Sergei Bulgakov's Philosophy of Economy | Part 1
Rebooting a series with Nate Hile.
I had a conversation with Nate Hile of Grail Country on Sergei Bulgakov’s Philosophy of Economy: World as Household. This is actually a reboot of an earlier attempt we began about a year ago (which still has interesting introductory themes and is worth your time). We plan about three videos with possible appendices.
My friend Jacob Hall asked me why Bulgakov is worth my time. Here are a few factors which, when put together, make him especially interesting for both economists and theologians.
One of the important Eastern Orthodox theologians of the 20th century.
He helped establish a Christian Socialist party in Russia prior to the revolution, though his economics was not clearly very socialist.
This book is the culmination of his economic thought after he had a religious turn away from Marxism (he came from a long line of priests and became a priest himself)
He successfully critiques accounts of economics that are overly “objective” or “subjective”. Political economy, by focusing on labor, transcends the subjective/objective divide that is inherited from Descartes and solidified in 19th century thought by Kant. He recommends thinkers like Henri Bergson, the pragmatists (sometimes) and Schelling (Friedrich not Thomas).
He offers a novel account of why the labor theory of value is so intuitive, while rejecting its narrow version which attempts to explain commodity prices. He simultaneously vindicates Smith from the way that his successors appropriated his ideas.
Please watch, and look forward to more!
We also reference this video by Sam Tideman of Transfigured: