CWL 21, For a New Political Economy, was arranged by the Editor, Philip McShane, into three main parts:

Part One: For a New Political Economy

Part Two: Fragments, 1942-1944

Part Three: Circulation Analysis

In the Note at the beginning of that book’s Index, McShane remarks

Part Two … belongs almost entirely in what I call the Einsteinian context of Part Three, in contrast to the Newtonian achievement of Part One, … [CWL 21, 325]

What does McShane mean by “the Einsteinian context of Part Three, in contrast to the Newtonian achievement of Part One”?  That assertion would appear to state that Functional Macroeconomic Dynamics is a relativistic field theory superseding the deficient efficient-cause theories of today.  If so, might our gaining an understanding of what McShane meant help us to a deeper understanding of the economic process and better appreciation of Lonergan’s achievement? Did Lonergan discover a relativistic macroeconomics, a process constituted by purely relational interdependencies?  Did he discover a deeper unity and a better explanation of the economic process?  Did he achieve a new paradigm by the discovery of a new science?  We must explore what McShane meant by “the Einsteinian context.”    (Read more)