James O'Connor (academic)

James Richard O'Connor (April 20, 1930 – November 12, 2017)^[1] was an American political economist and professor of sociology. He was born April 20, 1930, in Boston, Massachusetts, and died November 12, 2017, in Santa Cruz, California. Together with Barbara Laurence he founded the journal Capitalism Nature Socialism in 1988.^[2] His political commitment was evident in his networking and organizing with intellectuals across continents to bring to the attention of North American audiences news, perspectives, and analyses of social and environmental struggles from different parts of the world. ^[3] This is one major way in which the journal Capitalism, Nature, and Socialism came to have international breadth and reach, as well as benefit from the input of thinkers from many countries. ^[4]

He had two sons, Steven and Daniel O'Connor.^[5]

O’Connor’s influential work, The Fiscal Crisis of the State examines the tendency of government expenditures to outpace revenues in the United States during the late 1960s and early 1970s. ^[6] However, its relevance extends beyond the U.S. context, as it sheds light on similar challenges faced by other countries during that period and even in today’s global economy. ^[7]

Here are some key points from O’Connor’s analysis: 1. Anatomy of American State Capitalism: O’Connor delves into the structure of American state capitalism, exploring how political power and budgetary control operate within the United States.^[8] 2. Social Capital Expenditures: He discusses social investment and social consumption, emphasizing that understanding government expenditures requires considering power dynamics within the private economy.^[9] 3. Social Expenses of Production: O’Connor argues that the state increasingly socializes the expenses of production over time. ^[10] 4. Financing the Budget: The book explores various potential mechanisms for financing increased budgetary outlays, including state enterprises, state debt issuance, and tax rate adjustments. ^[11]

O'Connor's analysis remains relevant for understanding contemporary social policy and economic systems.^[12]

His subsequent works Accumulation Crisis and The Meaning of Crisis sought to further explore the themes of social and psychological crisis. ^[13]^[14]

The entire first part (five chapters) of his book Natural Causes was devoted to environmental history.^[15] In it O’Connor revised historical materialism and theorized labour not as the enemy of nature, but as a partner in a common history of capitalist exploitation, claiming that “the more that (human modified) nature is seen as the history of labour, property, exploitation, and social struggle, the greater will be the chances of a sustainable, equitable, and socially just future.” ^[16]

Works

The Fiscal Crisis of the State (St. Martin's Press, 1973). ISBN 978-1-31513-204-4
Accumulation Crisis (Basil Blackwell,Ltd, 1984). ISBN 0-631-13552-9
The Meaning of Crisis (Basil Blackwell,Ltd, 1987). ISBN 0-631-13821-8
Natural Causes: Essays in Ecological Marxism (Guilford Press, 1998). ISBN 978-1-57230-273-0