Economic Theory and Social Change: Problems and Revisions

by Ekstedt; Hasse

• ISBN13: 9780415564236
• ISBN10: 0415564239
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2010-08-02
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

This books models "Man" in a social context, offering a systematic critique of the mainstream methodology of economics and its axiomatic structure and developing an economic theory for a socially sustainable society.

Table of Contents

List of illustrations	p. xvii
Preface	p. xix
Acknowledgements	p. xxi
Introduction	p. 1
The structure of the book 6
The method of social theory: suggestions for a shared basic view	p. 9
Introduction	p. 9
The untenable positivist legacy	p. 9
The anti-positivist reaction	p. 18
Some more recent developments	p. 23
On the methodological procedure and rules of social science	p. 29
Necessity, choice, functional and ontological imperatives in the constitution and organization of social systems	p. 32
Evolution and institutions. The interpretation of social processes	p. 36
Conclusion	p. 38
Homo ¿conomicus versus Homo Politicus	p. 40
Introduction	p. 40
The neoclassical general equilibrium theory	p. 45
The complications of Arrow's paradox and the Marxist interpretation	p. 59
Towards a Homo Rationalis	p. 67
Summing up	p. 74
The axiological-normative question in economics and social sciences: objective and subjective values	p. 76
Introduction	p. 76
A quick review of the treatment of values in the modern world, before the twentieth century. Vico's premonitory contribution	p. 77
A turning point: Weber's irrational rationality	p. 80
Ambiguities and circumlocutions on the 'reasonableness' of values: the Rawlsian neo-contractualism	p. 82
Boudon's contribution to an objectivist theory of values	p. 84
Objective and relative values. An ignored and contrasted law of moral progress	p. 86
The World Values Surveys and Inglehart's analysis	p. 89
Religions and ethics	p. 91
Economic values and ethics	p. 92
Conclusions	p. 98
On time and ethics	p. 100
Introduction	p. 100
Physical and social space-time	p. 104
The conception of time and space and ethics	p. 108
The direction of time	p. 115
Social space-time topology	p. 123
The role of institutions	p. 127
An outline of ethical principles based on the assumptions that humans are subjects	p. 130
The problematic but intriguing conclusion	p. 133
Innovation, uncertainty, entrepreneurship: modelling the dynamic process of the economy - discussion and formalization	p. 135
Introduction	p. 135
The theoretical foundations of our economic analysis	p. 136
A critical review	p. 146
Formalization of our model of dynamic competition	p. 160
Conclusion	p. 178
From invisible hand to perpetuum mobile: the problem of economic growth	p. 180
Introduction	p. 180
What is economic growth?	p. 180
Solow's model of exogenous growth	p. 186
Endogenous growth	p. 190
The Product Cycle	p. 192
Growth, equilibrium and the equimarginal principle	p. 195
The demand side	p. 200
Market structure and uncertainty	p. 205
Tentative conclusions	p. 211
Uncertainty, money and labour demand	p. 213
Introduction	p. 213
Unemployment and factors creating uncertainty	p. 215
Money	p. 229
Money and the monetary economy	p. 236
Policy	p. 241
Towards a non-capitalist market system: spontaneous order and organization	p. 248
Introduction	p. 248
A historical sketch of the market	p. 249
The capitalist market	p. 252
Entrepreneurial role and profit rate. The public and private spheres within the working of the market	p. 255
The cycle of production and distribution within the market operating as a pure mechanism of imputation of costs and efficiency	p. 257
Interest rate, production financing and effective demand	p. 262
On the international economic order	p. 266
Conclusion	p. 267
Appendix	p. 269
Notes	p. 275
Bibliography	p. 284
Subject index	p. 295
Name index	p. 299
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