Individualism in Modern Thought: From Adam Smith to Hayek

by Infantino,Lorenzo

• ISBN13: 9780415185240
• ISBN10: 0415185246
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1998-07-23
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

This is a comprehensive survey of methodological individualism in social, political and economic thought from the Enlightenment to the 20th century, underlining the contrasts between collectivism and individualism, and their presuppositions and applications.

Table of Contents

Preface	x
1 Introduction	1	(8)
The `abuse of reason'	1	(1)
Political economy and the discovery of unintentional order	2	(2)
The birth of sociology and intentional order	4	(1)
The `revolt against individualism'	5	(1)
The alliance against the open society	6	(3)
2 Bernard de Mandeville and Adam Smith: the theory of the `great society'	9	(32)
Man, a social animal	9	(2)
Needs and the division of labour	11	(2)
Can a `commercial society' survive?	13	(2)
The advantage of Ego and the advantage of the Other: the `invisible hand'	15	(4)
Ateleological development	19	(2)
Mandeville: the service rendered by others is always a means	21	(3)
Smith: the service rendered by others is always a means (on the principle of `sympathy')	24	(3)
`The Adam Smith problem'	27	(3)
The consistency of Smith's theory	30	(1)
Some conclusions	31	(10)
3 Which method? A question about the philosophy of the social sciences	41	(16)
Unintentional order and the individualistic method	41	(2)
The `individualistic' method makes clear the social link	43	(2)
The individualistic method and the errors of psychologism	45	(3)
Auguste Comte: the collectivistic method and the impossibility of the `great society'	48	(4)
Karl Marx: between politics and science	52	(5)
4 Durkheim and the application of the collectivistic method	57	(26)
Durkheim versus the `great society'	57	(3)
The state as independent variable	60	(4)
Durkheim and political economy	64	(3)
Is society a `sui generis' reality?	67	(4)
Society is not a `sui generis' reality	71	(6)
Between positivism and idealism	77	(6)
5 Is an `individualistic' reading of Durkheim possible?	83	(17)
The elements that justify an `individualistic' reading of Durkheim	83	(2)
Durkheim under the `individualistic' lens	85	(5)
Is it possible to reconcile Durkheim and Spencer?	90	(5)
Is it possible to reconcile Durkheim and Simmel?	95	(5)
6 Economists and sociologists compared: Carl Menger and Georg Simmel, Ludwig von Mises and Max Weber	100	(31)
Carl Menger: methodological individualism and `marginalistic revolution'	100	(6)
The `convergences' between Carl Menger and Georg Simmel	106	(8)
Ludwig von Mises: the theory of action in the development of Austrian marginalism	114	(4)
The `convergences' between Max Weber and Ludwig von Mises	118	(7)
Mises's criticism of Weber's quadripartition of meaningful action	125	(6)
7 The early Parsons: between sociology and economics	131	(35)
The `death' of Spencer and the expulsion of Simmel	131	(3)
The misunderstanding of the rational construction of preferences	134	(6)
In search of the `voluntaristic-creative' element	140	(6)
The problem of the `common system of ultimate ends'	146	(5)
The `sociologistic theorem'	151	(6)
The missing solution	157	(6)
Economic cost and social obligation	163	(3)
8 Conclusions	166	(8)
`Let us learn to be selves'	166	(3)
Sociology and economics	169	(3)
The task of the social sciences	172	(2)
Notes	174	(36)
References	210	(12)
Index	222