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 | Entrepreneurship Insights e-Bulletin
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 | Spiritual and Cultural Traditionalism as a Fundamental Element of Russian Entrepreneurship |
Author: Father Georgy Mitrofanov, Professor at the St. Petersburg Spiritual Academy, Chairman, Department of Church History, Member of the Synod Canonization Commission, Member of the Interchurch Assembly of the Moscow Patriarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church. | Gentlemen, the topic of my talk may initially evoke a certain skepticism, because it has unfortunately become rather popular in recent years for abstract discussions of Russian spirituality along with Russian entrepreneurship to take the view that “of course we must differ from everything with which Christian Europe has enriched human experience through the centuries”. details... |
| Old Belief and Modernization of the Economy: Internal Contradictions |
Author: Danila Raskov, Ph.D. in Economics, Assistant Professor in the Department of Economic Theory at St. Petersburg State University. Edited by Paul Tumminia, Senior Advisor, Office of Russian and Eurasian Affairs, U.S. Department of Energy. | In many countries, religious minorities have made a substantial contribution to the initial accumulation of capital and the spread of commerce and industry. The Quakers and Nonconformists in England, the Mormons and Mennonites in the United States, the Jains in India, and the Jews in all parts of Europe played a notable role in economic development. Similar processes occurred in Russia, where the role of the Old Believers was especially conspicuous. The paradox is that the Old Believers in the religious sense were conservatives and “anti-reformers,” whereas in economic terms they emerged as innovators. details... |
| Financial Crisis and the Crisis of Conscience |
Author: Michael Smith, Author, Freelance Journalist | When the Iron Curtain fell 21 years ago, ending totalitarian rule in the former Soviet Union, one consequence was a rise in the influence of business enterprises. “As a result of the transition to greater democracy in the world, alongside the globalization of production, trade and capital markets activity, the boards of many major corporations now exercise power second only to that of elected governments and, indeed, in excess of that available to the governments of many smaller countries,” says Sir David Walker, former Chairman of Morgan Stanley. Indeed, by 1998, 51 out of the world’s largest economies were not nation states but corporations. details... |
| Keynes as a Postmodern “Revolutionary” |
Author: Igor Yegorov, Editor of Entrepreneurship Insights e-Bulletin, The U.S. Russia Center for Entrepreneurship. Edited by Paul Tumminia, Senior Advisor, Office of Russian and Eurasian Affairs, U.S. Department of Energy. | We all know the tale The Wizard of Oz, written in 1900 by L. Frank Baum about a little girl named Dorothy, who accidentally is transported to a fairyland. Only the Great Oz can send her back home. He lives in the Emerald City, whose inhabitants wear green spectacles to make them believe all the walls are made of emeralds. It was on this belief that his power rested, though in fact the Great Oz was an ordinary man. details... |
| Economics in a System of Devaluation of Meanings |
Author: Yuri Sokolov, Professor, St. Petersburg State University of Culture and Arts | It seems sensible, even crucial, to differentiate the concept of “economics.” As Modern history has entered its fifth century, as the fruits sewn by the fathers of the Enlightenment and liberal rationalism have produced shoots for three centuries in a row now, and as the gap between the ideal/desirable and the real/historical is increasingly broad in literally all the social sciences, one must specify in any conversation on the subject of economics just what sort of economics is under discussion: theoretical or practical. details... |
| “A Goose Is Not a Pig’s Friend” |
Author: Viñtor Tikhomirov, Artist, Film Director & Producer, Scriptwriter | Nowadays, only the most timid among our citizenry do not consider themselves economists. And that’s no wonder, because the loudest-voiced “economists” make incorrect forecasts at every step when they can make up their minds to make predictions at all. So an artist also should not be ashamed to discuss economic topics, even if in the most general sense. details... |
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