The Genesis of Economic Cooperation in the Stories of Joseph: A Constitutional and Institutional Economic Reconstruction

Abstract

The paper analyzes in constitutional and institutional economic terms Joseph’s economic policies, such as changes to property rights arrangements for farming, the introduction of a barter tax on crop production, and the multi-layered bureaucratic hierarchies of Egypt. Utilizing Buchanan’s approach to constitutional economics, I argue that these policies lowered attack/defense costs as they arise, when a group attempts to escape from the natural distribution state (the “war of all”, as Hobbes called it). A key thesis is that this encouraged interacting parties, already on the grounds of selfinterested choice, to engage in societal contracting out of the “war of all,” thereby reaping mutual gains.

Complementary to this strand of analysis, I have drawn on other institutional economic concepts, particularly those that were introduced by Williamson, and by North and Weingast. The paper argues in this respect that Joseph’s policies credibly and more reliably guaranteed property rights, which in turn lowered transaction costs of the interacting parties, i.e. Egypt and Israel. This ultimately yielded mutual gains and high economic performance for the society depicted in Genesis. In this way, cooperation was generated in economic terms.     

Yoram Hazony and Leo Strauss on the Relation between Philosophy and Revelation

This essay challenges Yoram Hazony's ostensible correction of Leo Strauss's account of the tension between philosophy and revelation in Hazony's book The Philosophy of Hebrew Scripture. While Hazony persuasively demonstrates the value of the Hebrew Bible, notably the half that he calls the “History of Israel,” as a work of rational political theory, emphasizing the difference in function between the Torah and the Christian “New Testament” (which serves chiefly to “bear witness” to particular events, rather than account for the permanent character of human and political life), he wrongly accuses Strauss of sharing the position of the radically antiphilosophic Christian theologian Tertullian that the Bible and classical philosophy are “absolutely oppos[ed],” even though Strauss, unlike Tertullian, takes the side of philosophy rather than the Bible in this conflict. Contrary to the impression Hazony conveys, Strauss readily acknowledged that the believer, no less than the philosopher, is obliged to make use of reason in his quest for truth and noted the critical areas of agreement between the Torah and classical philosophy. He simply emphasized the conflict between philosophy's reliance on reason as the ultimate guide to truth and the dependence of the Bible on belief in divine revelation, a dependence that Hazony implausibly seems to deny. And Hazony's challenge to the very distinction between reason and revelation threatens to weaken our appreciation of both sides of this tension, which Strauss identified as the source of the West's “vitality.”     

Palestine,Israel, Gaza,and the West Bank: the muddled mental maps of French and Israeli students

ABSTRACT

The Palestinian–Israeli Conflict is perceived by many – observers and parties to the conflict alike – as a struggle of two peoples over the same land. Yet, through this century-long conflict (and more so as Israel has expanded and deepened its occupation), what was once, perhaps, imagined as a single land has become an assortment of territories. These territories bear multiple names and different legal statuses, and their boundaries are often blurred. In light of the jumbled patchwork that Palestine–Israel has become, we examine the ways that the conflict’s territorial dimensions are imagined and represented. We study the mental maps of the region held by higher education students from Israel, both Jewish and Arab-Palestinian, as well as with university students from Montpellier, France. The representations indicate that while the French students were almost completely at a loss regarding the conflict’s spatial dimensions, the students from Israel were also confused, especially regarding the Occupied Palestinian Territories. We argue that these findings stem from a wider process of deterritorialization, linked to the conflicting relations between state and nation and intensified by a policy of chaotic spatial arrangements.     

Rational Religion: Economic Patterns in Old Testament Thought

By tracing institutional and constitutional economic patterns to Old Testament thought, the thesis of a rational economic dimension of the biblical text can be advanced and the actual nature and substance of religion can be conceptualised in economic terms. Here the paper questions the widespread assumption that religion will be radically different from modern ethics (“economics as ethics”) in the tradition of the Scottish Enlightenment. In this regard the paper specifically addresses the call for a concept of “rational religion” as early on identified by Smith but contests the explicit claims of Smith or modern institutional economists like Buchanan that a concept of rational religion or “economics as ethics” necessarily is separated from the Bible. An institutional economic theory of Old Testament-based religion is proposed through a set of four theses. On the basis of these arguments, the paper outlines why Old Testament-based religion still has and could have a persistent and pervasive influence in contemporary, capitalist society.     

