The current orientation of the discipline and the proposed alternative -- Four theses on the state of modern economics -- An ontological turn in economics -- What has realism got to do with it? -- Possibilities for economics -- An evolutionary economics? On borrowing from evolution biology -- Economics as a distinct social science? The nature, scope and method of economics -- Heterodox traditions of modern economics -- The nature of post Keynesianism and the problem of delineating the various heterodox traditions -- Institutional economics and realist social theorising -- Feminism, realism and universalism -- A historical perspective on economic practice -- An explanation of the mathematising tendency in modern mainstream economics.
0
SUMMARY OR ABSTRACT
Text of Note
This eagerly anticipated new book from Tony Lawson contends that economics can profit from a more explicit concern with ontology (enquiry into the nature of existence) than has been its custom. By admitting that economics is not exactly a picture of health at the moment, Lawson hopes that we can move away from the bafflingly intransigent belief that economics is at its core reliant upon mathematical modelling. This maths-envy is the reason why economics is in a state of such disarray. Far from being a polemic against the mainstream, this excellent new book is concerned that if economics is.