomic problems still present today, especially in the developing nations.The organization of government and formulation of policies during the ancient times leaves a lot to be admired. Governments of the modern economies should pick some of these values.The concept of politics being looked at singly from economics and policy formulation should be followed in todays modern economies for straightaway development and equality in the distribution of wealth.Welfare economics should be taken as seriously as it was taken in ancient times. For example, during periods of drought or famine, governments should not let particular groups of people stand up and instead they should distribute the available resources to the entire population.CONCLUSIONTheres no examination or doubt as to whether ancient economic philosophies are still in extensive use today. The modern economy has evolved over centuries to bring about what it is today. The study of the history of economic thought enables the student to appreciate the contributions various writers have made to development of economics as a discipline. Although ancient economic theories were sometimes unclear, contradictory, or presented in a rudimentary manner, they form the basis of economic analysis today. These theories are still being used today by the worlds largest and most complicated and sophisticated economies.BIBLIPGRAPHYFalgas, Matthew E. Zarkadoulia, A. Effie, (2006). Arab Science in the Golden Age (750-1258) and Today. The FASEB Journal 20(10) 1581-1586.Hosseini, S. Hamid (2003). Contributions of Medieval Muslim Scholars to the account statement of Economic Thought and their Impact A Refutation of the Schumpeterian Great Gap.S. Lowry (2003). Ancient Medieval Economics. In Biddle, Jeff E. Davis, Jon B. Samuels, Warren J.A Companion to the History of Economic Thought. Malden, MA Blackwell pp. 11-27.Schumpeter, Joseph (1954). History of Economic Analysis. New York, Oxford University Press.