Identity predicaments and the music metaphor in contemporary Irish fiction

Abstract

Ever since Jimmy Rabbitte proffered his oft-quoted “niggers of Europe” line in Roddy Doyle’s The Commitments (1987), contemporary Irish culture, especially during the boom years, was characterised by an insistent revisiting of popular music as a metaphor for interracial and/or intercultural connection or understanding. Cross-cultural identification through music may be seen, in Werner Sollors’s memorable terms, as an eschewing of “descent” relations in favour of “consensual” relations. This essay revisits the music metaphor as it has manifested itself in Irish fiction since it was announced officially that Ireland had entered recession in 2008. Specifically, it explores Kevin Curran’s Beatsploitation (2012) and Joseph O’Connor’s The Thrill of It All (2014) arguing that, through their deployment of the music metaphor, the novels stage the murky politics of contemporary Irish iterations of consent and descent. By exposing the extent to which the rhetoric of Irish economic recovery is yoked to paradoxical invocations of volitional and ancestral Irishness, the novels urge their readers to consider the ways in which discourses of economic recovery work to reinforce and perpetuate patterns of exclusion and marginalisation established during the Celtic Tiger years.     

Looking at the primary (hi)story and the prophetic books as literary/ theological units within the frame of the early second temple: Some considerations

Abstract

This paper deals with some of the features of two large collections of works: (a) those constituting the Primary (Hi)storical Narrative (i.e., Genesis ‐ Kings) and (b) the prophetic books (i.e., those later called “the Latter Prophets). It is advanced that the PHN serves a role akin to that of a founding myth, or better of a “truncated”; creation myth of Israel. The significance (and to a large extent, necessity) of this “truncatedness”; is explored against the background of the Early Second Temple Period.     

Passion and compassion of god in the old testament

Abstract

The point of departure is the Kitamorian “Pain of God Theology”. However, the present survey is that of exegesis and of biblical theology. We pose the question whether the concept of the “immutability of God” is that of the OT? We believe our focal texts (Hos 11,8; Jer 31,20; Isa 63, 9+15) do challenge that notion. The righteous God of Israel is not presented as a vindictive god, who delights in judgement. Rather, the glimpses of God's “emotions”, read “passions”, suggest a more complex God‐image. The righteousness of God demands judgement, whereas his compassion finds another solution. We find that female and masculine imagery in connection with God's attitude and feelings toward his people, are frequently interchangeable. The all‐embracing motherly love of God may be seen as an expression of God's heart in tension between inevitable judgement and compassionate love. But the same aspect may also be expressed in the father/son relationship. The passion of God in OT is not a static or inherent condition of God's being. Rather, the anthropomorphic (or, anthropopatic) expressions may be glimpses of a rare “I‐You” relationship between God and his people Israel. The passion of God then becomes the most profound expression of God's dynamic response to man's fatal situation.     

Die bewertung des ungeborenen lebens im alten israel und im alten orient

Abstract

First, how does Haggai “construct” the temple, i.e. what view does he hold of it, its function and its significance? The answer here is that, whatever the Second Temple actually was, Haggai does not construct it as a place of sacrifice, a house of prayer, a location of the presence of God, a pivot of the economic system of Judah, a focus of ethnic identity, etc., but as a treasury. It must be rebuilt because it is a shame (not “glory") for Yahweh not to have a “house” in which treasures of silver and gold belonging to him can be stored and exhibited (2,7–9). And this temple must be rebuilt quickly because of the imminent political‐military upheaval ("shaking") of the earth that will result in booty in large quantities arriving in Jerusalem.

