Robert Leeson is of course free to attack and deride whomever he wants and for whatever reasons he finds suitable. But I, for one, have a hard time thinking Shenoy by the statement quoted - i.e., "free trade, free movement of people, free movement of capital, a gold standard, falling prices ..., peaceful development, and no major wars" - expressed advocacy of a (neo)feudal order. 

I realize this may be a stretch to some, but I would venture to believe she actually meant to advocate free trade, free movement of people, free movement of capital, a gold standard, and falling prices. And, I presume, she may have advocated these conditions without the political system during that time (that she doesn't mention in the quote). This, by the way, seems to also be in line with how Austrians would tend to see a well-functioning or "free" market. 

What the alleged quote from Hayek has to do with anything is beyond me.


PLB

_____________________
Per L. Bylund, Ph.D.
Baylor University
 
[log in to unmask]
www.PerBylund.com
(573) 268-3235

-----Original Message-----
From: Societies for the History of Economics [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Robert Leeson
Sent: Tuesday, May 13, 2014 7:58 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [SHOE] History of Indian Economy?

Sudha Shenoy (2003), an LSE student and Hayek's first official biographer ('The Order of Liberty'), recommended a return to the unstable neo-feudal equilibrium (1815-1914) as the road to the Austrian future: 

"In the nineteenth century, you had for the first time a worldwide economic order. You had free trade, free movement of people, free movement of capital, a gold standard, falling prices in the latter part of the century, peaceful development, and no major wars between 1815 and 1914. The world’s armies and navies did not know what to do. Yes, there were aberrations like the American Civil War and the Franco-Prussian War, but mostly it was a period of peace. Forty million people moved peacefully because they wanted a better life. There were no expulsions, no wars, no genocides, nothing."

Hayek was contemptuous of the intellectual quality and integrity of his disciples. 

Specifically: Shenoy “could not be trusted since she was only an Indian” (cited by Cubitt 2006, 344).

Generally: "I don't have many strong dislikes. I admit that as a teacher--I have no racial prejudices in general--but there were certain types, and conspicuous among them the Near Eastern populations, which I still dislike because they are fundamentally dishonest. And I must say dishonesty is a thing I intensely dislike. It was a type which, in my childhood in Austria, was described as Levantine, typical of the people of the eastern Mediterranean. But I encountered it later, and I have a profound dislike for the typical Indian students at the London School of Economics, which I admit are all one type--Bengali moneylender sons. They are to me a detestable type, I admit, but not with any racial feeling. I have found a little of the same amongst the Egyptians--basically a lack of honesty in them" (Hayek 1978).

"Levantine, typical of the people of the eastern Mediterranean"? Was Hayek referring to Jewish people? 
    

----- Original Message -----
From: "Per L. Bylund" <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Sent: Tuesday, 13 May, 2014 10:02:46 AM
Subject: Re: [SHOE] History of Indian Economy?

Sudha Shenoy was an Indian economic historian who wrote on, among other things, economic development and the British empire. She unfortunately passed away in 2008, but she wrote some very interesting stuff, and she of course covered the economic history of India.

For more recent (20th century) Indian economic history, I know GP Manish (currently at Troy University) has published articles on the regulation/deregulation of markets as India gained independence.


PLB

__________________________________
Per L. Bylund, Ph.D.
Baylor University

[log in to unmask]
(573) 268-3235

Sent from my Microsoft Surface

From: Justin Elardo<mailto:[log in to unmask]>
Sent: ‎Monday‎, ‎May‎ ‎12‎, ‎2014 ‎8‎:‎02‎ ‎PM
To: Societies for the History of Economics<mailto:[log in to unmask]>

Dear Shoe Colleagues,

At the conclusion of my political economy class today one of my students asked me about the history of the Indian economy and inquired as to whether I could reference any specific economists whose area of specialization pertained to the history of the Indian economy.  As India and the Indian economy are not my area of specialization, I was hard pressed to provide my student with a substantive answer, but I promised to ask.

As such, are there any SHOE listserv followers that have knowledge about or are familiar with economists whose research pertains to the history of the Indian economy?  Thank you in advance for your assistance in furthering the education of one of my students as well as myself.

Best,

Justin A. Elardo, PhD
Portland Community College