Ralph Borsodi Economist

 

Ralph Borsodi Economist

Ralph Borsodi was an economist; a critical economist.  He was a economic consultant with clients on Wall Street so he knew his field thoroughly.  But he believed we could do better.  Following are chapters reviewing his economic publications.

The first two of these were what we would call consumer advocacy:  National Advertising Versus Prosperity (1923) and The Distribution Age (1927).  My review can be found at this Link.

Clearly the keystone of Borsodi' books is This Ugly Civilization (1929).  In it Borsodi published a clear and detailed critique of commercial/industrial society.  He also made his first public report on his near decade-long homesteading experiment and documented his business case.  Finally, he proposed an educational model for achieving what he called "quality mindedness."  This is a philosophy of life and the foundation of what became the foundation of his School of Living.  Link

Ralph Borsodi published an original theory of economics, one focused on family production in his 1938 Prosperity and Security.  The following year he brought this into more practical perspective in Agriculture in Modern Life, which he co-authored with two New Deal agrarians.  Link

In The Challenge of Asia, published in 1956, Borsodi provided a keen insight into the developing world following World War II.  I think of great importance is that Borsodi confronted two mutually exclusive ideologies that dominated the world at the time.  He provided an alternative.  Like Gandhi, he believed that the future of idea was in the preservation of its traditions and agrarianism.  Today the US confronts its own mutually exclusive ideologies.  I believe Borsodi's alternative needs to be examined.  Link