Second, is there anything in the text of the book that undermines this “construction” of the temple? Yes, there is an underlying conflict in the text (amounting to a deconstruction) over the issue of honour Yahweh is dishonoured by the ruined state of the temple, but it is not the rebuilding of the temple that will bring him honour. Further, the designation of the Judaeans and the “work of their hands” as “unclean” (2,14) deconstructs the text's placing responsibility for the rebuilding in their hands. Further still, the sudden narrowing of focus to Zerubbabel in the closing verses of the book (2,20–23), and the unprepared designation of him as an eschatological king, deconstructs the prophecy's professed concern with the temple.

Third, can these deconstructionists be deployed in the service of a reconstruction? Here I use the axiom that texts exist in order to repress social conflicts. Yes, we can first reconstitute the social reality implied by the text: from the deconstruction over the issue of honour we can reconstruct the conflict between enthusiasts for temple rebuilding and resisters. From the deconstruction over cleanness and uncleanness we can reconstruct the conflict between the leadership and the proletariat. From the deconstruction regarding Zerubbabel we can reconstruct the political conflict over the governorship.

And yes, we can secondly “construct” the social reality created by the reading of the text today. Here we can see how the reading of the text by biblical scholars functions as a repression of conflicts of interest and ideology among different groups of readers, and how the deconstructability of the text can serve to bring such conflict to consciousness.     

Activism for End Times: Millenarian Belief in an Age of Climate Emergency

ABSTRACT

To be labeled an “eco-millenarian” has invariably pejorative connotations, insinuating the use of catastrophic rhetoric of an ecological end-times to bypass rational decision-making and democratic processes. In this article I critically assess this association, and also consider whether new political concerns – the suggestion that we are in a “climate emergency” – lend a new credibility to the structure of millenarian belief for an era of climate change. Clearly, caution is required here: the legacy of Christian millenarianism to secular politics has at times inspired peaceful, egalitarian revolution, but it is probably better known for motivating violent conflict and new forms of authoritarianism. Thus, we need to specify carefully which theological legacies are being evoked when discussing the relevance of millenarian belief today. Political theology can offer guidance to a new generation of environmental activists seeking resources with which to renew politics in times of emergency.     

WHOSE KNOWLEDGE,WHOSE POWER? ETHICS IN URBAN REGENERATION PROJECTS WITH COMMUNITIES

This paper examines “moments of residents' awareness” and their ethics in three planning processes, each representing different relations between local and professional knowledge in the course of the three‐year regeneration project in Meonot Yam neighborhood, Bat Yam, Israel. This new terminology emphasizes how nuanced relations between various types of knowledge better explain the challenges faced by planners and residents in regeneration projects. These moments reflect residents' empowerment, challenging the binary view of professional/powerful versus local/ powerless knowledge that characterizes modernist thinking. The paper proposes that in such complicated processes it helps to analyze moments of power/knowledge transformation, from which one can learn that conflict and disagreement, and not only consensus, can lead to residents' empowerment.     

Planning Culture—A Concept to Explain the Evolution of Planning Policies and Processes in Europe?

Abstract

This article examines the complex relations between spatial planning and its cultural context (including the specific socio-economic patterns and related cultural norms, values, traditions and attitudes). To be able to analyze the extent to which spatial planning adapts to external pressures such as Europeanization, a “culturized planning model” with the three dimensions “planning artefacts”, “planning environment” and “societal environment” is used. It can be observed that the “harmonization” of spatial planning practices can result from external pressures such as EU regulations as well as (horizontal) collective learning processes. However, “harmonization” does not necessarily result in convergence. Adaptational pressures such as Europeanization often result in the customization of existing structures, frames and policies (“planning artefacts” and “planning environment”) but do not fundamentally change the underlying core cultural traits (“societal environment”). These cultural traits are quite resistant to change and help maintain a diversity of planning cultures and policies in Europe.     

