Economic theory and social change: problems and revisions

Fusari, Angelo (2010): Economic theory and social change: problems and revisions. Unpublished.

Abstract

Although many economists do a serious and respectable work, main stream economic theory contains an almost complete disregard for the importance of social, cultural and political structures which are the very foundation of the society. Worse than that, such disregard is developed into arrogance when representatives and textbook maintain the illusions of economic main stream science as value free, and sometimes it is even asserted that only if the economic system could be free from disturbing interferences from collective bodies it would function even without any ethical principle. Such testimonies of ignorance of historical and philosophical knowledge and lack of understanding of social structures are not maintained by serious researchers of economic science but are more to be seen as ideological statements. However these testimonies are unfortunately based on a very specific apprehension of both the society as well as space and time from the 18th century where the scientific discoveries and theories of Gallilei and Newton was turned into a mechanistic and idealistic philosophy. True is that Adam Smith did not fully accept such a view but alongside the philosophical approaches of Kant and Hegel the economic theory by the later writings of Marx and the Neo-classical theorists made economic science into a machinery which culminated with Walras, Pareto and Pigou although it was mathematically refined in the so called Arrow&Debreu model.

A main cause of the limitations of economics is its closure and excessive specialization in the context of sometimes very sophisticated modeling, formally rigorous but elusive of crucial aspects of reality, the causes of which remain therefore outside the adopted explanatory framework, as exogenous factors. It seems to us that a treatment of economics seen as a part of social thought is essential to an adequate deepening of social change and hence of economic dynamics. This general view will oblige us to dedicate an accurate analysis to the method of investigation and interpretation of social reality, and will imply a detailed critical review not only on mainstream economics but also the alternative proposals of a growing number of schools of thought. We shall see that our more comprehensive vision than the habitual ones is not hostile to a rigorous formalization of the economic process able to give the due importance to crucial features of the modern dynamic economies. A more detailed exposition of this matter will be given in the paragraph on the structure of the book.

It is difficult to tell anything about the educational prerequisites in order to grasps the content of this book. We are well aware that much of the content is fairly abstract. But acquaintance with abstract reasoning is valuable and is not necessarily limited to economists but we think and hope that also social and political scientists will enjoy the book, since we try to bring back economic science as a subset of sociological and political sciences, where it belongs. If students of philosophy should find something of interesting in our analysis, we would be very pleased.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: Growth and Development; Innovation; Radical uncertainty; Entrepreneurship; Social change and social thought; Ethics, objective and subjective values; Market system
• Subjects: P - Economic Systems > P1 - Capitalist Systems > P12 - Capitalist Enterprises; O - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth > O3 - Technological Change; Research and Development > O33 - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes; A - General Economics and Teaching > A1 - General Economics > A10 - General; O - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth > O1 - Economic Development > O11 - Macroeconomic Analyses of Economic Development; O - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth > O1 - Economic Development; A - General Economics and Teaching > A1 - General Economics > A13 - Relation of Economics to Social Values; O - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth > O1 - Economic Development > O16 - Economic Development: Financial Markets; Saving and Capital Investment; Corporate Finance and Governance; P - Economic Systems > P4 - Other Economic Systems; O - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth > O3 - Technological Change; Research and Development > O31 - Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives; A - General Economics and Teaching > A1 - General Economics > A14 - Sociology of Economics; O - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth > O1 - Economic Development > O12 - Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development; B - History of Economic Thought, Methodology, and Heterodox Approaches > B4 - Economic Methodology > B41 - Economic Methodology

References

Ekstedt, H. (August 2003). The End of the Dream. London: Sanders Research Associates Ltd.

Ekstedt H. & Larsson T. (2008 November). Growth, Productivity and Democracy in an Ageing Society. The Swedish Case. Available on Internet. Rome: EAEPE.

Ekstedt H. & Westberg L. (1991). Dynamic Models for the Inter-relation between Real and Financial Growth. London: Chapman & Hall.

Ekstedt, H. (August 2003). The End of the Dream - Some Comments on the Oil and Energy Situation. Quarterly Commentary, Sandres Research Associates .

Fusari, A. (1987), A development model of a dualistic economy: the Italian case, in Dynamic Modelling and control of national economies edited by B. Martos, L. F. Pau and M. Ziermann, Pergamon Press

Fusari, A. (1989), Simulations of economic policies and strategies with a dynamic model of the Italian economy, in Proceedings of Beijing international conference on ‘System simulations and scientific computing’, vol. II, Pergamon Press

Fusari, A. (1990), A macro dynamic model centred on the interrelationships between the public and private sectors of the Italian economy, New York Economic Review, vol. XX, pp. 29

Fusari, A. (1992), Entrepreneurship, market process and economic development. Some theoretical and empirical insights useful for managing the transition period, in Transition to advanced market economies, Strategic options, modelling, approaches and operational research perspectives, edited by J. W. Owsinski, J. Stefansky, A. Straszak, Warszawa, The Association of Polish Operational Research Societies

Fusari, A. (1996), Paths of economic development. Modelling factors of endogenous growth, International Journal of social economics, 23 (10/11): 164-191

Fusari, A. (2000), Human adventure. An inquiry on the pathway of peoples and civilizations, Italian edition, Rome, SEAM, pp. 760

Fusari, A. (2004), A reconsideration on the method of economic and social sciences. Procedure, rules, classifications, International Journal of Social Economics, 31 (5/6): 501-535

Fusari, A. (2005) , Toward a non capitalist market system: practical suggestions for caring the ills of our economic system, American Review of Political Economy, 3 (1): 85-125, on line available at www.arpejournal.com

Fusari, Angelo 2005. A model of the innovation-adaptation mechanism driving economic dynamics : a micro representation, Journal of Evolutionary Economics, vol. 15, n. 3, August, pp.297-333

Fusari, A. (2007), Rationalité, relativisme, evolution sociale. Une analyse critique du modele cognitiviste de Boudon-Weber, International Review of Sociology, 17 (3): 459-487

Fusari, A. (2008), Reason and domination. Ethics, politics and economics in the modern global societies, Italian edition, Marco Editore , Cosenza, pp. 237

Fusari, A. (2009), boudons’s contribution to the objectivity of values. Some open methodological problems, in Cerkaoui, M. and P. Hamilton (eds) Raymond Boudon. A life in sociology, vol. IV, Oxford: Bardwell

Fusari, A. and A. Reati (2010), Endogenizing technical change: uncertainty, profits, entrepreneurship. A long term view of sectoral dynamics, Schumpeter conference, Aalborg, pp. 48