The Significance and Role of Sectoral-Production Complexes in the Formation and Evolution of Economic Regions

Soviet economic regionalization has traditionally focused on the concept of the areal-production complex (or territorial-production complex), representing the aggregate of economic activities within a particular area. These complexes may range in scale from a local group of interrelated activities all the way to the national economic complex of the USSR. A Soviet economic geographer specializing in the Northern Caucasus now introduces the concept of the “sectoral-production complex” as a subdivision of the areal complex. The sectoral complex contains one or more sectors of production that are linked by a common resource base and common economic relations; for example, the agricultural complex, comprising farming and agricultural processing, rests on agricultural resources; the metallurgy and machine-building complex, combining metallurgy and metal fabrication, rests on a common ore-resource base. According to the author, the concept of a sectoral-production complex must be differentiated from N. N. Kolosovskiy's concept of “energy-and-production cycles” [see Journal of Regional Science, 3 (1961), pp. 1–25] on the ground that Kolosovskiy's cycles are based on a common basic technology, while the sectoral complex involves common resources and economic relations.     

The socioecology of fear: A critical geographical consideration of human-wolf-livestock conflict

Animal fear can be an important driver of ecological community structure: predators affect prey not only through predation, but also by inducing changes in behaviour and distribution—a phenomenon evocatively called the “ecology of fear.” The return of wolves to the western United States is a notable instance of such dynamics, yet plays out in a complex socioecological system where efforts to mitigate impacts on livestock rely on manipulating wolves' fear of people. Examining Washington state's efforts to affect wolf behaviour to reduce livestock predation, we argue that this approach to coexistence with wolves is predicated on relations of fear: people, livestock, and wolves can arguably share landscapes with minimal conflict, as long as wolves are adequately afraid. We introduce the “socioecology of fear” as an interdisciplinary framework for examining the interwoven social and ecological processes of human-wildlife conflict management. Beyond frequently voiced ideas about wolves' “innate” fear, we examine how fear is (re)produced through human-wolf interactions and deeply shaped by human social processes. We contribute to the critical physical geography project by integrating critical social analysis with ecological theory, conducted through collaborative interdisciplinary dialogue. Such integrative practice is essential for understanding the complex challenges of managing wildlife in the Anthropocene.     

The Holy Road as a Bridge: The Role of Chapter 35 in the Book of Isaiah

This article argues that chapter 35 serves as a bridge between mainly Proto- and Deutero-Isaiah, but partly also to Trito-Isaiah. Its method is to compare intertextually phraseology in chapter 35 with similarities in the other parts of the Book of Isaiah. Outlook is all the way from chapter 35, backwards to Proto- and forwards to Deutero- and Trito-Isaiah. In summary, there are a series of intertextual relations to particular parts of Proto-Isaiah, especially to those parts were blessings predominate over curses, while the intertextual relations to Deutero-Isaiah are closer to the essence of its message, in particular to chapters 40-48. Intertextual relations between chapter 35 and Trito-Isaiah are more sparse. Intertextually these relations are mainly from the “canon-before-canon” stage (cf. Fishbane) of the text, rather than “author intended intertextuality” (cf. Nielsen). But there is also an aspect of “editor intended intertextuality” (cf. Nielsen). The investigation demonstrates how central this chapter is in the Book of Isaiah, but it is intertextually closest related to Deutero-Isaiah.     

Geography and tradition in the patriarchal narratives

Abstract

In connection with a survey of the geographical names found in the patriarchal naratives, it is the aim here to describe the tradition‐history of these narratives. The oldest stratum includes two local heroes belonging to the northern part of the country, Jacob and Joseph, and another two whose home should be sought in the south, Isaac and Abraham. At a later date, most of the traditions about Isaac were usurped by Abraham, and Isaac was reduced to a connecting link between Abraham and Jacob. Joseph is almost unknown, and the story of his sojourn in Egypt must be late. Jacob should originally be considered at home in Bethel and from here he develops (after 722 to become the heros eponymos of a far bigger territory. Jacob's journey to Haran should be understood as a legitimation of the relations between people living in exile in this place and the remaining population of Samaria, whereas he in the post‐exilic period becomes a “Judaean” hero as the son of Isaac The conflict between Jacob and Esau reflects the post‐exilic competition between Judah and Edom. The original home of Abraham is Hebron and the oldest traditions deal with his relationship to Lot. At a later date he usurps the traditions about Isaac, among them the story of the sojourn in Gerar and the sojourn of Israel in Egypt. He is presented as the forerunner of David, the hero of the Jerusalemite cult, and the first monotheistic believer in Yahweh, who initiated the cult on the Temple Mountain in Jerusalem. In the last stage of the development of this tradition, he becomes the link which connect the Primeval History and the patriarchal narratives when he is summoned from Ur of the Chaldees.     

The use of scripture in the temple scroll and the status of the scroll as law

Abstract

The narrative sections of the Hexateuch seem to reflect an Israelite pre‐history which contained experience of both tribal and city‐state life, but the history is presented in a tribal form. It is suggested that this is explained by a particular ideology underlying the narratives and rituals; that real tribes existed in the national memory, and these carried religious and political values which it was felt important to preserve. Such values, however, could not have survived without the support of a state apparatus, especially the Jerusalem temple and the Davidic kingship.

The paper concludes that this tribal ideology was related both to law and to the role of the Yahweh prophets, whose influence helped to counteract development of too much power in the kingship. As the structural tribe weakened with the advance of bureaucracy, tribal ideology strengthened, taking on a political function and becoming articulated with the bureaucratic process. Tribal ideology interacted with state‐type traditions inherited from the Cana‐anite element, producing a religious and political pluralism in Israel which gave her a distinctive character.

A return is made to the classic scholarship of Mowinckel, von Rad and Weiser, for construction of a hypothetic framework for further examination of Hebrew tribal values. Through the insights of these authors, together with sociological considerations drawn from modern ethnographies, it is felt that understanding of the tribe/state paradox in Israel may be heightened. In this respect, the paper opposes the position of the “social evolutionary” school, which fails to explain the place of tribal values in the Hebrew literature. Parallels seen as relevant to Israelite history and culture come from special tribal forms, specified within the paper.     

Rethinking the Historiographical Impulse: The History of Ancient Israel as a Problem

The first part of this paper provides some insights into the problematic nature of the genre “history of ancient Israel”, both in terms of historiography and of historical epistemology. It is argued that the concept “history of ancient Israel” is essentially valid within a particular modern theological or biblical historiographical context. As such, this history of ancient Israel may indeed progress and generate new understandings but is nonetheless seriously limited by its main concern with “biblical Israel”. It is also proposed that in order to overcome these thematic and epistemological historical limitations, a wider history of ancient Palestine or the Southern Levant should be envisioned, into which to understand the epigraphic and archaeological realia of the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, together with other contemporary polities in the region, and the later development of biblical traditions and texts. The second part of the paper addresses questions of ethnogenesis, socio-political organization and identity in the light of the previous discussion, setting the stage for an alternative history of Israel and other historical realities in ancient Palestine.     

China’s urban ideology: new towns,creation cities,and contested landscapes of memory

ABSTRACT

This paper argues that “the urban” has emerged as the most significant ideological realm in contemporary China. In developing this argument, I suggest an alternative approach to how we theorize urbanization in China. Seeking to avoid the dichotomized analyses that often characterize scholarship on China’s urbanization, the paper suggests reading “the urban” as an ideological device. Such a reading calls for an analytical distinction between the city as a technology of socialist party-state planning and government and urbanization as a messy social process over which the state struggles for control. It also calls for a recognition of the ways that ideology itself has shifted dramatically in China, from the Mao-era centrality and coherence of class struggle and its overriding goal of proletarianization to a much less coherent post-reform message of “stability”. The paper begins with a brief discussion of ideology and Gramsci’s notion of “common sense” in a Chinese register. It then considers the film 24 City, directed by Jia Zhangke, as a template for understanding urban spaces as sites of conflict between the city as an ideological device and urbanization as a social process. New urban spaces are then explored in an effort to tease out their complex and contradictory ideological renderings. I conclude with an argument about the openness and contradictions of China’s urban spaces and how an ideological analysis can resist the kind of theoretical closure that much work on urbanization in China seems to aim for.